Lviv

From Hitchwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Lviv
<map lat='49.861005318023004' lng='24.0325927734375' zoom='10' view='3' float='right' />
Information
Country:
Flag of Ukraine
Ukraine
State: Lviv Oblast
Population: 735,000
Licence plate: BC
Major roads: M06, M09
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots

Lviv (Ukrainian: Львів, Polish: Lwów, Russian: L'vov Львов, German: Lemberg) is a city in Western Ukraine, about 70 km from the Polish border.

Hitchhiking out

If heading towards Poland, choose carefully which of the several border crossings you want to take. Waiting times tend to be long at all crossings. The Medyka-Shehyni border crossing is the only one open to pedestrians.

Northwest towards Rava-Ruska, Zamość (PL), Lublin (PL) E 372 M09

Take bus #45 from near the Shevchenko monument in the city center. Ask the driver to let you out at the stop for Avtostantsiya Nomer Dva (АС-2 - Автостанція №2), a bus station in the northern suburbs of Lviv. The driver will drop you off on a busy, wide road, where you just continue walking in the same direction for about 1 km until the beginning of road M-09 (E372) going to Rava-Ruska (Рава-Руська) and the border with Poland. This road is clearly signposted and once you turn off onto it, it's easy to find room to stop a car.

You can also take a minibus from behind the Opera. There are a few lines going to AC-2 and some even further. If they turn left at the roundabout next to the big bus station stay, because then you don't have to walk. Best is to take a bus going to Мурованое, then you can stay until the very beginning of the road M09 (you can recognize it easily, because there is a bridge). It is also possible to take the busses 31, 51, 53 and some others to Rynok Galickij Perekrestok ("рынок галицкий перекресток") to arrive at the same spot.

This direction leads to the Hrebenne-Rava Ruska border crossing.

West towards Rzeszów, Kraków, Germany

If you want to hitch towards Rzeszów and anywhere far away, you have at least two options.
Both the Korczowa-Krakovets border crossing and the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing are frequented by people driving long distances towards Kraków, Wrocław or Germany. The majority is local traffic though. Taking the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing is probably the faster option, as you can cross on foot (not possible in Krakovets), which will save you the time needed to find a ride across the border, wait in the queue with them and undergo inspections of the car. Crossing on foot should be much faster.

To get to the Korczowa-Krakovets border crossing, take bus #125 from the central train station to the last stop in Ryasny ruske (Рясне-Руське), walk a bit further until you're directly behind the road crossing where cars and even trucks have a lot of space to stop.
Here the ring road traffic passes by as well. In case you get a ride until or over the border you can patiently stay there to find a long ride.

To get to the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing from the central train station, you have two options.
First lazy one is to take the minibus, see under Public Transport. Second option is to walk down the road from the train station, at the crossing walk to the right, pass the small local train station, follow the road for another 500m (along a gas station), and walk right again at the next crossing. There you'll find a bus stop which is easy and fine to hitchhike rides out of town, which otherwise would be some 2 or 3 km of walking at least. Let you bring to the "Metro" shopping center thing, there you'll find a huge roundabout which roads going all directions, including Shehyni. There's also a very nice hitchhiking spot 100m further off the roundabout, with a restaurant next to it and satisfying light installations for night hitchhikers.

Northeast toward Rivne, Kyiv E 40 M06

Take marshrutka (minibus) #8, #14, #36A or #39 from near the Shevchenko monument in the city center. Go till the last stop Halytske perehrestya (Галицьке перехрестя) (except for #14 which goes a bit further, so ask the driver to stop at Halytske perehrestya). All the buses stop in the middle of kinda market square. Look around, there must be a bus stop and a gas station hundred meters leftward and a bridge. Go under the bridge and walk 100m ahead. The hitchhiking spot is in front of the gas station.

Lviv towards Kyiv hitchhiking spot

East towards Ternopil, Vinnytsia (H-02)

Take marshrutka (mini bus) #24 on Local railway station, it goes to Mytna square (Площа Митна). Then take mini bus #105 to Vynnyky (Винники). This mini bus goes just to the circle road. You can walk east along the main road for about 0.5 km and start hitching after the big billboard which stand over the road. There is free place for cars to stop, nd visibility is also very good.

South towards Mukachevo, Uzhgorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, Slovakia, Hungary, Transylvania (Romania) E 50 M9

Take a bus from the city centre to the shopping mall King's Cross–Leopolis. (As of May 2014, this is bus number 10 and its starting point is the railway station) The mall is located just a few hundred metres north of the Lviv ring road. Walk south, cross the ring road, and hitch from alongside the first petrol station on your right; you can also ask drivers at the petrol station if you see a truck or car with a Czech or Slovak number plate. Only accept lifts that will take you as far as Striy (Стрий); writing Стрий might get you a lift quickly.

The town of Mukachevo is where to turn if you are going towards the northwestern part of Romania.

Also this direction is OK if you are going to Ivano-Frankivsk. In that case just reach Stryi and then hitchhike through Dolyna (Долина) and Kalush (Калуш) to Ivano-Frankivsk.

Southeast towards Zvenyhorod, Stare Selo, Ivano-Frankivsk (H-09)

Take trolley №11 from ploshcha Petrushevycha to Kiltseva (Ring road). Start to hitchhike behind the Ring road. (marshrutka (minibus) №160 does not go)

But because of bad quality of this road there are not many cars with far destination point. A lot of people going to Ivano-Frankivsk (Івано-Франківськ) by car use E50/M9 reaching Mykolayiv (Миколаїв) or Stryi (Стрий) and then turning directly to Ivano-Frankivsk. For more details see Southern direction.

Minibus to Polish border

You can get a marshrutka (minibus) from Western Bus Station to the closest Polish border point, the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing, which is not far from Przemyśl in Poland and it is allowed to cross on foot. This minibus costs around 80 UAH (no credit card, year 2020). Look or ask for one that says to 'Shegyni' (Шегині).

Accommodation and Sleep

There are some good places to pitch a tent in Lviv.

If you look for a calm and safe place you may choose Vynnyky forest or Bryukhovychi forest. To reach Vynnyky forest take bus №50 from the Puppet Theatre (Lyalkovyi Teatr) and go by it to vul. George Washington. Then go out and move a little bit back to vul. Pasichna. Turn right (to the south) and go around 500 metres along the street looking to the left for an entrance to the forest. Then just find a place you like. The forest is a popular place for picnics at weekends and holidays, but further from the main trails it's not so typical to meet people and especially police.

To reach Bryukhovychi forest is more difficult as since some years there has been no public transport between Lviv and Bryukhovychi. Sure you can take a taxi or walk on feet but if that doesn't fit you just use the Vynnyky forest option.

If you prefer a place close to the city center, there are few big parks in Lviv where it's possible to pitch a tent, like Vysokyi Zamok, Shevchenkivskyi Hay (not the museum but its "wild" part known in Lviv as Kaiserwald) or Pohulyanka. Sure this options provide some risks but if you'll find a relatively hidden place there's not much probability someone will bother you.


Nomadwiki & Trashwiki

Check Nomadwiki for info on accommodation, showers etc. or Trashwiki for dumpsters...and share your wisdom :)