Chernobyl Tour/Pripyat

You can't do this one independently. Chernobyl is inside a controlled exclusion zone and the only way in is on an organised tour, with permission arranged in advance, so this is a trip to book rather than a place to turn up at.

The reactor exploded in 1986 near the city of Pripyat, and it remains the worst nuclear accident in history - rated 7 for severity, above Fukushima Daiichi. The plant site and the abandoned city are what you've come to see.

What a Day Trip Involves

Tours run by bus or minibus from Kyiv for a set price, with a guide included and a meeting point and time you'll be given when you book. Transport is comfortable and the day is long, so treat it as one of the day trips rather than an afternoon.

Reactor 4 and the Red Forest are on every itinerary. The shift from a working city to a landscape that was abandoned in a single afternoon takes some adjusting to, and most people find it takes a while before they know what to make of it.

Is It Safe?

There's a lot of nonsense talked about this. Radiation levels on the standard tour routes are low and you're fine as long as you follow the rules, which is exactly what the guide is there for. Listen to them.

The caveats are real, though. Contamination is uneven and some spots in the central zone still hold contaminated material, which is why you don't linger in particular places and why the guide moves the group on. Depending on where you're going, you may be asked by your guide or by the authorities to wear a protective suit for parts of the central zone. Almost four decades on, the zone is still a zone for a reason.

Take it seriously and it's the most extraordinary day you'll have in Ukraine. Mezhyhirya is the other trip out of the city that's really about recent history, and that one you can do on a marshrutka.