TOP 5 places for slow travel near Kyiv

DALI SPACE: hot tubs, sauna, walks, and lake contemplation

DALI SPACE is a format of countryside getaway that fits perfectly into the idea of slow travel: no packed schedules, no timelines, and no need to “rush” anywhere. The complex is located in a forest near Kyiv and consists of several A-frame cabins and chalets with terraces. People come here not for events, but for silence, warmth, and the feeling that for a few days life can be simpler and slower than in the city.

In winter, this place is especially appealing to visitors: when it’s cold everywhere, electricity is unstable, or you simply want a change of scenery, DALI SPACE offers a clear and comfortable escape scenario. The houses are insulated, with full bathrooms, kitchenware, essential everyday items, and the feeling of “you’ve arrived — and you don’t have to think about household matters anymore.” There is a kitchen on the premises — food can be ordered via QR code directly from your cabin, without spending time cooking or traveling.

The main value of the location is space and nature. It’s easy to spend half a day here just walking through the forest or sitting by the lake and watching the water. To stay warm during the colder season, there are hot tubs and a sauna.

DALI SPACE is suitable for couples seeking privacy, solo travelers, or small groups looking for a comfortable countryside format without complicated logistics. 

• Address: Kyiv region, the village of Kolentsivske, Teterevska Street
• Prices: A-frame cabins (for 2 guests + the option to accommodate 2 more) — from UAH 5,000 per night. Chalets (for 4 guests + the option to accommodate 2 more) — from UAH 6,900 per night

Dereville: therapy by nature

Dereville is a place people go not to “get distracted,” but to truly switch off the city noise. An hour and a half from Kyiv, a different rhythm begins: forest roads instead of highways, a starry sky instead of streetlights, silence instead of anxious news — a silence in which it’s easy to hear yourself. The complex is located within the Mizhrichynskyi National Nature Park and covers 380 hectares of wild ecosystem, where people are guests rather than main characters.

Dereville is often called therapy by nature, and this is no metaphor. Deer, fallow deer, mouflons, buffalo, dozens of bird and fish species live here — without cages or enclosures, in their natural environment.

The complex itself is a modern forest hotel with warm, cozy rooms and a restaurant serving simple, straightforward food made from farm products. Noise is consciously limited here, and no “entertainment scenarios” are created: there are no clubs, loud bars, or mass events. Instead, there’s the opportunity to be alone with the forest, go for a long walk, or take an eco-park safari with rangers in an off-road vehicle — unhurried and with respect for the animals’ space.

Dereville is not an “active weekend” format, but a place for those who crave silence, sleep, warmth, and the feeling that for a few days you can live without external noise. According to guest reviews, by the third day a rare feeling appears — when you don’t want to rush anywhere or prove anything to anyone.

• Address: Chernihiv region, the village of Otrohy, Shevchenko Street, 2
• Prices: accommodation — from UAH 7,600 per night (hotel room). Eco-park off-road tour: adults — UAH 750, children aged 5 to 12 — UAH 400, children under 5 — free

Vytachiv: for landscapes, Viking stories, and baked goods

Vytachiv has long become one of the most popular destinations for short escapes from Kyiv — and it’s a case where popularity doesn’t destroy the meaning of the place. People come here for landscapes, silence, history, and a sense of space that is so lacking in the city. Just 77 kilometers from the capital — and in forty minutes the road ends on steep hills above the Dnipro River, near a wooden mill that has become the village’s unofficial symbol.

Once, Vytachiv was an important port on the Dnipro — it was mentioned as early as the 10th century by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII. Today, the ancient town is recalled by a marker stone on the hill and a coat of arms with a boat. Nearby stands an unusual chapel with open doors, embroidered towels, and icons, built by followers of writer and thinker Oles Berdnyk. It is crowned with a Cossack seven-bar cross based on a sketch by Taras Shevchenko — the only one of its kind in Ukraine.

In recent years, Vytachiv has gained a new international dimension as well. On the banks of the Dnipro, a copy of the Alstad runestone from Norway was installed here — in memory of the Viking Thorold, who died on these lands about a thousand years ago. In Scandinavian sources, Vytachiv appears as Vitaholm and was part of Gardarike — Kyivan Rus.

For most Kyiv residents, Vytachiv is primarily about landscapes that seem to come straight from the poems of the Kobzar. Wide fields, the Dnipro below, and high cliffs where you just want to stand in silence. In winter, the landscapes are harsher and more restrained, the banks are slippery, the river is cold — but it’s precisely at this time that it’s especially quiet and peaceful here. Many people call Vytachiv their place of strength and return here throughout the year — without a plan, without a route, just to be.

Another reason to come here is bread. Next to the mill operates the “Vytach” bakery, opened by the Sobko family. It has become a point of attraction for tourists from across the region. People come here on purpose — to have breakfast, drink coffee, and take away still-warm bread and pastries baked right in front of guests. It’s almost impossible to resist buying something: few people leave Vytachiv empty-handed.

• Bakery address: Kyiv region, Vytachiv village, Naddniprianska Street, 10A
• Prices: cinnamon swirl with butter glaze — UAH 100, kalita — UAH 350, “Tsybuliаnyk” bread — UAH 80

Shambala Wellness Club — restoring a sense of balance

Shambala Wellness Club is one of those countryside complexes people go to not “for the weekend,” but for recovery. Located in the village of Rozhny near Kyiv, the complex works with Ayurvedic philosophy and a wellness approach, and for many years has welcomed guests seeking a deeper pause than just a change of scenery. Here, slowing down begins not with nature, but with routine.

Shambala positions itself as one of the largest projects in Eastern Europe dedicated to Ayurveda and a healthy lifestyle. The concept is based on working with specialists from India, wellness practices, a modern approach to nutrition, and body cleansing. This is not a resort in the classical sense, but rather a space for conscious recovery, where everything — from programs to atmosphere — is adjusted to a slow rhythm.

One of the formats regularly held here is retreats. For example, the “Five Elements” retreat combines Ayurvedic practices, meditation, yoga, breathwork and body practices, SPA treatments, and psychological tools. The program is designed so that a person literally steps out of the city’s multitasking mode for a few days and returns to simple things: sleep, silence, movement, and awareness of their own body. All of this takes place in a countryside setting without urban noise, which is especially valuable today.

The SPA zone here is not a bonus, but part of the overall logic of rest. The pool, massages, saunas, and quiet zones work as recovery tools rather than entertainment. Yoga and meditation are offered in formats accessible even to those without prior experience. Importantly, many of the practices taught during retreats can be taken home and integrated into everyday life after returning.

This is a slow travel option for those for whom it’s more important not to see new places, but to restore a sense of balance.

• Address: Kyiv region, Brovary district, the village of Rozhny, Svobody Street, 67
• Retreat prices: please уточнюйте in the countryside complex

“Ukrainian Village”: grounding through culture

“Ukrainian Village” in Buzova is a slow travel format that works not through escaping reality, but through returning to basic things: home, land, and craft. The complex is located in the shade of a forest park near Kyiv and combines an open-air museum, guest accommodation, and a space for unhurried walks without a fixed route.

The ethnographic museum occupies a separate part of the territory and consists of six authentic houses carefully transported from different regions of Ukraine — Hutsulshchyna, the South, Podillia, Polissia, Middle Dnipro region, and Slobozhanshchyna. Each house is preserved with respect for its original appearance and interior structure: stove, benches, wooden beams, woven rugs, wall paintings. Around them are farm buildings, workshops, and courtyards that create the feeling of a living village rather than a museum set. 

For Kyiv residents, “Ukrainian Village” often becomes an alternative to classic countryside leisure. There is no SPA or retreat programs here; instead, a different recovery mechanism works — contact with cultural memory and everyday life in which life was simpler and slower.

It’s also important that you can not only come here for a day, but also stay overnight. The complex offers several accommodation formats: rooms in separate two-story buildings, spacious family apartments in eco-style with interiors made of natural pine, as well as authentic ethno-houses — real old homes with a stove, a large table, and traditional interiors, but with modern bathrooms. For those seeking maximum silence and privacy, there is a separate forest chalet called “Kolyba” with a wood-burning fireplace, located away from the main complex near a small lake.

• Address: Kyiv region, Bucha district, the village of Buzova, Dmytrivska Street, 1
• Accommodation prices: from UAH 5,000 per night

How to travel slowly and with pleasure

Slow travel begins even before you leave. Don’t try to squeeze everything into a single weekend.

Choose locations where you don’t need to constantly plan something or “check off” activities. Forests, bodies of water, and spaces for walks without a route work better than any program. It’s important to leave time in your schedule for nothing — sitting by the window, long conversations, a leisurely breakfast. These are not pauses between events; this is the rest itself.

There’s no need to go far if you can go closer. An hour to an hour and a half of travel often provides a stronger sense of reset than long journeys and logistical fatigue. This is especially noticeable in winter or during periods of instability with electricity and heating.

For rest to truly work, reduce information noise — at least for a day. 

And finally, allow yourself not to take rest to the maximum. Slow travel is not about the number of impressions, but about the state you return home with. If you feel like leaving earlier or simply doing nothing — that is the right scenario.

If you want to add even more warmth — both physical and mental — to slow travel, it’s worth paying attention to bathhouse formats. For this, we have a curated list “10 Best Bathhouses in Kyiv” — featuring places with the right steam, traditions, and atmosphere.