Getting to Uman

Ukraine's airspace is closed — everyone flies to a neighboring country and continues by ground. Here's what the road to Rosh Hashana 5787 looks like, based on what actually happened in 5786.

The gateways — current reality

PRIMARY Romania (Iași, Suceava, Bucharest) — in 2025 the overwhelming majority of organized flights landed in Romania (~81 charters into Iași). Plan around it for 2026.

SECONDARY Poland (Rzeszów, Kraków, Warsaw) — works, but Polish crossings are the slowest in the crush: 4+ hours on foot, occasionally 12+ hours by vehicle.

UNCERTAIN Moldova (Chișinău) — the route collapsed in 2024–25 after Israel–Moldova charter talks failed. Don't build a plan on Chișinău without confirming it's back.

Drive times and rough prices

Gateway airport	Drive to Uman	Shuttle seat
Iași (IAS)	~7 h	$85–$100
Chișinău (RMO)	~6 h	$75–$100 (if the route runs)
Rzeszów (RZE)	~11 h	~$125
Kraków (KRK)	~12 h	~$150
Budapest (BUD)	~14 h	~$150

Times are net driving, before border waits. Private car: $500–$2,000 from an airport, $250+ from a border crossing. Full per-vehicle price list (taxi/van/bus) from ~25 airports — on the transport page.

Border crossings

From Romania (the main route)

Porubne–Siret (near Chernivtsi) is the primary pilgrim crossing; several more car checkpoints run 24/7 (Dyakove–Halmeu, Solotvyno–Sighetu and others).

From Poland

Medyka–Shehyni (best on foot), Korczowa–Krakovets (cars), Hrebenne–Rava-Ruska. The slowest crossings at peak.

The return leg matters most

⚠️ In 2025, hundreds were stranded on the way back (Ukraine→Romania) by border congestion. Leave a real buffer before your return flight and avoid tight connections.

Trains — the most reliable way across the border

Przemyśl → Lviv (reach Przemyśl from Rzeszów/Kraków) — crossing by rail takes 1–2 hours instead of many on the road. Ukrainian Railways tickets: booking.uz.gov.ua — released ~20 days out ($12–$45), sell fast.
Budapest → Chop/Mukachevo — via jegy.mav.hu, then onward inside Ukraine.
From Romania it's mostly bus/shuttle via Porubne–Siret rather than a through-train.

Transfer operators

Poyecheleh — +380 93 379 0111 (full vehicle price list here)
Nesiya Tova — +380 68 148 2148 (~10% US-traveler discount)
Uman Express — +380 99 222 3030

On the ground

Passport valid 6+ months; carry it at all times (internal checkpoints).
Uman entry fee: ~$45 at the checkpoint or ~$27 prepaid — verify amounts before the chag.
Wartime curfew, roughly midnight–4 AM.
Live border queues: nakordoni.eu.
Carry-on only (checked bags get lost in the charter crush), bring cash, and an eSIM that covers every country on your route.

Compiled from public sources for planning only — border conditions, prices and routes change. Verify everything with official sources before booking. All Uman flights →