Medyka-Shehyni border crossing

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Medyka-Shehyni border crossing
<map lat='49.799217' lng='22.947' zoom='11' view='0' float='right' />
Information
Countries: Flag of Poland Poland | Flag of Ukraine Ukraine
Type: Road
Motorway: E 40


The Medyka-Shehyni border crossing connects Poland (at the village of Medyka, near Przemyśl) with Ukraine (at the village of Shehyni, near Lviv). Walking across this border is allowed.

Waiting times by car could go up to 8 or more hours, depending on the traffic, of course, so the best way is to take your backpack and walk over by foot. Unfortunately, depending on your nationality, waiting time can fluctuate pretty much. There will be most likely be a small/no queue for EU/EEA citizens and a very long one with "all other passports", even at 5 in the morning.

Even if you're not a EU/EEA citizen, you might be able to pass through the EU queue. Roaming Pencil has done it with an Israeli passport (crossing from Ukraine to Poland), which saved her hours of waiting. It might only be possible if your PN (Passport Nation) has a visa-free policy with Schengen countries; either way, worth asking


User:MaxHermens says: Even before you enter this queue, there is a big group of of people waiting outside. They're taking Vodka across the border as a job. They push and pull and will call you names. Be prepared and perhaps it's best not to know Ukrainian at this point.


Uncle_sam01 (EU citizen) has crossed this border multiple times and it really depends on the time of the day. The usual is around 30 minutes, though once he managed to cross into Ukraine in around 5 minutes once. It is still the fastest Poland-Ukraine border by far, as it is the only pedestrian place with separate EU/non-EU lines, the other pedestrian crossing being Dołhobyczów-Uhryniv where there's only one queue (against EU law of course). They never seem to check inside tents/sleeping bags, so do stash you vodka/cigarettes there :P


There's a 1 hour time difference between both countries, so don't forget to set your clock if you require one.

Be prepared for controls of your luggage, the Polish guards do so with nearly everybody coming from Ukraine (cigarettes), on the other side the Ukrainians couldn't care less.

There are minibuses and also a local city bus going from Medyka to Przemysl, and minibusses from Shegyni to L'viv (Western Bus Station, price is around 80 UAH, no credit card, year 2020). The cigarettes selling babushkas will lead you the right way.

Hitchhiking out

Into Poland (N28)

After walking over the border by foot, follow the way for 250 m until you see some people selling cigarettes and alcohol (or not), anyway at the end of the fence to your left there's a small muddy footpath along it. Use this one for 300 m and you'll be on the starting highway just 50 m behind the border. Best is to start hitching behind the entry to the supermarket, as quite some traffic coming from Ukraine just goes there and back. Also some locals might appear and try to hitch rides, who might not know that much about hitchhiking etiquette, so don't be irritated. Getting rides to Przemysl is pretty easy and might not take longer than 10 minutes.

Roaming Pencil, 11/2016: At this spot (or what I though to be this spot) there were almost no cars and many people, so I took a bus to Przemysl for 2 zloty (~0.5 euro) and from there hitchhiked to Krakow rather quickly.

Into Ukraine

After crossing the border, walk down the road for a few hundred meters until the exit of the town. It is helpful to hitchhike with a sign "Lviv" from the petrol station or from in front of the local school. There's also usually a bunch of people waiting around to car share towards Lviv, might be hitchable with some smooth talking.