Getting to the Carpathians

Ivano-Frankivsk is a convenient starting point for trips into the Carpathians. In the mid-2000s the Kyiv-Ivano-Frankivsk train (then No. 204) arrived around 8:40. A convenient onward connection was the Ivano-Frankivsk-Rakhiv train, which then left around 9:15 and ran through Yaremche, Tatariv and Vorokhta. Daytime trains also ran to Vorokhta (about 3 hours) and Kolomyia (about 2 hours); check current schedules and frequency with carriers. To visit the Kosiv or Verkhovyna areas, take a bus from the station immediately to the left of the train station. Buses ran to Yaremche (about 2 hours), Vorokhta (about 3), Kosiv (about 3.5) and Verkhovyna (about 4.5); frequencies have changed since then. Taxis are more convenient. Approximate mid-2000s fares: Yaremche about 20 USD (about 1 hour), Kosiv about 30 USD (about 1.5 hours), Verkhovyna about 40 USD (about 2 hours).

To the Carpathians from Lviv

The Lviv-Rakhiv train is convenient because you can reach Ivano-Frankivsk, Yaremche, Tatariv, Vorokhta and Rakhiv without changing. Unfortunately this train was long considered one of the worst in the system: it travels quite slowly, because the track is also not in the best condition.

Trains from Lviv that also ran through Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia included:
Lviv-Chernivtsi
Uzhhorod-Chernivtsi
St. Petersburg-Sofia
Przemyśl-Chernivtsi

These trains left Lviv early in the morning:
Kyiv-Ivano-Frankivsk
Brest-Ivano-Frankivsk
Minsk-Ivano-Frankivsk

Buses are also possible, although they require better familiarity with the nuances of traveling in Ukraine. About ten buses a day used to run from Lviv to Ivano-Frankivsk. Lviv has more than one bus station, and the main one is located quite far from the railway station.

From Poland there are several convenient overnight bus routes that arrive in Ivano-Frankivsk. In Poland the city of Ivano-Frankivsk is often called Stanislaviv (Stanisławów) - the historic Polish name of the city.
Przemyśl-Kalush
Warsaw-Kalush
Warsaw-Dolyna
Warsaw-Kolomyia
Tomaszów-Kolomyia
Lublin-Kolomyia
Przemyśl-Ivano-Frankivsk

You can avoid the Ukrainian transport system by hiring a taxi driver from Lviv to Ivano-Frankivsk. In the mid-2000s the fare should not have exceeded about 30 USD, although drivers will, of course, happily take more. Their insistence on charging more is probably related to how much you look like a "wealthy foreigner".