Transportation

AIR:

There are only two Ukrainian airlines that sell their tickets online: Aerosvit and Ukraine International Airlines. Aerosvit was the first company in the Commonwealth of the Independent States which introduced e-ticketing technology for its New-York - Kyiv flight. Delta Airlines has direct flights from New York to Kyiv.

To arrange a personal or group pick-up from the Boryspil International Airport, Kyiv, please send an e-mail to contact@traveltoukraine.org or call the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation at +1-202-223-2228 and ask to speak with Oleksiy Synelnychenko.

A lot of international airlines fly to major Ukrainian airports in Kyiv, Lviv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, and others. The Boryspil International Airport in Kyiv is Ukraine's busiest airport serving thousands of people every day.

Aerosvit is the biggest Ukrainian airline that connects the country with all major cities of the world and has direct flights to the United States, Canada, China, India, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, and EU countries. Aerosvit also operates the biggest domestic network between all major cities in Ukraine.

Ukraine International Airlines connects Ukraine with all the major cities in Europe. Prices for Ukrainian domestic flights vary from $50 to $150 one way.

View the list of the airlines that have their offices in L'viv.

Kyiv Boryspil Airport (http://www.airport-borispol.kiev.ua) is located 30km from downtown Kyiv. Cab fare to get to the downtown ranges from $30-$50. There are shuttle buses that go to Kyiv from the airport.

SEA:

The major part of sea connection is made via the Black sea ports of Odessa, Sevastopol and Yalta. The passenger vessels sailing between the Crimea peninsula and Odessa do not have stable schedule and rates, currently. Therefore tickets for these cruises and ferries are hardly bookable. The major part of ferries serves Istanbul, Turkey destination. They provide with several categories of accommodation, meals, entertainment programs, etc. On top of it, ferries make cargo transportation including cars, vans etc.

Taxi is comparatively cheap. There are numerous taxi services; orders are taken via phone. A taxi can be stopped right on the street simply by putting out your hand. Price is to be agreed upon beforehand.

MARSHRUTKA:

Another very convenient and fast way of traveling withing Ukraine is done by "marshrutka," which means a taxi van. Marshrutkas are very popular in every town and city in Ukraine. These taxi vans not only travel within a certain town/city, but they also serve intercity routes. A driver of a marshrutka usually drives 5-20 people at once. Prices vary from 20 cents to $1 a person within a city or $1-$10 a person for intercity routes.

TRAIN:

www.uz.gov.ua - the official website of the Ukrainian Railroad (in Ukrainian only).

Train is a very reliable way to travel within Ukraine, especially in the winter time when many domestic flights are cancelled or delayed due to poor weather conditions, while car travel is not good either and bus travel, being quite uncomfortable, will take ages. On top of that many cities just cannot be reached via air. A train will definitely be en-rout and will reach a destination point on time or with minimum delay, no matter what is the weather and time of the year. Therefore, train travel in Ukraine is so popular among travelers. Not to mention it is very inexpensive.

Purchasing tickets
Train tickets can be purchased at the railroad stations and offices, and in a few travel agencies. It is required to show passports of all individuals who will be travelling on bought tickets. The main ticket office for rail travel in Kyiv is located at 38/40 Tarasa Shevchenka Blvd., Kyiv, Ukraine.
Please, note that knowing some Ukrainian or Russian is a useful skill while getting the tickets at the railroad office since knowing foreign language is not a requirement for working there.
Also, tickets cannot be reserved or put on hold, they can be bought only.

The tickets are bookable within 42 days term prior to the departure date. Train tickets are not available earlier.

For more comfort and privacy, it is recommended to buy out all of the tickets for a compartment. This is a good idea for women and anyone traveling alone who does not feel safe sharing a compartment with other people.

During off seasons there are no problems even if buying tickets 2-3 days prior to the departure. When Holidays all tickets are sold out much earlier, sometimes no tickets left 3-4 weeks before a travel date. Bad weather conditions may become another reason for train tickets deficit since flights are cancelled or delayed and trains become the best option to travel.

But weather conditions and other reasons are unpredictable, so it is recommended to take care of train tickets about the time they start being available.

The ticket tariff varies from $10 to $50 and includes insurance and taxes. Payment for the linen and towels is due upon check-in to a steward directly in amount of UAH 5-10 (which is $1-2). Make sure you have some local currency to pay for the linen. It is not required to buy the linen for empty beds in a compartment you are travelling.

Tickets are typed by means of printers on the specially designed forms with water marks. These templates are bilingual - Ukrainian and Russian, inserted data is in Russian.

Luggage
Luggage weighting up to 35 kg (80 lbs) is included in the ticket tariff.
If you have more luggage you can buy an additional ticket and have permission for 70 kg (160lbs) of the luggage. For transferring bulky objects, baggage carriages are used.

Food
The majority of trains have dining or buffet cars, which serve alcohol and soft drinks, water, snacks and some cooked meals.

It is a good idea to take some food with you: bottled water, snacks, canned meat or fish, vegetables and fruits, cereal and packed milk, anything that will not spoil if stored in a room temperature and you can live on for the length of your trip. There is no cooler in carriages, so packed food is the best. The same applies if eating at a train restaurant.

Getting food from train station vendors is not safe, no matter how delicious it looks. Fruits and vegetables are exception. Just wash them properly. Peaches, tomatoes, watermelons, apples, grapes and all grown on Ukrainian soil is just irresistible.

Security
Traveling by train is as secure as the other transportation options if you follow some simple advices:

1. Keep money, documents and valuables on yourself.

2. Do not leave your cabin for a long time.

3. Keep all your luggage in special boxes under lower berths.

4. Do not leave your luggage with strangers. The luggage can be placed in your cabin or stored in a luggage-car.

5. Lock the cabin door during the night time.

6. Do not accept food and alcohol from unknown passengers.

7. When an opportunity offers travel by Express trains. Get 1st class tickets when available. You can also travel alone if you wish - just book a full cabin for your private usage.

Express Trains

These are the best trains, usually going overnight between big regional centers of the country. Those trains make quite a few stopovers en-rout, have carriages of good quality and service.

Express trains usually have 1st, 2nd and 3rd class carriages.

Some of those trains include 1st class carriages for peak seasons, and exclude them for the rest of the year.

Express train numbers vary from 001 to 149.

For convenience we have put classification - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class.

- 1st class, (SW), sleeper

This is the best type of carriages in Ukraine. Every carriage has 9 cabins, 2 berths in each cabin.

Beneath the lower berth(s) there is a box for luggage, which can accommodate 1-2 medium bags. Bigger storage for luggage is in the niche above the door. There is a small unfolding table by the window. Every cabin has a door lock and can be locked from inside.

There are two models of 1st class cabins:
- with horizontal berths (two berths on the same level)
- with vertical berths (one berth is above another, those cabins usually have a wash-stand under unfolding table lid)

Each carriage has WCs with wash-stands, 2 per each carriage.

1st class cabins are air-conditioned at the summer time. Air-conditioning is functioning while the train engine is working. Therefore it might be rather hot in the first hour or so of the trip and when the train is making stopovers.

One or two stewards serve every carriage.

- 2nd class, (coupe), sleeper

2nd class is usually quite acceptable type of carriages. The quality depends on a train.
Each carriage has 9 cabins, each cabin has 4 berths - 2 lower and 2 upper ones. There are boxes for luggage below lower berths. Bigger storage for luggage is in the niche above the door. There is a small unfolding table by the window. Every cabin has a door lock and can be locked from inside.

2nd class cabins in Express trains are usually air-conditioned but not always.

Each carriage has WCs with washing-stands, 2 per each carriage.

One or two stewards serve every carriage.

- 3rd class, (platzcart), sleeper

Each carriage has 54 berths, among which 36 berths of normal type (in cabins) and 18 side located (along the passageway). Berths are in two levels.

Cabins have no doors and cannot be closed.

There are boxes for luggage below lower level berths in cabins, and small luggage niches below side located ones. Under the upper level berths there are small berths for storing the luggage.

Each carriage has WCs with washing-stands, 2 per each carriage.

One or two stewards serve every carriage.

3rd class carriages are popular in Ukraine because of their very low ticket's price.