World Country Guide

Travel - International

Air
Ukraine International Airlines (PS), a Ukrainian alliance with Aer Fi Group and Austrian Airlines/Swiss, links Kyiv with Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt/M, Helsinki, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rome, Rotterdam, Vienna and Zrich. Air Ukraine (6U) serves a smaller number of European points, as well as Moscow and other Russian cities aboard aircraft reclaimed from the former Soviet airline Aeroflot (SU). Flights are also available from Lviv to New York, Warsaw and Washington, from Simferopol to Turkey and from Ivano-Frankivsk to the UK (summer only).

Approximate flight times
From Kyiv to London is three hours 30 minutes, to Moscow is one hour 15 minutes and to Vienna is two hours.

International airports
Kyiv (IEV) – Borispol International (KBP) is approximately 34km (21 miles) from central Kyiv. The airport has undergone extensive renovation. Facilities currently include banks/bureaux de change, duty free shops, restaurants, child facilities, post office, left luggage and pharmacy. The bus terminal is located at Ploshcha Peremohy where an airport bus operates services to the city centre every 30 minutes for most of the day (travel time - approximately one hour). The bus fare is around US$2. Taxis usually cost about US$15. The arrival/departure point in central Kyiv is the new entrance to the central railway station.

Departure tax
None.

Sea/River
The main ports are Izmail and Odessa on the River Danube. Services are available to the Russian Federation ports of Novorossiysk and Sochi, Batumi and Sukhumi in Georgia, as well as to a number of cities on the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. A ferry service connects Sevastopol and Istanbul, Turkey. The republic’s most important internal waterway is the River Dnieper. Black Sea cruises around the Crimean peninsula are available and well recommended. Most cruises leave from Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and stop over in Yalta, although there are a few cruises that leave from Yalta.

Rail
The 22,730km (14,207 miles) of railway track link most towns and cities within the republic and further links extend from Kyiv to all other CIS member states. The main stations are Kyiv and Lyiv. Regular daily services connect these stations with Moscow. There are direct lines to Brest in Belarus, Berlin in Germany, Budapest in Hungary, Warsaw in Poland and Bucharest in Romania. Ukrainian trains are slow. Journeys can range from pleasant to terribly uncomfortable if, for instance, the heating is not working. Security can also be a problem, as many muggings have been reported. If travelling by overnight train, do not leave the compartment unattended. Buying tickets locally can be difficult and it is easier to pre-book through Intourist Travel Ltd before departure (see Contact Addresses section). From Kyiv to Moscow takes 16 hours and to St Petersburg is about 36 hours.

Road
Of the 172,315km (107,074 miles) of road network, 29,227km (18,161 miles) are main or national roads. Ukrainian roads tend to be in reasonable condition. Border points are at Chop, Mostiska and Uzhgorod. It is recommended to carry a visa to enable a smooth border crossing. Private car-repair garages have recently become available, along with state-owned ones; however, spare parts are still scarce. The biggest problem is availability of suitable petrol (for instance, unleaded petrol is not available). Never set out on a journey without several cans of petrol. Insurance cover can be difficult to arrange. See Travel – Internal for information on traffic regulations and documentation. Coach: Eurolines, departing from Victoria Coach Station in London, serves destinations in the Ukraine. For further information, contact Eurolines, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1, UK (tel: (08705) 143 219; fax: (01582) 400 694; website: www.eurolines.co.uk or www.nationalexpress.com). Bus: A few buses run daily services from Karkiv to Moscow.