Kiev Transportation

From the airport you can use busses or mini-busses to go to the city. I got mini-bus, that stops in front of the airport, a bit to the right. I went to the nearest metro station Khr'kivska and paid UAH 17 (EUR 2.5). Besides the same mini-bus has Railway Station as a last stop and you may go there for UAH 22 (EUR 3.2). On my way back I waited for the bus on the same metro station but unexpectadly I found out that some drivers offered to go to the airport for UAH 20 in the car (a bit more than in the bus). They got 3-4 passengers usually and in general they have good money.

The most comfortable and the fastest way to get Kiev is airplane, of course. There is an internationa airport in Borispol', the little town near of Kiev. By car it's 20 minutes to get the city. For Kiev-Moscow there are several aircrafts including Aeroflot, Aerosvit and S7. Last time for Moscow-Kiev-Moscow by S7 I paid RUR 6550 (EUR 188) around. Although it was a special offer. As far as I know that usual price is RUR 8000 around (EUR 230)

Taxis aren't that bad here.....really, but you have to ask the driver how much first... Then suck on your teeth and shake your head and go to close the door to leave.. He'll then probably offer you a lower price...

Taxis in Kiev are very inexpensive. We flagged down a taxi near the banks of the Dneiper River and he took us to Independence Square for 18 hryvnia (about $4), about a 15 minute trip. It was a great way to see another part of the city. There are lots of cars in Kiev, but I never saw a traffic jam.

Travelling on the Metro can be difficult if not planned well, unlike the London tube the station names are only written once and not clearly. If you are not too confident with listening to Russian (or the speaker is not clear enough) you can often be usure as to whether you are at the correct station or not. Therefore the easiest way is to count how many stops.

Also, stations have different names on the different lines e.g. in London where you might change at Paddington from the Circle to Bakerloo, in Kiev you actually change station names when you change lines. Usually within same building, but if you are looking for one metro station on the map, you might get there and find it is a different name, that would mean you are entering the wrong line, be careful and search around for the other entrance.

It only costs 50kopecs per journey (buy a little plastic token from the ticket office) which is about 5pence.

The best and fastest way to get around. By the way not very expensive, at least for foreigners. There are many taxi companies in Kiev. You call them, make an order and they will be back to you with their information about type of car and how much it will cost you to get to the point of your trip. You also can “catch” a taxi on the street. Just hold your hand up perpendicularly to a body. Don’t point thumb, American style won’t work in Kiev. If you get a taxi on the street, make sure a car has small yellow box on the top saying “taxi”. There are many private drivers who are trying to earn some money by driving around the city with passengers. It may be cheaper than taxi, but not as safe. Catching a taxi on the street is good also because you may negotiate the price. I am not sure about English skills of taxi drivers. But you always can try.

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The people at the train station are not the friendliest if you do not speak Ukrainian/Russian. When buying tickets it is best to write down (preferably in cryllic script if you can) the departure station, date and time, then arrival station and date and time. Also the class you require (kupe is a berth of 4). Hand this paper over to the lady. Double check the ticket when you recieve it, it will be laid out in a format similar to below:

Train number, departure day and month, time, wagon number and class (k=kupe), [other stuff we didn't work out]

departure station - arrival station

bed number, an even number means top bunk, odd means bottom bunk.

[other stuff we didn't work out]

Your name according to passport

the cost, the first number being the final cost you pay

the arrival day, month and time.

[other stuff we didn't work out]

If the ticket is wrong, they will cancel it and refund you, minus 2 gryvna (20p) admin charge.

When you get on the train, unlike Russian trains, you need to buy your sheets (well, hire) so this is the first thing the conductor will ask you for, so keep some loose change (about 8 gryvna) for this.

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