Kiev is linked with most major European cities and a few in North America. Most international flights go to the puny Boryspil International Airport in Kiev, about 40km (25mi) south-east of the centre. The airport at Lviv, about 8km (5mi) west of its centre, has connections with Warsaw, Prague, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and Chicago. Odessa's airport is about 12km (7mi) south-west of downtown, and has flights to and from Vienna and Moscow.

International trains enter Ukraine from seven countries at more than 10 locations. As long as you've got a visa, border crossings are pretty straightforward. Most major Ukrainian cities have daily services from Moscow; it's 15 hours to Kiev and 28 hours to Lviv. You can go between Kiev and Berlin (26 hours) via Warsaw (16 hours) and Brest (10 hours). The station is on the western fringe of downtown Kiev. Lviv has rail connections with most major Eastern European and Russian cities; the station is 3km (2mi) west of the centre. A few buses a day head into Russia from Kharkiv; it takes 20 hours to reach Moscow from Kharkiv by bus.

You can travel by ship between Odessa or Yalta and various cities on the Black Sea and Mediterranean. The main year-round destinations are Haifa (Israel), Limassol (Cyprus), Piraeus (Greece) and Port Said (Egypt). The most frequent and reliable is the Odessa to Istanbul route. It's also possible to sail down the Danube River between Odessa and a number of Eastern European river ports. There's a car ferry running between Kerch, at the eastern tip of Crimea, and the Russian ports of Temryuk, Anapa and Novorossiysk.

Airlines

Although most international airlines fly into Kiev with usually just a short connection in their European hubs, getting back to North America is not as easy. Air France, FinnAir, Swissair, LOT Polish Airline, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines all offer same-day return if you are flying to back to New York City, but if you need to return anywhere else, you'd have to overnight in the airline's European hub city.

Aeroflot Russian International Airline may be an economical solution to fly to Kiev or other major Ukrainian cities, but be prepared to get a Russian visa in addition to the one you already have for Ukraine! Even if you only change planes in Moscow, you still need a Russian visa (and a double-entry one if you're exiting the same way).

For cheapest and most convenient flights to Ukraine and to get more information about Ukraine's airline choices, please call our ticketing department at 1-404-827-0099 or toll-free 1-888-263-0023. You can also send an e-mail to airfare@ukrainetrip.com with your airfare request or questions.

Getting Around

Getting between major Ukrainian cities is best done by train. They're frequent, cheap and often a convenient night's journey. If you want to save a few grynia and don't mind the extra time, buses serve almost every city and small town; they're best for short trips outside main cities not served by trains. Buses are always dirty and overcrowded, but there's no better way to mingle with the locals than on a bumpy, overheated ride through the countryside.

With fuel hard to come by, spare parts rare, road conditions rugged and getting lost inevitable, driving in Ukraine is not recommended for the faint of heart. Cars can be rented at a few major hotels in Kiev and at a handful of agencies in the major cities. You'll need an International Driving Permit; driving is on the right.
We strongly suggest using native drivers with own cars instead of renting a car. You can find information on car and driver rental here.