Cars4Rental - Worldwide Car Hire

Airports                  Air                         Water                     Rail                   Road

(back to contents)

Cars 4 Rental Guide To Travel In  Ukraine

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 1 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. Back to Top Air Travel Fuel shortages used to result in sharp reductions in flights within Ukraine and erratic timetables. However, the situation has improved recently. Air Ukraine’s repainted Aeroflot aircraft are far from comfortable and buying tickets is extremely difficult and almost guaranteed to involve complicated negotiations with the local travel agencies. Pre-booking through Intourist Travel Ltd in London is advised (see Contact Addresses section). Winter weather frequently grounds aircraft. The most reliable flights are from Kyiv to Donetsk, Lviv and Odessa. 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 3 hours 30 minutes, to Moscow is 1 hour 15 minutes and to Vienna is 2 hours. Back to Top Travel By Water Cruises between Kyiv, Odessa and Sevastopol are very popular and can be booked through various tour operators. 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 which leave from Yalta. Back to Top Rail Again, pre-booking through Intourist Travel Ltd in London is advised, as buying tickets is a difficult undertaking. Journeys are slow, though trains are more reliable than air travel in winter. 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. Back to Top Travel By Road Bus: There are services to most cities and towns although they are not always recommended due to overcrowding and uncleanliness. Taxi: Hiring a driver for a long-distance destination is a realistic option, costing about US$200 from Kyiv to Odessa or a similar journey. Car hire: Not recommended. Self-drive hire cars are, so far, extremely rare. Traffic regulations: Speed limits are 60kph (37mph) in built-up areas, 90kph (55mph) in outside areas and 110kph (69mph) on the motorways. Traffic drives on the right; righthand-drive cars are prohibited. Drinking and driving is strictly prohibited. Heavy fines are imposed if traffic police smell alcohol on a driver’s breath. Documentation: An International Driving Permit is necessary. URBAN: Kharkiv and Kyiv have clean, efficient and cheap metro systems, where tickets can be purchased at vending machines inside the stations. Buses and trolleybuses are extremely crowded and are best avoided. Taxis are easy to find in the cities. State-owned taxis have yellow and black signs on the roof and are metered. Fares should be negotiated in advance for private taxis. Some shared taxis and minibuses exist on fixed routes. Hitchhiking is very common, although not recommended. Travellers can indicate the need for a lift and the driver will take them to their destination cheaply by Western standards, but prices should be agreed in advance. There are no public transport services from 0100-0500. 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, 4 Cardiff Road, Luton, Bedfordshire L41 1PP, UK (tel: (08705) 143 219; fax: (01582) 400 694; website: www.eurolines.com or www.nationalexpress.com). Bus: A few buses run daily services from Karkiv to Moscow. Back to Top

Car Hire Ukraine

Cars 4 Rental can provide car hire vehicles in all the popular locations throughout the Ukraine.

Whatever your requirements Cars 4 Rental will be able to provide a car to meet your needs. Our hire cars can be equipped with many optional extras including child seats so that your car rental is ideally suited to your needs.

Hire a car in Ukraine