Kiev (For Pripyat tour)

The Snipe

Hey guys

I'm looking to go to Kiev next summer for a week or maybe a bit less to go on a tour of Pripyat.

And I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice on where to stay etc. and whats the most cost effective way of getting there.

I saw one person mention about 2 years ago, that he flew into Poland train into L'viv and then I'd be able to pass onto Kiev (Maybe stay in one each day?)

Has anyone done this? Or has anyone stayed there?

Also, what would I need in terms of Visa's etc?

Thanks for any help or advice on anything anyone can give me! I am seriously clueless!

MrSausage

Hi Snipe,
I flew into Krakow and trained it to L'viv. It's a night train and takes about 6 hours iirc. Train is pretty nice-I'll attach a pic of the 3 bed sleeper, you can have a 1, 2 or 3 berth.
From experience the train can be quiet so if you pay for a bunk in a 3 berth chances are you will be alone, or for a small fee the conductor will upgrade you if there is room.
A single berth booked in advance costs about 60 euro.
http://polrail.com/sections/store/rail_tickets.html

I've never went from L'viv to Kiev by train, but have travelled from South Ukraine to there-be aware that the trains are fairly rough and ready. I don't have prices but rail travel in Ukraine is very cheap.
I would definitley recommend L'viv for at least 1 night. Lovely old city with great bars and restaurants.

You don't need a visa if the visit is less that 3 months, but you will be stopped at the border and your passport taken away to be checked and stamped.

Feel free to ask if you need anymore info.

Mr. S

The Snipe

Thanks a million!

How much generally would I be looking at for prices to fly to Krakow? Which plane companies would do it? (I'd prefer not to fly Ryanair, considering the length of the light, but if depending on the prices, I might.)

R0C

I've flown into Kiev from Dublin, via Amsterdam, and also via Paris (CDG) with KLM. Aer Lingus handled the flight from Dublin to Amsterdam and it was only a short layover (about an hour in Amsterdam which is a great airport for food, etc). It was all booked through the KLM website (enter 'Dublin' to 'Kiev'), with the trips made in the 'low' season (September to April), flights worked out at under 150 euro per person, round trip.

Once you arrive at Kiev airport, you can get a taxi (which is really just a regular car, without any markings) into the city, it would help to have a card for where you're staying with the address written in Russian as, in my experience, most of the 'taxi' drivers in Kiev didn't have any English.

There are normal international hotels (the likes of Ibis, etc) which can be booked for similar rates to any city (average around 70 euro per night based on two sharing a double room) and then there are much cheaper options such as apartments which can be rented by the night (for around 15 or 20 euro - possibly less), but it would help to have someone who speaks Russian/Ukrainian for a lot of these.

You won't be able to get Ukrainian currency outside Ukraine. It's easy to get it at Kiev airport.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

irishlostboy

we flew into and out of Kiev last November with KLM. a fantastic company to fly with. their website is meant to be a pain in the arse though.
you get a visa stamp at Kiev airport for free when you arrive.
plenty of unofficial taxi's like above posters mentioned. there is no saving in taking them, and they are far more likely to try hustle you, so go to the "taxi" desk in the airport and order a legit one.
We stayed in one step hostel,
http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/ukraine/kiev/52720/
which is quite central, but near impossible to find. there is no signs. it is the 4th floor of an old city apartment block. when you get near it, there are directions scribbled on walls in marker. if you arrive late at night, you will find that Kiev thinks the idea of street lighting is merely to make the darkness visible, so you may not see the marker scribbles.
one step is friendly, has English speaking staff (a rare thing in Kiev) and is clean. It is a bit cramped in the dorms, and there is no cooking facilities. book in advance. it is busy. also, spend a little extra and book their private dorms if there are a few of you going over.

Kiev is a tough city to figure out. finding good food is very hard. we lucked out on the first day and found some little local place in a basement that was really good. tasty food, good prices (of course no english, and we were the star attraction as lost tourists in the local's eating spot.) every other place we tried was muck.
If you are in mind of a cheap adventure, go explore the Kiev subway system. it has some of the deepest subways you will find, and escalators that you will be stood on for up to 5 minutes. you will get lost. easily.

We spent 2 days in the Zone of Chernobyl. I had a lovely big write-up on global urbex, and just recently they packed up shop and disappeared, so I can not now link you to the article. I guess I will have to rewrite it. here is the stub of it i had put up on boards
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=75524994
the zone is amazing. getting in is a pig. lots of places advertise that they do tours there. they do not. make sure you book well in advance, and make sure you book with a company that can actually get you in. Solo East is one of the companies that may be able to get you in. now, as of the time of our trip, the zone was officially closed to tourism. like everything in Ukraine though, money will open any door you want. be prepared to pay extra "fees" (bribes) and always haggle, with everyone except the police. just pay their fee and they go away.
once you are in the zone, everything is good. the amount of exploration you are able to do will depend on your guide. behave yourself and he might let you off the leash a bit. we were in a luxurious place, as we were in the zone for 2 days, we pretty much had the run of the place. day tours will be a lot more limited. especially if there is a lot on the tour.

overall, the best advise I can give is; do your homework read EVERYTHING you find on-line about going to Chernobyl. if you just show up and hope for the best, you will not get in. Trust no one. haggle. expect no one to speak english.

The Snipe

Thanks a million, I'm going to be booking well in advance, as for bribes, who would I have to bribe? Do you have a link to who gave your tour too? :P

As for English, I'm learning basic Russian, as most the population speak Russian and Ukranian, and I have a Russian friend going too.