Travel Advice for Ukraine
budget:
£140 flights
£80 Chernobyl day visit
£60 trains between cities
approximately £200 living costs
total approximately £480 pounds
3 Days Kiev (one of which was Chernobyl) - 3 days Odessa- 1 day Karkov - 2 days Kiev - 9 days total
Kiev
transport
Use Uber/Uklon as cabs will try to rip you off.
If you need to get the bus use a company called autolux better quality than standard buses from city to city. the train to and from the airport is cheaper than the bus and gets you to a better location in Kiev. the metro and city buses and very cheap (30p a ride), frequent and prefectly adequate.
the Sleeper trains between cities are pretty much the same price as the buses but better (if a little slower).
Hostels
Friends forever hostel has a filter that allows you to drink tap water which other hostels don't necessarily have which saves maybe a pound or 2 a day. Buy large bottles of water instead of small ones to save money.
lipki globus hostel has a nice kitchen and bathroom space. I would recommend.
Food
Pazata hata (phonetic spelling) is a very cheap Ukrainian restaurant with good food.
Salo bar near the bessarabka Market is okay. Nice atmosphere and interesting food if a little expensive compared to Pazata hata.
the bessarabka market is worth going to and its a cheap, easy way of trying Salo instead of at an expensive restaurant.
you can do a bit of haggling with souvenir vendors about price.
Chernobyl
Bring your own lunch the one they give is over priced and okay quality. Also you're travelling a long time so its nice have something to eat on the journey. Some people in my group didn't eat parts of their lunch and I ate it (salad). You don't need over boots or the suit they sell as long as your sensible and follow instructions. Footwear - wear something with a smooth sole (less likely to get radioactive dirt trapped in your shoe) and the material of the shoe isn't porous (not suede, mesh, trainer) something rubber or leather would be best to stop dirt adhering to the shoe.
Don't rent a geiger counter. If you ask your tour guide nicely they may lend you theirs for bits of the tour. One chernobyl tour company offers a student discount.
Museums
Chornobyl museum. Probably not worth it if you intend to do a tour of Chornobyl. Relatively expensive audio guide is absolutely necessary for any language other than Ukranian.
Ukranian national history museum. Some English of the ground floor but after that very little English on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor. Small part on the Holodomor as well as the recent Ukrainian war.
Mikhail bulgakov museum is quite artsy and you need a relatively expensive guide book. Would not recommend unless you love Mikhail Bulgakov.
A huge proportion of western European donated clothes end up in ukraine and kiev in particular.
Petrovka/petrivka market is mainly old books with a few soviet antiques. Not worth the trip
Lesnoy/lesnaya/lisova market worth it if you do want clothes although the majority of the stuff there is mediocre. There are some quite nice antique things as well. Worth going to.
Holodomor museum is not worth it as its just a room with a video loop of what the Holodomor was and some English subtitled videos from Survivors. You can get a similar effect from the room in the Ukrainian museum or the odessa museum.
Pechersk cave monastery is very interesting. The cave part closes at 4.30. The cathedral part was the most elaborate cathedral I saw in Ukraine. The Pechersk site holds the kiev microminiature exhibit which is good.
Saint Sophias cathedral is good. I wouldn't bother going to see the gate building at the back of the site but the cathedral is good as is the bell tower. Very nice views
Golden Gate is definitely worth going to. Interesting building.
the Kiev Fortress is an interesting place to walk around and there are museums but I did not go into them.
A reduced price joint ticket for Golden gate/St Cyril's cathedral/St Sophias cathedral can be bought it is particularly worth it if you are a student.
Student discount works a lot of the time in Ukraine in museums but not always and sometimes they want a specific Ukrainian uni card.
Odessa
July is busy in Odessa as there is a film festival and the Ukrainian summer holidays have started so it's busy. If you want to go when it's less busy go in perhaps April or May.
Archaeological museum is very good and has a lot of English explanations and a very good collection.
Museum of western art is okay. Quite small and alot of the statues are copies of those found in western museums (British museum, Louvre, Pergamon, Vatican, Berlin, Florence etc) so if you've been to them then perhaps don't bother. The paintings are okay.
Odessa history museum is pretty good. Some English in most rooms. A small extra bit on the Holodomor as well as the recent Ukrainian war.
Contraband museum is very good and interesting with an English guide book available.
Numismatic Museum. Just a room full of coins
Maritime museum/navy museum I think is actually a government building and the museum is just the statue/cannon outside.
Secret underground museum. Literally just a doorway going underground. You will need to book a tour prior to arriving. very good tour with bits about partisans, nuclear bunker and smuggling. museum information pairs well with quarantine museum.
There are flea markets on a Saturday and Sunday in Odessa.
The driving tours of Odessa are not worth it in my opinion as most of the things are walkable to and walking around Odessa is nice.
Odessa history museum is okay there is some English but not Alot but the building is. Nice.
Militzi police museum. No English whatsoever nice exhibits and attractive
Ukraine steppe museum. No English whatsoever.
Shah's Palace - literally just a building. You can't go in.
Vorontsov Palace - as of July 2019 I was unable to go in and there is building work on it and the Vorontsov columns
Literature Museum - garden and museum. As of July 2019 I was unable to go in the building part. the garden is probably not worth going into either.
Plane building/witches house. Maybe a 60 degree instead of 90 degree corner on a building. Not that impressive.
https://leodessa.com/ is a good blog of stuff to see in Odessa.
Gogol mogol is a nice authentic ukrainian restaurant slightly off the beaten track near the shahs Palace
Kharkiv
When I was there the Derzhprom Museum was closed, the sex research museum was closed, the Kharkiv museum was closed, the cathedral is worth looking at as is the ballet theatre as is freedom square/Dherzprom. The barbashoa market is crap. Literally just selling the same chinese crap for miles. the micro miniature musuem was open but it was more expensive than the one in Kiev. The soviet Opera house is worth looking at.Gorky Park is okay. But it's almost an amusement park now and you can't lie on the grass. Overall not worth going to as compared to Odessa, Lviv, Dneipro
£140 flights
£80 Chernobyl day visit
£60 trains between cities
approximately £200 living costs
total approximately £480 pounds
3 Days Kiev (one of which was Chernobyl) - 3 days Odessa- 1 day Karkov - 2 days Kiev - 9 days total
Kiev
transport
Use Uber/Uklon as cabs will try to rip you off.
If you need to get the bus use a company called autolux better quality than standard buses from city to city. the train to and from the airport is cheaper than the bus and gets you to a better location in Kiev. the metro and city buses and very cheap (30p a ride), frequent and prefectly adequate.
the Sleeper trains between cities are pretty much the same price as the buses but better (if a little slower).
Hostels
Friends forever hostel has a filter that allows you to drink tap water which other hostels don't necessarily have which saves maybe a pound or 2 a day. Buy large bottles of water instead of small ones to save money.
lipki globus hostel has a nice kitchen and bathroom space. I would recommend.
Food
Pazata hata (phonetic spelling) is a very cheap Ukrainian restaurant with good food.
Salo bar near the bessarabka Market is okay. Nice atmosphere and interesting food if a little expensive compared to Pazata hata.
the bessarabka market is worth going to and its a cheap, easy way of trying Salo instead of at an expensive restaurant.
you can do a bit of haggling with souvenir vendors about price.
Chernobyl
Bring your own lunch the one they give is over priced and okay quality. Also you're travelling a long time so its nice have something to eat on the journey. Some people in my group didn't eat parts of their lunch and I ate it (salad). You don't need over boots or the suit they sell as long as your sensible and follow instructions. Footwear - wear something with a smooth sole (less likely to get radioactive dirt trapped in your shoe) and the material of the shoe isn't porous (not suede, mesh, trainer) something rubber or leather would be best to stop dirt adhering to the shoe.
Don't rent a geiger counter. If you ask your tour guide nicely they may lend you theirs for bits of the tour. One chernobyl tour company offers a student discount.
Museums
Chornobyl museum. Probably not worth it if you intend to do a tour of Chornobyl. Relatively expensive audio guide is absolutely necessary for any language other than Ukranian.
Ukranian national history museum. Some English of the ground floor but after that very little English on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floor. Small part on the Holodomor as well as the recent Ukrainian war.
Mikhail bulgakov museum is quite artsy and you need a relatively expensive guide book. Would not recommend unless you love Mikhail Bulgakov.
A huge proportion of western European donated clothes end up in ukraine and kiev in particular.
Petrovka/petrivka market is mainly old books with a few soviet antiques. Not worth the trip
Lesnoy/lesnaya/lisova market worth it if you do want clothes although the majority of the stuff there is mediocre. There are some quite nice antique things as well. Worth going to.
Holodomor museum is not worth it as its just a room with a video loop of what the Holodomor was and some English subtitled videos from Survivors. You can get a similar effect from the room in the Ukrainian museum or the odessa museum.
Pechersk cave monastery is very interesting. The cave part closes at 4.30. The cathedral part was the most elaborate cathedral I saw in Ukraine. The Pechersk site holds the kiev microminiature exhibit which is good.
Andriyivskyy Descent is okay. a good place to see soviet antiques/pins as well as a wide array of souvenirs.
Saint Sophias cathedral is good. I wouldn't bother going to see the gate building at the back of the site but the cathedral is good as is the bell tower. Very nice views
Golden Gate is definitely worth going to. Interesting building.
the Kiev Fortress is an interesting place to walk around and there are museums but I did not go into them.
A reduced price joint ticket for Golden gate/St Cyril's cathedral/St Sophias cathedral can be bought it is particularly worth it if you are a student.
Student discount works a lot of the time in Ukraine in museums but not always and sometimes they want a specific Ukrainian uni card.
Odessa
July is busy in Odessa as there is a film festival and the Ukrainian summer holidays have started so it's busy. If you want to go when it's less busy go in perhaps April or May.
Archaeological museum is very good and has a lot of English explanations and a very good collection.
Museum of western art is okay. Quite small and alot of the statues are copies of those found in western museums (British museum, Louvre, Pergamon, Vatican, Berlin, Florence etc) so if you've been to them then perhaps don't bother. The paintings are okay.
Odessa history museum is pretty good. Some English in most rooms. A small extra bit on the Holodomor as well as the recent Ukrainian war.
Contraband museum is very good and interesting with an English guide book available.
Numismatic Museum. Just a room full of coins
Maritime museum/navy museum I think is actually a government building and the museum is just the statue/cannon outside.
Secret underground museum. Literally just a doorway going underground. You will need to book a tour prior to arriving. very good tour with bits about partisans, nuclear bunker and smuggling. museum information pairs well with quarantine museum.
There are flea markets on a Saturday and Sunday in Odessa.
The driving tours of Odessa are not worth it in my opinion as most of the things are walkable to and walking around Odessa is nice.
Odessa history museum is okay there is some English but not Alot but the building is. Nice.
Militzi police museum. No English whatsoever nice exhibits and attractive
Ukraine steppe museum. No English whatsoever.
Shah's Palace - literally just a building. You can't go in.
Vorontsov Palace - as of July 2019 I was unable to go in and there is building work on it and the Vorontsov columns
Literature Museum - garden and museum. As of July 2019 I was unable to go in the building part. the garden is probably not worth going into either.
Plane building/witches house. Maybe a 60 degree instead of 90 degree corner on a building. Not that impressive.
https://leodessa.com/ is a good blog of stuff to see in Odessa.
Gogol mogol is a nice authentic ukrainian restaurant slightly off the beaten track near the shahs Palace
Kharkiv
When I was there the Derzhprom Museum was closed, the sex research museum was closed, the Kharkiv museum was closed, the cathedral is worth looking at as is the ballet theatre as is freedom square/Dherzprom. The barbashoa market is crap. Literally just selling the same chinese crap for miles. the micro miniature musuem was open but it was more expensive than the one in Kiev. The soviet Opera house is worth looking at.Gorky Park is okay. But it's almost an amusement park now and you can't lie on the grass. Overall not worth going to as compared to Odessa, Lviv, Dneipro
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