Ukraine » Getting to Kiev

 An approximate flight time to Kiev from London is 3.5 hours.

By Air

The main international airport in Kiev is Borispil, located 38km east of the city. From the UK, British Airways from London Heathrow, and Ukraine International Airlines from London Gatwick, operate non-stop flights to Kiev.The cheapest way to fly into Ukraine is through Kiev Borispol. The main international hubs for these flights are London, Paris, Amsterdam via BA and Air France/KLM, and Prague via CSA Czech Airlines; also Ukraine International, which code-shares on these routes with the respective carriers and another Ukrainian carrier AeroSvit. No low-cost carriers into Ukraine as yet (March 2006). There are several airlines which offer direct flights to cities like Odessa (MALEV, LOT, Austrian, CSA Czech Airlines), Kharkiv and L'Viv (LOT, Austrian Airlines), but they will be more expensive. Air Baltic flies to/from Riga (Latvia) and Vilnius (Lithuania).

By Train

International trains enter Ukraine from seven countries at more than 10 locations. You can get in Ukraine by train from any land-bordering neighbour. When coming from Europe you should spend some time changing rail wheels in order to adapt to different rail distance standard. Generally, in Ukraine a railway travel is much cheaper than plane, and is comparable (but probably cheaper) to bus or car travel. It will take at most a whole day to ride across the country, so unless you are in hurry take a train. It's a good practice to take long-distance trains, which are much more comfortable. Avoid cheap third-class travels if you're cautious of local experiences.

By Road

The main route into Ukraine from the West is via Poland the only 24 hour customs post is in Lvivska Oblast at a place called Kruskavetz, which as a 'place' is essentially just the customs post and it's not marked on most maps either. The nearest significant town on the Polish side is Przemysl, and its straight ford.

If you're in an EU registered car then make for the EU-passports, passport control section. Once through, just follow the main road towards Lviv/Lvov on the E40 - this is the route right across Ukraine to Kyiv (and thence on to the East). Stick to this the main towns on the way is Lviv/Lvov, Rivne, and Zhitomir. Other than that, take care on the road, which although the main East/West highway and the main road route into the EU, still remains in a miserable condition (surface-wise).There are inexpensive direct bus services to Lviv and Ivano-frankivsk from Poland. They usually offer a budget level of comfort.

By Sea

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.