I've just booked an apartment for a couple of nights in Kiev for the weekend of England v Sweden and they want me to pay a 50% deposit, which is fair enough. The thing is they've emailed me a form to fill in with credit card details etc and they want me to send them a photo copy of my credit card and passport. This seems a little bit strange to me. Does anyone know if this is a normal request in Ukraine or is someone trying to rip me off?
Re: Kiev Apartment Question I would never do it. There are companies that does it the normal way use those instead.
Re: Kiev Apartment Question I am really not sure about this all - I have tried booking in the Ukraine and it seems all very insecure and unclear. I wouldn't be surprised if I turn up and my down payment is gone and no place to stay. I would love the Ukraine and the UEFA to do mire public relations on this. People are talking about Camp-Sites and new trains - why is there no official website? It is so easy to inform people these days...you can be sure that people will spend a lot of money during the Euro (drinks, food, travel..) no reason to rip everyone off - it doesn't leave a good impression. (Youth hostels want 10times the ammount they normally want! that is just crazy)
Re: Kiev Apartment Question Has anybody checked select-a-room.com. Not very confortable but with reasonable pricing ... just hoping that everything turns out as described!? Anybody knowing this site?
Re: Kiev Apartment Question is there any chance to find accommodation in kiev for less than 30EUR/night ?
Re: Kiev Apartment Question I very much doubt it. I've been struggling to find anything for much less than 200 per night during the weekend of England v Sweden.
Re: Kiev Apartment Question Yeah, talk to local cops, they will even provide transportation in "bobik" free of charge. On a more serious note, it might be possible if you speak Russian/Ukrainian, are a bit more adventurous and willing to make a sacrifice on location otherwise you will be competing with the rest highpaying foreigners.
Re: Kiev Apartment Question This is a sort of whine but if a competition like this was held in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Finland the prices would be the same for everyone. Find it quite annoying that in this so called "european community" people are treated differently. This is a sign of that the EU and all sorts of hope for real friendship/brotherhood is totally futile. I'm not saying that it's the worst thing ever but it goes totally against what the politicians all around europe is trying to force onto it's population. I'm talking about different prices for tourist and the locals. When you stop a cab I expect not to be ripped off just because I'm on vaccation.
Re: Kiev Apartment Question When you stop a cab, your goal is to pay the least, drivers goal is to charge you the most. If you have no knowledge how much you should pay, that is too bad for you and you will most likely have to make up for that knowledge by shelling out more cash. If you both agree on a price and you receive the service, it's not a ripoff in my books regardless of what that price is relative to the market value of the service. When you rent an apartment; If you are dealing thru an agency, you pay extra for convinience. It is also perfectly normal for a person who knows english to command better pay than one who doesn't (everything else being equal) If you travel to another country especially 3rd world country, you are bound to pay more than locals. The key here is to find fine balance between minimizing that overpaying and not stressing out about it too much or else your vacation will not be as pleasant.
Re: Kiev Apartment Question Yes but I dont think the line is so clear. Do you think a person that enters a cab and has a hard time communicating with the driver should be able to be charged a million dollars for a cab fair that should cost around 10 dollars? Lets say I'm a tourist and I know the cab fair costs 10 dollars but every cabdriver refuses to take me just because I'm not from Ukraine. To me its quite clear that it would be a case of discrimation "overly used word and I don't mean it's something horrible". But in general I agree with you though on should let the market take care of it. That was me ranting a little bit... now move on=)
Re: Kiev Apartment Question If you know the fare cost and are not in a rush, you should absolutely be able to get a cab for not more than 110% of that cost within 3-4 cars. If you don't then something is not right. Chances are you are wrong on what the fare should be. This past summer, when I was in Kiev I was trying to catch a ride for which I always had paid 40 uah within no more than 2 cars stopped. But that day was raining. Sounds like no big deal, but cab drivers assume that you are going to pay extra for not getting wet. I ended up paying 55 uah on 6th or 7th car. Good thing I was on my own. Had I been with a girl even just female friend, I would not be surprised if I ended up paying north of 80 uahs. This would be the driver's thought process; Look at those 2 all getting soaked in the rain, I'll bet you the guy will pay up for keeping his wife/gf/mistress dry or he might not even get any tonight. Hmmmmm 100 uah is due to be a good starting negotiating point. Just got to point out that they both look like miserable pieces of dung in that rain.
will try to answer any (serious) quesions on Ukraine, e.g. accomodation, travel, safety, things to do in between the games, voltage, SIM cards etc.-etc. basically my 2 cents in trying to make you more comfortable with idea of spending three weeks of your life in this beautiful and friendly, yet still quite a bit... emm... let's say "quirky" country. encourage my fellow countrymen to contribute please
That's a very generous offer mi5m - thanks ! 4 of us are planning to be in Kiev and Doentsk for a little while. As others have mentioned, accommodation is a bit sparse ! So where would you recommend to stay just outside of these places ? We are looking for somewhere where transport into the city is very quick / easy / cheap. Loads more questions - but one at a time eh ? Rich
Kiev - the best bet is probably to stay in the city. For the 4 people the most practical option must be to rent a fully furnished flat for a short term. The flat typicaly comes with linen, utensils, internet connection and a cleaning service if you stay more then a couple of days. It is fairly common in Ukraine as it is, but during Euro2012 the offer will be increased dramatically. There is a fair bit of agencies out there offering this type of accomodation - google with caution. But generally this is quite common/clean/safe option. You could also try Boryspol, Brovary or Vyshgorod -all satellite cities of Kiev, but frankly they are shabby and grey, nothing to do or see. Plus level of English will decrease dramatically. Kiev on the other hand is very walkable and center is nice to explore, have a beer of coffee outdoors. If you stay in Kiev best transportation is by metro, which is cheap, clean and functional. If in the suburbs - your choice is small buses or "marshrutka", which are dirt cheap but you would be required to speak a few words of Ukrainian/Russian to pay the fare or ask the driver to stop. In summary - there should not be a reason for venture out of Kiev, you could most likely get a decent flat inside city limits and not be terribly ripped off. Donetsk is a bit of a problem however. In another thread I was recommending to another traveller to check out Dnepropetrovsk or Zaporozhye (Zaporizhya). Both are big cities with int'l airports and a few hotels. They are not as spoilt by Euro as Donetsk is, so hotels are still available, even a couple on booking.com. For transport you would be able to hire a local driver for a trip to/from the stadium for around usd 50/person but you would probably save as much on accomodation. Downside is travel time of 2.5-3 hrs one way. As alternative again try to look at fully furnished flats. The availability in Donetsk however is lower then in Kiev.
If it's four of you, and you are real adventurous, you could try renting a car and basing yourself in Mariupol. Mariupol is a seaside tourist resort, so they will have much more accommodation than Donetsk, where the hotels are empty 90% of the time. It's about two hours from Donetsk, but a good distance from Kiev. Lots of train connections, because the main line to Moscow goes through Donetsk. Otherwise Poltava would be a decent base for the entire, especially if you have a car. It's 6 hours roughly to Donetsk, but the road isn't great. Four and a half to Kiev. It's a fairly nice city as well with tree lined streets and friendly people who speak a funny mix of Ukrainian and Russian.
domestic flights in Ukraine are fine and basically on par with lower end of European carriers. since 5-7 years ago passenger flights in Ukraine are dominated by Aerosvit group (Aerosvit, Donbassaero, Dniproavia) or Ukraine Int'l airlines. The good news - fleet and quality have increased substantially, the bad news - prices are high, compared to markets with true low cost airlines. Both Ukrainian airlines are flying Boeing/Airbus/Embraer, which are not new but are of reasonable age. There is a couple of Antonov's operated by Aerosvit, but those are brand new and worlds apart from the (in)famous An-24's. As long as you stick to these two airlines, the quality and safety wll be fine (and frankly I don't think your travel agent will offer you any other option).
Accomodation and travel are a long story, but I can try to tell you about safety and other things. First of all don't think that Ukraine is a criminal country, that's not try, if you won't be drunk and try to avoid dark and suspicious places everything would be fine. Don't drink in a pablic places (even beer) that's prohibited. We have 220 V voltage in Ukraine and there are 2 main mobile operator MTS and Kyivstar (you had better bay one of them hire, that's would be cheep and comfortably
Is English widely spoken in Kiev (for example by taxi drivers, staff in bars, hotels etc) or would it be a good idea to buy a phrase book?
bars, hotels - yes. street - one in three people will speak passable English, especially younger crowd. also understand organizers are planning to have a few uniformed stewards/hosts during Euro2012 at least in the center. taxi - mostly no. It is always advisable to fix price at the beginning, suggest you carry pen and paper and write down the number you are willing to pay, or get him/her to write it down. police, government - mostly no, suggest having a phone number of your hotel handy in case of any questions or issues. ... and as always if you want to show a bit of respect, learn a couple of basic Ukrainian words. You might even get a smile back
Staff in restaurans and hotel have to know english (at least common words and phrases) but ouer drivers are not so awareness, and I think only few of them knew language
Re: Kiev Apartment Question Thanks 2 questions: 1 How soon can a person book train tickets? Can I book them now for travel in June 2012? 2 I am staying in Ukraine for 10 days. I need to travel to Kiev and Donetsk (twice). I am considering basing myself in Yalta and travelling to games on overnight trains 1st class (2 sharing). I know the journeys are long, but it reduces the nights in hotels. Is it sensible to have Yalta/Simpferopol as a base?
Re: Kiev Apartment Question 1) You can book a train ticket not earlier than 45 days before the day of the departure 2) As for me staying in Yalta during the tournament would be not the better option, becouse it is very difficult to buy ticket there especially in summer and that ofcourse it won't be comfortable, you won't feel all euro 2012 spirit