Kiev airport

Cheap Hotel

Question:

I have a few days off work. Desperate to go to Naples (but too expensive), thought about Dubai (but too far for a few days) so booked the obvious alternative: Kiev. Kiev. Very cheap seat but its on a dodgy airline run on Stalinist principles with a dreadful service record (yes its BA from Gatwick).Just teasing!! Now I have booked Kiev I am chicken. Does anyone know what the sensible way to get downtown from the airport is? All the online guides say don’t use local taxis & public transport is erratic- which doesn’t leave many options really. Come to think of it does anyone know about any hotels (none of the international chains are there). I rather liked the look of the Hotel Lybid. Has anyone got any advice (preferably not of the don’t go variety please)

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have a few days off work. Desperate to go to Naples (but too > expensive), > thought about Dubai (but too far for a few days) so booked the obvious > alternative: Kiev. > Kiev. Very cheap seat but its on a dodgy airline run on Stalinist > principles > with a dreadful service record (yes its BA from Gatwick).Just > teasing!! > Now I have booked Kiev I am chicken. Does anyone know what the > sensible way to > get downtown from the airport is? All the online guides say don’t use > local > taxis & public transport is erratic- which doesn’t leave many options > really. > Come to think of it does anyone know about any hotels (none of the > international chains are there). I rather liked the look of the Hotel > Lybid. > Has anyone got any advice (preferably not of the don’t go variety > please)

First, don’t forget to get a visa. Not cheap and can be a hassle. Hotels in Kyiv (Ukrainian spelling) are expensive for what you get. Better to rent a private apartment for about 50 US$ / night. (IKEA style) Kyiv is a wonderful city. Enjoy. Sjoerd

Response:

hmmm… chicken…Kiev?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have a few days off work. Desperate to go to Naples (but too expensive), > thought about Dubai (but too far for a few days) so booked the obvious > alternative: Kiev. > Kiev. Very cheap seat but its on a dodgy airline run on Stalinist principles > with a dreadful service record (yes its BA from Gatwick).Just teasing!! > Now I have booked Kiev I am chicken. Does anyone know what the sensible way to > get downtown from the airport is? All the online guides say don’t use local > taxis & public transport is erratic- which doesn’t leave many options really. > Come to think of it does anyone know about any hotels (none of the > international chains are there). I rather liked the look of the Hotel Lybid. > Has anyone got any advice (preferably not of the don’t go variety please)

Response:

>Come to think of it does anyone know about any hotels (none of the > international chains are there). I rather liked the look of the Hotel >Lybid. > Has anyone got any advice (preferably not of the don’t go variety please)

I was in Kiev for 6 weeks in 1994. The people there are generally nice but there are definitely no free lunches or favors — you have to tip everybody, and I mean everybody, from the woman who sits at the desk in the hotel and takes your keys to the customs official who’s deciding whether or not to hassle you. Tip in US$, not coupons. A nice, relatively cheap hotel is the Red Star Hotel, in the main square of town catty-corner from the gigantic "post office" (old KGB outpost, according to locals). There is a very expensive hotel that does not advertise itself and is quite luxurious for Kiev, all the tobacco company execs and diplomats stay there, and I wish I knew its name, but I don’t — ask anyone who works with RJ Reynolds, Phillip Morris, etc. There is a store called just The Swiss Store, off the main boulevard through town, and it takes US$ and sells Diet Coke and stuff like that. The airport is scary and weird, it’s true (especially compared to Zurich). I remember a lot of cardboard and no chairs and no automatic anything, and just sitting on the floor waiting for the guy to bring out the luggage. I never saw any real "taxis", just locals who showed up with cars and would drive you somewhere for money. In _general_ most people (who were not in the mob) seemed way too tired to be ripping people off and assaulting people, etc. I definitely would avoid ANY Ukranian who either: 1) Wears a jogging suit, especially a "flashy" Adidas thing. 2) Has a cell phone. 3) Seems very nicely dressed. Because that’s a person in the mob, guaranteed. The trickiest part of the whole deal is getting from/to the airport, and you just have to kind of roll the dice and go with your gut on that one, and just be very nice and respectful. But, if you stay in a hotel on the main square (I think it’s called Independence Square), then you’re set. You can walk to all or most of the sites, you can walk to the Swiss Store for food, you can buy bread and salami every morning and afternoon from the street vendors in the square. You can take the tram-like thing to St Sophia and some other places, and usually somebody who works at the hotel has a brother or sister who has a car and will take you back to the airport for a price. Kiev’s not a "dream vacation" — it’s a "real experience" you might come to appreciate more than a vacation (I have). –Helen