Where to stay in Ukraine: Hotel vs flat

In Ukraine you can find a lot of good hotels where to stay but they may be not the best solution, especially if you don’t travel alone.

I suggest you to consider the idea to rent a flat instead to book an hotel’s room.
There are a plenty of companies which rent flats in many Ukrainian cities.

Everything you need to do is to give a look on the net, several weeks before your trip, and seek for words such as flats, Ukraine and so on…. in this way you will find a lot of sites where it is possible to rent a flat.
Or simply give a look to this post: Rent a flat in Ukraine.

Once you have found the right apartment, contact the company and find out if it is available for your dates.

If everything goes ok, they will may ask you to pay for the first day in advance (in general they ask to pay with credit card or using Western Union).
You will pay the other part once you will arrive in your flat. (a man or a woman will take the money and will give you the key).

About the location, everything depend on your wish, you can find flats in the main street as flats which are located not exactly in the center… Everything depend on the price.

The price of a flat can be between 20 and several hundred of dollars/day.
in average you can have a good flat (in the center) for 50 – 70 dollars (one room flat).

Payments are usually in Dollars or Hriyvna but sometimes they ask for Euro.

Good points

-You don’t pay for the number of people which will leave inside the flat but just for the flat itself.
-Flats are always bigger than any normal hotel’s room.
-You have a kitchen.
-The price can be also rather cheap especially if you travel not alone.

Bad points

-No breakfast and any other extra service which you can get in an hotel.
(some company provide some extra service, but in general you have to pay extra for it)
-Check in time, you can’t came when you want, you have to agree with the company.

Some advices

- When you find your flat, don’t hurry up to booking it immediately, try to look also on other sites, you may find the same identical flat for less.
- Bring with you the copy of you pre-payment.
- Book several weeks in advance, the best flats (the cheapest ones) are often already taken.

For to book a flat, visit:

List of sites where it is possible to rent a flat in Ukraine:
http://en.ukrlandia.com.ua/flats-ukraine

How to: Donetsk Airport, International departures

Once inside the terminal go directly to the second floor (International Departures).
Here you will find a large room where you can sit, buy some snack or ask information to your air company (at this floor there are the offices of Lufthansa, Austrian, Utair and Turkish airline; the other ones are on the first floor)
Here you can also weight your bag or if you need fill down a custom declaration, next to the balance you can find several customs declaration forms.

When will come the check in time, you will see the your flight number appear over the white door at the top of the room. (again next to the balance)

Cross the door and chose if to pass through the red or green corridor. If you don’t have anything to declare chose the green corridor.

Once passed the customs control, you can reach the check in counters.
Here they will issue you the boarding card, weight your luggage but they will not take it, you have to give your luggage later.

Now go on and pass the security check. After it you can finally get rid of your luggage giving it to the a man waiting for them. (about luggage, here is everything done by hand)

Finally you have to pass the passport control and reach the waiting room.

At the end of the waiting room, there also a duty free shop and some coffee bar.

Donetsk airport, control area(photo taken from the waiting room, after having passed the check in and all the other controls, here you can see how it looks like the “control-check in area”; these two boxes are the 2 passport control points seen from their back)

When will be the boarding time, a woman will pass through the waiting room calling for the flight.
Follow her and she will bring you and all other passengers downstairs where a bus will bring you to the plane.

More information about Donetsk airport

Donetsk airport official site:

http://airport.dn.ua

Guide to Donetsk Airport:
http://en.ukrlandia.com.ua/category/airport/donetsk-airport

How to: Donetsk Airport International arrivals

Once you get out of the plane, you will find a bus waiting for you; this bus will bring you to the entrance for international arrivals.

You will arrive in a room (much smaller than the one in Kyiv Boryspil) where you have to pass the passport control.
If you don’t have already the Immigration card, you can find a copy of it in this room, in general they are on the left, next to the wall.

Once you have passed the passport control, you have to turn on the left and well you should find your bag there, either on the floor or still on the track.
(Here there is not baggage claim as in Boryspil, everything is done by hand).

Finally with your bag, you have to pass the customs control and then passing through a door you will find yourself at the first floor (the hall) of the airport; here you will see people waiting for their dears and several taxi drivers anxious to bring you where you wish. Few step more and you will be outside of the terminal.

More information about Donetsk airport:

Donetsk airport official website:

http://airport.dn.ua

Guide to Donetsk Airport:
http://en.ukrlandia.com.ua/category/airport/donetsk-airport

How to: Immigration card

Once arrived in Ukraine, you have to fill out the Immigration card and present it, together with your passport, to the passport control.

Attention!

Remember to fill out both sides of it (arrival and departure).

The passport control officer will give you back the side called “departure”.
Keep it inside your passport for all your staying in Ukraine. You will have to give it back once you leave the Country.

The Immigration card is usually given already on the plane, if not you can find it at the airport just before the passport control.

Immigration card Ukraine

From point 1 to 6 you have to write down your Surname, Name, Citizenship, Date of birth, Sex (gender M/F) and Passport number.

Fill out point 7 only if you have got a visa, if not leave it empty; the same about point 8 fill it out only if you have children with you.

At point 9 you have to write down the Purpose of your journey: Tourism, Private, Business…

At point 10 you are asked to write down the address of the place where you will dwell in Ukraine.

For the last two points 11 and 12 you are asked to write your flight number (if you came with a plane) and then your signature.

Then you have to write the same identical things on the departure side, the only thing which you need to change is point 11 where you have to write the number of the flight that you are going to take. (if u take a plane of course).

One more thing
Write everything in capital letters, leaving the blanks between the words. Fill in the card with dark blue or black ink only.

In the following photo you can see a different model of immigration card:

Immigration card Ukraine

The difference you may notice are in the shape and most of all in the absence of some points in the “Departure” side:
Type, Visa#, Term of Visa” and “Children (name, date of birth)

Anyway there is not any difference in the way to fill out all the other points.
So just fill out as always all the required blanks.

Information about Visa

http://www.ukrlandia.com.ua/visto-ucraina

How to: Ukrainian train tickets

Train ticket Ukraine

1.

Поїзд Train
-№ Train number
-шифр Series
—————————–
Відправлення Departure
-число Day
-місяць Month
-години Hour
-хвил. Minute
—————————–
Вагон Carriage
- Number
-тип Class of accommodation
(Л 1class К 2class П 3class О 4class)
—————————–

Ціна, грн. Price,Hryvnia
Information about price
—————————–
Кількість осіб Number of people
—————————–
Вид документа
Information about the fare
(повний Full, дитячий Child’s…)
—————————–

2.

Route (es. Донецьк-Севастоп.)
Місця Place, Sit.
—————————–

3.

Other information about the price
—————————–

For further information, visit:

Ukrainian trains’ guide:
http://en.ukrlandia.com.ua/ukrainian-trains-guide