Most hotels in Ukraine are old Soviet institutions where little has changed for decades, although in bigger cities many have been refurbished to a decent standard. In Kyiv, Odessa, Lviv and Yalta there are a good selection of modern European standard hotels.

A room in a private home is an excellent accommodation option in Ukraine as the people are friendly and hospitable, and prices tend to be far more reasonable. However, there is no organisation as such that arranges rooms in private homes. Instead, visitors can ask around, as the savings and greater comfort may be well worth the effort (as long as due caution is observed). Bus and train stations are usually the best places to find people advertising ‘kvartiry' (flats) or ‘komnati ‘(rooms).

Apartments are available for short-term let in larger cities, in particular in Kyiv and Odessa.

There are a growing number of hostels in Kyiv, Lviv, Yalta, Odessa, Chernivitsi, Uzhgorod, Kamyanets-Podilsky, Kharkiv and Balaclava (Sevastopol). They are all run by the Youth Hostel Association of Ukraine (see below), and while not all are of Western standard for hostels, they offer excellent value.

Campsites are available on the outskirts of cities.

Youth Hostel Association of Ukraine
PO Box 156, 01025 Kyiv, Ukraine
Tel: (44) 331 0260.
Website: www.hihostels.com.ua