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Kiev-Pecherska Lavra Monastery

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Kiev Local time

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Ukraine

Travel to Kiev

Flying to Kiev

Airline offering flights to Kiev from the UK include British Airways, Wizz Air, Ukraine International and KLM. Cheap flights to Kiev are provided by no-frills airlines such as Wizz Air.

Flight times: 

From London - 3 hours 30 minutes.

Travel by road

Summary:

Traffic drives on the right. Speed limits in and around Kiev are 60kph (37mph) in built-up areas, 90kph (55mph) in outside areas and 130kph (80mph) on the motorways. An international driver's licence is required to drive in Ukraine, but driving can be challenging as nearly all signs are in Cyrillic only. Right-hand drive cars are prohibited. If you hire a car in the country, your rental provider should be able to give you full details of what to do if you break down.

Emergency breakdown service:

Ukrainian Transport Police (tel: 04 or 05).

Coaches:

The Central Bus Station is on Moskovskaya Square close to Libydksa metro and is the terminus for most local and some domestic and international routes. Buses also run to and from Boryspil airport to other major cities in Ukraine including Kharkhiv (7 hours) and Odessa (8 hours).

Autolux Transport Company (tel: (044) 536 0055; www.autolux.ua/english) runs domestic bus services in Ukraine. Lviv Inturtrans (tel: (044) 238 2731; http://lviv-inturtrans.com) offers weekly connections to Italy, France and the Netherlands, while Kiev Grand (tel: (044) 486 5908; www.avtobus.kiev.ua) offers regular connections to Germany and the Czech Republic.

Travel by rail

Services:

Kiev has an excellent rail network starting at the Central Railway Station. Fast 'firmeny' trains are the most rapid, modern and comfortable trains. Tickets are cheap by UK standards. If travelling by overnight train, do not leave the compartment unattended.
Every large Ukrainian town has a railway station and there are 15 daily ‘domestic' connections to Moscow and one to St Petersburg. The most popular daily international routes are Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Budapest and Vienna, most of which take at least a full 24 hours. Trains to Central Asia and Caucasus run to less reliable timetables. The Central Railway Station is next to the Vokzalna metro.

Operators:

The rail network in Kiev is run by the national rail company Ukrzaliznytsia (tel: (044) 465 4682; www.uz.gov.ua).

Journey times:

From Moscow – 14 hours; St Petersburg – 24 hours.

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