Visiting Kiev (Kyiv)
Kiev is the city where the new and the ancient create excellent possibilities for cultural and aesthetic exploration. Nevertheless, before you visit this fabulous city, take some time to decide on at least two things: accommodation and transport.
Let us discuss picking an apartment. Start by considering what you can afford and personal preference, you could either choose to rent a room in a Kiev hotel, or rent an apartment. Mind the class of Kiev hotels to evaluate the comfort you require and the price you can afford.
The Ukrainian capital has a number of five and four star hotels. There are literary dozens of less chic Kiev accommodation opportunities. A five star hotel is going to cost you around $400-850 per night, 4 stars will be around $150-$500, three stars will cost you about $70-300, two stars will be from $50 to 120 and 1 star hotels cost around 25-100 per 24 hours.
There are also several hostels in Kiev for youth. In a regular hostel you will find unpretentious but fresh accommodation and several beds in one room.
If you want to spare some money, you can rent an apartment. Instead of a small hotel room for about $90-150 you could get an excellent flat in the city center. Single room cheep flats can be rent for no more than $50. Some owners that allow you to rent this kind of Kyiv apartments might as well meet you at the airport. The rule of thumb of here is to reserve the apartment some days ahead.
In case you are pressed for money or would like to have something more extreme, you may rent sleeping space inside a train compartment. There is a train depot not far from the train station ?Karavaevy dachi? where you may negotiate a sleeping place for some $15. Try the option at your own risk.
Surely few people come to Kiev to spend their time indoors. This city with over two million inhabitants has lots of wonderful places of interest if you are able to find your way around. Do not worry, though. The system of public transport is quite appropriate.
The most convenient way to move around is Kiev taxis. the driver will take you from the station to your hotel or apartment for no more than $35. In fact, for a visitor from the European Union or the US, the taxi service should be reasonably inexpensive. It is easy to taxi Kiev around. However, if you do not plan on using only taxis in Kyiv, the city offers lots of transportation options.
In the first place, it is the metro that can get you almost anywhere in the city. It is very suitable when you travel a long way on the hot hours when there are traffic jams on the roads. Second of all, you can use buses, trolley busses and trams. These types of transport are quite cheep: you are charged a fixed amount to drive any distance. Nevertheless, they don't have a schedule of passage. Next, you can travel afoot or use Kiev's unique transport - funicular that escalates the bank of the Dnieper. And finally, you can simply walk around.
Come to Kyiv. This city disposes of plenty of entertainments to impress a curious visitor.