My first trip to the Ukraine

[Jandar777]

Well folks I have just finished my first trip to the Ukraine, it was a short trip but it was certainly worth it. 

So I left the USA on Thursday afternoon and connected though JFK in NYC directly to Kiev.  The trip there was pretty uneventful, the flight was smooth and I didn't have any real problems at all going though Customs/Border Patrol in Kiev.  In fact the guy at the Border Patrol didn't say a word.  He took my tourist visa card that I filled out on the plane, my passport, stamped everything after some fiddling with the computer and boom I was done.  After that it was just collect my bag, pass it though an xray machine for customs and I was though. 

Now at this point I was of course WAY tired after the 9+ hour flight.  I was also a bit nervous and here was the first real test of how things would be done.  The plan for this trip was visit one special woman whom I have been emailing for months.  She arranged a taxi/driver to pick me up from the airport, arranged my flat in Kiev, and was supposed to be waiting for me at the flat with the owner for payment.  She said that the driver Dima would be waiting at the airport with a card with my name on it and had given me a description of him.  So just after picking up my bag sure enough I saw Dima, smiled, made eye contact and we went out to his car.  We then drove to the flat.  I paid Dima just what she asked me plus a little more for tip.  She was waiting there smiling for me in a blue dress.  We hugged for the first time she took my hand and we went up to the flat with the owner.  I paid for the agreed days in advance and he instructed us on how to get into the flat and she translated. 

After he left we kissed for the first time, in the flat, our first kiss she said with a smile.  I of course smiled back, fantastically pleased with having my trust in her prove true.  I of course was ready with backup plans should things not work out but they happened exactly as she stated.  We then took a short walking tour of the city near my flat.  I stayed Khreshatik Street not far from the Square of independence.  Unfortunately she had business she had to take care off that evening that she was not able to put off.  So our time on Friday was somewhat short.  This is just as well since I was insanely tired and needed time to get settled.  So I spent the rest of the day trying to get my sleep schedule to mesh with the local time.  Which honestly never happened the entire time I was there.

Recap of the trip:  Temperature =  HOT and humid the whole time except for a brief time the first night.

Day one:  We took a trip to a Ukrainian Ren Faire.  It was very entertaining but smaller than faires here, however they have BIG plans for it and the location was still partly under construction development with a large map of what was eventually going to be an extensive permanent faire location. 

Day Two:  We went to her flat, went to 'Dream Town' a mall type building with many different shops, miniature golf, bowling, and ice rink.  Pretty large and impressive.  Modern and not unlike most malls in the USA with the addition of the entertainment sites on the third floor.  At the end of the day after going all over the place we returned to her flat, watched the Simpsons (her favorite show) in Russian and she made me a tasty Ukrainian cheese pastry.  Ate Ice Cream and relaxed.

Day Three: We went to see several different sites all around near my flat.  Took many pictures, kissed on the kissing bridge, went to her favorite restaurant for sushi. 

Day Four: Somewhat of a short day, spent the evening together, randomly ran into one of her friends.  The evening was a bit cooler but I had to call it an early night since I had a short flight the next day.

The only disappointments with the trip were the weather, it was insanely hot and the flat did not have AC, just a fan which is not at all uncommon.  I did not get to spend as much time as we would have liked together due to a leak in the flap to floors above hers.  This required her to stay home a bit and caused a late start of our day on Day 2 and Day 3.  She had to make arrangements for contacting the people, contacting maintenance, getting hot water turned BACK on again... she was without hot water for 2 days while I was there. 

The good things, her...  She was everything I had hoped for and more.  We spent a very long time talking and I learned much more about her.  We had long conversations about our past relationships, growing up, and the usual things where people get to know each other better.  The whole trip was not unlike the start of a typical relationship in the USA.  Short first date, longer fun 2nd date, more intimate third date/stay at home.  And 3rd and fourth date of doing this together.  It was about say the first two or three weeks of a typical relationship over an extended weekend.  I asked her to be my girlfriend and she agreed. 

Now we have to plan our next trip together.  Of course this will be a vacation for the two of us together someplace.  We both agreed that Italy will be a good location.  Though when is a big question mark since I will not be able to do anything for a least a few months.   Luckliy for me she has a government job, she has her own flat, and getting a tourist visa for her will be much easier than for others. 

So now just the wait and missing her.  We will work and do our normal life things until next we can get together again.  I learned a lot from the trip and honestly I am glad I went when I did for the duration that I did.  A shorter trip for me was easier to deal with and with the 'terrible heat' as she would say, the short trip was a good option.  We kissed, held hands constantly, cuddled, and gave each other shoulder massages.  As I said everything you would have expected on the start of a relationship in 4 days.

The trip back was a bit of the same, though I connected though Prague.  My checked baggage got hung up in JFK and I STILL don't have it, should be back today at some point delivered to my house. 

That's it.  I know it's not an insanely long trip report as some and lacks some details.  It is the essence of the trip though.





 

[Shadow]

Sounds like a very positive trip.
One question.... are her parents living in Kiev or somewhere else ?

[Faux Pas]

When are you going back?

[ML]

Now we have to plan our next trip together.  Of course this will be a vacation for the two of us together someplace.  We both agreed that Italy will be a good location.  Though when is a big question mark since I will not be able to do anything for a least a few months.   Luckliy for me she has a government job, she has her own flat, and getting a tourist visa for her will be much easier than for others.

- - - - - - -

Don't be so sure that she can get a tourist visa to Italy.

To reduce the visa anxiety of your first trip together, I would suggest you think about going to a place where there will be zero visa anxiety.  I can highly recommend both Turkey and Egypt, with Turkey higher up on my recommended list.  Israel is now a viable option also, but I haven't been there yet, so can't give any recommendation.

But good trip report.  Thanks for sharing.

[daveyj]

Barbados, Jamaica and the Dominican are visa exempt (or visa on arrival) for Ukrainians.  The airline ticket costs you both to those destinations would be the same as the ticket cost for you both to Turkey or Egypt (since you are in the USA).  And those destinations have far more cachet and are viewed as quite exotic by Ukrainians.  You can get a round trip ticket with minimal layover to either of those destinations from Kiev for approx $1500.  If you have questions about finding suitable flights from Kiev, feel free to pm me.

[ECOCKS]

Grats on your trip results in Ukraine!

Always prudent to plan on alternatives.

Rather than Turkey or Egypt, which may be good warm alternatives when travel time comes, maybe consider Bulgaria or Poland. They are easier for Ukrainians and nothing wrong with looking over Sofia or checking into skiing in the Tatra or Zakopane. Additionally, if you need to build a travel record it helps to make them progressively more difficult. Poland and Bulgaria are NOT visa free, but require application and approval which always looks good to the next consular officer evaluating the app.

[ML]

Barbados, Jamaica and the Dominican are visa exempt (or visa on arrival) for Ukrainians.  The airline ticket costs you both to those destinations would be the same as the ticket cost for you both to Turkey or Egypt (since you are in the USA).  And those destinations have far more cachet and are viewed as quite exotic by Ukrainians.  You can get a round trip ticket with minimal layover to either of those destinations from Kiev for approx $1500.  If you have questions about finding suitable flights from Kiev, feel free to pm me.

Davey, what is the situation with direct flights vs need to change planes on the way from Kyiv to Barbados, Jamaica, DR, etc.  Won't the Ukrainian ladies have visa problems if they have to change planes in Frankfurt, Paris, London, etc.?

And, won't the resort costs for these places be quite a bit more than the Turkey, Egypt destinations?

[daveyj]

There are no direct flights, but the tickets would be for connecting flights. Thus the baggage is transferred automatically, and the passenger doesn't need to leave the security area and thus no visa is needed.

The challenge is to find flights that have minimal layovers, as sometimes you end up with an overnight layover in the airport, or a total travel time of 30 hours or something horrible.

In the cases I mentioned, one can find trips with minimal layovers in both directions for a total flight time (including layover) of between 12 and 18 hours for various trips.

The average resort in Turkey/Egypt is indeed cheaper than the average resort in Barbados/Jamaica/Dominican.  However you can find some quite good deals in the Dominican.  And the quality of service and the overall tourist experience is much better in the carribean resorts. 

I'd be inclined more towards Turkey June-Aug, Egypt April-Oct, and the Carribbean the rest of the year.

The other two benefits of the Carribbean for those who live in North America is that for those who have limited vacation days it is slight more efficient since the travelling and recovery time is less.  And the Carribean is viewed as quite an exotic destination for those from Eastern Europe.

I will say however, that if the lady is not traveling directly from Kiev (or Moscow/St.Pete's) then you should consider the added flight required to get to one of those 3 cities, and also understand that you'll probably need to book that extra flight separately (with a second checkin at the big airport).

[Jandar777]

Sounds like a very positive trip.
One question.... are her parents living in Kiev or somewhere else ?

She was raised by her grandparents who live ~ 4 hours away to the west of Kiev.  However she has had contact with her Mother and Father recently.  In fact I just barely missed meeting her Mom when I visited her flat with her.  Unfortunately she had to leave earlier than she expected so I didn't get the chance to meet her.  I am not sure where her Mother and Brother are currently living.  Someplace on the outskirts of Kiev or maybe with her grandparents. 

When are you going back?

I would say that the most likely it will be Christmas.  I already have the Christmas week scheduled off and have researched ticket prices and they are about what I paid to go this time.  Maybe a little less actually.  Earliest I could possibly go back would be Oct/Nov just due to the way vacation scheduling works at my work. 

Don't be so sure that she can get a tourist visa to Italy.

To reduce the visa anxiety of your first trip together, I would suggest you think about going to a place where there will be zero visa anxiety.  I can highly recommend both Turkey and Egypt, with Turkey higher up on my recommended list.  Israel is now a viable option also, but I haven't been there yet, so can't give any recommendation.

But good trip report.  Thanks for sharing.

I did mention to her the possible difficulty with getting a tourist visa to Italy.  She seemed pretty sure the fact that she had her own flat and a government job would be enough to get the approval when booked though a tourist agency.  She has many contacts with agencies though her work as well and she is going to do some research on options on her end.

As for the replies referencing Turkey/Egypt and Barbados/Jamaica/Dominican.  Good information all.  As I said earlier I'll let her research and see what the travel agencies she has contact with say about her chances of getting a tourist visa are.  I would say my preference for our next trips would be for me to visit over christmas.  Then after the new year plan a trip to Jamaica/Barbados.  I'll have a fresh amount of vacation time after the new year and I can also not be a slacker and get my tax return out of the way promto and be able to use that to help out with the trip. 

Thanks for all of the replies all :-). 

[daveyj]

I would say that the most likely it will be Christmas.  I already have the Christmas week scheduled off and have researched ticket prices and they are about what I paid to go this time.  Maybe a little less actually. 

Keep an eye on the changes in ticket prices - once they start to inch up, they don't go back down. They eventually skyrocket the as xmas gets closer and flights are booked up.

[ML]

I just checked for December - January.
Cost of round trip from Kyiv to DR is in excess of $4,000!!!!!

And, it involves 4 legs.  Kyiv - London; London - Newark;  Newark - Netherlands Antilles;
Netherlands Antilles - DR.

How did you pull this off for $1,500 Davey?

[daveyj]

 I don't know what airport you're flying into the Dominican, but you want to go into Punta Cana.  It is the main tourist destination, and thus this is where the European flights land.  If you go to Santo Domingo (the capital) or Puerto Plata (the 2nd biggest tourist destination), then you'll have a lot more difficulty.  Also, there are frequently big differences in the days of the week (if an airline only has 5x weekly flights, etc). 

The flight you want is the 6:30am Ukraine International, connecting with the Air France Paris to Punta Cana.  There is also a new one with Condor/Lufthansa, Kiev to Frankfurt to Punta Cana.

I just did a search on Expedia (don't book the airline or a travel agent, go to one of the discount sites) for a Sunday Dec 5 departure, Dec 12 return and the prices for the two options described above were both below $1400 usd.

However identical flights Dec 19 to 26 were $1500 and $1900 (air france, vs lufthansa) Presumably due to the holiday premium. Since a Jan 9 to 16 trip was back at $1400 usd.

[ML]

Davey, thanks.  I was using some other airport, don't know which.
And I didn't use the Sundays that you did.
When I put in the PUJ airport and a time period of last week in December to late first week in January, the price was still over $2000; but better than the $4000!!

Still quite a bit more than meeting in Turkey; considering the flight costs for both persons.

And in my case, I actually have more time off and am more flexible than the potential women for such a meeting.

[Gylden]

Davey, thanks.  I was using some other airport, don't know which.
And I didn't use the Sundays that you did.
When I put in the PUJ airport and a time period of last week in December to late first week in January, the price was still over $2000; but better than the $4000!!

Still quite a bit more than meeting in Turkey; considering the flight costs for both persons.

And in my case, I actually have more time off and am more flexible than the potential women for such a meeting.

If your interested in Turkey, we can give you the "low down" after our trip. My wife and I are going for three weeks in Sept. To the Lycian coast.

[ML]

If your interested in Turkey, we can give you the "low down" after our trip. My wife and I are going for three weeks in Sept. To the Lycian coast.

I have been 3 times to resorts in that area:  Antalya, Kemer and Bodrum.
But I will be happy to get any other 'low down.'  :-)

[Gylden]

I have been 3 times to resorts in that area:  Antalya, Kemer and Bodrum.
But I will be happy to get any other 'low down.'  :-)

Well you could maybe give me the "low down" then.. . We are planning to stay in Kas and Kalkan and make a trip to Pamukkale among others.

[ML]

Well you could maybe give me the "low down" then.. . We are planning to stay in Kas and Kalkan and make a trip to Pamukkale among others.

Check your PM