First Time Travels Checklist - Kiev

[Beachboy4u2c]

Hello All,
 
Well, I've finally decided to remove the fence pole, to stop talking about it and finally take my first trip to Kiev this October.    In preparation I'm trying to assemble a check list of things I would have wished I had...or steps I wished I would have taken, had I made the trip first before leveraging the experiences of the generous members here.  What steps/items would you consider compulsory for my first trip?  A voltage converter?  What about cell phone preparations?  Anything I need to do with my credit card to assure its functionality while I'm there?  I apologize if there's already a thread in existance which covers this....please direct me.
 
Thanks in advance to all for your support...and I'll be sure to probably add to my own list upon my return while assembling my Trip Report. 
 
 
Dave

[ML]

First, get rid of that 6 pack.  The Kyiv ladies don't like men who look like that! 

And the city is Kyiv, not Kiev; unless you  plan to travel back in time. 

[alex330]

Contact you cell provider to see if you will have service in Ukraine (give them model as well). Give them notice if so and add an international package temporarily if available. My Verizon works fine there. Most cell chargers accept 220 volt. Check yours. You may be able to get by with just an adapter and not converter.

Call your credit card companies and give them a travel warning. Some may not work, and the ones that do may not work in all places. AMEX is not big over there.
Bring clean, crisp bills to exchange.

[Muzh]

Regarding volt converter, most of your power cables have a voltage converter that can, and will handle their electrical configuration so all you'll need is a plug adapter. You can find them in any Radio Shack. From experience.
 
Regarding phones. Find a cheap and unlocked QUAD BAND on the net. You can get one for $50 and it will come handy on your following trips. OR you can buy a smartphone there for about $200. Problem with smartphones is that they work only in the city. You don't have to get into any contracts with phone companies. You pay a ~$25 fee to start your account and then it is a pay-as-you-go deal. They have ATM-looking machines all over where you insert money to recharge your phone. Pretty simple. If you use your American plan you will end up paying a lot more, and I mean a lot. Even the international SIM cards for sale at the airports are more expensive.
 
Calling your credit card is a very good idea. AMEX is not that 'welcome' in UA. Bring cash. Cash is always good. Make sure the bills are new or crispy. Nothing written on them. Kyiv is a very expensive city. Taxi fares are posted right outside Terminal B (main terminal) so pay close attention to that.
 
Are you going by yourself?

[Hammer2722]

On my first trip, I just bought a local cheap cell phone plus a SIM card and some minutes. The cost for all was about 50 bucks total. this way you can always use it on future trips without any hassles.

[Beachboy4u2c]

Thanks for all the generous and useful tips, folks.
 
Alex - Yes, I'll be flying in alone but meeting my girl who's coming in from Lugansk earlier that day and for the duration of my stay there. Surely the most beautiful site I'll see in Kyiv or any other city. 
 
Does anyone have any recommendations towards lodging that's close to the center of the city with "reasonable" rates? Don't necessarily need the Hyatt, but would prefer to stay somewhere that's clean and comfortable, yet doesn't conform completely to "western tastes"....hey, I'm there to appreciate and enjoy the culture of Ukraine, I can always take the Hyatt/Marriott route right here at home.
 
Thanks again, everyone!

[alex330]

Does anyone have any recommendations towards lodging that's close to the center of the city with "reasonable" rates? Don't necessarily need the Hyatt, but would prefer to stay somewhere that's clean and comfortable, yet doesn't conform completely to "western tastes"....hey, I'm there to appreciate and enjoy the culture of Ukraine, I can always take the Hyatt/Marriott route right here at home.
 

Just google apartment rentals in Kiev. So many and they are much nicer and cheaper than hotels.

Check out Independence Square, the War Memorial with Motherland Statue, and the subway (deepest in the world I think).
If you guys are clicking carry your girl through the arches in Independence Square. They say it ensures a happy future.

[LAman]

Good luck in Kiev...one question....what will be living arrangements with girl? A 2 bedroom??? Will you need an interpreter?
 
There are plenty of sites to rent an apt. It is getting late if you want a certain one. I just rented one from uavoyage.com recently for a couple days in october.....I have never tried them before but it one that you can see availability and pricing instantly.
 
If you want to have nice dinner. I like Koleso ....it is a restaurant on the river.

[Jack]

Does anyone have any recommendations towards lodging that's close to the center of the city with "reasonable" rates?

Reasonable rates?   If you want reasonable rates I would not suggest you doing a google search. If you goodle flat rentals in Kiev you will get  flat rental agencies.    Check out other resources on rwd.  You will find other sources will be $35 and $40 LESS per day for the SAME flats the flat rental agencies will be renting.

Many of the flat rental agencies will be charging $110,$120,$130 a day for flats that others rent for $65, $70, $75.

With you going in October you will have no problem renting flats, most flats will be available as few foreigners will be there in October compared to the previous 6 months.

[Beachboy4u2c]

Awesome tips and suggestions...please keep 'um coming folks.
 
LAman - She's fluent in English and a one bedroom should be fine. 
 
Jack - I appreciate the tip, and that makes a lot of sense.  Any ideas or direction as to which specific other resources I could leverage?
 
Less than one month and counting..... 

[clancyhound]

If you bring cash - make sure your bills are perfect or brand new.  Anything less than perfect you run the risk of having a difficult time changing them at a bank.

My experience is in Russia - I would think Ukraine would be similar.
Either way better to be safe than sorry.

[Daveman]

If you bring cash - make sure your bills are perfect or brand new.  Anything less than perfect you run the risk of having a difficult time changing them at a bank.

My experience is in Russia - I would think Ukraine would be similar.
Either way better to be safe than sorry.

Yep, new, crisp, without ink marks/stamps.  Usually one can find a place, like a major bank, that will exchange less than stellar bills but at a lower exchange rate. 


As for things to carry with you.. I always carry a little "medical" bag with me which contains ibuprofen, rolaids/tums, some cold/flu liquigels, and a tube of antibiotic ointment. 


A pen/pencil and little pocket notepad will come in handy as well.  Have your girl write all the information in Russian of where you are staying, etc, in case you wander too far off the beaten path.  Also great for prices at places without electronic registers or printed bills... just say "Napazhitye pazhaluista" and hand them the pen and paper.. voila.. they'll write it down for you. 


A small pocket L.E.D. flashlight.  Will come in extremely handy very often if you venture out anywhere at night. 


It used to be common to carry your own toilet paper with you as the local butt ribbon was manufactured from a combination of sand, glass, and brier bushes... however, now soft paper is available at any decent supermarket.. always carry some in your pocket, as well as several single grivna bills in case of an emergency stop at a public toilet (it'll cost anywhere from 50 kepeki to 2 grivna to use the public facilities).. and.. if there is any paper at all it'll be guarded diligently by the babushka at the window who'll give you about two squares. 


Hmm, that's all I can think of at the moment.. most of this is merely common sense travel stuff anyway.


Good luck fellow member of the Dave Master Race..   


Relax and have a blast.


Dave

[Eduard]

As for things to carry with you.. I always carry a little "medical" bag with me which contains ibuprofen, rolaids/tums, some cold/flu liquigels, and a tube of antibiotic ointment. 

I would also add Imodium to this list, I've had food poisoning a couple of times in Ukraine.

[Boethius]

I would also add Imodium to this list, I've had food poisoning a couple of times in Ukraine.

Were you poisoned in restaurants or by street vendors?  My husband has always said never buy meat from Ukrainian street vendors, or melons from Korean merchants, unless you are suicidal.

[Eduard]

Restaurants or street vendors?  My husband said never buy pelmeni from Ukrainian street vendors, or melons from Korean merchants, unless you are suicidal.

actually restaurants  I never bought food from street vendors in Ukraine.

[Boethius]

Scary. 

When my husband still ate meat, back in Soviet days, he was once poisoned at a cafeteria.  He usually didn't eat in restaurants, but he thought it would be safe because it was a Ministry.  He had to be hospitalized.

I suppose the more things change . . .

[Eduard]

Scary. 

When my husband still ate meat, back in Soviet days, he was once poisoned at a cafeteria.  He usually didn't eat in restaurants, but he thought it would be safe because it was a Ministry.  He had to be hospitalized.

I suppose the more things change . . .

LOL they sure do stay the same... surprisingly I haven't had any food poisoning episodes in Russia.

[Eduard]

another thing you might want to consider is taking out small things that are heavy (like power adopter, phone charger, etc.) out of your carry on luggage and putting them in your pockets. Wear clothes with plenty of pockets! Once they weight it and you get your bag back you can put all that stuff right back into your bag as soon as you walk away from the counter. This is particularly good to know for when you are leaving from Borispol and going back home. They can get very picky about you bag's weight there.

[Misha]

LOL they sure do stay the same... surprisingly I haven't had any food poisoning episodes in Russia.

Some people are likely more resistant. I have never had food poisoning (ftu-ftu-ftu) in Russia or Latin America. I even buy food from the grandmothers at the various train stop when traveling across Russia 

[Eduard]

Some people are likely more resistant. I have never had food poisoning (ftu-ftu-ftu) in Russia or Latin America. I even buy food from the grandmothers at the various train stop when traveling across Russia 

you mean tfu-tfu-tfu ))

[Misha]

you mean tfu-tfu-tfu ))

Sure, but if you said ftu-ftu-ftu maybe you wouldn't have to worry about food poisoning either   

[Daveman]

Real men don't eat ftu tfu!

[JohnDearGreen]

• Print a metro map in both English and Ukrainian: http://knuj.org/en/kyiv/index.html?categoryid=8
• Print a few street maps of city center area for walking.  There are good maps here: http://www.teren.kiev.ua/?page=carte&lang=en
• Bring a few extra towels if staying at an apartment.
• You can check out a few sites before you go at wiki mapia.  Here is a view of the B. Market: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=50.4411899&lon=30.5229485&z=17&l=0&m=b&show=/2337/Besarabsky-Market   or St. Michaels Cathedral: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=50.4555983&lon=30.5228412&z=17&l=0&m=b&show=/14944851/St-Michael-s-Cathedral 
• I got a couple of nice apartments near Tolstoy Metro.  There are some decent restaurants in the area which is 1 or 2 metro stops from the center: http://wikimapia.org/#lat=50.4397413&lon=30.5169779&z=19&l=0&m=b&show=/11697092/entry-to-Lva-Tolstogo-square-subway-station

[ML]

It used to be common to carry your own toilet paper with you as the local butt ribbon was manufactured from a combination of sand, glass, and brier bushes... however, now soft paper is available at any decent supermarket.. always carry some in your pocket, as well as several single grivna bills in case of an emergency stop at a public toilet (it'll cost anywhere from 50 kepeki to 2 grivna to use the public facilities).. and.. if there is any paper at all it'll be guarded diligently by the babushka at the window who'll give you about two squares. 

And for real emergencies, you can just use the grivna bills directly.   

[alex330]

• Bring a few extra towels if staying at an apartment.

Ah, yes. Good one.