Honestly, when my lady proposed the train idea - as opposed to flying or taking a long-distance taxi, I wasn't too crazy about it. I had heard all the stories about trains in Ukraine. But I thought - okay, at least we will sleep, and I will avoid the cost of a hotel room PLUS the cost of transportation. I reluctantly agreed. Then when I found that she had booked an AFTERNOON train - and that we would get to Simferopol at around MIDNIGHT (in other words incurring the price of a hotel room ANYWAY) I was was very much less-than-pleased.
But the afternoon ride turned out perfectly.
Of the three weeks I spent in Ukraine those hours were among the best. It was worth every penny and then some!
Sleep and trains always seem mutually exclusive for me. Then again so is sleep and plane.
The only issue withe the trains are they arrive about 6 am. Either apartment or hotel may not let you book in until 12:00. This leavea a long and inconvenient wait.
It depends on where you are going and where you are coming from????????? And what class????
I was quoted once From Kiev to Sumy around $27usd, first class
Traveling on a train in Ukraine is about as comfortable as traveling in a buckboard. Forget the Trains, Fly and rent a driver, the ride will be better in the long run, plus you will save time and not that much more money spent.
Beemer18 you sound like the guy in the Movie "The Sum of all fears" When the president was questioning him about the nuke explosion! Well what do you know asked the president??LOL
Jet speaking of that, we took a cab from Mariupol to Yalta. Larissa slept most of the way. Interesting ride, one I wouldn't have gotten to see by plane, It wasn't you're typical Lada, it was a 190 mercedes and it was only about 700 grivnas. I would have rather ridden in a 5 series BMW. But hey the ride was worth it. Would I do it again. Nope, but Mariupol has a less than used airport, so to get to Simferopol you have to take a cab to Donetsk to catch a plane there to Simfereopol. It would have been a little more expensive, but there in about 5 hours less time. I find the aviation system in Ukraine to be a little goofy. Hell Mariupol is about the same size as Indianapolis and I can fly around the world from there. Hell in Mariupol I can get in from Kiev on many Flights but can only leave from one early in the morning.
Talking about trains, I am soon to travel to Ukraine again and I am looking for any advice from anyone who has travelled by bus or train on the following routes.
1). Bus/train from Kiev to Sumy. (Can I get there direct from Boryspol?)
2). Bus/train from Sumy to Mariupol
3). Bus/train from Mariupol to Odessa.
4). Maybe also train Moscow to Kharkiv.
being a conscientious environmentalist and all, I dont tend to do internal plane trips and its more expensive. Any one who could provide me with info on the prices and logistics of the above trips, I would be pleased to hear it. I dont care about time taken for travelling, I have done seriously LONG train journeys in India before so its just about if it is possible, how much, any problems and that kind of thing. I can speak a little Russian so I will hopefully be able to manage at the ticket booths. So any useful information please?