Damn, if I had planned this out better I could have gone with backup :(
Actually bassuk, I do have some questions.
Should I be just using my credit cards in Yalta? Or taking US Dollars, or Ukranian currency, or Canadian dollars - or something weird like travellers checks? And if I take cash, roundabouts 1000-1500 USD, will the customs try to levy some legal or illegal fee on me?(Im new to all this)
Also, do a fair number of people speak english there? And are there ATMS that work internationally?
Might be able to help, bassuk might know more......only certain places will take credit cards, any city has banks that will change your money into hryvnia( dollars or euro best),forget travellers checks, you can legally bring in up to $3000usd without paying addl fees.
I really don't find much english spoken in many places, other guys here swear english spoken everywhere, I just get funny looks when I ask something in english, so knowing some russian is a plus. Many ATM's work there to get money.
You can use Visa and master cards in all money machines, Dont take Amercian express there is only 1 place in Kiev you can get cash, if you take more than $1000 you must declare it at customs or you could loose it. You will find people speak english , in august in yalta you will find a lot of people on holiday.if you need any more advice or some contacts there send me message. cheers John
Evil I would take some cash and a credit card, visa works for sure. You could get robbed of cash although I have never been I have had friends that got pick pocketed. Also somebody could get your credit card number I have had that happen to me so if you have both you have two channels. There are atms in Yalta and they have an English option and usually an image of a visa card on them. They are in the street on the sides of buildings and in banks. I would either take US dollars, Euros, or Hrevnas.
I stayed at the Yalta Yalta also called the Yalta Intourist and they had staff that spoke English and an atm in their lobby. It seemed the exchange rate was a little better with credit card than cash. You could pick out people who spoke English in the common crowd usually foreigners. But some were hitting on Ua women who seemed to understand. If it was important you could find English speaking people at the breakfast buffet just by watching them talk but there was a big crowd there.
I do not know what Bassuk found but the restaurants were kind of expensive. $100 for three people if you did not go wild on the menu and with juice to drink. We ate the breakfast buffet at the motel (include in room) and only ate out a few times. There was a refrigerator in the room and we bought at the market for most other meals. Most activities we did within the motel complex but did go on an excursion a couple days.
Youl find english speakers at the good hotels and restraunts but not too much elsewhere - this isnt a resort with many non FSU people about. Cash wise there are dozens of ATMs, ukraine ATMs pretty much all work with any visa card, I arrived with just my visa card and didnt have a problem.
Hotel prices in Yalta hotels have gone up considerably even since last year.
Last year we stayed at the Hotel Krimsky - it had a fresh-water pool and was quite modern. Price was around $100 per night (no breakfast). This year, the same room, same high season, is around $170 per night. Other hotels increased at similar percentage rates.
This year we took a basic double room at the Yalta Intourist as mentioned by Land of Oz above. The basic room at $130 per night was absolute crap. It was old dark dingy panel-pealing-off-the-wall Soviet Style all the way and with an ancient in-the-window air conditioner.
It was unacceptable - so I asked if some room a step up was available. This one was much more modern and with the typical remote control heat-pump airoconditioner - much more up to date and acceptable - - and the price was a litle more - $147 per night.
I know that double rooms at the Yalta were available last year high season for around $100 - but not this year.
And I agree with the above that the breakfast included in the price of the room was available and pretty good.
quite amazing to hear such prices ,stayed in Hotel Uzhgorod worked out about 35 dollars off season and 50 peak season very modern and breakfast included all rooms with air conditioning.
I read somewhere that tourism in general in Ukraine this year was down 48%.
Nearly all of the tourists in Yalta were Russian - very few western Europeans and practically NO Americans. My lady told me that she hear a LOT of Moscow accents. These people have money and can afford to pay the inflated prices.
Have now traveled to the FSU TEN times and must tell you I generally arrive in my destination country with practically NO money. I have an ATM card. And a backup credit card or two located somewhere other than with my ATM card but nearly no cash to speak of. This time I arrived in Kiev with all of $83 USD (more than usual) and 100 grienva (about $20 from my last trip) and thats all.
On my FIRST trip to the FSU, Odessa in 2003 - I was led to believe that ATMs weren't available. As a result I didn't even bring an ATM card. Instead I packed $1,500 in smaller bills (mostly $20s) in a flesh colored money belt inside of pants. Made me look ten pounds heavier and with a belly.
I reduced cash in subsequent trip to the point I am at now.
I still carried cash when I went to Latvia (third trip) and had, in fact around $1,300 in my money belt when I was beat up and robbed (long story). The thief managed to get the cash in my wallet - around 60 LATS (about $120) but I kept ahold of my ATM card when he cut my wallet so he didn't get that. Of course he also didn't get the $1,300 I had in my money belt.
But ATMs are ALL OVER THE PLACE and very convenient.
Pack a little cash. Maybe an emergency credit card with cash advance capabilities and bring an ATM card and you should be fine.
As beemer said - FORGET travellers checks - forget they were ever even invented - as far as I am concerned those thing are useless even when traveliing domestically - they are ridiculous when traveling in the FSU.
Jonnyj where does the $1000 dollar max come from. The last two times I went to Ukraine I had $3000 wrote it on my customs form and had no trouble. You might want to check again before you talk.
I put a video of the room and the breakfast buffet in the Yalta Intourist at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdT5LZxgH2A if you want to see what the room and the views are like from each side of the motel. I think I may have the background music a little loud for the voice over.
"quite amazing to hear such prices ,stayed in Hotel Uzhgorod worked out about 35 dollars off season and 50 peak season very modern and breakfast included all rooms with air conditioning. "
A Great Choice... except that it happens to be in Uzhgorod in the farthest western part of Ukraine - a few hundred miles from the Crinean Peninsula.
Cheap hotels are avaialble in small towns in Ukraine - but we're talking here about YALTA.
I would agree that an apartment would be better for most situations. Where her son was with us I think the motel was the best choice for us because of all of the activities included closer to a turn key vacation. If you plan on mostly excursions rather than sport type events then it would not be as attractive. There are people everywhere in Yalta holding signs apartments for rent so if you keep your mouth shut and let your lady negotiate I think you will not have a problem finding apartments at a reasonable rate.