northkape most excellent, thank you so much for helping me and responding to my question, it was very helpful.
I gonna doing my own quest this year, I gonna be emulating you as best I can.
I need help with car rental and were to get accommodations both hotel and short term apartments, any good websites you guys can recommend for Kiev that are not rip off foreigner prices?
One question I have of you northkape, is that how do you deal or hide the fact that you are going there to find your mate and maybe dating and seeing lets say 5 girls, can any one tell me how to handle this because if they find out you are meeting a few girls it could be alot of trouble, they could be upset, jealous etc. I heard they gonna be asking alot of questions as why you are in Ukraine etc etc, and were you going and all the rest. So what I gonna say or what is the plan to say? What about arrival dates to the country that you tell them etc, I need some help with that part. Maybe say you gonna be there for a week, then see the next one? I plan on going for like 5 months, I gonna take my time and enjoy the courtship))))
Tommy2015 you'll probably be waiting a month for northkape to respond so I thought I'd jump in.
Most of the girls understand that you're there to meet other women. Just don't flaunt it. If you get a girl that wants you to write only her then come see only her beware. You could do all that she asks and she could still dump you. This type of girl is too possessive anyway.
As mentioned in previous threads when you land in any city use hotels at least for the first few days till you become situated and comfortable in that city. Then consider apartments.
I use Booking.com. Make sure that you register there so that you get their so called insider deals.
Earlier this year I was in Kiev. I booked Flatlux apartments. Apparently all their apartments were busy so they gave me a free upgrade to Greguar Hotel
rhino car hire has best rental car rates in Ukraine. They book for all the major companies and their rates are often far cheaper than the companies websites offer.
However, NEVER buy the optional insurance online. Budget, Europcar and Easy car rents, in particular will still make you take their insurance or pay up to $1000 deposit, depending upon what car you rent.
If this will be your very first time in Ukraine I will tell you like the others do and get a hotel through booking.com as they are the best one. Depending upon where you will go here and if you are wanting to stay for more than 3 days in one place, I can recommend apartment owners who speak English and are friends of mine. Staying in an Apartment in Ukraine
gives you a better opportunity to experience Ukraine more personally and understand lifestyle here. You learn to get around on your own, experience grocery shopping.
One thing adopting parents have told me is very useful for English only speakers is the photo word recognition feature on higher-end Android phones in google translate.
with local SIM card and mobile internet service you can point the phone at things and it will translate "on the fly" which can help you very much in getting along on your own at groceries and other places. remember that Ukraine is GSM network. a used/refurbished galaxy s4 can be had for 300 bucks or sometimes less and its a great investment ESPECIALLY if
you get rental car as you can use gps on mobile. download sygic gps app from play store as it is free and you can download ukraine map for free. It also works "offline" with your phone's gps receiver.
feel free to ask any question and we will help you get prepared for your trip
I wouldn't bother with renting a car in Ukraine. As Rick4girl says the insurance you are forced to take is cost prohibitive. Taxis are so very cheap in Ukraine anyway. What I do is when I need a cab I have the hotel reception arrange it. Restaurants will do this as well.
Another option is to have a dedicated driver. I highly recommend Anatoliy.
ferry-service.kiev.ua
I mean you get a late model vehicle and reasonable rates. Plus he speaks English. It' a no brainer.
TomZ wrote "As Rick4girl says the insurance you are forced to take is cost prohibitive."
to a point, as it depends on exactly what you want to do. yes, the cost is higher than in US but also depends on your budget.
a small car with 0 liability insurance is about $40/day. booking car only(no extra insurance) is about $27/day through rhino car hire
then insurance purchased at the counter is $12/day for example, your "deposit" then becomes only $200
for Kyiv, Anatoly's price cant be beat for a daily personal driver as its only 40/day for average 8 hour day and offers a degree of security for those
new to Ukraine or who doesnt want hassles with transportation.
I wouldn't recommend a rental car for your first trip either until you experience our roads and driving styles. first class trains and luxury buses are very cheap and comfortable