Kharkivs'ka Oblast' Travel Answers

Many thanks Pikine I don't realy want to fly from London. It may be an option to fly Liverpool - Riga - Kiev - Kharkiv I'll let you know how it goes Regards Bren

Hi Bren, I have been living in Ukraine for a couple of years. As most people in Ukraine do not speak English, there is a real difficulty in communication. My suggestion is to get a cheap flight like Air Baltic into Kiev. It is then possible to get someone to collect you from the airport and immediately drive through to Kharkov. It is a long drive, about 500km or 6-7 hours, but it saves you doing an over-nighter in Kiev and you can drive straight through to the hotel in Kharkov. I did this many times when I was traveling last year and used a very reliable guy who has a VW car and specializes in taking people to and from the airport. He could also pobably arrange to drop you at the football match and get you home afterwards and then back to Kiev. It would work out more economical if you are traveling with 2-3 people. If you want to go down this route, sort out in advance and dont try and do this upon arrival as you will find it difficult to organize and will pay over the odds. Hotels by Western standards in Kharkov are pretty basic, but there are a few decent ones. If you are on a budget and are only looking for a bed then you can pay as little as US$ 10.00 upwards. I think the more expensive ones are US$ 100.00 ++. They will probably book in advance. I am leaving Ukraine at the end of September but can try and help you or answer any questions in the meantime. Regards John

John Really appreciate the detail of your reply. Would it be possible to give me the details of the guy please? Does he speak English? Or if not could you arrange for him to collect us from Kiev and take us to Kharkiv please? This seems to be the most difficult leg of the journey. Thanks again Bren

Hi Bren, I have spoken to the driver today. He is reliable and can be trusted. Unfortunately, he speaks very little English but my wife who is Ukrainian and will be here when I am away traveling speaks fluent English and you could translate through Anna if you have any requests. Victor is an ex army professional driver so he can organize things properly. In fact, we spoke to him today and he could organize a small 12-seater bus or even bigger if you want to organize a group of supporters. If you organize for a group of supporters, it will work out cheaper so let me know. Also, if you tell me the type of accomodation you want and your budget, I can speak to friends and see if we can recomend something reasonable and ensure everyone is located in the same hotel and right part of town. Victor could also organize beer/food etc for the journey. Let me know. Regards John

John That's brilliant. Would it be possible to get a price for a twelve seater mini-bus please? 1) For the journey from Kiev to Kharkiv on the Thursday morning 2) For the journey from Kiev to Kharkiv on Thursday morning and the return journey on Friday morning. My email address is bren_connolly@hotmail.com Thanks again Greatly appreciated Bren

hi mate is there a flight from kiev to kharkiv ? just 7 hours in car is a bit much for me colin