UK, EU, Swiss & US citizens no longer need
a visa for stays of up to 90 days. This visa-free
arrangement was introduced in 2005, but has been
extended indefinitely. To check, see the
Ukrainian embassy website ay
www.ukremb.org.uk.
Page last
updated:
17 January 2012. Train times valid
from 11 December 2011 to 9 June 2012.
Travel to Ukraine by train...
Kiev, Ukraine
It's easy to travel by train from
London to Ukraine. It's also safe, comfortable, affordable and
best of all it's an adventure, unlike yet another flight. Eurostar and German Railways link London
with Berlin, then there are daily sleeper trains from Berlin
& Warsaw to Kiev. Change in Kiev for Odessa or
Simferopol and Sebastopol in the Crimea. This page will tell you
train times, approximate fares and how to buy tickets.
It's safe & easy
to travel from London to Kyïv (Kyïv in Ukrainian, Kiev in
Russian) by train. Both main options take 2 nights.
The cheapest option is to take Eurostar to Brussels, a
connecting train to
Cologne, the 'Jan Kiepura' sleeper train overnight to Warsaw,
then the 'Kiev Express' overnight from Warsaw to Kyïv. A
good alternative is to
take Eurostar to Paris, the excellent City Night Line sleeper
train overnight to Berlin, then a direct Berlin-Kyïv sleeper
train called the 'Kashtan'. The journey can be booked
in the UK with one phone call, and is an adventure in
itself. Why not go out one way, back the other, and spend
some time in Paris, Berlin & Warsaw on the way?
Until September 2011 there were direct sleeping-cars several
times each week from Berlin to Odessa and Simferopol, but
you'll now need to change trains in Kiev, as shown below.
Option 1:
London to Ukraine using the Warsaw-Kiev 'Kiev Express'...
This is
usually the slightly cheaper option, depending on what
prices you can find for London-Cologne and Cologne-Warsaw.
It runs daily all year round. You get some time to see a bit of Warsaw, too!
Train times
London ► Kyïv, Odessa, Simferopol, Sebastopol
Day 1: Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras
daily except Saturdays at 15:04, arriving
Brussels
Midi at 18:05. On Saturdays, depart London
at 12:57 arriving Brussels Midi at 16:08.
Day 1: Travel from Brussels to
Cologne by ICE
high-speed train leaving
Brussels
Midi at 18:25 and arriving Cologne at 20:15. On Saturdays you can
also take the earlier 17:28 Thalys
train arriving Cologne at 19:15. You've time
for a meal in Cologne.
Day 1:
Travel from Cologne to Warsaw overnight on the excellent 'Jan Kiepura'
EuroNight sleeper train, leaving Cologne at 22:28 and arriving
at
Warsaw
Centralna
at 10:55 next morning. The Jan Kiepura has one or two modern
air-conditioned Polish sleeping-cars (1 & 2-bed deluxe rooms with private toilet
& shower plus TV/DVD player, 1, 2 & 3-berth standard rooms
with washbasin, hot shower at end of the corridor, CCTV
security, highly recommended),
couchettes (basic sleeping accommodation in 4-berth & 6-berth
compartments) & reclining seats (not recommended). The sleeper fare
includes complimentary toiletries pack and morning tea or
coffee & croissant. There's no restaurant car in the
evening, so take you own picnic
and bottle of wine aboard, but an 'InterCity cafe car' is attached
for breakfast - it even does an 'English' breakfast with eggs
and bacon for a few euros!
More photos & information about the Jan Kiepura sleeper
train.
Spend some time exploring Warsaw,
see the
Warsaw
Centralna station & city information. A
left luggage office and lockers are available. Warsaw's historic old town is a 20 minute
walk from Centralna station - if you fancy a modest splurge, the
celebrated Ufukiera restaurant (www.ufukiera.pl)
is excellent and right on the square in the heart of
Warsaw's old town. The Palace of Culture (a
wedding cake style Soviet skyscraper and distinctive Warsaw
landmark,
www.pkin.pl) is right next to the station and has a
viewing terrace on the 30th floor.
Day 2: Travel
from Warsaw to Kyïv on the 'Kiev
Express' leaving
Warsaw Gdanska station daily at 15:50 and arriving in Kyïv at
10:39 next morning (day 3
from London).
The 'Kiev Express' has a Polish sleeping-car with 1st
class 2-berth compartments with washbasin, and several
Ukrainian 2nd class sleeping-cars with 4-berth compartments. There
may be
a buffet car serving tea, coffee, beer and snacks, but
it's always a good idea to take your own supplies of food,
water and wine or beer. Late at night, between 22:30
& 00:30, the train is shunted into the gauge-changing shed at Yagodin (the Ukrainian frontier point) and jacked up to
have its wheels changed from standard European (4'
8½") gauge to Russian 5' gauge. You remain on
board while this is done.
This train is temporarily using Warsaw Gdanska
station due to rebuilding work at Warsaw Centralna,
Gdanska station is 2.7 miles north of Centralna station.
Onwards to
Odessa: Two daily high-quality sleeper trains
with 1st class 2-berth and 2nd class 4-berth sleepers
link Kiev and Odessa. One leaves Kiev at 21:50
arriving Odessa at 06:10 next morning, the other leaves
Kiev at 23:14 arriving Odessa at 08:50 next morning.
Allow at least 90 minutes in Kiev for connections in
case of any delay. If you make a same-day
connection in Kiev, you can leave London in the
afternoon on day 1, arriving in Odessa in the morning on
day 3.
Onwards to
Simferopol, Sebastopol, Yalta in the Crimea: A
high-quality sleeper train with 1st class 2-berth and
2nd class 4-berth sleepers leaves Kiev every day at
18:55 arriving Simferopol at 07:55 next morning. A
frequent trolleybus service links Simferopol with Yalta.
A frequent local train service links Simferopol with
Sebastopol near Balaclava. Alternatively, a direct
sleeper train leaves Kiev at 13:12 arriving Sebastopol
at 06:10 next morning. Allow at least 90 minutes
in Kiev for connections, in case of any delay. If
you make a same-day connection in Kiev, you can leave
London in the afternoon on day 1, arriving in the Crimea
in the morning on day 3.
Train times Kyïv,
Odessa, Simferopol, Sebastopol
► London
Coming
from Sebastopol, Yalta or Simferopol: A daily
high-quality sleeper train leaves Sebastopol at 13:40
and Simferopol at 15:37, arriving Kiev at 06:33 next
morning. Coming from Yalta, frequent trolleybuses
link Yalta with Simferopol, taking 2.5 hours. The
sleeper train has 1st class 2-berth and 2nd class
4-berth sleepers. Allow at least 90 minutes for
connections in Kiev in case of any delay.
Coming
from Odessa: Two daily high-quality sleeper
trains link Odessa with Kiev. One leaves Odessa at
19:10 arriving Kiev at 06:55. The other leaves
Odessa at 22:54 arriving Kiev at 07:37. Both
trains have 1st class 2-berth and 2nd class 4-berth
sleepers. Allow at least 90 minutes for
connections in Kiev.
Day 1: Travel from
Kyïv to Warsaw on the 'Kiev Express' leaving
Kyïv daily at 15:04 and arriving at Warsaw Gdanska at 08:39 next morning (day 2). The 'Kiev
Express' has a Polish sleeping-car with 1st class 2-berth
compartments with washbasin, and several Ukrainian 2nd class
sleeping-cars with 4-berth compartments. There may be
a buffet car serving tea, coffee, beer and snacks, but it's
a good idea to take your own supplies of food, water and
wine or beer. Around 2 or 3am, the train is shunted
into the gauge-changing shed at Yagodin (the Ukrainian
frontier point) and jacked up to have its wheels changed
from standard European (4' 8½") gauge to Russian 5' gauge.
You remain in your sleeping-berth on board while this is
done. On arrival in Warsaw, transfer by taxi or walk
from Warsaw Gdanska to Warsaw Centralna station. This
train is temporarily arriving at Warsaw Gdanska instead of
Centralna because of engineering work during much of 2012.
Spend the
day exploring Warsaw, see
the
Warsaw
Centralna station & city information. A
left luggage office and lockers are available. Warsaw's historic old town is a 20 minute
walk from the station - if you fancy a modest splurge, the
celebrated Ufukiera restaurant (www.ufukiera.pl)
is excellent and right on the square in the heart of
Warsaw's old town. The Palace of Culture (a
wedding cake style Soviet skyscraper and distinctive Warsaw
landmark,
www.pkin.pl) is right next to the station and has a
viewing terrace on the 30th floor.
Day 2: Travel
from Warsaw to Cologne on the 'Jan Kiepura' sleeper
train,
leaving
Warsaw
Centralna at 18:35 and
arriving in Cologne at 06:14 next morning. The Jan
Kiepura has modern
sleeping-cars (1, 2, & 3-bed standard
rooms with washbasin, 1 & 2-bed deluxe rooms with
private shower & toilet, highly recommended),
couchettes
(basic sleeping accommodation in 4-berth & 6-berth
compartments) and reclining seats (not
recommended). There's a restaurant car in the
evening for dinner, with waiter-served meals at
affordable prices, alternatively feel free to take you own picnic
and bottle of wine aboard!
More photos & information about the Jan Kiepura sleeper
train.
Day 3: Travel from Brussels to
London by Eurostar. Daily except Saturdays, a
Eurostar
leaves Brussels
Midi at 12:56 and arrives London St Pancras at 14:03.
On Saturdays and also Mondays & Tuesdays from 18
February onwards, also Wed, Thurs & Fri from 2 April
onwards, a Eurostar leaves Brussels
Midi at 10:56
and arrives London St Pancras at 11:57.
Take Eurostar to Brussels, then a
German ICE high-speed train
to Cologne...
ICE3
2nd class. ICEs are perhaps the most comfortable daytime trains
in Europe...
...then the
Jan Kiepura sleeper train from Cologne to Warsaw...
1, 2 or 3
bed sleepers: The EuroNight Jan Kiepura
has modern air-conditioned Polish sleeping-cars,
with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, either standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet...
More info about this train
A cosy
standard sleeper shown with
all 3 beds
folded out & the washbasin visible.
A standard
sleeper with the beds
folded away and seats folded out.
There's a socket for laptops & mobiles...
4-berth couchettes: Ideal for families.
Much more space per person than 6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes: A very economical
option, far better than a seat for just a few euros
more...
Above: The
Jan Kiepura also has two couchette cars, with 4 & 6
berth compartments. There are toilets &
washrooms at the end of the corridor...
2nd class 4-berth
sleepers: The Kiev Express has several
Ukrainian sleeping-cars with 4-berth compartments,
pictured above.
The cars used on at least one of the sets used for train have been refurbished
and repainted, making the Kiev Express a very smart
train. All bedding is supplied, and
washrooms and toilets are at the end of the
corridor. Berths convert to seats for daytime
use. A smartly-uniformed Ukrainian railways
sleeper attendant travels with each car.
1st
class 2-berth sleepers: The Kiev Express
has one Polish sleeping-car with 2-berth
compartments with washbasin (the coach nearest the
camera above right). The photo above
left shows a sleeper compartment in
daytime mode with the berths folded away and the sofa folded
out. Note the difference in roof profile
between the Polish car, built for operation into
western Europe, and the Ukrainian 2nd class
sleepers, built to the Ukrainian/Russian loading
gauge.
How much does it
cost?
Each train is
ticketed separately, so add up the price for each leg of the
journey:
1.
London to Cologne
by Eurostar + ICE:
Fares for Eurostar+ICE start at 49 euros (£43)
each way.
Fares
for Eurostar+Thalys start at £53 one-way (£39
London-Brussels + £14 Brussels-Cologne)
or £97 return (£69 London-Brussels +
£28 Brussels-Cologne).
Fares vary like
air fares, so book in advance to get the cheapest
prices.
You can't book trains to Ukraine online, so the easiest way
to buy tickets is to click the button below (or
click here).
A booking form will appear which lists
all the
specific trains you
need to book. Fill in the form & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the cost, you
can give them your credit card details & they'll
send you the tickets. European Rail is an experienced
agency whose staff are used to making more exotic bookings
like this. They are equipped with the German Railways
reservation & ticketing system, so have access to all the
cheap Saver fares for travel via Germany. They charge a £35
booking fee which includes postage to any UK address, or
they can send to any address worldwide if you pay the
courier fee. Seat61 gets some commission if you buy
tickets using this form. You will have to book the first leg of your return
journey when you get to Ukraine, because trains originating
in Ukraine cannot be booked from the UK. But you can
still pre-book the remainder of the return journey, and
benefit from a Saver return fare for the basic travel ticket.
Alternatively, you can book westbound train tickets from
Ukraine back to western Europe using the
Real Russia online system here. Remember that you
can't book until 60 days before departure.
How to buy train
tickets from London to Kiev online (well, almost)...
You can
buy tickets from London to Warsaw online. It takes
more effort than simply contacting an agency as
explained above, but it can be cheaper as you'll pay no
fees and can hunt for the cheapest tickets for each
stage of the journey. Bookings for this part of
the journey open 90 days in advance on the outward
journey, 60 days ahead on the return. To buy
tickets from London to Warsaw and back online, simply
follow the
step-by-step instruction on the London to Poland page.
That leaves
you needing tickets for the Warsaw to Kiev train. This
cannot be booked online, but it can be booked via reliable
and highly recommended Polish train ticketing agency
www.polrail.com, which is the cheapest option as you'll
benefit from any special fares agreed between the Polish and
Ukrainian Railways. They are also pretty good at
arranging the return reservation back from Kiev as they have
close contacts with Ukrainian Railways. Alternatively,
you can buy your Warsaw to Kiev ticket by phone at the
standard international fare from
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office.
You can buy train tickets for train journeys wholly within Ukraine
online in English at
www.ukrainetrains.co.uk.
How to buy
tickets from the UK to Kiev by phone...
If you want
to buy all your London-Kiev tickets together by phone, with
booking opening 60 days before departure, the best agencies to
call for this trip are:
www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083, lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday. You can
use this special booking form, just email it to
sales@europeanrail.com (Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form).
European Rail is an experienced London-based booking agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation system and
whose staff are familiar with bookings like this. When
they get your form, they will make all the reservations and call you
back to confirm the price and take your credit card details.
There's a £35 booking fee per transaction.
From overseas
call +44 20 7619 1083, tickets can be sent outside the UK if
necessary.
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on
08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday.
Prices are the same as those charged by European Rail, though
an advantage is that DB don't charge a booking fee,
just a 2% fee for credit cards. However, their staff aren't
always as familiar with more exotic bookings like this, so
make sure you are clear about exactly which trains you want to
book before calling.
A note
about booking westbound trains from Kiev back to Warsaw: All the outward reservations from London to Kiev can easily be
booked from the UK. However, for the return journey, the
sleeper reservation from Kiev back to Warsaw is sometimes
difficult to obtain from outside the Ukraine.
Deutsche Bahn can sometimes book your return train from
Ukraine using a small allocation of berths for
the return Kiev-Warsaw journey held on the German reservations
system, but
not always. If they are unable to book this part of the
return journey for you, simply ask them to book the section
from Warsaw back to London.
You can easily book the return leg at the reservations office
when you reach Kyïv. Alternatively, you can pre-book
westbound train tickets from Kiev to Warsaw either (1) using the Real
Russia online system here and having tickets sent to you,
or (2) by contacting reliable Polish train travel agency
www.polrail.com in Warsaw who can easily book tickets
back from Kiev to Warsaw or Berlin, and either send them to
you for a fee or (if your outward journey arrangements
permit) you can
pick them up in Warsaw on your eastbound journey from
the Polrail agency desk at Warsaw Centralna open 08:00-20:00 Mondays-Fridays,
08:00-14:00 Saturdays, closed Sundays & holidays. Another possibility is to
ask local travel agency
www.arktur.ua
to buy Kiev-Warsaw/Berlin tickets for you.
How to buy
onward tickets from Kiev to Odessa, Simferopol or
Sebastopol...
Normal UK
European rail agencies cannot book rail travel within Ukraine,
so you'll need to buy a ticket when you get to Kiev, or
buy tickets from one of these reliable ticketing agencies
who can arrange Ukrainian train tickets:
www.ukrainetrains.co.uk can book trains
from Kiev to most destinations within Ukraine and allow
you to collect them in Kiev or send them to any address worldwide.
They charge the Ukrainian Railways price (more or less),
plus a £19 fee per booking if you collect tickets at
Kiev station, £25 for delivery to a local address within
Ukraine, or £59 for delivery by DHL to an international
address (which must be the same as your PayPal or credit
card registered address).
Another
excellent agency which can book train tickets within Ukraine
for you is 'Unipress' -
http://travel-2-ukraine.com/transportation/train-tickets.htm.
Unipress sells Ukrainian rail tickets for about US$15 (platskartny) or
US$20 (kupé) for a typical long-distance journey
including their booking fee, plus an additional US$46 if you
want the tickets sent by DHL to the UK. I can recommend
their service as both helpful and efficient.
Option 2:
London to Ukraine using the Berlin-Kiev 'Kashtan'...
Train times
London ► Kyïv, Odessa, Simferopol, Sebastopol
This option takes
a bit longer, but involves fewer changes of train, gives
you a full day in Berlin, and can sometimes be easier to book
because UK agencies such as DB's UK office can easily make you
a sleeper reservation from Berlin to Kiev, but sometimes have difficulty booking the Warsaw-Kiev
train. It runs daily in summer, four times a week in
winter.
Day 1: Travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 16:01 (15:31 at weekends), arriving Paris Gare du Nord at
19:17 (18:47 at weekends).
It's a
10 minute walk
from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est. By
all means take an earlier Eurostar if you'd like to spend
some time in Paris, or if it has cheaper seats available.
Day 1:
Travel from Paris to Berlin
by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Perseus', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est daily at 20:05 (20:20 at weekends) and arriving at
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 08:26 next
morning. The 'Perseus' has sleepers
(1, 2 & 3 berth with washbasin or deluxe with shower &
toilet), 4-berth & 6-berth couchettes, seats
and a bistro car,
see the photos & information below,
or click for more pictures
& information about this train. Spend the day exploring Berlin.
Berlin-Kiev summer
service from 28 May to 1 October 2012: Day 2,
travel from
Berlin to Kiev on the 'Kashtan', which runs daily in
summer, leaving
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 21:50. It travels across Germany and Poland and
and arrives in Kyïv at
21:08 the next day (day 3 from London). The Kashtan has comfortable Ukrainian
2 & 3-berth sleeper compartments with washbasin.
Remember to
take your own supplies of food, water and wine or beer
along for the journey.
The train is shunted into the gauge-changing shed at Yagodin
(the Ukrainian frontier point, reached at 10:48) and
jacked up to have its wheels changed from standard
European (4' 8½") gauge to Russian 5' gauge. You
remain on board while this is done.
Berlin-Kiev winter
service until 27 May and from 2 October 2012: Day 2,
travel from
Berlin to Kiev on the 'Kashtan', which runs on
Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, leaving
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 16:38. It travels across Germany and Poland and
and arrives in Kyïv at
16:42 the next day (day 3 from London). The Kashtan has comfortable Ukrainian
2 & 3-berth sleeper compartments with washbasin. Remember to
take your own supplies of food, water and wine or beer
along for the journey.
The train is shunted into the gauge-changing shed at Yagodin
(the Ukrainian frontier point, reached at 06:08) and
jacked up to have its wheels changed from standard
European (4' 8½") gauge to Russian 5' gauge. You
remain on board while this is done.
As the direct
Berlin-Odessa and Berlin-Simferopol sleeping-cars were
sadly discontinued from September 2011, here
are the daily connecting trains from Kiev to those
cities:
Onwards to
Odessa: Two daily high-quality sleeper trains
link Kiev and Odessa, with 1st class 2-berth and 2nd
class 4-berth sleepers. One leaves Kiev at 21:50
arriving Odessa at 06:10 next morning, the other leaves
Kiev at 23:14 arriving Odessa at 08:50 next morning.
Allow at least 90 minutes in Kiev for connections.
If you make a same-day connection in Kiev, you can leave
London in the afternoon on day 1, arriving in Odessa in
the morning on day 3.
Onwards
to Simferopol, Sebastopol, Yalta in the Crimea:
A high-quality sleeper train with 1st class 2-berth and
2nd class 4-berth sleepers leaves Kiev at 18:55 arriving
Simferopol at 07:55 next morning. A frequent
trolleybus service links Simferopol with Yalta. A
frequent local train service links Simferopol with
Sebastopol near Balaclava. Alternatively, a direct
sleeper train leaves Kiev at 13:12 arriving Sebastopol
at 06:10 next morning. Allow at least 90 minutes
in Kiev for connections.
Train times Kyïv,
Odessa, Simferopol, Sebastopol
► London
Coming from Sebastopol, Yalta
or Simferopol: A daily high-quality sleeper
train leaves Sebastopol at 13:40 and Simferopol at
15:37, arriving Kiev at 06:33 next morning. Coming
from Yalta, frequent trolleybuses link Yalta with
Simferopol, taking 2.5 hours. The sleeper train
has 1st class 2-berth and 2nd class 4-berth sleepers.
Allow at least 90 minutes for connections in Kiev.
Coming from Odessa: Two
daily high-quality sleeper trains link Odessa with Kiev.
One leaves Odessa at 19:10 arriving Kiev at 06:55.
The other leaves Odessa at 22:54 arriving Kiev at 07:37.
Both trains have 1st class 2-berth and 2nd class 4-berth
sleepers. Allow at least 90 minutes for
connections in Kiev.
Kiev-Berlin summer service from
27 May to
30 September 2012: Day 1, travel
from Kyïv direct to Berlin on the 'Kashtan', which runs
daily in summer, leaving Kyïv at
08:30 and arrives at
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 07:08 next
day (day 2). The Kashtan has modernised Ukrainian
sleeping cars with 2 & 3-berth compartments with
washbasin. Remember to
take your own supplies of food, water and wine or beer
along for the journey. The train is jacked up at the
Ukrainian/Polish border around 18:30 to change its
wheelsets from 5' to European standard gauge. On
arrival in Berlin, transfer by frequent S-Bahn train
to the Hauptbahnhof.
Kiev-Berlin winter service
until 26 May and from 1 October 2012: Day 1: Travel
from Kyïv direct to Berlin on the 'Kashtan', which runs
on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays, leaving Kyïv at
08:30 and arrives at
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 08:41 next
day (day 2). The Kashtan has modernised Ukrainian
sleeping cars with 2 & 3-berth compartments with
washbasin. Remember to
take your own supplies of food, water and wine or beer
along for the journey. The train is jacked up at the
Ukrainian/Polish border around 18:30 to change its
wheelsets from 5' to European standard gauge. On
arrival in Berlin, transfer by frequent S-Bahn train
to the Hauptbahnhof.
Day 2: On Mondays-Fridays
or Sundays, you can travel
from Berlin to London by day, leaving
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at
11:48, changing at Cologne & Brussels to arrive
back in London the same day at 21:03. Or spend the day in Berlin
and take the sleeper to Paris then a Eurostar home,
see the London
to Germany page for details of all option between
Berlin & London.
Introducing the City Night Line
sleeper train from Paris to Berlin...
The Paris-Berlin
overnight train is one of the
German Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains. It
has modern sleeping-cars
(1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower &
toilet, 1, 2 &
3-berth standard rooms with washbasin, shower at
the end of the corridor, all rooms with power points for
mobiles & laptop computers),
modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in
a 4- or 6-berth compartment), and ordinary seats (not
recommended, a couchette is far better). Inclusive fares are charged covering
travel plus sleeping accommodation. The
sleeping-car fare includes a light breakfast served in
your compartment.
More pictures and information about this train.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, catch the earlier 14:02 Eurostar from London & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
The Night train to Berlin... This
is the
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of City Night Line
sleeper train 'Perseus' boarding at the Gare de l'Est
in Paris.
More pictures &
information about this train.
... and the Kashtan from
Berlin to Kiev...
The
'Kashtan' with its air-conditioned Ukrainian Railways sleeping-cars from Berlin to Kiev, boarding at Berlin
Hauptbahnhof...
Above: The destination board on one of the
sleeping-cars on the
Kashtan...
How much does it
cost?
Each train is
ticketed separately, so add up the price for each leg of the
journey:
You can't book trains to Ukraine online, so the easiest way
to buy tickets is to click the button below (or
click here).
A booking form will appear which lists
all the
specific trains you
need to book. Fill in the form & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the cost, you
can give them your credit card details & they'll
send you the tickets. European Rail is an experienced
agency whose staff are used to making more exotic bookings
like this. They are equipped with the German Railways
reservation & ticketing system, so have access to all the
cheap Saver fares for travel via Germany. They charge a £35
booking fee which includes postage to any UK address, or
they can send to any address worldwide if you pay the
courier fee. Seat61 gets some commission if you buy
tickets using this form. You will have to book the first leg of your return
journey when you get to Ukraine, because trains originating
in Ukraine cannot be booked from the UK. But you can
still pre-book the remainder of the return journey, and
benefit from a Saver return fare for the basic travel ticket.
Alternatively, you can book westbound train tickets from
Ukraine back to western Europe using the
Real Russia online system here. Remember that you
can't book until 60 days before departure.
How to buy
tickets to Kiev, the full story...
The Berlin to Kiev train cannot be
booked online, only by phone, and reservations for this
train open 60 days in advance. You can't book before
bookings open! So one option is to buy all your
tickets together, by phone, 60 days or less before
departure. The best agencies to
call for this trip are:
www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083, lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday. You can
use this special booking form, just email it to
sales@europeanrail.com (Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form).
European Rail is an experienced London-based booking agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation system and
whose staff are familiar with bookings like this. When
they get your form, they will make all the reservations and call you
back to confirm the price and take your credit card details.
There's a £35 booking fee per transaction.
From overseas
call +44 20 7619 1083, tickets can be sent outside the UK if
necessary.
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on
08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday.
Prices are the same as those charged by European Rail, though
an advantage is that DB don't charge a booking fee,
just a 2% fee for credit cards. However, their staff aren't
always as familiar with more exotic bookings like this, so
make sure you are clear about exactly which trains you want to
book before calling.
A note
about booking westbound trains from Kiev back to Berlin:
All the outward reservations from London to Kiev can easily
be booked from the UK. However, for the return
journey, the sleeper reservation from Kiev back to Berlin is
sometimes
difficult to obtain from outside the Ukraine.
Deutsche Bahn can sometimes book your return train from
Ukraine using a small allocation of berths for
the return Kiev-Berlin journey held on the German reservations
system, but not always. If they are unable to book
this part of the return journey for you, simply ask them to
book your trains
from Berlin back to London. You can easily book the
remaining Kyiv-Berlin ticket at the reservations office
when you reach Kyïv. Alternatively, you can pre-book
westbound train tickets from Kiev to Berlin either (1) using the Real
Russia online system here and having tickets sent to you,
or (2) by contacting reliable Polish train travel agency
www.polrail.com in Warsaw who can easily book tickets
back from Kiev to Warsaw or Berlin, and either send them to
you for a fee or (if your outward journey arrangements
permit) you can
pick them up in Warsaw on your eastbound journey from
the Polrail agency desk at Warsaw Centralna open 08:00-20:00
Mondays-Fridays, 08:00-14:00 Saturdays, closed Sundays &
holidays. Another possibility is to
ask local travel agency
www.arktur.ua
to buy Kiev-Warsaw/Berlin tickets for you.
How to buy
tickets from Kiev to Odessa, Simferopol or
Sebastopol...
Normal UK
European rail agencies cannot book rail travel within Ukraine,
so you'll need to buy a ticket when you get to Kiev, or
buy tickets from one of these reliable ticketing agencies
who can arrange Ukrainian train tickets:
www.ukrainetrains.co.uk can book trains
from Kiev to most destinations within Ukraine and allow
you to collect them in Kiev or send them to any address worldwide.
They charge the Ukrainian Railways price (more or less),
plus a £19 fee per booking if you collect tickets at
Kiev station, £25 for delivery to a local address within
Ukraine, or £59 for delivery by DHL to an international
address (which must be the same as your PayPal or credit
card registered address).
Another
excellent agency which can book train tickets within Ukraine
for you is 'Unipress' -
http://travel-2-ukraine.com/transportation/train-tickets.htm.
Unipress sells Ukrainian rail tickets for about US$15 (platskartny) or
US$20 (kupé) for a typical long-distance journey
including their booking fee, plus an additional US$46 if you
want the tickets sent by DHL to the UK. I can recommend
their service as both helpful and efficient.
Sevastopol
is a naval base which was closed to foreigners until 1996. A
pleasant and interesting town, it can be reached by regular local train from
Simferopol, as well as long distance ones from Kiev and
Moscow. The local trains stop at Bachchysaray, where you
can visit the palace of the Tartar Khans who ruled the Crimea
until the 16th century. Approaching Sevastopol, the
trains meander through the hills at the site of the Battle of Inkerman (Crimean war, 1854).
Yalta, the seaside resort and site of the 1945 Yalta conference,
can be reached by scenic trolleybus ride across the mountain
range from Simferopol - the longest trolleybus service in the
world. See the
train travel in Ukraine page
for more information.
Balaclava & The charge of the
Light Brigade, 1854 - Balaclava and the site of the famous
'Charge of the Light Brigade can be reached by bus or taxi
from Sebastopol. See the
train travel in Ukraine page for more information.
If
Krakow has become the new Prague, then Lviv is the new
Krakow... Lviv (spelt Lviv in Ukrainian, Lvov in
Russian) is a beautiful city that escaped most of
the ravages of world war 2. For accommodation in Lviv,
whether your budget is 1 star or 5 star, check out the faded
grandeur of the excellent and historic
George
Hotel. This is the place to stay in Lviv, from
just US$27 per night.
The quickest and
easiest route from the UK to Lviv is via Krakow, using a new
daily Krakow-Lviv sleeper train. Why not stop off in
Krakow and see two great cities this way? Train times
via Prague are also shown below, although you arrive in Lviv
late at night this way. Why not go out one way and back
the other? There are direct trains from Vienna to Lviv
too, also shown here.
London ► Lviv (via Krakow)
This is probably
the quickest and easiest route, with good connections from
London. Combining Krakow and Lviv, two of eastern
Europe's most unspoilt cities, has to be a winner!
Travel
from London to Krakow as shown on the London
to Poland page. Why not stop off for a day or two in
Krakow?
Alternatively, why not combine Lviv, Krakow and Prague
as well in one great trip, eastern Europe's 'Big Three'?
First travel from London to Prague as shown on the
London to the Czech
Republic page. Spend a day or two in Prague,
then take the overnight sleeper train from Prague to
Krakow, leaving Prague Hlavni at 20:17 arriving Krakow
at 07:10 next morning? You can easily buy a ticket
for the Prague-Krakow train at the station in Prague
when you get there.
The travel
from Krakow to Lviv by sleeper train. The 'Lviv
Express' leaves Krakow at 22:41 and arrives in Lviv at
06:03 next morning. The train uses comfortable
modernised Polish sleeping-cars with 1, 2 and 3 bed
compartments with washbasin, and has special adjustable wheelsets
to accommodate the change of gauge at the Ukrainian
frontier.
Important:
Since September 2011, this train has only been running every 2nd day,
not daily as previously, due to a shortage of
serviceable sleeping cars on the part of UZ (Ukrainian railways).
It currently leaves Krakow on odd dates
(1st, 3rd, 5th etc of each month). In case you see
any out-of-date info, note that it swapped days in
November 2011, it used to run on even dates.
Lviv
► London (via Krakow)
Travel from
Lviv to Krakow by direct sleeper train, the 'Lviv
Express', leaving Lviv at 23:59 and arriving Krakow at
05:17 next morning. It has 1, 2 and 3 bed
compartments. The train uses comfortable
modernised Polish sleeping-cars, and has special adjustable wheelsets
to accommodate the change of gauge at the Ukrainian
frontier.
Important:
Since September 2011, this train has only been running every
2nd day, not daily as previously, due to a shortage of
serviceable sleeping cars on the part of UZ (Ukrainian railways).
It leaves Lviv on even dates (2nd, 4th, 6th etc).
In case you see any out-of-date info, note that it
swapped days in November 2011, it used to run on odd
dates.
Travel
from Krakow back to London using any of the options shown on the
London
to Poland page.
Alternatively, why not combine Lviv, Krakow and Prague
in one great trip? You can take the overnight
sleeper from Krakow to Prague, leaving Krakow at 21:50
and arriving at Prague Hlavni at 07:50? Spend a
day or two in Prague, then travel from Prague to London
as shown on the
London to the Czech Republic page. You can
easily buy a ticket for the Krakow-Prague sleeper train
at the station in Krakow when you get there, or arrange
it through recommended agency
www.polrail.com.
Krakow to
Lviv costs £40 one-way with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper,
£53 one-way with bed in a 2-bed sleeper, or £84 one-way
with bed in a 2-bed sleeper with private shower & toilet,
if you book in the UK. Bought locally at the station in Krakow, Krakow-Lviv is
costs around 35 euros including a bed in a 3-bed sleeper (20 euros
fare + 15 euros for a berth in a 3-berth sleeper, about 155
Polish zlotys in total in local currency).
However, you
cannot book the sleeper from Krakow to Lviv
(or for that matter, Prague to Krakow) online. These
trains can be booked by calling either
Deutsche Bahn's UK telesales office
on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday), or www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00 Monday-Friday,
£35 booking fee, but their staff are more familiar with
booking more exotic journeys).
You may not succeed in booking the inwards Lviv to
Krakow sleeper outside of Ukraine, although by
all means ask. So for a return journey, simply book the
whole outward journey from London to Lviv, plus the
Krakow or Prague to London part of the return journey, and
simply buy the Lviv to Krakow ticket at the
station when you reach Lviv. This really isn't
difficult.
For departures
from Krakow, you can book by email through recommended Polish train
booking agency
www.polrail.com - they can not only book the outward
Krakow to Lviv train, they can usually arrange the return
journey as well, through their contacts with Ukrainian railways.
They charge a small fee, and either allow ticket pick up in
Krakow or can send to any country worldwide.
How to buy
tickets by phone...
You can book all
the trains from London to Lviv by calling either Deutsche Bahn's UK telesales office
on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday), or www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee, but their staff are more familiar with
booking more exotic journeys like this). Before calling,
I suggest writing a clear list of exactly which specific
trains on which dates you want to book.
You may not succeed in booking the inwards Lviv to
Krakow sleeper outside of Ukraine, although by
all means ask. So for a return journey, simply book the
whole outward journey from London to Lviv, plus the
Krakow or Prague to London part of the return journey, and
simply buy the Lviv to Krakow ticket at the
station when you reach Lviv. This really isn't
difficult.
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Personal recommendations...
In Lviv,
look no further than the classic and excellently-located
George
Hotel. Wonderful, and it's not even expensive,
economy doubles from £27, standard doubles from £53.
If for any reason it's full, try Lviv's Grand Hotel, also
classic and well located, around £60 a double. In
Sebastopol, easily the best place to stay if it's in
your price bracket (maybe £46 single, £65 double) is the
excellent
Sebastopol Hotel, a classic building and now part of the
Best Western chain.
Other hotel sites
worth trying...
www.tripadvisor.com
is the place to find
independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system
(Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system). It
has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries
worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and
decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras
such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one
price, then charge you another!).
Backpacker hostels...
www.hostelbookers.com: If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelbookers
offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in
backpacker hostels in Copenhagen and most
other European cities at rock-bottom prices.
The Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
Winter/Spring 2011/12 edition (Dec 2011 to June 2012) or
(when available)
Summer/Autumn 2012 edition (June to Dec 2012)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at
www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
My own book, an essential
handbook for train travel to Europe based on this website called "The
Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008 & revised April
2010, available
from Amazon.co.uk with shipping worldwide.
Travel insurance & health card...
Get travel insurance, it's essential...
Never travel without insurance from a
reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself).
Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed
connection, but European international rail conditions of
carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection
provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next
available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to
the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and
even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and
non-changeable.
Feedback from using
insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome. Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get a spare credit card, one designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card
to save on mobile data and phone calls...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up over £1,000 in
data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
Backpacker hostels...
In
the UK, try
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, try
If you live in the USA or Canada, try
