Kiev, Ukraine

Take the train from the UK to Ukraine...

It's easy to travel by train from London to Ukraine, an adventurous journey that's also safe, comfortable & affordable, far superior to any soulless flight.  Eurostar and German Railways link London with Warsaw, then there is the comfortable and safe daily sleeper train Kiev Express from Warsaw to Kiev.  Change in Kiev for Odessa.  This page will tell you train times, approximate fares and how to buy tickets.

Train times, fares & information...

  London to Kiev & Odessa - times, fares & tickets.

  London to Lviv - train times, fares & tickets.

  London to Yalta & Balaclava - 1945 & the Charge of the Light Brigade

  Train travel within Ukraine, a beginner's guide

  How to buy Ukrainian train tickets online

  Trains from Kiev & Lviv to other European cities

  Trains from other European cities to Kiev & Lviv

  Useful country information - visas, currency, etc.

  Kiev station

  Hotels in Kiev, Lviv, Odessa & Ukraine

  Odessa-Istanbul by ferry

Sponsored links...

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Useful country information

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London to Kyïv (Kiev) & Odessa

It's safe & easy to travel from London to Kyïv (Kyïv in Ukrainian, Kiev in Russian) by train.  It takes just 2 nights, taking Eurostar & luxurious German ICE trains from London to Berlin, the Berlin-Warszawa Express to Warsaw next morning, then the safe & comfortable Kiev Express sleeper train from Warsaw to Kyïv overnight.  Or you can now travel exclusively by fast & comfortable daytime trains with overnight stops in Berlin & Krakow.  Or most cheaply using the Prague to Kiev sleeper.  The journey is an adventure in itself.  Why not spend some time in Berlin, Warsaw or Krakow on the way?

  Option 1, using the Warsaw-Kiev Kiev Express - the most time-effective option...

  Option 2, by daytime trains with overnight stops in Berlin & Krakow - if you prefer comfortable daytime trains & hotels to sleepers, don't mind it taking a day longer, and fancy a morning in Krakow into the bargain...

  Option 3, via Brussels & Prague, using the Prague-Kiev sleeper - the cheapest option, with an evening in Brussels and dinner in Prague...

Option 1, London to Ukraine by Warsaw-Kiev Kiev Express...

This is the most time-effective option.  Departures are daily all year round except Christmas Day.  You get some time to see a bit of Warsaw, too!

London ► Kyïv & Odessa

• Day 1:  Travel from London to Berlin by Eurostar to Brussels, ICE or Thalys to Cologne and ICE train to Berlin, using any of the daytime options shown on the London to Germany page.  For example, you can leave London St Pancras at 10:58 (11:04 on Sundays), arriving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 21:06.

• Stay overnight in a hotel in Berlin.  The 3-star Meininger Hotel is ideal as it's right next to Berlin Hauptbahnhof and a 10-minute walk from the Reichstag or a 15-minute walk from the Brandenburg Gate, it's inexpensive and gets good reviews.  If you want to push the boat out, try the famous Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin right next to the Brandenburg Gate.  More hotels in Berlin.  If you're on a tight budget, see www.hostelworld.com.

• Day 2 morning:  Travel from Berlin to Warsaw on the Berlin-Warszawa Express, leaving Berlin Hauptbahnhof daily except Sundays at 06:37 and arriving Warsaw Centralna at 12:55.  The Berlin-Warszawa Express is a modern air-conditioned EuroCity train with comfortable seats, a trolley refreshment service and a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and full meals.  Treat yourself to a meal in the restaurant:  Three courses, a beer and a coffee only come to around €11.  Unfortunately, the daily 09:37 Berlin-Warszawa Express no longer arrives in Warsaw time to connect with the Kiev Express, at least for the duration of this timetable period.

  You can spend a few hours 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 evening:  Travel from Warsaw to Kyïv on the Kiev Express leaving Warsaw Centralna at 16:10 every day and arriving Kyïv main station at 08:35 next day (day 3 from London).

  The Kiev Express has comfortable Ukrainian sleeping-cars with 3-berth compartments, you can book all 3 places for single or double occupancy.  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, around 00:30, the train is shunted into the gauge-changing shed at Yagodin (on the Ukrainian border) 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, an interesting experience.  See Tim Richards excellent blog entry about of the Kiev Express.

• Onwards to Odessa:  A daily fast train (train 9) leaves Kiev at 14:40 and arrives in Odessa at 23:00.  Alternatively, a daily high-quality sleeper train (train 105) links Kiev and Odessa, with 1st class 2-berth and 2nd class 4-berth sleepers link. It leaves Kiev at 22:05 arriving Odessa at 06:55 next morning.  If you make a same-day connection in Kiev, you can leave London in the afternoon on day 1, arriving in Odessa in late evening on day 3.

• Onwards to Simferopol, Sebastopol, Yalta in the Crimea:  With the Russian occupying eastern Ukraine, there are currently no trains between Kiev and the Crimea.  Check the current situation in eastern Ukraine at www.fco.gov.uk.

Kyïv & Odessa ► London

• Coming from Odessa:  A daily high-quality sleeper train (train 106) links Odessa with Kiev, leaving Odessa at 22:59 arriving Kiev at 08:11.  It has 1st class 2-berth and 2nd class 4-berth sleepers.

• Coming from Sebastopol, Yalta or Simferopol:   With the Russian occupying eastern Ukraine, there are currently no trains between Kiev and the Crimea.  Check the current situation in eastern Ukraine at www.fco.gov.uk.

• Day 1:  Travel from Kyïv to Warsaw on the Kiev Express leaving Kyïv main station daily at 17:24, arriving Warsaw Centralna at 08:02 next morning (day 2).

  The Kiev Express has comfortable Ukrainian sleeping-cars with 3-berth compartments, you can book all three berths for single or double occupancy.  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 3am, the train is shunted into the gauge-changing shed at Yagodin (the Ukrainian border point) and jacked up to have its wheels changed from Russian 5' gauge to standard European (4' 8½") gauge.  You remain in your sleeping-berth on board while this is done, an interesting experience.  See Tim Richards excellent blog entry about of the Kiev Express.

  On arrival, you have some time to explore 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 Berlin by Berlin-Warszawa Express, leaving Warsaw Centralna daily at 12:40 and arriving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 19:15.  Alternatively, daily except Saturdays there's a later Berlin-Warszawa Express leaving Warsaw Centralna at 15:38 and arriving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 22:15, giving you the best part of a day in Warsaw.

  The Berlin-Warszawa Express is a modern air-conditioned EuroCity train with comfortable seats, a trolley refreshment service and a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks and full meals.  Treat yourself to a meal in the restaurant:  Three courses, a beer and a coffee only come to around €11.

• Stay overnight in a hotel in Berlin.  The 3-star Menninger Hotel is ideal as it's right next to Berlin Hauptbahnhof and a 10-minute walk from the Reichstag, it's inexpensive and gets good reviews.  If you want to push the boat out, try the famous Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin is right next to the Brandenburg Gate.  More hotels in Berlin.  If you're on a tight budget, see www.hostelworld.com.

• Day 3:  Travel from Berlin to London by ICE train to Cologne, ICE or Thalys train to Brussels and Eurostar to London, using any of the several daytime options shown on the London to Germany page.  For example, you can leave Berlin Hbf at 06:52 arriving London at 16:05 or you can leave Berlin Hbf at 10:52 arriving London St Pancras at 19:57 (21:03 on Saturdays).  It's up to you.

What's the journey like?

1)  London to Cologne by Eurostar & ICE3:  Watch the video guide

2)  Cologne to Berlin by high-speed ICE2...

Pride of the German Railways, ICE2s travel at up to 280km/h (175 mph).  The ICE2s feature both a cafe-bar and restaurant serving proper sit-down meals.  I recommend the weissbier!

3)  Berlin to Warsaw by Berlin-Warszawa Express...

4)  Warsaw to Kiev by Kiev Express...

The Kiev Express has modernised Ukrainian sleeping-cars with 2-berth & 3-berth compartments.  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.  There's no dining-car, so take a picnic and your own supplies of wine or beer.  Photos courtesy of www.andybtravels.com.  See Tim Richards excellent blog entry about of the Kiev Express.

How much does it cost?

How to buy train tickets online...

• Step 1, book your London-Berlin ticket online at the German Railways website bahn.de/en, following the step by step instructions & special links here.  You print your own ticket.

• Step 2, now book your Berlin to Warsaw ticket, also using the German Railways website www.bahn.de/en.  You print your own ticket, although eastbound tickets from Warsaw to Berlin need to be sent by post for a small fee to any address worldwide.

• Step 3, buy a ticket for the Warsaw to Kiev Kiev Express.  It cannot be booked online, the best & easiest option is to order it online via reliable and highly recommended Polish train ticketing agency http://booking.polrail.com, which is the cheapest option.  Tickets can be collected in Warsaw or (at extra charge) shipped to any address worldwide.  Polrail are also pretty good at arranging the return reservation back from Kiev as they have close contacts with Ukrainian Railways. 

  Alternatively, you can buy a Warsaw to Kiev sleeper ticket by phone at the standard international fare from Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66, lines open 09:00-20:00 Mondays-Fridays, 09:00-13:00 at weekends.

• Step 3, you can buy tickets for train journeys within Ukraine online at the official Ukrainian Railways site http://booking.uz.gov.ua/en - see the advice below.  A number of seat61 correspondents have successfully booked tickets this way, using UK or other foreign credit cards.

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.traintours4u.co.uk on 020 7619 1080, 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@TrainTours4U.co.uk.  Traintours4u is an experienced London-based booking agency 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 1080, tickets can be sent outside the UK if necessary.

• Deutsche Bahn's UK phone line 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.

• To buy train tickets for train journeys wholly within Ukraine, see www.ukrainetrains.co.uk (easy, with a small fee) or  http://booking.uz.gov.ua/en/.

• 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 or 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.  Yet another possibility is to ask local travel agency www.arktur.ua to buy Kiev-Warsaw/Berlin tickets for you.

• Buy a special add-on ticket from almost any station in Britain to London International (St Pancras)

• To buy onward tickets from Kiev to Odessa & other Ukrainian cities, see the section below...

Option 2, London to Kiev by daytime trains via Krakow...

It's now possible to reach Kiev using comfortable air-conditioned daytime trains with an overnight hotel stop in Berlin and Krakow, using the modern air-conditioned Przemysl-Lviv-Kiev fast train introduced in December 2016.  If you prefer daytime trains and hotels to sleepers, and fancy a morning (or more) in Krakow on the way, this is ideal.

London ► Kiev

• Day 1 & 2, travel from London to Krakow as shown in detail on the London to Poland page.  You travel London to Berlin on day 1, stay overnight in Berlin, then travel Berlin-Warsaw-Krakow on day 2.

• Stay overnight in Krakow and enjoy a morning exploring the city.

• Day 3, travel from Krakow to Ukraine on a new fast air-conditioned daytime connection, leaving Krakow Glowny at 09:45, changing in Przemysl (arrive 13:17, depart 14:24) and arriving Lviv at 17:17 and Kiev at 22:33.  The Krakow-Przemysl train is a comfortable air-conditioned Polish Intercity train.  The Przemysl-Lviv-Kiev train is a smart air-conditioned Ukrainian express electric train, introduced in December 2016.  If you get any feedback or photos of this new train, do let me know!  Exact times for the Polish train can vary, you'll find it leave at 10:05 on certain dates, 09:32 on others, so check times for your date of travel using the journey planner at www.bahn.de/en.

Kiev ► London

• Day 1, travel from Kiev to Krakow on a new fast air-conditioned daytime connection, leaving Kiev at 06:45 or Lviv at 12:17, changing in Przemysl (arrive 13:25, depart 14:44) and arriving Krakow Glowny at 18:09.  The Kiev-Lviv-Przemysl train is a smart air-conditioned Ukrainian express electric train, introduced in December 2016.  The Przemysl-Krakow train is a comfortable air-conditioned Polish Intercity train.  You can check times for your date of travel using the journey planner at www.bahn.de/en.

• Stay overnight in Krakow.

• Day 2, travel from Krakow back to London using any of the options shown in detail on the London to Poland page.  You travel Krakow to Warsaw to Berlin on day 1, stay overnight in Berlin, then travel Berlin to London on day 3.

How much does it cost?

• See the London to Poland page for fares from London to Krakow.  London to Berlin starts at €59 upwards, Berlin to Krakow starts at €39 upwards.

• Krakow to Przemysl costs around €9.

• Przemysl to Lviv costs €7.10, Przemysl to Kiev costs €13.40.

How to buy tickets online...

• Step 1, book trains from London to Krakow online, see the London to Poland page for step-by-step instructions.

• Step 2, book the Krakow-Przemysl-Kiev tickets through reliable Polish ticketing agency www.polrail.com.  Tickets can be collected in Krakow or for an extra fee, sent anywhere worldwide. 

  Update:  It may now be possible to book the Przemysl to Lviv or Kiev train at Ukrainian Railways http://booking.uz.gov.ua/en - if it works for you (or if it doesn't), do let me know.  You can then book the Krakow to Przemysl train at Polish Railways www.intercity.pl.

• To buy onward tickets from Kiev to Odessa & other Ukrainian cities, see the section below

Option 3, London to Kiev via Prague...

This takes an extra night compared to going via Warsaw, and it involves a few more changes.  But it's the cheapest option thanks to remarkably cheap Brussels-Prague and Prague-Kiev tickets sold by the Czech Railways website and it only involves 3 tickets, all easily bookable online.  With an evening in Brussels, dinner in Prague, and high-quality air-conditioned trains with a comfy sleeper at night, what's not to like?

London ► Kiev

• Day 1, travel from London to Brussels in 2 hours on any Eurostar you like.  The last one lets you leave central London after 7pm, but by all means take an earlier one for an evening or longer in Brussels.

• Stay overnight in Brussels.  I recommend the inexpensive Ibis Brussels Midi, just across the road from Brussels Midi station.  Alternatively, the Pullman Hotel Brussels Midi is a more upmarket option and part of the station complex itself.

• Day 2, travel from Brussels to Prague, leaving Brussels Midi at 08:24 (08:25 at weekends), changing at Frankfurt, Nuremberg & Cheb and arriving at Prague Hlavni at 19:41.  The journey involves top quality high-speed  ICE trains with bistro-restaurant car Brussels-Frankfurt-Nuremberg and comfortable air-conditioned regional trains Nuremberg-Cheb-Prague.  You've time for dinner in Prague.  On Mondays-Saturdays you can leave Brussels two hours earlier if you like, at 06:25, for a longer evening in Prague.

• Day 2 evening, travel from Prague to Kiev by comfortable direct Ukrainian sleeping-car. leaving Prague Hlavni at 23:09 every day, arriving Lviv at 22:24 next day and Kiev at 07:43 the day after that (in other words, 2 nights from Prague, arrival on day 4 from London).

  The sleeper has cosy 3-bed compartments with washbasin which can be used as 2-berth (1st class) or 3-berth (2nd class), see the photos below.  This is an epic and adventurous journey across eastern Europe - the sleeping-car is jacked up at the border to have its bogies changed from standard gauge (4' 8.5") to Russian 5' gauge.

  Tips:  The sleeping-car to Kiev leaves Prague attached to a sleeper train to Humenné in Slovakia, so look for the destination Humenné on the departure boards at Prague Hlavni.  Take your own picnic and bottle of wine or beer as there's no catering car.

Kiev ► London

• Day 1, travel from Kiev to Prague by comfortable direct Ukrainian sleeping-car, leaving Kiev main station at 23:24 and arriving at Prague Hlavni at 07:22 two nights later (day 3).

  The sleeper has cosy 3-bed compartments with washbasin which can be used as 2-berth (1st class) or 3-berth (2nd class), see the photos below.  This is an epic and adventurous journey across eastern Europe - the sleeping-car is jacked up at the border to have its bogies changed from Russian 5' gauge to standard gauge (4' 8.5").  Take your own picnic and bottle of wine or beer as there's no catering car.

• Day 3, travel from Prague to Brussels, leaving Prague Hlavni at 10:37, changing at Cheb, Nuremburg and Frankfurt Flughafen, arriving Brussels Midi at 21:35.  The journey involves comfortable regional trains Prague-Cheb-Nuremberg and top quality high-speed  ICE trains with bistro-restaurant car Nuremberg-Frankfurt-Brussels.

• Stay overnight in Brussels.  I recommend the inexpensive Ibis Brussels Midi, just across the road from Brussels Midi station.  Alternatively, the Pullman Hotel Brussels Midi is a more upmarket option and part of the station complex itself.

• Day 4, travel from Brussels to London in 2 hours on any morning Eurostar you like.  You can arrive in London as early as 08:57 on weekdays, for example.

How much does it cost?

• London to Brussels starts at £44 one-way or £58 return.  Fares work like air fares, so book early for the cheapest prices.

• Brussels to Prague starts at an amazing €21 each way in 2nd class or €40 each way in 1st class if you buy at the Czech Railways website.  This is an advance-purchase First Minute fare, but you can often find this price even booking just a week in advance.  How can CD do such a cheap ticket?  Who knows, but they do!

• Prague to Kiev costs from €65 (around 1689 CZK) with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper if you book in advance online.  Prague to Lviv costs from €51 (around 1340 CZK) including a bed in a 3-bed sleeper if you book in advance online.

How to buy tickets

• Step 1, book from London or 130 UK towns & cities to Brussels at www.eurostar.com and print your own ticket.

• Step 2, book from Brussels to Prague at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz (select English then eshop) and print your own ticket, but - and this is the important bit - to see the cheap First Minute fares you need to enter Cheb in the via box.

• Step 3, now book the Prague to Kiev sleeper also at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz - select English then eshop and book from Prague to Lviv or Kiev.  Make sure you select the direct option shown as without transfers.  You print your own ticket.

  Note that the Czech Railways website only sells 2nd class tickets for 3-bed sleepers, it cannot currently sell 1st class tickets for beds in a 2-bed sleeper, but you can book 3 x 2nd class 3-berth tickets and have a whole compartment for single or dual occupancy if you like.

  Also note that it only sells cheap First Minute advance-purchase fares, it cannot sell regular full-price fares, so if the advance-purchase ticket have sold out you'll have to either book at the station and pay full price (places are usually available) or buy in advance from local Czech travel agency http://czech-transport.com at full price with their booking fee added - Lviv & Kiev are now listed on their online ordering system, so you can order from them online and deliver to your hotel.  Feedback would be appreciated.

  Also note that it can book one-way or round trip tickets starting in Prague, but it cannot sell inward one-way journeys starting in Kiev or Lviv.  These must be booked in Kiev, or through a Ukrainian travel agency.

• To buy onward tickets from Kiev to Odessa & other Ukrainian cities, see the section below

  The direct sleeping-car to Lviv & Kiev awaits departure from Prague Hlavni...

  A sleeper compartment with washbasin.  Courtesy of Alessandro

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The opera house, Lviv...

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, £35-£70 per night.

Option 1, London to Lviv via Warsaw...

The quickest most straightforward route is now via Warsaw, using a new direct Warsaw-Lviv sleeping-car introduced in December 2015.

London ► Lviv

• Travel from London to Berlin on day 1 and Berlin to Warsaw on day 2, as shown on the London to Poland page.

• Day 2 in the evening, travel from Warsaw to Lviv by new direct sleeping-car, leaving Warsaw Centralna at 18:55 and arriving Lviv at 07:15 next morning (day 3 from London).

  It's an older Polish sleeping-car with 2-berth & 3-berth compartments with washbasin, comfortable enough - there's no catering car, so take a picnic and bottle of wine for the evening.

Lviv ► London

• Day 1, travel from Lviv to Warsaw by direct sleeping-car, leaving Lviv at 22:15 and arriving Warsaw Centralna at 09:01 next morning, day 2.  It's an older Polish sleeping-car with 2-berth & 3-berth compartments with washbasin, comfortable enough - there's no catering car, so take a picnic and bottle of wine for the evening.  Enjoy some free time in Warsaw...

• Travel from Warsaw to Berlin in the afternoon of day 2, then Berlin to London on day 3, as shown on the London to Poland page.

How much does it cost?

• See the London to Poland page for fares between London, Berlin & Warsaw.

• Warsaw to Lviv costs around 290 zlotys (€66) including a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 346 zlotys (€79) with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper.

How to buy tickets...

• Buy tickets from London to Berlin & Berlin to Warsaw online or by phone as shown on the London to Poland page.

• The Warsaw-Lviv train cannot be booked online, so order online from reliable Polish ticketing agency www.polrail.com with ticket collection in Warsaw.

Option 2, London to Lviv via Krakow...

It's also possible to go via Krakow, using the daily Krakow-Lviv sleeper train, an ideal route to stop off in Krakow and see two great cities on one trip.  Why not go out one way and back the other?  Indeed, it's possible to go London to Prague, sleeper train Prague to Krakow, then this sleeper train from Krakow to Lviv - three of Europe's best cities in one trip!

London ► Lviv

• 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 from Prague to Krakow, leaving Prague Hlavni at 23:09 and arriving Krakow at 07:05 next morning?  You can buy a ticket for the Prague-Krakow train at the station in Prague when you get there or buy online in advance as shown here.  It has 1, 2 & 3 bed sleepers daily, also 4 & 6 berth couchettes from early March to early November.

• The travel from Krakow to Lviv on the Lviv Express sleeper train.  The Lviv Express leaves Krakow Glowny every day at 22:05 and arrives in Lviv at 07:15 next morning.  The train uses comfortable air-conditioned Polish sleeping-cars with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with washbasin.  The train has special adjustable wheelsets to accommodate the change of gauge at the Ukrainian frontier, from European standard gauge to Russian 5' gauge.

• Alternatively, you can now travel from Krakow to Lviv on a new fast air-conditioned daytime connection with one easy change in Przemysl, leaving Krakow at 09:44 arriving Lviv at 17:17, see the trains from Krakow page for details.

Lviv ► London

• Travel from Lviv to Krakow by direct sleeper train, the Lviv Express, leaving Lviv at 22:15 every day and arriving Krakow at 05:28 next morning.  It has 1, 2 and 3 bed compartments with washbasin.  The train uses comfortable air-conditioned Polish sleeping-cars with special adjustable wheelsets to accommodate the change of gauge at the Ukrainian frontier.

• Alternatively, you can travel from Lviv to Krakow on a new fast air-conditioned daytime connection with one easy change in Przemysl, leaving Lviv at 12:17 arriving Krakow 17:54, see the trains from Krakow page for details.

• 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 22:00 and arriving at Prague Hlavni at 07:40.  It has 1, 2 & 3 bed sleepers daily, also 4 & 6 berth couchettes from early March to early November.  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 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.

How much does it cost?

• See the London to Poland page for fares from London to Krakow.

• Krakow to Lviv costs 204 zlotys (£45 or €50) with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper, 249 zlotys (£52 or €61) with bed in a 2-bed sleeper, or 399 zlotys (£85 or €98) with bed in a single sleeper (one-way per person booked through www.polrail.com)

How to buy tickets online...

• You can book trains from London to Krakow online, see the London to Poland page for step-by-step instructions.  To book a London - Prague - Krakow journey, see the see this section on the London to Poland page.

• You cannot book the sleeper from Krakow to Lviv online, but it's easy to order tickets through highly-recommended Polish train booking agency www.polrail.com - they can usually arrange the return Lviv to Krakow journey as well.  They charge a small fee, and either allow ticket pick up in Krakow or can send to any country worldwide.

• The Krakow to Lviv or Prague to Krakow trains can also be booked by phone with 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.traintours4u.co.uk 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).

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.traintours4u.co.uk 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.

Option 3, London to Lviv via Prague from £92...

This takes a bit longer and involves a few more changes, but it's the cheapest option thanks to remarkably cheap Brussels-Prague and Prague-Lviv tickets sold by the Czech Railways website and it only involves 3 tickets, all easily bookable online.  With an evening in Brussels, dinner in Prague, and high-quality air-conditioned trains with a comfy sleeper at night, what's not to like?

London ► Lviv

• Day 1, travel from London to Brussels in 2 hours on any Eurostar you like.  The last one lets you leave central London after 7pm, but by all means take an earlier one for an evening or longer in Brussels.

• Stay overnight in Brussels.  I recommend the inexpensive Ibis Brussels Midi, just across the road from Brussels Midi station.  Alternatively, the Pullman Hotel Brussels Midi is a more upmarket option and part of the station complex itself.

• Day 2, travel from Brussels to Prague, leaving Brussels Midi at 08:24 (08:25 at weekends), changing at Frankfurt, Nuremberg & Cheb and arriving at Prague Hlavni at 19:41.  The journey involves top quality high-speed  ICE trains with bistro-restaurant car Brussels-Frankfurt-Nuremberg and comfortable air-conditioned regional trains Nuremberg-Cheb-Prague.  You've time for dinner in Prague.  On Mondays-Saturdays you can leave Brussels two hours earlier if you like, at 06:25, for a longer evening in Prague.

• Day 2 evening, travel from Prague to Lviv by comfortable direct Ukrainian sleeping-car. leaving Prague Hlavni at 23:09 every day, arriving Lviv at 22:24 next day (day 3 from London).

  The sleeper has cosy 3-bed compartments with washbasin which can be used as 2-berth (1st class) or 3-berth (2nd class), see the photos below.  This is an epic and adventurous journey across eastern Europe - the sleeping-car is jacked up at the border to have its bogies changed from standard gauge (4' 8.5") to Russian 5' gauge.

  Tips:  The sleeping-car to Lviv & Kiev leaves Prague attached to a sleeper train to Humenné in Slovakia, so look for the destination Humenné on the departure boards at Prague Hlavni.  Take your own picnic and bottle of wine or beer as there's no catering car.

Lviv ► London

• Day 1, travel from Lviv to Prague by comfortable direct Ukrainian sleeping-car, leaving Lviv at 10:10 and arriving at Prague Hlavni at 07:22 next morning (day 2).

  The sleeper has cosy 3-bed compartments with washbasin which can be used as 2-berth (1st class) or 3-berth (2nd class), see the photos below.  This is an epic and adventurous journey across eastern Europe - the sleeping-car is jacked up at the border to have its bogies changed from Russian 5' gauge to standard gauge (4' 8.5").  Take your own picnic and bottle of wine or beer as there's no catering car.

• Day 2, travel from Prague to Brussels, leaving Prague Hlavni at 10:37, changing at Cheb, Nuremburg and Frankfurt Flughafen, arriving Brussels Midi at 21:35.  The journey involves comfortable regional trains Prague-Cheb-Nuremberg and top quality high-speed  ICE trains with bistro-restaurant car Nuremberg-Frankfurt-Brussels.

• Stay overnight in Brussels.  I recommend the inexpensive Ibis Brussels Midi, just across the road from Brussels Midi station.  Alternatively, the Pullman Hotel Brussels Midi is a more upmarket option and part of the station complex itself.

• Day 3, travel from Brussels to London in 2 hours on any morning Eurostar you like.  You can arrive in London as early as 08:57 on weekdays, for example.

How much does it cost?

• London to Brussels starts at £44 one-way or £58 return.  Fares work like air fares, so book early for the cheapest prices.

• Brussels to Prague starts at an amazing €21 each way in 2nd class or €40 in 1st class if you buy at the Czech Railways website.  This is an advance-purchase First Minute fare, but you can often find this price even booking just a week in advance.  How can CD do such a cheap ticket?  Who knows, but they do!

• Prague to Lviv costs from €34 (around 880 CZK) including a bed in a 3-bed sleeper if you book an advance-purchase First Minute fare at the Czech Railways website.  Full-price paid at the station on the day is likely to be around €50.

How to buy tickets

• Step 1, book from London or 130 UK towns & cities to Brussels at www.eurostar.com and print your own ticket.

• Step 2, book from Brussels to Prague at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz (select English then eshop) and print your own ticket, but - and this is the important bit - to see the cheap First Minute fares you need to enter Cheb in the via box.

• Step 3, now book the Prague to Kiev sleeper also at the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz - select English then eshop and book from Prague to Lviv or Kiev.  You print your own ticket.  Make sure you select the direct option shown as without transfers.

  Note that the Czech Railways website only sells 2nd class tickets for 3-bed sleepers, it cannot currently sell 1st class tickets for beds in a 2-bed sleeper, but you can book 3 x 2nd class 3-berth tickets and have a whole compartment for single or dual occupancy if you like.

  Also note that it only sells cheap First Minute advance-purchase fares, it cannot sell regular full-price fares, so if the advance-purchase ticket have sold out you'll have to either book at the station and pay full price (places are usually available) or buy in advance from local Czech travel agency http://czech-transport.com at full price with their booking fee added - Lviv & Kiev are now listed on their online ordering system, so you can order from them online and deliver to your hotel.  Feedback would be appreciated.

  Also note that it can book one-way or round trip tickets starting in Prague, but it cannot sell inward one-way journeys starting in Kiev or Lviv.  These must be booked in Kiev, or through a Ukrainian travel agency.

  The direct sleeping-car to Lviv & Kiev awaits departure from Prague Hlavni...

  A sleeper compartment with washbasin.  Courtesy of Alessandro

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London to Yalta & Balaclava

These places now lie inside Russian-occupied Ukraine.  But for the record...

Yalta...

A seaside resort and site of the 1945 Yalta Conference, Yalta has no railway station but it can be reached by trolleybus from Simferopol.  These run every 20 minutes throughout the day.  It's the longest trolleybus ride in the world, taking a very scenic (but bum-numbing...) 2 hours 40 minutes across the mountain range and down to the coast.  The fare is just a few hryvnia.

Livadia Palace, site of the Yalta Conference 1945:  Don't miss the Livadia Palace on the coast just outside Yalta town centre - the famous photographs of Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin seated side-by-side at the 1945 conference was taken in the courtyard here.  The photo on the right shows the same courtyard today.  For a mass-murderer, Stalin was pretty good at choosing cool conference locations...

Balaclava...

Balaclava, 7 miles from Sevastopol, also has no railway station.  It's most easily (and very cheaply - about £2) reached by taxi, but there are also buses (with a change of bus required from trolleybus to diesel bus at the out-of-town trolleybus terminal).  In recent times a submarine maintenance base, it was closed to foreigners until 1996.  During the Crimean war of 1854-55 the British used it as their supply port for the siege of Sevastopol.  You can climb up to the ruined fortress on the hill overlooking the harbour on one side and the Black Sea on the other.

The charge of the Light Brigade, 1854... 

"...into the Valley of Death rode the six hundred..."  wrote Alfred Lord Tennyson.  Walking or taking a taxi the three miles inland from Balaclava town you can visit the site of the Battle of Balaclava, where the famous 'charge of the Light Brigade' took place during the Crimean war.  The battlefield is completely unmarked, so take a good map.

The photo on the left shows the site of the battle and the famous charge today, when the Light Brigade would find their horses hindered by the endless vineyards.  In the photo, the Light Brigade would have charged from left to right towards the line of Russian guns which were lined up across the shallow valley roughly where the line of tall pointed trees is in the distance.  Only about 100 of the 600 British cavalry survived.

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Train travel in Ukraine

What are Ukrainian trains like?

Classic Ukrainian sleeper trains offer the normal 'Russian' range of sleeping accommodation:

• Spalny Wagon 2-berth compartments (1st class).  Some trains have Russian-style compartments with both beds at the lower level, other trains use European-style cars with an upper and lower berth plus a washbasin.

• Kupé 4-berth compartments (2nd class), 9 compartments per coach.  Toilets and washrooms are at the end of the corridor.

• Platskartny open-plan dormitory cars (3rd class).  Bunks are arranged in bays of four on one side of the aisle, in bays of 2 alongside the coach wall on the other side of the aisle, 54 bunks per coach.

Whichever class of travel you choose, each coach is looked after by a pair of attendants called a 'provodnik' (male) or 'provodnitsa' (female).  The provodnik will check your ticket at the door to the sleeper when you board.  Shortly after departure, the provodnik will come round to take your ticket.  You may be asked if you would like a glass of black Ukrainian tea ('chai') - this costs about 3 gryvnia, or about 30p.  Bedding (two sheets, pillowcase and towel) is then handed out in sealed packs - blankets and mattresses will already be stacked in your compartment.  After a few journeys, you will become quite proficient at making up your bed!

A samovar with unlimited free hot water is available at the end of the corridor - pack some tea or coffee, sugar, cuppa soups or water-based drinking chocolate and bring your own mug.   Most long distance trains have a restaurant car serving drinks, snacks, and inexpensive full meals - reckon on less than £6 for two courses and a couple of bottles of beer.

There is no need to worry about security on Ukrainian trains, it's the way Ukrainians themselves travel, including families and women travelling alone.  Just use the same common sense that you would use anywhere, use the locks on your compartment door at night and don't leave valuables unattended.  In addition to the normal lock on the compartment door, 'Spalny Wagon' and 'kupé' compartments have a security latch which stops the door opening more than an inch or two, and which cannot be released from outside.  There's also a safe place for your bags at night - if you have a bottom bunk, there is a metal box underneath the bunk which you can only get to by lifting up the bunk - in other words, for anyone to get to your bags, they will have to shift you off your bunk first!  Your provodniks will probably also lock the access doors at each end of the corridor at night to prevent any unwanted guests.

New fast InterCity trains...

Fast air-conditioned day trains branded InterCity now link a number of Ukrainian cities, in addition to the traditional overnight sleeper trains.  These InterCity trains have 1st & 2nd class and a bar counter.  For example:

• Kyiv to Lviv:  There are two fast intercity trains, one early morning and another early evening taking as little as 4h59, fare around 465 UAH in first class, about €18.  There's also a classic sleeper train taking almost 8 hours.

• Kyiv to Odessa:  There's one fast InterCity train leaving Kiev late afternoon and taking 6h56, fare around 465 UAH in 1st class, about €18.  There's also a classic overnight sleeper.

To check train times within Ukraine, use the links for buying tickets below such as http://booking.uz.gov.ua/en/.

How to buy tickets...

• Reservations are fully computerised, and you can book train tickets up to 45 days in advance for any journey within, or originating within, Ukraine at any Ukrainian railway station.  If your Ukrainian or Russian isn't up to scratch, write down your requirements, using the Cyrillic (Russian) script if you can.  Alternatively, to avoid the queues and any language hassles, you can book rail tickets through travel agencies, for example those located in the lobbies of certain major hotels.

Buy Ukrainian train tickets online... 

Option 1, buy online direct from Ukrainian Railways at http://booking.uz.gov.ua/en/...

	The internet ticket collection window at Kiev station.  Note the break times, so don't leave it till the last minute to collect tickets & find them closed!  Though for many front-rank trains you'll now get a print-at-home e-ticket, so no need to collect.  Courtesy of David Aspa.

• You can book Ukrainian train tickets online direct from Ukrainian Railways (UZ, www.uz.gov.ua) using their English-language online booking facility at http://booking.uz.gov.ua/en/.

• It has a few quirky translations, but it's the cheapest way to buy tickets as there are minimal fees.  Remember that Kiev in Ukrainian is 'Kyiv'.  'Suite / First-Class Sleeper' means beds in 2-berth Spalny Vagon sleepers.  'Coupe / Coach With Compartments' means beds in 4-berth kupé sleepers.  'Berth/Third-Class Sleeper' means Platskartny open-plan bunks.  InterCity trains are clearly marked in the search results.

• At the end of the booking you might get a print-at-home e-ticket for some trains which you can just print and board the train, or for other trains you might get a voucher which must be exchanged for a ticket at the station before departure, for example in Kiev main station there's a collection counter at window 12, hall 4 in the old wing of the station, with a self-service collection machine installed there too. Just read the confirmation page carefully to see what you have to do once you have made your booking.

• Several seat61 correspondents have successfully used this to book tickets, using UK or other non-Ukrainian credit cards.  Feedback if you use this service would be appreciated!

Option 2, buy tickets from www.trainticketsukraine.com or other agencies...

• If you have any problems using the official UZ website, there are several reliable agencies who can book Ukrainian train tickets for you and either allow you to collect them or courier them to your home country.  Try www.trainticketsukraine.com.  Naturally, all agencies charge a fee or mark-up over the official Ukrainian Railways site.

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Kiev station

Kiev-Pas...    See location map

Kiev has one main central station, usually known as plain Kiev, officially Kiev Passazhyrsky, often abbreviated to Kiev-Pas.  It's one big central station but it has two terminal buildings, one each side of the tracks.  The classic station building on the northern side of the tracks was built in 1949 and is shown in the photos below.  The terminal on the southern side (sometimes misleadingly referred to as Kiev Southern Station) is a striking glass-and-steel building dating from 2002.  You'll find all the usual main station facilities at Kiev-Pas.  The metro station for Kiev-Pas is called Kiev Vokzalna.  Location map showing station.

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Ferries from Ukraine

Various ferries used to run between Istanbul and Odessa, appearing and disappearing.  Further feedback always appreciated!

Istanbul - Odessa ferry:  www.ukrferry.com

• Sails twice a week between Istanbul (= Haydarpasa, on eastern side of the Bosphorus) and Odessa (= Chernomorsk, just south of the city), a 23 hour voyage across the Black Sea.

• Departure from Odessa on Tuesdays & Fridays, usually evening.  Departure from Haydarpasa on Thursdays & Sundays, usually midday.  You can check this at www.ukrferry.com although it takes a bit of effort.  The English selector is top left.

• The company is Ukrferry and the vessels are the Vilnius Seaways & Kaunas Seaways with a range of cabins available, fares from $90 with bunk in a shared 6-berth, deluxe private cabins also available.

• This ferry is operating in 2017 and taking foot passengers, you can contact them to check the current status.  Feedback appreciated!

• Traveller Silvan Wyss took this ferry in July 2017:

  "I booked the ferry some weeks in advance and paid 2580 UAH (€85).  The online booking tool on www.ukrferry.com works quite smoothly and some moments after payment I had the confirmation in my spamfolder.  Foot passengers have to check-in in an office building some kilometres from the actual port in Chornomorsk and the time for that seems to be 2pm no matter when the ship actually leaves.  After some waiting me and around 15 fellow passengers were brought to the port by minibus.  Here I had to go through customs and passport checks which included some waiting in not very welcoming rooms without windows.  Finally at around 5pm I arrived in my cabin which I shared with another passenger, with the scheduled departure at 9pm.

  During the 27 hour trip the restaurant served four meals without any choice, you just have to eat what they cook but this was perfectly OK. Apart from that there is a duty-free shop selling spirits and a bar selling drinks and some crisps at some times during the sailing. The cabin was nice with a small but very clean washroom.  All information aboard the ferry, whether written or spoken is in Russian only.  Foreigners sometimes really had to fight for some info in English.

  While the actual cruise could be described as "boring", sailing through the Bosphorus late in the evening was very nice.  Turkish immigration was rather weird with some officers entering the ship and controlling the passports in the bar area.  After some more waiting time, foot passengers were then guided out of the ship and finally left alone in the middle of the desert of Haydarpasa port.  Not that nice at around 1am.  I decided to walk to Kadiköy, other travellers may prefer a taxi here.

  Did I like it? - Well, yes. the journey itself was very nice.  However, all the procedures before and after are very time consuming with little or no information and medium friendly staff.  After all, it seems as if foot passengers are rather tolerated than actually welcome...
  Would I recommend it? - Yes!  To everyone who has the time and wants to experience something different.

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Definitely invest in a good guidebook. For the serious independent traveller the best guidebook is probably the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide.

Buy Lonely Planet Ukraine online at Amazon.co.uk

 

 

 

 

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European Rail Timetable & maps

The European Rail Timetable (formerly the Thomas Cook European Timetable) has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  It is essential for regular European train travellers and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Published since 1873, it had just celebrated 140 years of publication when Thomas Cook decided to pull the plug on their entire publishing department, but the dedicated ex-Thomas Cook team have set up a private venture and published the first edition of a reborn European Rail Timetable in March 2014.  You can buy it online with worldwide shipping at either www.stanfords.co.uk or www.europeanrailtimetable.eu.  More information on what the European Rail Timetable contains.

A Traveller's Railway Map of Europe covers the whole of Europe from Portugal in the west to Moscow & Istanbul in the east, Finland in the north to Sicily & Athens in the south.  On the back are detailed maps of Switzerland, Benelux & Germany, plus city plans showing stations in major cities.  Scenic & high-speed routes highlighted.  Buy it online for £14.50 + postage worldwide (UK addresses £2.80) at www.stanfords.co.uk/Continents/Europe-A-Travellers-Railway-Map_9789077899090.htm or (in the Netherlands) for €13 + €5.50 postage from www.treinreiswinkel.nl.

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Find hotels in Kiev & Ukraine...

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.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in Copenhagen and most other European cities at rock-bottom prices.

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Travel insurance & health card...

Take out decent travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel without proper travel insurance from a reliable insurer with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover loss of cash & belongings (up to a limit), and trip cancellation.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year - I have an annual policy myself.  However, don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here.  Here are some suggested insurers, Seat61 gets a little commission if you buy through these links, and feedback from using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome.

In the UK, use www.confused.com to compare prices & policy features across major insurance companies.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65, see www.JustTravelCover.com - 10% discount with code seat61.

        If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

Get an EU health card, it's free...

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 ww.nhs.uk.  It doesn't remove the need for travel insurance, though.

Carry a spare credit card, designed for travel with no currency exchange loading & low/no ATM fees

Taking out an extra credit card costs nothing, but if you keep it in a different part of your luggage you won't be left stranded if your wallet gets stolen.  In addition, some credit cards are 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.

 

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