Obvious things for locals in Ukraine – transport, housing or even mail – become a complicated task for foreigners. Where to buy train tickets? How to deliver things, or which taxi services work as alternatives to the half-dead Ukrainian Uber?
So, this text contains a very simple, but necessary list of basic services for traveling to Ukraine. For convenience, KOSHT publishes the same text in Ukrainian.
Transport
You can travel to Ukraine by train from bordering Polish cities or by direct buses from a number of European countries. International trains to Ukraine go from Polish Warsaw, Chelm and Przemyśl, from Austrian Vienna, Hungarian Budapest and other cities.
All railway tickets can be purchased on the website of the only railway operator in Ukraine – “Ukrzaliznytsia” — or in the application of the same name on Android and iOS. The application is available in English.
The service also offers the following services:
- return of tickets;
- receiving a notification about the route and train arrival/departure track;
- finding the necessary route and answers to frequently asked questions about transportation;
- access to a personal account with route history and passenger data saved for quick re-orders.
Learn more about how to buy a train ticket through the Ukrzaliznytsia application at the link.
Also, one direct international train of the Czech carrier Regiojet runs to Ukraine on the Prague-Chop route. You can buy tickets and view the current schedule on the Regiojet website.
Among the international bus operators, FlixBus has a wide network between Europe and a number of Ukrainian cities. There are also several small carriers operating on Europe-Ukraine routes, tickets for which can be found on aggregator sites such as BusFor or Privatbank.tickets.
Housing reservation
The service for finding Airbnb accommodation in Ukraine is not very popular, but Booking (web version | Android | iOS) is in high demand. Along with this, through Booking you can rent not only a hostel or a hotel, but also an ordinary apartment on the outskirts of the city.
If you need long-term housing rental, you can use OLX (web version | Android | iOS), LUN (Android | iOS), or Bird (Android | iOS) services.
LUN is available for most regional centers. In small towns, there is practically no alternative to OLX. The Bird application shows apartments only in Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Dnipro, but uses artificial intelligence to search for apartments according to the specified parameters.
All three services have minimal verification, so be aware of fraud – especially on OLX. At the same time, you can partially protect yourself with the LUN service, which offers video tours of the apartment and viewing 3D models of residential complexes.
Announcements on these services are posted in Ukrainian. Therefore, for translation, it is better to use the web version to enable automatic translation in the browser (right mouse button – “Translate page” on a laptop, or highlight the text and press “Translate” for the mobile version).
Through all of these services, you can contact the homeowner or realtor either by writing or calling them.
Exchange rates and payments
You can follow the exchange rate and navigate the market exchange rate using the Multi-service (Android | iOS). It allows you to monitor the market rate of currencies in bank branches and exchange points in all cities. You can also find the nearest bank branches and exchange offices.
You can pay for goods and services in Ukraine using a bank card or Google Pay/Apple Pay. The only exception is public transport in some cities (routes), markets, etc.
However, even in the local markets, sellers often offer the option to send money to their personal bank card. Transfer to the card can be made through the EasyPay service (web version | Android | iOS), which allows you to make payments from a linked card of any bank.
EasyPay also allows you to pay utility bills, mobile communications, transport tickets, etc.
Air raid alarms and shelters
A siren informs about the air alarm. You can also install the Air Alarm app (Android | iOS) and the alarm will be sent to your phone. Works throughout Ukraine.
In general, you can monitor the situation with air alarms throughout the country with the help of a special online map at the link.
The official Telegram and WhatsApp channels of Ukraine’s Air Force notify users about the movement of enemy targets. In Telegram, you can manually translate individual posts into English, the entire channel can be translated with Telegram Premium starting at $3.50 per month.
During the air raid alarm, it is necessary to immediately go to a shelter. You can find the nearest ones using a special map at the link.
Navigation and public transport
To navigate in a new area, you can use Google Maps (Android | iOS). With its help, you can plan a walking route or public transport route. However, it pulls up only public transport in certain cities and does not show private carriers, which are quite common in Ukraine (so-called minibusses). Also, Google Maps is not intercity transport.
The best option for laying public transport routes is the EasyWay service. It has a web version as well as Android and iOS apps. At the same time, it displays the routes of private transport in all cities (routes). Available for all major cities of Ukraine.
Local SIM card
You can buy and activate a SIM card of Ukrainian mobile operators without authorization and documents – you just need to insert it into your phone and top up your account.
You can buy a local SIM card in shops, train stations or even supermarkets. At the same time, you can also buy a virtual card – eSIM. However, the phone must support it. The list of smartphones that support eSIM can be found at the link.
You can purchase and install a virtual card from the websites of mobile operators such as Kyivstar, Vodafone and Lifecell.
Later, you can manage your account balance, choose a tariff plan, top-up, etc. in the operators’ mobile applications: “My Kyivstar” (Android | iOS), My Vodafone (Android | iOS), Lifecell (Android | iOS).
Food delivery
To order food, you can use Glovo or Bolt Food services.
Glovo works in Kyiv, Lviv, Lutsk, Odesa, Vinnytsia and others (map). However, there is no English language.
Glovo has a web version and apps for Android and iOS. Customers can order delivery of products from supermarkets, restaurants and cafes. In addition to food, you can order medicine and flowers. At the same time, the service adds a commission for the service, therefore, products in stores, pharmacies and establishments will be a little more expensive than they actually are.
The delivery time also depends on the preparation of the order by the establishment, traffic jams and the courier’s busyness and can range from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. You can pay for the order in cash to the courier or by card on the website/application.
Learn more about how to make an order with Glovo at the link.
Bolt Food (Android | iOS) works on the same principle. Available in Kyiv, Lviv, Lutsk, Dnipro, Poltava and other cities (map). The availability of English is an advantage.
Food establishments
You can find an establishment nearby, view its menu and reserve a table through the Expirenza application (Android | iOS). Where you can also pay the bill and leave a tip to the waiter.
In total, more than 1,700 establishments throughout Ukraine are connected to the service. English is available in the application.
For postal transportation, it is better to choose Nova Poshta. It has slightly more expensive rates but has a convenient mobile application for parcel management and faster delivery. Delivery from abroad (personal or from stores) and vice versa is also available.
Nova Poshta has an application for Android and iOS that is available in English. In it, you can monitor the shipment, entrust the receipt to someone else, change the place of delivery, and pay. When sending a parcel, you can create the invoice by yourself, fill in all the details, and at the post office, simply let the operator scan the barcode.
Medicine
The Helsi medical application (web version | Android | iOS) allows you to find a hospital near you and book an appointment with a doctor. The review will be paid. Online consultation is also available.
The service is available in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Poltava, Sumy, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernivtsi and several other cities.
It is also important that authorization is possible only with a Ukrainian number, so you will need a local SIM card. Only Ukrainian language is available in the application, in the web version you can use browser translation or Google Translate.
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