This week in London I bought a Ukrainian visa. It took three days and cost forty pounds. It was a "private" visa, which means that I found a travel office in Kiev and had permission to quote them as host. They are, in fact, booking my trains across Ukraine and on to Poland. I asked them to book my a cheap hotel, chosen from the Lonely Planet guide, but they undercut that with an offer of a room in a centrally placed flat. I gave the flat's address in the application form, but so far as I casn see nobody checked anything, so I could have put down any likely address. I applied for a six day stay, and was given six months ! Nothing in the visa says where I'm to go: I could pop off to Odessa or Lvov if I had the time.

The application needed two passport photos, and they take payment by cheque or postal order, not in cash.

Possible offices to write to are these.
larissa at uitlr@public.ua.net.
http://www.visatorussia.com/russianvisa.nsf/tourist_visa_support.html
oksana@trav.kiev.ua
The Intourist Service Bureau, Hotel Zhorzh, plotscha Mitskevycha 1, City Centre, Lviv, phone ++380 32 276 3469, fax ++380 32 276 3830, take faxed orders
http://www.hotelsukraine.com. Their hotels are expensive
For slightly expensive homestays for a few days, then freedom to do as you will: http://webcenter.ru/~hofa/.

Please write if I can help further.

Ben Haines, London
ben.haines@btinternet.com