jfcarli

Any help re train availability from Budapest to Kiev and, if possible schedules, time needed as well as cost will be most appreciated. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

thursdaysd

See www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml Looks like around 24 hours. Suggest stopping somewhere on the way - I really liked Lviv.

hopscotch

I second Lviv/Lvov.

Stokes

I know that this thread hasn't had a reply in years, but it's the #1 result on Google for "Budapest Kiev Train" and it contains little information, so here's how it goes.

I made this trip a few months ago, not knowing what to expect because of the scant information on sites like this.

•There is one train a day.

•It leaves from the main Budapest train station at about 6 •every evening.

•I purchased my tickets the day before the trip, I don't think you need to bother booking.

•These tickets cost me ~€70 (single and sleeper carriage).

•On the platform, once you've found the correct train, look for the carriage with "Київ" (Kiev) written on a piece of card on the side of the train, this is your carriage. Different carriages go to different places. Do not leave your carriage once you get on it. If you go walking about the train at night conductors will start shouting at you in Ukrainian or Russian.

•There is nowhere to buy food or water on the train. I ate a traditional Eastern European meal of "КFČ Fáмilч бučкet" (whatever that is) before I left. You will be on the train for about 24 hours. Bring lots of water, plenty of food and something to keep yourself entertained, also bring a few pens and about 20 US Dollars in cash.
Many of the locals can be seen cooking on portable stoves in their carriages, they know the score.

•The sleeping arrangements are surprisingly comfortable as long as you don't fall of the top bunk at night (8ft high and no rail on the side). There is a small handbasin in the corner of your room, a shaving socket (can be used to charge iPod, camera, etc if you have the correct adapter).

•At about 8-9pm the conductor will bring around the Visa application form. It is very straightforward and in English/Ukrainian. The conductor will probably not speak any English and does not have any spare pens. Fill out this form and keep it safe with your Passport and ticket.

•At about 1am, the men with guns will start knocking on your door. Give them your passport, visa application form, ticket and if they hassle you (not likely), give them about 10 dollars. Once they leave with your passport and papers, lock the door.

•You carriage will then be violently shunted around for about an hour, if you are on the top bunk, hold on! It's a long drop to the ground. You will hear people running around in the darkness outside, sometimes shouting, or muffled cries. Occasionally you will hear what sounds like gunshots, but don't worry.

•About 2-3am, the men with guns return your passport and ticket (but never the cash...sigh). Look at you passport, they've stamped a cute little Choo-Choo train on it.

•Welcome to the Ukraine!

•Over the next 16 hours, the train will journey some of the most rural and poor parts of eastern Europe. I even saw a man in a harness pulling a plough up a muddy field!. The concrete apartment blocks of the soviet era will whistle by, as will two beautiful national parks.

•At about 6-7pm, the train will arrive in Kiev.

I really enjoyed the trip. the 24 hours really flew by and I'd love to travel that route again, just for the adventure.
A+++++ Would travel again.

chapla

My father and I did this trip from Lviv to Budapest.We thought we would die-the train shook/swerved so much,sleep was impossible.At the border we had no idea it would take so long to continue the trip- it was in the middle of the night and afte about 3 hours we got our paasports back and finally continued on to Budapest.
What a nightmare!We really chewed out the travel agent when we go home.

PalenQ

hapla - when did you do that nightmarish train ride from Hell - several years ago or recently - are border snafus still that ridiculous - redolent of overnight trains in western Europe years and years ago. Thanks.

gwan

Thanks for the laugh! I'm planning 4 overnight train trips in the Ukraine this summer (all within the borders, so hopefully a bit easier) but am half dreading/half looking forward to the experience. I think the longest one is about 18 hours, for a journey of about 250 miles as the crow flies, although presumably there's quite a bit of extra distance added skirting Moldova.

thursdaysd

gwan - you could always stop off in Moldova, it's Transnistria where you have to bribe the border guards. Which trains? I took the Simferapol-Odessa night train in 2006. Not uncomfortable, although I could have done without the over-friendly guy who wanted to party. (See http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html )

gwan

Thanks, I have had a look at your blog before, very interesting, and nice to read about the experiences of another woman travelling around this area solo Planning Kiev-Lviv, Lviv-Chernivtsi, Chernivtsi-Odessa (this is the killer), Odessa-Kiev. Unfortunately I only have 2 weeks on the ground, so I'm not sure I have time for jaunts to Moldova, unless there's some sort of connecting bus/train that cuts down on the travel time?

My biggest worry is that the train tickets might somehow sell out before I get there, I'm too cheap to pay triple or quadruple the ticket price going through an agency! Hopefully it will be okay since I'll have a week or so to book them in Kiev before the leg down to the Black Sea (??)

thursdaysd

I've been to Chernivtsi,and I can't think of one good reason to go back. The villages in the Carpathians north of Chernivtsi, yes. Chernivtsi, no. Especially as you could get straight from Lviv (Lvov) to Odessa in 14 hours with one change (see bahn.de).

But if you're going all that way south just for Odessa I'd be inclined to skip it this trip and stay north. Spend some time in the Carpathians, or take a quick look at northern Romania, or visit Krakow...

I wouldn't worry too much about train tickets in that part of the world, except perhaps for sleepers. You could try the outfit I used for my Simferapol-Odessa ticket if you really want to do the long haul to Odessa - http://www.travel-2-ukraine.com/

thursdaysd

Oh, forgot about the Moldova question. I took a bus from Odessa to Moldova (Chisinau), from Moldova to Romania (Suceava) and from Romania to Chernivtsi. The train from Odessa to Chisinau wasn't running at the time.

BTW, do you have a blog or website?

gwan

Hi thanks for your response! Chernivtsi was mostly based on wanting to take a trip to Kamyanets-Podilsky, my guidebook suggested it was much easier to reach via Chernivtsi than direct from Lviv, and had some nice things to say about Chernivtsi as well. I don't think I'd noticed the length of the trip down to Odessa thereafter at that stage I am quite keen to get to Odessa though (just sorry not to have time for the Crimea as well).

Perhaps it would be smarter to go from Lviv to Odessa as you suggest and perhaps that way I could have a day or two in the Crimea? (Sorry if I should be starting a new thread for this btw).

I do have a blog, www.gwannelsandiego.blogspot.com although it's very dull going at the moment since I haven't been travelling much & have been lazy with updating it. I will definitely blog my Ukraine travels though...

Sometimes I think I must be a bit mad to

gwan

Oops, cut off there. "...mad to plan and do this all on my own". So your experiences are definitely reassuring - while I'm not planning on using guides at this stage, I think I have more Russian than you did (if I'm interpreting your blog correctly) so I am taking courage from the fact that you seemed to get on okay finding your way, negotiating with taxi drivers etc.

thursdaysd

Hi gwan - I have no Russian at all, just an ability to transliterate Cyrillic (or I did, need to relearn it for my upcoming trip). I only used a guide for Romania, I did Ukraine on my own. I do think a new thread would be a good idea.

From Chernivtsi I took a bus to Kolomiya and a day train from there to Lviv.

gwan

Even better news if you managed it without a guide as well (I must have gotten mixed up between your destinations, sorry). I have started a new thread with my itinerary, comments gratefully received

chapla

I visited Ukraine 3 years ago- the capital,Kiev was still very Russian.Lviv was a little more Urainian.It made me very sad because Uraine used to be called the breadbasket but everywhere we saw uncultivated/neglected fields not looked after,rusted out machinery.
Kiev was certainly better maintained but in my opinion,Lviv was so neglected.You can see the influence of the archictecture of Paris in the buildings/boulevards.The opera house is a beautiful building but full of fleas-we have learned that it has been redone!
I still have flashbacks of that terrible train ride.


whenwe saw the conditon of the pillows,sheet and blanket we decided not to get inot/fall out of the bunks!

spaarne

I didn't go from Budapest. I went east from Kiev to a city I forget the name of. It was a 21 hour overnight train. The T-4 compartment was comfortable and I had a good nights sleep. The only problem was that the toilet was plugged and there was water everywhere. There was a maid of some sorts in the car but she did nothing. This was about 20 years ago.

thursdaysd

"in my opinion,Lviv was so neglected"

Hmmm, I was there in 2006, before you, and I thoroughly enjoyed the city. It didn't look that neglected to me, and in fact they were busy renovating the main square. My pix are here if anyone wants to take a look: http://kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/E...-Kolomiya-Lviv - start at no. 25.

I travel with a silk sleep sack for night trains in case I don't like the look of the bedding. Taking hours to clear the border is normal on international trains - they have to process everyone on the train. Crossing from Russia to Mongolia it took three hours getting out of Russia and three hours getting into Mongolia.