HELP PLEASE IST-UKR-MOL-ROM-BULG-IST | Europe - Eastern Europe & the Caucasus - Lonely Planet Forum

ONLINE

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 11:29:08 +0000

Hi there.

I want to travel from Istanbul to Odessa (by ferry) hang about in the Ukraine for about a week and then go to Moldova, then on to Romania, Bulgaria and back to Istanbul - all this over a month.

I need some current up to date info on the following:

Is the Caledonia the cheapest ferry?
Do I (as a NZ citizen) require a visa/invitation to Ukraine? Should I get one before I arrive, and from where?
Do I require the same for Moldova? (I understand the other countries will be okay at the border for Visas?)

If I need to have a hotel or something on my invitation which one should it be and do I have to stay there?

If I do get visas/invitations do I need to be strict with the dates? For instance if I arrive at the border a few days after the visa/invitation starts is this going to cause drama?

Is hitching through these counrties realistic? What about motorbike hire or car hire, or is the train better? I assume I can hire a car for a day or two in Chisniau or Odessa or anywhere for that matter.

Is such a trip (the route I plan) a common trip and has anyone here done something similar?

I am poor by my own countries standards and would obviously prefer not to pay loads of money for things I don't really need. I am happy to stay in local accomodation and to travel cheaply.

Any information would be helpful and if you live in these areas or have been through them and can offer advice that too would be really helpful.

Thanks

David

ONLINE

Sun, 25 Feb 2007 18:15:05 +0000

Yes, you DO require an invitation letter and you MUST obtain the visa in advance. Are you too lazy to do your own research on this?

Yes, those of you who must get invitation letters must prebook accomodation. There is no visa registration for anybody once inside Ukraine, so in theory you could MAYBE cancel some of a prebooked stay and stay elsewhere. Just be warned that hotels in Ukraine aren't very consumer oriented and they aren't likely to let you prebook, say, 5 days and then cancel the last 4 without paying them for some or all of the 5 days. Others from Australia might be able to give you hints on how they do this as they also need visas for Ukraine.

Unless Ukraine has changed from when almost everybody needed visas to go there, your visa is good for 6 months from the date the embassy issues it. So if they still do that, you will have no problem entering when you want.

In theory, you MIGHT be able to hitchhike in Ukraine, but nobody will speak English and you will definitely be expected to pay for the ride.

I don't know that it's possible anywhere in the country to rent a motorbike. In the past it was claimed that cars could be rented (by the way, I'm American and we and the Canadians say "rent a car" where you say "hire a car") only in Kiev. I have never heard of car rental being possible in Odessa. Ukrainian roads can be very bad. I don't advise tourists to drive there. There really is no reason as the train can take you anywhere worth going to.

Cheap accomodation in Odessa can be VERY difficult to find. You are going on the cheap and you are going to crap your pants and have a heart attack when you see what local hotels cost in Odessa. You better arrange something in advance like a hostel stay (I think there is only one in Odessa) or an apartment rental or you better pray that you can find an old lady at the train station with a room to rent. If you go in the summer, which is the busiest time in Odessa, you will have less luck finding a cheap place to stay. There are one or two cheap hotels in Odessa, but they are away from the city center and they may not like to rent you a room. The only foreigners I've ever read who stayed there spoke Russian and cheap Ukrainian hotels may not rent you a room if you can't speak enough Russian to get it.