Up until recently, getting from Kyiv’s Boryspil airport to the center of town involved running the gauntlet of over-enthusiastic taxi hawkers or taking a cramped, irregular, Soviet-era bus.
Thankfully, preparations for Euro 2012 have not only brought new terminals, but also more formalized and comfortable ways to get to where you’re staying. Now, you can choose from a bus or a taxi with a meter, although you will likely still have to ignore the attention of unofficial taxi drivers offering astronomically high prices.
The main airport for flights arriving in Kyiv is Boryspil (Borispol in Russian), located nearly 40 kilometers from the city center. Flights from outside of Ukraine for now arrive into Terminal B or the newly constructed Terminal F. A new and bigger terminal is also scheduled to open its doors ahead of the Euro 2012 soccer tournament, which Ukraine and Poland are co-hosting this June-July.
A small number of flights arrive into the more centrally located International Airport Kyiv, known locally by its former name, Zhuliany.
State-run Sky buses run from outside the entrance of Boryspil’s Terminal F and B and can be spotted by their wine-red and grey color and the Euro 2012 logo. For Hr 25 (2.50 euros), the bus will take you to Kyiv’s central railway station, where you can continue your journey by subway or taxi.
The bus schedule can be viewed at skybus.kiev.ua/en/index_en.html. The buses look modern, but on the inside it becomes obvious that they are in less than peak condition, with old, torn fabric on the seats.
On your way to the bus, be sure to ignore the attentions of marshrutka, or minibus, drivers trying to persuade you that their bus is leaving now and is much cheaper. The Sky bus leaves every 10-15, and the marshrutka certainly won’t be cheaper.
Travelling from Boryspil to the city center by taxi should cost you around Hr 180 (18 euros). Unless you know where to look, however, you can be ripped off by hawkers, who often start the bidding at Hr 600.
Official Sky taxis are Hyundai Sonata sedans with meters and a terminal for card payments. Currently, you catch the taxis outside the terminals. By spring, they will have a booth in the terminals and a call center and website to order taxis. There are 10 Sky taxis at the moment, and there were none outside Terminal F on Jan. 18.
The firm, however, promises to be running 200 by spring and even more by the summer. The taxis have video surveillance for security, and you can request special seats for children. The journey costs Hr 6.50 per kilometer from Boryspil to your destination. In spring, a taxi rank will open in the city center, offering journeys to the airport at Hr 3.50 per kilometer.
You can also catch a private taxi outside the terminals from one of the two companies registered at Boryspil – Elit taxi or Club-MAA taxi. They also charge Hr 6.50 per kilometer.
International Airport Kyiv lies around 10 km from the city center. At the moment, there is no official taxi service. Taxis can be caught outside the entrance, and a trip to the center should cost around Hr 50. An official taxi firm will be announced by spring.
The cheapest, but least comfortable, option is the trolleybus. The stop is located on the street at the entrance to the airport.
If you speak Russian or Ukrainian, you can most likely get better prices by ordering a taxi from any of the airports via mobile phone. If your local language skills are not up to par, another option is to order a taxi from any airport or other point in advance by email from the website driver-english.kiev.ua/en.
A driver will wait for you at the terminal entrance with your name on a sign. Just make sure that you send your request at least two days before your arrival. A trip from Boryspil to your destination in Kyiv will cost Hr 350, and you can pay in any currency. The website also offers city tours in taxis.
The large hotels offer their own car services, which range in price from Hr 350 to Hr 1,500, depending on the car.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuliya Raskevich can be reached at [email protected].
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