If you are traveling to Kiev, Ukraine for the first time, you are in for an experience. From the first moments of breaking through the clouds, you will notice a land of nature and beauty. Kiev is a very green country. The abundance of rainfall and annual snow makes Kiev a wonder of forests, lakes, rivers and pristine landscapes.
Boryspil International Airport is the main hub for The Ukraine. It services not only all international flights, but also domestic flights. Boryspil has a very large accessible runway for any type of aircraft. During the Soviet era, Boryspil International Airport was strictly a military airfield. Later after The Ukraine claimed independence, it was converted into a civilian airport hub.
There are only a few carriers that are allowed to use the tarmacs. All other planes must park away from the terminals. Buses are provide to take passengers from their plane to the main international terminal B.
You will quickly be greeted with an old style soviet passport control center. Be prepared to wait for up to two hours as lines are long and customer service is not a priority. It is critical to have all your paperwork filled out and ready. Not being prepared will cost you more time. In the seven times I have been to the Ukraine, I have only waited two hours one time. After that bad experience I always booked my flight to arrive very early in the morning or late at night. 9 am to 2 pm are peak hours at Boryspil Airport.
The passport control line can be long, so try to be polite and patient. Be serious and keep all joking to a minimum while waiting in line. Be respectful and answer all questions fully to the officers. If you can't speak Ukrainian or Russian, the officers do know English.
Once you make it through passport control, you will see the baggage claim area. Digital readouts will tell you where your baggage is located. It is a small area and impossible to lose track of your baggage. Boryspil is like all airports. There is not much difference in their baggage claim area.
If your baggage cannot be found, you can easily find the lost baggage office. Surprisingly enough this is one of the best lost baggage offices I ever had the pleasure of doing business. In the seven times traveling to Kiev, I have only had to use the lost baggage service once. They speak very good English and immediately tracked down my lost luggage. The representative was very professional and had all the necessary phone numbers available to call Delta Airlines in New York. Apparently my luggage was sitting in New York and never made it onto the plane. The Boryspil Airport baggage claim service was great and had my baggage in my hands the very next morning.
The next day I was able to retrieve my luggage after being lost the day before. The only interesting thing about it is I had to pay a tip to the attendant to go retrieve it for me. A side note to remember is everything in the Ukraine moves by tips. Give too small of a tip and Ukrainians have no problem in letting you know your mistake. Normal tip fair for getting your baggage reclaimed $6.00. Taxi trip to get back to the airport to retrieve your baggage $55.00. Knowing that you paid the right tip and avoiding the embarrassment of getting screamed at for failing to understand the tip policy, priceless.
Ok, now that you have your baggage, it is out of the baggage claim and into the fire. Slowly follow the crowd and make your way up a small incline in the heart of the Boryspil Airport! In front of you are a pair of automatic sliding doors. This is the only thing that separates you from baggage claim and about one hundred excited Ukrainians impatiently waiting for their loved ones. Make your way past them and you hit the second wave of the notorious taxi cab drivers. No need to say "No" to the question of "Taxi?", just shake your head back n forth. Now the real excitement begins.
Stay away from these taxi drivers. Go find one of the many kiosks in the airport that can aid you with a taxi to anywhere you want to go for a fair price. Taxi kiosks are easy to find, they have the word "TAXI" written across them.
If you are exchanging money, there are four different money exchange booths available. The rate at the airport is the worst, if you can wait until you get into the city, then you will get a much better rate. When I travel I tend to only exchange $200.00 USD for a taxi and food. It is very easy to find these exchange booths in the center of the city with much better exchange rates. The US Dollar, Euro and Russian Ruble are accepted everywhere.
Only newer bills are accepted at the exchange booth. I learned this the hard way when I was not able to exchange $500 of my money because of the condition of the currency. All exchange booths will first inspect your money by eyeballing it and then put it under a ultraviolet light to ensure it does not have water spots.
If you are traveling to another part of the Ukraine, it is a very short walk to terminal A. This terminal handles all domestic flights. You can easily buy a ticket to anywhere in the Ukraine by going to one of the two booths inside this terminal. Pay close attention to your flight status in this terminal. Although all flights are digitally displayed, often times boarding calls are done vocally. These vocal announcements are done in Ukrainian or Russian. If in doubt, ask someone and they will tell you where to board.
Finally, if you want to avoid all the rush and crowds, the VIP service is for you. Terminal C houses a very comfortable environment for anyone that would like to pay $150.00 USD or up for this service. A private coach will come pick you up from your plane. Your luggage will be taken from the plane separately and brought to you. Exit passport control in 15 minutes or less. The services arrival in terminal C range from wireless internet service to fax and phone service all available from the comfort of a environmentally controlled lounge. If you are interested in this service, Google Boryspil Airport and contact the VIP office. All VIP representatives speak English.
Enjoy all that Ukraine has to offer!
Boryspil International Airport is the main hub for The Ukraine. It services not only all international flights, but also domestic flights. Boryspil has a very large accessible runway for any type of aircraft. During the Soviet era, Boryspil International Airport was strictly a military airfield. Later after The Ukraine claimed independence, it was converted into a civilian airport hub.
There are only a few carriers that are allowed to use the tarmacs. All other planes must park away from the terminals. Buses are provide to take passengers from their plane to the main international terminal B.
You will quickly be greeted with an old style soviet passport control center. Be prepared to wait for up to two hours as lines are long and customer service is not a priority. It is critical to have all your paperwork filled out and ready. Not being prepared will cost you more time. In the seven times I have been to the Ukraine, I have only waited two hours one time. After that bad experience I always booked my flight to arrive very early in the morning or late at night. 9 am to 2 pm are peak hours at Boryspil Airport.
The passport control line can be long, so try to be polite and patient. Be serious and keep all joking to a minimum while waiting in line. Be respectful and answer all questions fully to the officers. If you can't speak Ukrainian or Russian, the officers do know English.
Once you make it through passport control, you will see the baggage claim area. Digital readouts will tell you where your baggage is located. It is a small area and impossible to lose track of your baggage. Boryspil is like all airports. There is not much difference in their baggage claim area.
If your baggage cannot be found, you can easily find the lost baggage office. Surprisingly enough this is one of the best lost baggage offices I ever had the pleasure of doing business. In the seven times traveling to Kiev, I have only had to use the lost baggage service once. They speak very good English and immediately tracked down my lost luggage. The representative was very professional and had all the necessary phone numbers available to call Delta Airlines in New York. Apparently my luggage was sitting in New York and never made it onto the plane. The Boryspil Airport baggage claim service was great and had my baggage in my hands the very next morning.
The next day I was able to retrieve my luggage after being lost the day before. The only interesting thing about it is I had to pay a tip to the attendant to go retrieve it for me. A side note to remember is everything in the Ukraine moves by tips. Give too small of a tip and Ukrainians have no problem in letting you know your mistake. Normal tip fair for getting your baggage reclaimed $6.00. Taxi trip to get back to the airport to retrieve your baggage $55.00. Knowing that you paid the right tip and avoiding the embarrassment of getting screamed at for failing to understand the tip policy, priceless.
Ok, now that you have your baggage, it is out of the baggage claim and into the fire. Slowly follow the crowd and make your way up a small incline in the heart of the Boryspil Airport! In front of you are a pair of automatic sliding doors. This is the only thing that separates you from baggage claim and about one hundred excited Ukrainians impatiently waiting for their loved ones. Make your way past them and you hit the second wave of the notorious taxi cab drivers. No need to say "No" to the question of "Taxi?", just shake your head back n forth. Now the real excitement begins.
Stay away from these taxi drivers. Go find one of the many kiosks in the airport that can aid you with a taxi to anywhere you want to go for a fair price. Taxi kiosks are easy to find, they have the word "TAXI" written across them.
If you are exchanging money, there are four different money exchange booths available. The rate at the airport is the worst, if you can wait until you get into the city, then you will get a much better rate. When I travel I tend to only exchange $200.00 USD for a taxi and food. It is very easy to find these exchange booths in the center of the city with much better exchange rates. The US Dollar, Euro and Russian Ruble are accepted everywhere.
Only newer bills are accepted at the exchange booth. I learned this the hard way when I was not able to exchange $500 of my money because of the condition of the currency. All exchange booths will first inspect your money by eyeballing it and then put it under a ultraviolet light to ensure it does not have water spots.
If you are traveling to another part of the Ukraine, it is a very short walk to terminal A. This terminal handles all domestic flights. You can easily buy a ticket to anywhere in the Ukraine by going to one of the two booths inside this terminal. Pay close attention to your flight status in this terminal. Although all flights are digitally displayed, often times boarding calls are done vocally. These vocal announcements are done in Ukrainian or Russian. If in doubt, ask someone and they will tell you where to board.
Finally, if you want to avoid all the rush and crowds, the VIP service is for you. Terminal C houses a very comfortable environment for anyone that would like to pay $150.00 USD or up for this service. A private coach will come pick you up from your plane. Your luggage will be taken from the plane separately and brought to you. Exit passport control in 15 minutes or less. The services arrival in terminal C range from wireless internet service to fax and phone service all available from the comfort of a environmentally controlled lounge. If you are interested in this service, Google Boryspil Airport and contact the VIP office. All VIP representatives speak English.
Enjoy all that Ukraine has to offer!
About the Author:
Art Saborio is a Fiance K1 Visa Consultant. His free series, "A Quick-Start 7 Step Guide to Guaranteeing Your Foreign Fiance a Visa" is now available at http://www.k1visaexperts.com/k1success.html. While you are there, also take a look at his very informative must read articles http://www.k1visaexperts.com/blog
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment