A: We went on our own, just the two of us. While there certainly are organizations that specialize in genealogical travel, we knew where we wanted to go, what we wanted to see and wanted to do all of that on our schedule.
Q: Did we use a travel agent or did we book everything ourselves?A: We booked almost everything ourselves. Our guide booked our hotels for us. See the the answer to the next question for more on this.
Q: Did we use a guide/translator/interpreter?A: We did use a translator who served as our guide. Unless you are fluent in Russian and Ukrainian and have an intimate knowledge of local customs, having a local guide is absolutely critical. Unlike Western Europe, English is not widely spoken in Ukraine.
Another reason for hiring a local guide is that you must keep in mind that Ukraine is barely 19 years independent of the Soviet Union and there are still many remnants of that relationship. The law enforcement community can be very "entrepreneurial" when it comes to finding ways of making extra money, especially from wealthy tourists!
Not only are bribes commonplace, they are expected! Even though your guide may not be able to escape paying off the local police, he will most certainly fare much better than if you tried to do it yourself. Be aware that you can be stopped anywhere at any time for no reason whatsoever! Fortunately, we did not experience this quaint bit of Ukrainian culture.
Also, as stated in the previous question, our guide booked our hotel rooms in Vinnitsa and Kiev. We had looked at several choices on various web sites, but these can be very misleading. What may be comfortable by their standards may not be at all what you expect. By telling your guide what you expect, you are much more likely to get something more suited to your liking. Another perfectly acceptable custom is to ask to see the room (or rooms) before signing the register to make sure it is what you expect.
Q: Did we drive in Ukraine?A: For the reasons stated in Question 3, we let our guide drive us around. Although there are some road signs in English around Kiev, once you get past the city limits, all the signs are in Ukrainian. Also, the roads are poorly marked and the further you get into the countryside, the road conditions get worse. On the plus side, gas stations are plentiful and they usually have a small convenience store and relatively clean restrooms.
I would suggest buying a map. They are pretty readily available at the major bookstores like Borders or Barnes & Noble or online from Amazon.
A: Entering the country through Borispol Airport is no more difficult than any other foreign country. Before landing, you will be given an immigration form. It is a single piece of paper, but has 2 parts. Each part is pretty much identical. Don't worry, there are instructions in English. All they really want to know is who you are and where you are going. As a tourist, you do not need any other paperwork or forms. After you get off the plane, a bus will take you to the entrance where you will go through Passport Control. And yes, there are signs in English here too. You hand your passport and immigration form to the agent. He will tear off the top part of the form, stamp the bottom half and hand it back to you with your passport.
DO NOT LOSE THIS DOCUMENT OR YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE COUNTRY (or so I am told). Once past this point, you go to the baggage claim and you are now free to roam about the country!
When you leave the country, there is a waiting area for departing flights. You will only be able to pass the check point after your flight is displayed on the monitors. And yes, these do alternate between Ukrainian and English. The display will tell you which stations (by number) you can use for the first stage of your departure. You will proceed with your luggage to one of the stations. Although we had our e-ticket handy, once they swiped our passport, it automatically came up with the flight information. Just in case, have your departing flight information handy. They will take your luggage and tag it just like they do here and it will disappear down a conveyor belt.
Just follow the signs and pass through Passport Control and the security checkpoint and eventually make your way to the terminal area. Things are marked fairly clearly throughout the airport and the whole process of coming and going is really no more bothersome than any other country.
A: Of course we felt safe when we were with our guide. We also spent the better part of an afternoon and evening in Kiev on our own, mostly around the area of Independence Square. This is a major social gathering place of the city. In addition to the monument itself, there is an abundance of souvenir stalls. Underneath Independence Square is another whole world. There is a huge multi-level shopping fashion mall and food court. This underground complex also contains one of the city's subway terminals. This part of the complex was not as well lit (or ventilated). Here you will find more souvenir stalls as well as a large floral distribution center. The rule here is to pay attention to where you are going since these underground passageways are the only way to navigate under the streets. Because there is so much traffic, you will not see people crossing the streets. Despite all of this, we never felt threatened in any way. In the evening, the area was alive with activity, mostly people enjoying the scenery and each other's company. The area is well lit and we felt just as safe as we were during the day.
Q: What about exchanging money in Ukraine?
A: If you haven't been abroad lately, you might be surprised to learn that the days of the traveler's cheque are over. Although the company that became famous for issuing those travelers cheques and urges you not to leave home without their credit card, Visa and MasterCard are the more widely accepted forms of payment. Cash however, is still king.
Be aware, however, that there are stories of rampant credit card scams and fraud throughout the country. This being the case, we decided to get several pre-paid Visa cards. They can be used anywhere in the world a regular Visa credit card can be used. (Disclaimer: Neither of us work for Visa or were paid to advertise their products or services.) In the United States, the easiest place to get these is at your local AAA office. There is a small fee for the card (slightly higher for non-members) and you can get a secondary card for each primary card. The advantage to using these cards is that you can put a limited amount of money on each card and that way, if the card is lost or stolen, there is a limit to how much you can lose. Also, if someone attempts to use the card fraudulently, they will not have access to your entire line of credit or your bank account. A word of caution is that these cards are subject to various transaction fees. Every time you make a purchase, you will pay a percentage of that purchase on top of the price of what you buy.
If you use your card to withdraw cash at an ATM machine, there is a percentage charged PLUS an ATM fee. As an example, we had one card in the amount of $500.00. Of that amount, we actually spent $471.74 and the remaining $28.26 were fees of one sort or another. There is even a charge for balance inquiries. Despite all these fees, the security of insulating this money from your credit card balance or bank account is worth it. One good thing to note about using ATM's is that once you put your card in the machine, you will be able to pick the language of your choice and English, thank goodness, is one of them.
Another word of caution is to be sure NOT to get a pre-paid GIFT card. These look and act like a regular debit or credit card, but they are only good in the United States.
For travelers outside of the United States, the Travelex company offers pre-paid debit cards. (Another disclaimer: Neither of us work for Travelex or were paid to advertise their products or services)