Odessa Ukraine

We visited Odessa and Sevastopol, Ukraine while on a cruise in late September, early October 2013.

Also, we had visited Kiev, Ukraine before a trip to Russia in 2011.

1) The weather. I checked the weather forecast for southern Ukraine prior to our trip. I did not take enough warm clothes, since an Arctic front came down to the Black Sea. Take clothes for potential cold weather, either a warm jacket or layer with sweaters and a light jacket.

2) Exploring Odessa is not hard to do, but I recommend that you take a tours. Tours and not expensive and will be invaluable.
We used Odessa Walks and they were great.

3) Exploring the countryside is another matter. The infrastructure in Ukraine is still poor. Be careful were you go. For sure, don't try to go to Eastern Ukraine or Crimea. There are tours to Chernobyl if you are interested. I say no way.

4) The Ukrainian people are very friendly, but the country is relatively poor, so take care where you go in the city at night. It is probably safer than Detroit, but just make sure you check with the locals about what areas are unsafe.

It is probably safer than Detroit

This is either a joke or an understatement...I don't know how you can compare Odessa to Detroit in the same breath (or the entire country of Ukraine as if it's representative).

Below are some links to give you ideas. Check out Lonely Planet as well.
https://www.inyourpocket.com/odesa
http://wikitravel.org/en/Odessa
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g295368-Activities-Odessa_Odessa_Oblast.html

geovagriffith, your "its safer than ... " quip does promote the perceptions that I got on my trip to Odessa a few weeks ago. However, perceptions are just that; perceptions and not reality and I am smart enough not to push the envelope. And, I got better safety vibes in Kyiv than I did in Odessa. Maybe it's because Odessa is inhabited mostly by Russians and the tension given the current situation is more evident.

Oddly enough I had a better time in Kiev than Odessa. Since Crimea is off the tourist path now, all of the tourists are flocking to Odessa and it was a bit hectic. Still its an interesting city. Lots of good food, old buildings, history. We even spent a morning on a sail boat fishing.

I enjoyed Ukraine; the people and the land so much that I am trying to figure out how to get back in the spring.

When you're back from your trip, it would be great if you come back here with a quick trip report. I don't believe many folks on this forum would travel to Ukraine (or know much about it except for all the negative war coverage) so it would be valuable to give (those who may be interested or curious) a first-hand account. It's hard to believe that just a few years ago (2012), Ukraine (jointly with Poland) hosted the UEFA Euro Soccer cup and games were played as far east as Donetsk and Kharkiv.

Nickgage, My travel preference is places where the architecture or nature or …. provides a backdrop to meet people and experience the culture of the place. That’s one reason I am not a huge fan of Prague. Everyone should see Prague if given the opportunity but it’s harder to get in touch with reality due to the tourist influence. As a result my trips there have seemed a little hollow. Also explains why I enjoy Budapest so much. I recognize this is just my personal preference. (by the way Wizzair flies nonstop from Kyiv to Budapest for under $100)

Ukraine is very much in your face. Kiev hasn’t got a clue about tourism yet, and tourism in Odessa, while thick, is mostly Ukranian tourism and to a lesser degree these days, Russian tourism; so you really do get to experience the culture.

We stayed at the Duke Hotel in Odessa. Very nice, very well situated. We tried a number of restaurants in town, but we never went to one that was better than the one at the hotel. Pretty amazing actually.

One morning after breakfast I dropped my credit card under the table on their street side café. I only realized it 5 hours later when I went to pull some cash from an ATM. My wife insisted I go back and look for it. I insisted that after 5 hours it was being sold on the internet. After all this is the Ukraine…… But we did go back to the hotel. I walked into the lobby and the desk clerk called me to her. She handed me my card. I told her I was shocked that the waiter had found it and had turned it in. She truly, literally and without any exaggeration couldn’t understand why I would be shocked. Credit card fraud never occurred to her or the waiter.

In Kyiv my wife was taking a photo of me in the Maidan and this gentleman in his late 60’s walked up to me and in Russian began telling me to stand up straight, fix my belt, tuck in my shirt better, hold my head higher …. And on and on….. finally I just put my arm across his shoulders, and now I have a priceless photo. What a great guy. This is the quality of the people we found in Kyiv and Odessa.

Oddly enough, the absolutely best, hands down with out exception, steak I have ever eaten in Europe after 20 years of traveling I found in Kyiv.

So what shouldn’t me missed? You shouldn’t miss talking to the waiter, the desk clerk, the taxi driver, the guide and the guy on the subway. The rest is just a backdrop and it ain’t a half bad back drop.

Now for the rest of the story. In Detroit, in the wrong neighborhood, you might be at some heightened risk. But Ukraine is a very different place. Things have happened and will continue to happen that make Detroit pale in comparison. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Odessa_clashes for instance. And the tension in certain parts of Ukraine (including Odessa) is so thick you can cut it. 2014 could happen again tomorrow ….. or never again.

You didn’t mention Kyiv, but if you do stop there the Senator Apartments Maidan was a very good hotel in a very good location. Loved it.

And if you are going to Kyiv you have to watch “Winter on Fire” on Netflix. Even if you are just going to Odessa its worth seeing as it presents some context for the trouble in Odessa in 2014.

We will be back in Budapest in January and again in April. On one of the two trips I am pretty certain we will fly out to Kyiv for a few days. Enjoyed it just that much.

When you're back from your trip, it would be great if you come back here with a quick trip report.

I plan to do a trip report when I return for the main reasons that you state.
I am staying at the Londonskya Hotel on the shore of the Black Sea. I was able to get a small price break on this hotel through TripAdvisor if I prepaid my stay. I got 6 days for under $350. Booking through other sites or the hotel itself was about $400. Fifty bucks ain't much, but it give me $50 to spend on the trip!

I booked the flight for this trip through SkyScanner. I highly recommend them. The guy who told me about this site recently got roundtrip air out of LA to Christchurch, New Zealand on Australian Air for $219 per person. I am doing the air for this trip from Dallas to Odessa for under $650 round trip on Turkish Air. Had I been able to book this a week earlier, I could have gotten it for under $500.

I do not plan on visiting Kiev on this trip. I will mainly be in Odessa and Chernomosk (formerly Illichivsk).

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback.

I am doing the air for this trip from Dallas to Odessa for under $650 round trip on Turkish Air.

Is Dallas a Turkish Air hub now? I thought they only flew from Houston and Austin? I'm not surprised you got that fare, that's pretty much what I paid on Turkish Air every time I use them.

Is Dallas a Turkish Air hub now? I thought they only flew from Houston
and Austin?

I am catching Turkish Air out of JFK. Apparently they have a partnership with Virgin American, because I am flying them from Dallas Love to LaGuardia and then transferring airports.

I was surprised to see the Turkish Air and Virgin America code share. Excellent.

Hope you have good layover times.

Well.......... I do coming back. Going.....not so much. I have already been in contact with Virgin and explained the situation. They told me to call reservations at Midnight the day I travel and for $50 they will get me a "Confirmed Standby". Basically, if there is an open seat on one of the earlier flights they will put me on that and confirm the seat for me. As of Friday, it was not going to be an issue.

nickgage; you caught my post before I changed it. I confused all the variations of Virgin.

I was asked to come back and report of my trip to Odessa. The narrative is too long for this, so I have created a blogspot for it. Please have a look.

Ukraine Travel Log

Your overall impression summed up at the end of the post is pretty much the same as my impression. We are heading back before the end of 2017; probably September. We spent more time in Kyiv than Odessa, and to be honest enjoyed Kyiv more. Still, Kyiv or Odessa or where ever it was about the people and we loved them. Its something that has remained constant in most of our visits to old communist block countries; and its what keeps drawing us back.

Thanks for the Trip Report. I enjoyed it and your pictures.

Enjoyed your report!