Hi all, There are 4 of us doing a eurotrip this may and i have come to a slight hitch from Cluj-napoca in Romania to Kiev. I was thinking of either going north and stopping over in L'viv for a couple of days or going to the east and stopping in Odessa, and then to Kiev. I have seen a few suggestions of going north to Sighetu Marmatiei in Romania then walking accross the border into Solotvino in Ukraine, but then how do you get to L'viv from there? I don't think transport connections are too great and we can't afford to spend a night there. We could get a bus to Sighetu Marmatiei from Cluj which arrives at either 12:30 or 19:30, not sure about the trains there. Convienience would be preferable here Any help!??! Thanks!
Posted by
Kingsburg, California, USA
137 posts
Matt,
In 2008 we took the train from Kiev to Zaporozhye on our way to Berdyansk. It took the train 10 hours to go the 300+ miles. At one point the train had to stop because there were no more electric lines for the engine and you had to wait on a siding for a diesel locomotive to come get the train. You would think they would have one waiting. Good luck!
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1570 posts
Matt: It is very unlikely that you will receive a response to this question here as this part of Europe is not on the common agenda for most of the folks on this board. My suggestion is to post this question on the Thorntree forum (on the Lonely Planet website). You should also look into flying - check out Carpatair for flights. Not necessarily the cheapest but it will save you a lot of time. Travel between Romania and Ukraine was complicated when I looked to do this about 4 years ago. And keep in mind that Ukraine is a very large country and the distances vast (Odessa-Kiev is at least 12 hrs on the train if I remember correctly).
Posted by
Genesee, ID
1840 posts
Cluj is a heck of a long way from Kyiv. Going to Lviv from Cluj preferably by plane or bus, then to Kyiv by train or bus would be your best route. Here's another idea. From Clug, go to Bucuresti and up to Botosani then cross the border by bus to the southern Carpathian to Chernivsti. From there you can find good bus or air connections to Kyiv.