Today, I thought I'd fill you in on various transportation options available to you.
Depending on how far and fast you want to travel, there are a lot of options available to you in Ukraine. If you are travelling city to city, available options are taxi, minibus, bus, tramvai, train, and plane.
Small hops between cities can be handled easily via taxi, minibus, bus and tramvai. The tramvai is a kind of electric passenger train. I have not used that one, so I cannot comment on it. I have taken the others with relatively good results. The downside of some of these is that going out of town on minibus or bus, requires to to travel to a special area on the edge of town (I'm talking Kiev here, other cities probably are different). Once there, you can get buses and minibuses. Also taxi's are cheaper there for intertown travel.
Larger distances between towns take a little more planning. You could take a bus, but I hear the roads are pretty bad the farther away you get from Kiev, and there could be delays. You could try and hire a taxi, but I would bet that the cost would be prohibitive. You are then left with two main options, train and airplane.
Travelling by train is not too bad. The pluses are relatively low cost, more scenic views, and for some, a more relaxing atmosphere. Also, some people feel travelling by train to be more fun and/or romantic. The minuses are that travelling by train eats away at your time over there (Kiev to Sevastopol takes about 18 hours), and if you want a private cabin, you need to have a contact over there get your tickets beforehand, as the cabins tend to sell out quickly. Also, you probably want to pack some special items before a long train ride. Toiletries (including a spare roll of toilet paper) are pretty much a must. Packing along some food and drink is helpful, but there is a diner car if you don't have time to shop, and the train steward(ess) usually serves coffee and tea during the trip. You will want to rent sheets and towels from the steward(ess), as you probably don't want to sleep on a dirty mattress and pillow.
I haven't travelled by plane yet, but will likely do so next year. The main plus is the speed of travelling. Instead of 18 hours on the train, I could fly to Simferopol from Kiev and catch a bus to Sevastopol from there. Maximum travel time: 4 hours. The downsides are that you need someone to get reservations for you ahead of time, plus you will need to cart yourself and your luggage from the international airport across town to the domestic airport. Of course, this is a much pricier option to do, but given how short your stay, this might be an option worth exploring.
Once in town, you have three main ways of getting around town (besides walking, which you will do a lot of). They are taxis, minibuses and buses.
Taxis are the most expensive, but you have the most flexibility with them. They can pick you up right outside your door and take you directly to where you want to go. They and the minibus drivers tend to drive like crazy drunken idiots, as they swerve all over the road to avoid hitting potholes. Plus, they are both addicted to speed, as a fast delivery gives them the opportunity to make more money. If you have a faint heart, don't sit in the front seat. :-)
Minibuses (or Topiks, as they are called) are cheaper, but they follow specific routes, as identified by their numbers. Fares range from 50 kopeks to a hrivna, depending on the distance of the route. Everyone pays. Failure to pay your topik driver will likely cause him to administer a severe beating to you, as found out by a few hapless veterans who thought that being a veteran was good enough for a free ride...
Buses are the most common method of travel. Fares run 25 to 50 kopeks and often follow similar routes as the topiks. The elderly, and veterans ride for free. Medical indigents and goverment employees ride for free. Also, bums ride for free as they have no money. Finally, buses are periodically invaded by pickpockets and thieves. Some bus drivers are smart enough to recognize them after a while, and if they do, they are likely to warn their riders about who they are. Of course, you still take your chances...
There is a lot of hot competition between the drivers of all three modes of tranportation, as this is their livelihood at stake. Taxis and topiks often pass each other and buses driving down the streets. Horns tend to honk in frustration when someone gets cut off. Sometimes, it gets nastier.
Two or three years ago in Sevastopol there was a "rumble" outside of town between the topik drivers and the bus drivers. It numbered in the hundreds of people and was extremely violent. When the police finally found out about it and arrived, it was total chaos. Emergency rooms in all the hospitals were filled for many hours afterwards. It made quite the scandal and was talked about for many weeks...
More later.
