When Kyiv was over and done with, I headed to the Black Sea coast, to Odesa. Wanting to see the most of Ukraine while there, I hopped on the bus, on Ecolines. I purchased my 15 euro ticket beforehand, from the bus company’s website, and while it says Autolux on the ticket issued, I had no problem boarding. The bus got full, so booking tickets ahead might be wise. I got on at the bus terminal in Kyiv, but I did see people get on elsewhere in the city, so apparently an option. The bus terminal is located outside the city centre, looked kind of remote, nothing around, but I think the Uber took 15 minutes or so only from my hotel at Independence Square. It appeared to be a two-in-one kind of thing, with, at least, a kiosk for refreshments in the other room. I didn’t wander away from the Ecolines section, as I wanted to make sure I was on top of the announcements on the monitor. Speaker announcements are made in Ukrainian only. At one point I did step outside, and after a while I realised my bus was already boarding. So much for staying on top of things 😀 Looking at the sign in the front window, I concluded it could say Odesa. Approaching the driver with the question “Odesa?”, he confirmed, told me to check in my luggage on the other side of the bus, and circled my seat number. All in Ukrainian. In other words, the driver don’t speak English. The bus itself is nice. First long-distance bus I’ve been on that has private tv screens. I had no problem spending 6.5 hours on here. Honestly, I slept most of the time. I was tired, and the views weren’t too exciting. We made one stop, like 15 minutes, about half way. For stretching your legs, not wandering around. At the bus stop there are shops, kiosks, restroom etc. In conclusion: If you’re tight on time, you might wanna fly in.
PS! Odesa bus terminal is more centrally located than what was the case in Kyiv, but I still had to uber to my hotel at Derybasivska Street.
