On the last leg of my 3 stop tour of Ukraine, I got on the train. On the overnight train from Odesa to Lviv. With last year’s sleeper train experience fresh in mind, I was a bit apprehensive. Popped a motion sickness pill just in case 🙂
I got my ticket beforehand at Ukrzaliznytsia’s website. As I was travelling solo, and the sleeping compartment accommodates two people, I decided to book both beds, so that I would have the place all to myself. It was not a problem. Just make sure to have the two tickets in your name. And to be extra sure, I pointed it out to the hostess when boarding, so she would not send a stranger my way. One issue I encountered though, during payment, was I had to choose a Ukrainian bank. First I thought I had to pay with a local bank card, but in the end I just clicked one of them, and I was able to add my international credit card. I think one just have to choose which bank to handle the transaction. FYI, all ticket details are in Ukrainian.
Odesa train station was very quiet. Could be it was in the evening. As I didn’t see anyone to ask for help, I headed for the ticket window. After approaching a couple of them, I was pointed to a customer service agent who spoke English. Maybe the only one. She looked at my ticket, and told me to pay attention to the departure board, which was in Ukrainian. Like the speaker announcements. In an effort to figure things out, I headed for the tracks, and luckily I found a departure board that was less overwhelming. After a little bit of waiting the departure appeared, and I was able to recognise the train number, destination, and track number. Here we go!
Onboard I was very pleasantly surprised. In my opinion the compartment was better than what I had in Norway last year. As the beds are not bunk beds, but set along each long wall with a table between them, the space is considerably bigger. Not so insanely tiny. Other positives: comp water bottles, towels, toiletries, a TV? – did not try the screen, so have no idea what it was. Negatives: A radio blasting music. Not possible to turn down/off, but after a while the music stopped. The mattress is not a mattress, more a thick blanket of some sort. Since I had two beds, I put one mattress on top of the other 🙂 Same goes for duvet. No door key. When I had to use the restroom (no wash basin in compartment, btw), I didn’t shut the door completely, as I had no idea if I would be able to get back in without having to get hold of the hostess. One possibly non-negotiable issue: The train noise. It is veeery loud, the whole way. It feels like there is no soundproofing. I was wondering if I ever was going to fall asleep, but I surprisingly did 😀 When it was quiet, I could hear the neighbour snoring, which made me okay with train’s clatter 🙂
In Odesa, the train station is in town. Still too far to walk with luggage, in my opinion. About 10 blocks from Derybasivska Street. In Lviv, the train station is outside the city centre. I did Uber on both occasions.
Odesa Train Station
Onboard
Lviv Train Station
