Air Ukraine 's repainted Aeroflot aircraft are far from comfortable and buying tickets is extremely difficult and almost guaranteed to involve complicated negotiations with the local travel agencies. Winter weather frequently grounds aircraft. The most reliable flights are from Kyiv to Lviv, Donetsk and Odessa. Cruises between Kyiv, Sevastopol and Odessa are very popular and can be booked through various tour operators. Again, pre-booking through Intourist Travel Ltd in London is advised, as buying tickets is a difficult undertaking.
Journeys are slow, though trains are more reliable than air travel in winter.
Self-drive hire cars are, so far, extremely rare. Drinking and driving is strictly prohibited. Heavy fines are imposed if traffic police smell alcohol on a driver's breath. An International Driving Permit is necessary. Kyiv and Kharkiv have clean, efficient and cheap metro systems, where tickets can be purchased at vending machines inside the stations.