Communication
While in Kiev one can easily get access to public telephones and post offices. Kiev, being the largest city in Ukraine, has a well developed network of communications offices and public phones. Internet cafes can be also easily found throughout the city.
Telephones
You have several options to make international calls from Kiev. One of these options is using public phones. In order to use a public phone, you need a phone card that can be purchased at any postal office and some stores. Long distance calls in Ukraine are operated by Ukrainian Telecommunications, or shortly Utel. Utel telephones are located in the city's major hotels, restaurants, stores, airports and other places.
Visitors to Kiev can also buy a cellular phone with a SIM card and use it for both domestic and international calls. The average per-minute cost for calls to the United States is about $2.50, to Europe - $.50-1.50.
Kiev's major mobile operators are Golden Telecom, Wellcom, UMC, DCC and Kyivstar. If your cell phone supports such standards as GSM 900 or GSM 1800, you will need only a prepaid package - a SIM card and some money on account. Such packages are provided by Ukrainian mobile operators and can be purchased almost in every shop selling mobile phones.
If you stay at a hotel you can make international calls from there. As a rule, such calls are much more expensive than using a phone card. However, it is better to ask a receptionist about the procedure and fee for service that can vary from $7 to $15 per minute.
Another option you can use, only provided that your telephone has a tone dial, is IP telephony cards, which are very popular and can be bought almost in every stall. IP telephony cards are also sold in postal offices throughout the city. To call with such cards is a much cheaper option.
How to Call
To make an international call from Kiev, dial 8 - 10 - country code - city code - subscriber's number. When you have dialed 8, wait for a second dial tone and then dial your number. If you need to call San Diego, for example, dial 8-10-1-619-XXXXXXX, where 8 is a code for intercity service, 10 - a code for international service, 1 - the USA country code, 629 - San Diego's city code, XXXXXXX - a subscriber's number.
To make a call to another city of Ukraine, dial 8 - city code - subscriber's number. To call Kharkov, dial 8-572-XXXXXXX, where 8 is a code for intercity service, 572 - Kharkov's city code, XXXXXXX - a subscriber's local number.
To call within a city you do not need to dial any codes except a subscriber's number.
To make a call to Kiev from home dial 380-44-XXXXXXX, where 380 is Ukraine country code, 44 - Kiev city code, XXXXXXX - local number.
Post
Post offices in Kiev are normally open for 8 hours a day. The central post office of the city, located at 22 Kreschatik Street, works from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., from Monday to Saturday, and is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Here one can send letters, buy postcard, use a fax machine or make international calls. In the central post office one can use International Express Mail service, which guarantees that your mail will be delivered to one of 36 countries within 3 or 4 days.
You can also use a variety of mail services provided by such companies as DHL Worldwide Express, Federal Express, Pony Express, TNT Express Worldwide and United Parcel Service. You can find addresses of these couriers in Kiev in the Print and Take section of this website.
Important to note that, according to customs regulations, one cannot send traveler's checks, personal checks, credit cards, cash and passports through the international mail to Ukraine. Such a mail can be forfeited by postal authorities.
To send a regular mail from Ukraine you should use Ukrainian postage stamps that can be purchased at any post office. Postage rates depend on a recipient country. Though this is a very cheap way to send a letter, it's not so convenient. The main disadvantage of sending a regular mail is that such a mail in Ukraine is really snail-like: your letter will go for about a couple of weeks, so it's advisable to use express mail services.
Internet
Following Europe, Internet cafes are becoming very popular in Ukraine. Kiev has a large number of Internet cafes, many of which are open around the clock. On the whole, there are about one hundred Internet cafes and clubs in the city. And this network has been constantly increasing. The list of the most popular Internet cafes and computer clubs in Kiev includes Pentagon, Cyber Cafe, Red Heat and others. You can find Internet cafes with addresses in the Print and Take section of our website.
