I want to travel Ukraine and its surrounding countries

bangla babu ..)) i was there last year its best to travel by train inside the country ...the locals are mostly thieves you will be easily cheated and robbed very few people speak english there ...be safe

Hi Gauravm

Thank you for your attention to my entries !!  Actually I was working as an Officer in the Reserve Bank of India, Kolkata and was in the Office of the Banking Ombudsman. My hobby is to learn different foreign language !! and I got in touch with travel agency and found they are cheating public !! and taking huge money.  I also traveled with Thomas Cook they also took huge money from us and again they took money on the way or they dump us in the hotel room !!!!!

I want to take tourist from India to Ukraine and its surrounding >  and I need your help in this regard.  Why was you there in Ukraine ?  when you was there ?  I would like to request you to tell me more about your experience in my email :  XXX

At present I am learning Russian Language here in our city.  What are you doing now ?  please feel free to discuss with me

Subir

Hello Subir,
Please don't get too worried about travelling around Ukraine.  Yes, you have to take sensible precautions with your money and possessions but it's not dangerous. 
Travelling around by train is great, the long-distance trains are often slow but usually on time and are VERY cheap, at least compared to England where I come from. All travel here is cheap - the long-distance coaches as well as the local transport. 
In winter the weather in Ukraine is cold, usually well below freezing and in summer it's often around 35 degrees C.  Maybe the best time is late spring/early summer.
If you can, it's a good idea to know a little of either Russian or Ukrainian or at least learn how to pronounce the letters so that you can read place names.  Often words are the same as English but in Cyrillic, so if you learn how to read Cyrillic that will unlock some of the language and hopefully that might also stimulate to learn a bit more of the language.
I hope you can visit Ukraine.  Good luck with your travels.
Alan

Hi Alan CT

Many thanks for your help. I cannot understand what you mean by "Sensible Precautions"? Do you have any idea if I want to travel Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia then > from where I shall start ?  Minimum how many days I have to spend in each country? what will be the mode of travel from one country to other ?  Train ?  Is it safe ?? for sight seen what will be the best option ??  I shall start my journey from India/Kolkata.

I also welcome you here in India/Kolkata and assured all help what you need - you can contact me.

Subir

Hi Subir,
By " sensible precautions" I mean very obvious things like don't leave your laptop on café table while you go to the toilet, don't bring out great wads of cash in a rough-looking area etc.  Ukraine is a very poor country and you will be asked for money by various people.  Sometimes people will ask if they can help you then ask for money at the end but they are usually harmless.
The trains in Ukraine in my limited experience are very safe.  I have used overnight sleeper trains to and from Kiev as well as daytime services.  Personally I love travelling by train - you can watch the countryside go by, read, eat, drink, listen to music, talk to people, change seat, walk around and know exactly where you are by checking the passing stations.
You can travel from Ukraine to Latvia via Poland and Lithuania, there are trains and buses and of course you can fly direct from Kiev to most European cities. The best way to discover the options is to Google "Ukraine to Latvia" or something similar.
Alan

Hi Alan

Many thanks for your help.  I want to know about Ukraine. How is this country ? If I travel along the street is there any possibilities of snatching ? I want to know about Ukraine vividly.  Did you traveled in Latvia, Estonia etc. how is those countries ? I only fear of the situation if I was chased on my way in the street and snatch my belongings !!!  otherwise I do not care !!
Journey by train in our country is horrible !! please tell me if any unwanted person or without ticket passenger travel by train ?? I want to send people or I want to go myself in those countries that is why I am collecting new for taking precaution before arriving there. Do you know any thing regarding medical insurance ? on those countries ?
My ultimate motto is to build world-wide friendship through traveling !!!!
and I need help from every nook and corner of the general people from all over the world.

Subir.

Hi Subir,
Those are questions I can't answer. The chances of falling victim to a crime are very very small.  Don't worry about too much these things.  Sure things go wrong while you're travelling but you just have to work round problems and enjoy the experience.
I haven't yet been to Latvia or Estonia but sometime in the next year or two I will visit.  Both have great independent national identities which they held onto throughout the Soviet occupation.  Go and enjoy and learn.
Alan

If you like to visit Estonia and Latvia you might as well add Lithuania. The capital cities are worth a visit. Tallin is very small, Vilnius bigger and Riga the biggest (would recommend more than one day). All cities have wonderfull old parts. You will do fine with English.
Compared to this Ukraine is huge as a country as well as the size of the cities.
I would suggest that you look at tripadvisor. It can provide a lot of usefull information.
Remember to check if you need to apply for Visa
Enjoy.