Mykolaiv

Getting there

By plane Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, Ukraine's airspace is closed to civil aviation.The closest operating airport is in Chișinău:

1 Chișinău International Airport (RMO IATA). Served by many airlines like AirBaltic, Austrian, Tarom, Turkish Airlines, with flights around the Europe and Asia, notably to Athens, Bucharest, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Madrid, Milan-Bergamo, Munich, Riga, Rome, Vienna, Vilnius, Varna, Paris, London, Bologna. (updated Sep 2023)

By train Direct trains from Kyiv (10 hours), Lviv (18 hours), and Odesa (5 hours) depart every day. All trains have coach cars.

By car Main routes from Kherson (65 km), Odesa (120 km), Uman' (320 km), Chishinau (325 km), the Crimea (350 km), Kyiv (500 km), Kharkiv (520 km), Lviv (950 km). Usually gas (petrol) is cheaper than in Western Europe, approximately the same price as in North America. Check if you can hire a driver with a car. Be careful if you travel alone and don't forget to carry a mobile phone. Hitchhiking is not recommended. The roads are terrible and dangerous. Use seat belts despite comments from local drivers.

By bus Direct daily connections from Kyiv (10 hours), Kharkiv (12 hours), Odesa (2 hours), Cishinau (7 hours), Khmelnytskyi (11 hours). Be prepared to sleep in the bus seat if you decide to take a night coach. Bus from Hamburg, Germany (42-hour trip) departs twice a week.

By boat Even though Mykolaiv has a major Ukrainian commercial sea port (Portnikolaev; 5 million tonnes in 2004), there are no regular passenger lines.

Getting around

By public transport

Mykolaiv has a convenient public transport system:

5 bus routes 32 marshrutka routes 6 tram routes 6 trolleybus routes Single ride tickets in buses cost 6-18 грн, in marshrutkas — 11-20 грн, in trams and trolleybuses — 8 грн. Schedules are available on the official website. You can also check information about public transport on EasyWay and Google Maps.

By taxi Taxi is the easiest way of getting around the city. Some popular taxi companies include:

Bolt (Болт). (updated Sep 2023) Uklon (Уклон). (updated Sep 2023) OnTaxi (ОнТаксі). (updated Sep 2023) Opti (Опті). (updated Sep 2023) Shark (Шарк). (updated Oct 2023)

See

Ukrainian theatre. Russian drama theatre. Zoo [1] (one of the biggest in Europe, the biggest in Ukraine). Museum of Shipbuilding and Fleet Museum of Arts. Lutheran Church. Catholic Church. Russian Orthodox Church (1825). Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Synagogue. Astronomical observatory [2] (1821, 31.58E,46.58N). Swimming pool 'Vodoley' [3]. Radsad wineries (right bank of the Southern Bug river). Old Greek settlement Olvio (30 km south of Mykolaiv). Yacht-club. Soborna (main pedestrian street in town) is the place to be any night of the week with several gorgeous parks and lots of shopping.

Do

Shtorm bowling (Sadova 2), also a nightclub on a second level. Walk around. Mykolaiv is a relatively safe town with lots of cool stuff to see.

Buy

Western shoppers will be surprised by affordability of fashion European clothing in Mykolaiv. Pedestrian Soborna and adjacent streets make local shopping district. Western-style supermarkets accept major credit cards. Don't forget to buy local wines (Radsad or Koblevo brands) as a souvenirs. Prepare to pay 1-3% to local banks for ATM machines ('bankomat') withdrawals. Watch your pockets at crowded public markets.

Eat

Local meat product labels usually don't say 'organic' but mostly they are. Dairy products are delicious, especially ice cream. Even McDonalds used to mention "We use Ukrainian ingredients" in TV commercials. Vegetables are mostly seasonal. Fish is delicious but can have small bones when served in restaurant. Ready-to-go homemade food can be found in local stores.

Budget Any clean cafe can offer hearty inexpensive dish of local food. Ask for 'borsch' (beet soup), 'bliny' (crêpes - thin stuffed pancakes), 'zharkoe' (meat with potatoes and mushrooms in a clay pot). You must sure try out the chicken. Ukraine is a country of the chicken. It is cheap and you will get a lot on your plate.

Mid-range Celentano pizza [4] (#1 on Faleevska/Lenina and #2 on Spaska/Lyagina), Bocas del Torro (Radyanska between Potemkinska and Shevchenka: try every salad in the salad bar!), Bliny. Don't forget to try out the rest of the food of Pizza Celentano. The service is good so is the atmosphere very cozy. Blindage (Radyanska/Velyka Mors'ka which is like an armory museum: waitress in military uniform will offer you a triple shot of vodka in real bullet casings and weapons of Soviet and German World War II armies). McDonalds (Radyanska)

Splurge Coliseum (Radyanska/Shevchenko), Malakhit (Moskovska/Spaska) Astoria - great food, good service, good prices

Drink & nightlife

Try local wines from Radsad winery. White: Chardonnay, Aligote; red: Merlot, Cabernet. Wines with alcohol content of more than 15% are artificially fortified with sugar, avoid them. Buy vodka or cognac in stores only. Western brands are very expensive, and bars commonly water them down. Local brewery Yantar (Amber) belongs to InBev beer group (brands Stella Artois, Taller, etc.) and makes 10% of Ukrainian beer production. Try out the Ukraine milkshake at Pizza Celentano. You won't believe that it is only very cold milk with sugar. The texture is amazingly creamy but it's not too sweet.

Delerium is an upscale nightclub. Open Tu-Su 21:00-05:00.

Sleep

Budget Nikolaev (Lenina 107, corner of Sadova) Parus (Sportivna 9, river view, ☏ +380-512-346088)

Mid-range Vladam/Piligrim (Sadova 3b, ☏ +380-512-360151, private hotel, Christian management); Na Admirala Makarova, 1/2 block from McDonald's at Lyagina St. 18, ☏ +380 512 47-93-99, email: [email protected], modern, comfortable beds, AC, 15 rooms, friendly staff, accepts credit cards, double 500-700 грн/night (June 2018). Hotel Turist (Tourist) Hotel Continent

Splurge Optima River Mykolaiv (Optima Рівер Миколаїв), 9 Sportyvna Street, ☏ +380 512 701430, [email protected]. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. From 1,449 грн. (updated Sep 2023) Ingul Admiralska 34, ☏ +380-512-355557, 5-star price for 3-star service Metalurg, 20 km from downtown in satellite city district of Zhovtneve, prospekt Oktyabrskiy 319a, ☏ +380-512-634056 Business Complex Aleksandrovskiy Hotel Palace Ukraine