Buses can be caught from Kiev to almost any city in Ukraine and vice versa. There are hundreds of private companies offering a myriad of possible routes. Finding the best way and booking a ticket can be confusing, even for locals.
Prices are ridiculously cheap. A single ticket from Kiev to Odessa, a 300 mile journey, costs around 200 UAH.
Two of the biggest companies are Autolux and Gunsel. Both operate large, comfortable buses and have websites with timetables in English.
Destinations
Some of the more popular bus routes from Kiev include Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kremenchuk, Mykolaiv, Odessa, Simferopol, Sumy, and Zaporizhia.
The table below shows a selection of the routes operated by Autolux and Gunsel. It is by no means a complete list of bus routes in Ukraine. It is just intended to give an idea of a few of the possibilities available.
| Operator | Number | Start | Calling | Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autolux | 202 | Kiev | Boryspil, Pyriatyn, Lubny, Khorol, Poltava | Kharkiv |
| Autolux | 514 | Kiev | Boryspil, Pyriatyn, Lubny, Poltava, Chuhuiv, Izium, Sloviansk, Debaltseve, Alchevsk | Luhansk |
| Autolux | 77 | Boryspil | Kiev, Uman, Ulyanovka, Liubashivka | Odessa |
| Autolux | 903 | Boryspil | Kiev | Odessa |
| Autolux | 620 | Kiev | Boryspil, Kremenchuk, Dniprodzerzhynsk, Dnipropetrovsk | Zaporizhia |
| Gunsel | 614 | Kiev | Boryspil, Kremenchuk, Dniprodzerzhynsk | Dnipropetrovsk |
| Gunsel | 362 | Kiev | Boryspil, Kremenchuk, Dniprodzerzhynsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Pavlohrad | Donetsk |
| Gunsel | 720 | Kiev | Boryspil, Pyriatyn, Lubny, Poltava, Novomoskovsk, Pavlohrad | Donetsk |
| Gunsel | 160 | Kiev | Boryspil, Pyriatyn, Lubny, Poltava | Kharkiv |
| Gunsel | 739 | Kiev | Uman, Pervomaisk, Mykolaiv | Kherson |
| Gunsel | 639 | Boryspil | Kiev, Uman | Odessa |
| Gunsel | 57 | Kiev | Boryspil, Pyriatyn, Romny | Sumy |
| Gunsel | 606 | Kiev | Boryspil, Kremenchuk, Dniprodzerzhynsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Melitopol, Dzhankoy, Simferopol, Alushta | Yalta |
Note that most intercity buses make at stop at Boryspil International Airport.
For more detailed route planning we suggest you check out our guide to buying bus tickets.
Marshrutkas
Marshrutkas (minibuses) offer a less comfortable means of getting to your destination by road. They depart from various points around the city but the greatest choice is found at Kiev Train Station.
They seat around 15 passengers and leave when full.
Several bus and minibus lines serve the airport, connecting it to the closest stations of the Syretsko-Pecherska Line Syretsko-Pecherska Line and the central railway station. Many intercity bus routes to or from Kiev make dedicated stopover at the airport to cater for airline passengers from other cities. E.g., a Kiev-Donetsk (southeast-bound) bus would travel from Kiev Central Bus Station through the airport, while a Kiev-Lviv (southwest-bound) bus would start in the airport and then proceed to Lviv through the Central Bus Station in Kiev. Overall, at least 35 intercity bus routes transit Boryspil Airport. All long-distance and Kiev-bound buses arrive to the airport’s bus station located near the “B” terminal. Kyiv Zhuliany International Airport (IEV) is located 4 kilometres southwest of the center city. It is mostly served by budget airlines. Some of the main destinations include Athens, Moscow, Dubai, Dortmund, Sofia, Vilnius and Valencia. From Kyiv (IEV) you can use Kiev’s public transport to reach your accommodation or the train station. There are two terminals -they are around 1 kilometer away of each other. They’re connected by trolleybus no. 8, that takes you further to downtown.
The minibuses in Kiev are great value. You can travel a few hundred miles for the equivalent of just a few dollars. I’ve never worked out quite how you book them but apparently you can. When I want to go somewhere I just go to the train station and they’ve always had a space. You’ll find buses here going to virtually every major town and city in Ukraine. I’d advise to familiarize yourself with the name of your destination in Russian. There’s a sign with the destination on the windscreen but there’s never an English translation.