Driving from UK to Ukraine via Poland - need car insurance

I live in the UK. I will be driving to Ukraine, via Poland, for new year.

Does anybody know is it still possible to buy car insurance at the Ukrainian border? Do they do fully-comprehensive insurance?

Also, I know I need an International Driving permit... but is there anything else I need, like medical insurance?

Thanks.

Yes you can buy insurance at the Ukrainian border , at inflated prices , but still cheap by English standards , i doubt its fully comp though , probably just the minimum cover to make you legal in Ukraine , the insurance is intended to cover you against injuring one of their citizens ,or damaging something Ukrainian , they are not too concerned about your damage....

I didn,t bother with the international driving permit when i went there , the Police were quite happy to accept my Uk driving licence when i got stopped...

Medical insurance i don,t know anything about , you would have to check that out with a traval agents i guess...If you get it , check it covers the cost of getting you back home after an accident....

Have a fun time in Ukraine..its a great country , lovely people nice food and beer...the roads are bloody terrible , make sure your tyres and suspension are in good condition , and be prepared for potholes of megga proportions....

Thanks Wildrover for the advice.

In case anyone else is in my position... an update: I managed to get fully-comp insurance off the AA. I had to switch my insurance to them for a year. It was an extra 20 quid for 1 weeks fully comp in Ukraine.

Thanks for this excellent tip on Insurance for Ukraine

I also did not need the International driving permit when I was there. I didn't know I was supposed to have one.

It only costs about siz quid though and lasts for a year. I will be getting one next time.

If you're not driving your own car, make sure that you have a POA to take the car over the border. They were really hard on this a couple of months back, probably still are.


Ukraine was alright, Russia was like driving in Germany, and Kazakhstan was, well, like driving in Kazakhstan....

hi

i drove from the UK to Belarus. With Belarus the only difference is that you need visas (and with the Ukraine you don't anymore if you're British), but having spoken to other drivers, the procedures are similar, in that:

1. Get an international driving permit just to be on the safe side (it costs next to nothing and can be done on-the-spot in certain UK post offices ... check their website here:

postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/content1?catId=19100195&mediaId=19100274

2. Carry your original UK driving license, passport, your V5 etc at all times when driving

3. Purchase insurance at the border

In all honestly, the difficult part was getting past he Polish border guards and customs, they seemed to want to check absolutely everything on their eastern borders.

Big border crossings like Hrebenne will have long queues of cars and trucks, it might be an idea to try a smaller crossing to cut down on waiting time. You can locate them here:

odleglosci.pl/przejscia-graniczne.html

Guys, Can I ask for more specific info about buying border insurance - any good places to use? I am sorry to say that my Polish is non existent and my Russian is not much better so I would like to sort out as much as possible before I left the UK

Paul

Why do you need to speak Russian on Polish-Ukrainian border? English is Ok and you will be understood.

There's no need - UA is now in the Green Card scheme, so no need for separate insurance.

Except that I haven't found a UK insurer that will cover Ukraine - they almost all stop at the EU frontier

That's because UK insurance automatically covers the EU and a few more - you need to ask them for the Green Card as opposed to giving you a policy specifically for outside the EU. The Green Card only covers the minimum level of insurance though - you're probably not going to be able to get fully comprehensive insurance from a UK insurer (unless you find something specialist).

But strangely, I see what you mean - it never used to be so restrictive! Probably in this case, I'd just get the insurance at the border. In which case - what to do -

Drive to the Medyka/Shegyni border crossing just outside Przemysl. This border is for a specific reason - you can get the insurance without having to bribe your way past the Ukrainian border guards. When you arrive there, park up outside Biedronka (located literally just outside the border crossing - you can't miss it - if there's a queue at the border, just drive past the queue until you reach the Biedronka shop) - you have to turn left just before the first barrier at the border.

Park up there (it's paid for, but not expensive - couple of zloty) and walk over to Ukraine. It's a bit weird and unsigned, but basically, you head down from the little car park towards some wooden stalls, then turn right (past the women offering you vodka/cigarettes!) and walk up the hill towards Ukraine. Pass through both border checks (they're located about 100m apart, in different buildings), then follow the path up the hill to the exit/entrance from the car border crossing. When you get there, you'll see lots of different buildings offering insurance. Take your pick (they're all more or less the same - this would be the best, probably - ivteme.ru/uploads/company/big/894d21c69bbd29a714dfd60f7fb92672c63eb188.jpg - Polish company) - buy the insurance, then walk back to Poland, again passing through the border checks. The walk should take about 20 minutes - I've done it to buy beer before ;)

When you've done that, drive into the border crossing and voila - should be no problem from the Ukrainians. You can also simply bribe your way into Ukraine with no insurance, but that's not a "certain" option.

Weird how countries differ though - my fully comprehensive (Polish) insurance covers me on a fully comprehensive basis in all the Green Card issuing countries - and the green card was issued without a fuss. Even my European breakdown cover only cost around 35 pounds for the year - and that includes every single European country (including KOSOVO!) - except Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. UK prices for exactly the same thing - isn't worth thinking about!

What is an acceptable proof of car ownership required by Ukrainian and Polish customs?
I am US citizen, car is registered in New York. All I have is a title on the car.

In the seven years i have been in Poland , the only thing the Polish police want to see is my passport and vehicle ownership documents....

In Ukraine they are usually only interested in your wallet...

Your post interested me.

I am a UK citizen and long wanted to visit Belarus (as well as Ukraine). I tour many European countries with a Campervan/Motorhome. However getting in to Belarus is proving a problem with one of the Visa requirements being to state the "inviting party".......in other words they want the name and address of where you will be staying. As I tour using a Campervan, that is problem as I don't ever have an "inviting party" address.

So how did you get in to Belarus?

I contacted the Belarussian Embassy in London which was not a very good experience. They were quite rude and abrupt to say the least and did not even have a clue what a Campervan or Motorhome is!

In Belarus you just need to book one night in a cheap hotel , and give that as the place you will stay...

Nobody is going to check you are there every night....

Be carefull where you park your motorhome tho... wild camping in Belarus is not allowed , and there are not so many decent camping places...

I had a 4 x 4 when i went there , so it was easy to drive deep in the forest where nobody would bother me...

My hopeful thought on that was finding some friendly village farmer or similar only too willing to allow me to park up on their land in exchange for a few Belarusian rubles! At some point i'd eventually need mains power unless I keep on the move every few days.

You say there are 'not so many camping areas'. Are there any at all and if so where/how are they found? The Belarusian Embassy were most unhelpful.

Yes , finding a friendly farmer whose land you can camp on is definatly the best idea....

Don,t let the unhelpfull people at the Embassy put you off , once you get into Belarus , you will find that the people are friendly and very hospitable....

I am afraid i can,t be much help on camping sites , as i never used any , i camped in the forest , miles from anywhere , and didn,t have any trouble...

You should try and make contact with some local Belarussians on hospitalityclub.org. Its a free site where you can meet local people willing to help you , give you a free place to stay and even be a guide...

good luck...

I have to ask....are you resident British with knowledge of Russian language?

I don't speak any Russian neither do I have knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet and would rely on SatNav (the one I have does have Belarus installed) plus normal mapping for navigation. I have usually overcome the language barrier in other countries but Belarus would be a 'first' for me....assuming I can get in!

Yes , I am English , currently living in Poland...My Knowledge of Russian is minimal , and when i went to Belarus , Ukraine and Russia i could not speak a word of it....

I just smiled a lot at all the border guards and Police i met along the way , didn,t have any real problems really....

Its a good idea to learn how to say hello , please , and thank you , the basic stuff , and then just bluff your way through it...

The cyrilic alphabet is a bit of a nightmare till you get used to it , get yourself a basic phrase book and try to learn a bit of it... Hopefully your map and satnav will have the town names in Cyrillic also... In Russia they have more and more signs in English also , but i doubt you will see many in Belarus...

If you get yourself signed up to that Hospitality site you may well find yourself some nice Belarussian lady with some time on her hands that can help you and show you around... It will make everything a whole lot easier...

You are more likely to encounter English speakers in Belarus among younger people , and more so in the bigger towns than in the villages... Don,t worry , if you get really stuck somebody will help you out , they are quite friendly...

WR: when are you off to Russia?

Thanks WR.

Where in Poland are you living?

I've toured the length and breadth of Poland and still keep going back! Love the place..and the people. Currently planning a three or four month tour during summer this year and will be in Poland (again!). Still more places I need to see, Gdansk, Treblinka, Sobibor (though i've been there before), Majdanek and Belzec.

To answer Harry first of all....

Had a bit of a problem with documents , in Poland that is , not in Russia , so rather than go to Russia with only a short time on my visa , and not have time to get married , we put the move on hold , and we will make new documents soon and try again... bit of a pain , but not a disaster...

The part of Poland i live in , is Zachodniopomorskie , actually between Drawsko Pomorskie , and Polczyn Zdroj.. I live in a national park , close to nice lakes and forests , i am sure i will miss it all very much when i find myself living in central Moscow...

The only one of those camps you mentioned that i have seen was Majdanek , i did not have time to look around it sadly , i just passed it on the way to Kiev in Ukraine...The huge stone sign by the roadside was very impresive...

In case anyone else does not know... Majdanek , Treblinka , Sobibor , and Belzec are all concentration or extermination camps....

Belzec is hugely powerful. When you are down in that area, don't miss Zamosc and definitely do not miss Przemysl. Sandomierz is also well worth a visit.

Very nice area you are living in. I've passed through a few times heading for Swinoujscie on my way up to Peenemunde.

Never quite made Majdanek despite being fairly close. I was always on limited time due to work but now i'm retired and have all the time in the world to tour as long as I want to! As you probably gathered I have a keen interest in WW2 history and visit any related sites. Not everyone's idea of a holiday I know, but I am of an age where WW2 history was never taught at School and also rarely discussed.

Have you been to Wolf's Lair? And while you were there did you go to the undamaged bunkers of the German army high command? And to Himmler's HQ bunkers? And to the u-boat canal?

That's on my list of "Places to Visit" Harry!

I research all these places first at home via the internet, log them on Autoroute mapping, then from that begin drawing up a rough sketch of a route.

When you are up there, the best place in the area to stay is the castle at a little town called Reszel. Gorgeous place which has been converted into a very individual four star hotel, the town is tiny but very pleasant. Also the place where the last witch in Europe was executed (Barbara Zdunk), now you can play pool in the dungeon where she was held for three years.

zamek-reszel.com

Also worth a visit are the Molotov line fortifications in Przemysl. The Molotow line as a whole is worth a bit of investigation.

My "Hotel" is on four wheels Harry! Maybe not quite four star but has all I need including onboard water tanks, H&C water, Shower, Toilet, Cooker and oven, Fridge, plus multi-standard TV so if I want to, I can tune in to Polish television...if I could understand it!

I just move on to another area whenever i'm ready to go.

Bring a 90cm dish and a Sky box and you can pick up Sky here. You should be OK up in northern Poland when it comes to campsites, the area is fairly popular with Germans and they often bring campervans or caravans. However, I can't remember ever getting stuck behind a caravan or campervan in east or south-east Poland, so there might not be many suitable campsites.

They are few and far between, and much less sophisticated than in the west or up north toward the Baltic. I made an overnight at one near Sobibor which was very basic and no English spoken at all......which proved to be fun when I tried to get some kind of a meal! Just pointed to photographs on the wall of what I wanted!