Ukraine: Kiev - Odessa - Dnepropetrovsk - Donetsk - Kharkov

A group of friends are travelling to all these cities by the end of the year and we would like to know:

+ Is there anything we should know about these cities that doesn't appear in a tourist guide?
+ How much money will each of us spend every day in Ukraine? I mean, how much money does an Ukrainian spend to live one day, considering he/she will not eat at home?
+ We guess it's not, but, is it dangerous to take a camera with you?
+ Is nightlife fun in Ukraine?

Thank you for any answer you can provide.

I hope you guys have fun. For me the Ukrainian cooknew near the opera house is where the locals go in Kiev and it is great. For Odessa I stay at the Black Sea Hotel for several reasons. On is it's three blocks from the train station. I posted about kiev @ forum.cfm?thread=43602 and would say for Kharkov to stay at the Krarkov hotel. I love the hard wood floors in that hotel. Plus it is steps away from the city center which has the Metro {Subway} easy to get to.

I was in Kyiv and Dnepropetrovsk last October and it was great. In Kyiv I felt very safe even in the very small hours. I would be careful of police though, they fine for small things like jaywalk as my friend found out. There’s lots of bars and nightclubs but clubs don’t let you in with trainers on. Dnepro is a bit of a dump to be honest but I still enjoyed my time there. Ukraine is VERY cheap, 20p a beer for example. Word of advice brush up on your Russian/Ukranian because nobody speaks English (or at least they pretend not too )

I visitied Kiev, Odessa, Lvov, Donetsk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Nikolaev. Donetsk, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk - wasting of money.

Kiev, Odessa and Lvov are wonderful and extremely recommend to visit these cities.

Nikolaev - a lot of pretty women but there were no sights.

In Kiev I recommend to stay in Impressa hotel. Smal and lovely downtown hotel. Well-serviced.

In Odessa I tried to stay in Zirka hotel but I was shocked by low quality service and bad rooms. I ran away from Zirka and stayed at -snip-

In Lviv I stayed in Sychiv hotel. The most awful place I've ever seen. Hot water is twice a day. One hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon. Bad dirty rooms. Drunk stewards.

In Nikolaev I rent apartments through internet. I do not remeber where. But it was good, and cosy while prices were rediculous!

[ Edit: Sorry, no promos please. ]