How to get to Kiev this weekend

However, for those of you wanting to see England take on Italy in Kiev for a place in the semi-finals, here's a quick guide on how to get there and where to stay when you do.

Air
Flying would be the quickest route to the Ukrainian capital, but it doesn't come cheaply. Scouting around for deals on price comparison websites is recommended, or using a last-minute booking website, but one of the best options we found was with KLM, where a flight out on Saturday, 23 June, leaving from Heathrow at 17:10 and arriving in Kiev at 00.10 Sunday morning, starts from £222. A return flight on the Tuesday, assuming you'd like to spend a little time in the city seeing the sights or nursing a hangover, costs £226, departing Kiev at 14.10 and touching down at Heathrow at 17.35.

Car
This sounds like a Top Gear challenge, but could you drive the 1,479 miles from London to Ukraine in less time than it takes three other teams to qualify for the semi-finals of a major international tournament? Could be worth a try. You'd almost certainly have to start on Friday, unless you've got a few of you who don't mind tagging in and out behind the wheel. You'd need to get the Eurostar to Calais before setting off through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland before arriving in Kiev. Based on a Ford Mondeo's average fuel consumption, it would cost around £200 in fuel to get there, depending on how sensibly you drive, plus the £120 or so for the Eurostar, plus a few euros for the tolls. Of the countries you travel through, England and the Netherlands have the highest average petrol price, with Germany just behind, so if you fill up in Belgium, France or Poland as much as possible, you might save a few quid. Don't forget the return journey would be about the same, so you aren't looking at getting much change out of £700, but what change you do have can be spent on duty free at Calais.

Rail
Don't fancy planes or automobiles? Trains might just do it for you then. It's a tad more complicated, but you'll be able to see the European countryside, won't have to think about stopping for petrol and won't have an irritating kid kicking the back of your chair throughtout the journey (unless you bring that one irritating mate that everyone has). Your best bet would be to get the Eurostar to Brussels, hop on a high-speed train to Cologne, take the overnight sleeper from Cologne to Warsaw, then, for the final leg of your journey, step aboard the Kiev Express, which takes you right into the heart of Kiev. The trains are usually very safe, fast, on time and much comfier than having a kip in the back of your mate's Golf.

Eurostar return is around £150, ICE is about £100 but would need to be booked over the phone, the return ticket on the sleeper is just short of £200, as is the Kiev Express, meaning the entire package looks like being in the region of £650.

Coach
If you really have a shoestring budget, travelling by coach might be the way to go. Departing from London Victoria Coach Station, you'll travel to Lille, where you'd get on your home for the next day, all the way to Kiev. Overall the entire journey takes 52 hours, but pack a decent book and it'll fly by. The first leg is about £70 return and the France-Ukraine leg is in the region of £160.

When you're there
With only eight teams left in the competition, rooms have emptied rapidly, but they will be filling up just as quickly, so you'd need to move fast.

Voskhod Hotel
As you'll be pretty much walking into the place, dumping your bags and walking out again, watching the match, falling asleep (hopefully in your hotel bed, but that is possibly dependent on England's progress) and leaving, you don't need five stars. It will take you about 20 minutes on the tram to get to Kiev city centre from the Voskhod Hotel and they offer free wifii, food and comfortable rooms. Double rooms start from around £70.

Ineko Hotel
Also on the cheap-and-relatively-cheerful side, Ineko Hotel is located a couple of kilometres from the Minskaya Underground station, which would take you in to the heart of Kiev. Free wifi, sauna and a well-stocked bar are the highlights in a place where rooms start from about £80.

Black Sea Hotel
If you want to be right in the middle of the action, the Black Sea Hotel looks like being one of your best bets. Twin rooms are around £100 but it's located only a short walk from the Stadium Olimpiyskiy so travel costs would be down, although the number of watering holes would be up so the saving might not be too high.

For more options, here is a map of hotels in the area.