EUROPE’S FORGOTTEN FRONTIERS
May 05 ⇾ May 12
August 29 ⇾ September 05
In addition to our regular group departures to Moldova, we also offer tailored services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. Get in touch for more info on our customised Moldova Tours!
DAY 1 to DAY 2 • Bun venit în Moldova!
Meet-and-greet at Chisinau International Airport and transfer to our hotel of choice in central Chisinau.
We’ll spend our first two days in Moldova enjoying a full Soviet tour in and around Chisinau: architecture, monuments and mosaics, authentic and chaotic food markets, WW2 memorials, hidden Lenin statues, gargantuan apartment blocks, and dusty backstreets.
On your second day in Chisinau, we’ll indulge in a nostalgic USSR-heritage side trip to Condrita, home to one of the oldest monasteries in the country, and Malcoci, famous for its open-air museum of Soviet mementos.
In our rambling around the capital, we’ll also pay a visit to rarely charted hamlets to admire the quintessential triad of rural Moldova: Casae de Cultura (houses of culture), troițe-răscruci (traditional wayside crosses), and fântâni (decorated water wells); the three fundamental particles in the archetypical topography of almost every Moldovan village.
Overnights in Chisinau.
DAY 3 • THE TURKS OF BESSARABIA
We'll leave Chisinau early in the morning and head south for Cahul, a sleepy provincial capital abundant in little-known Soviet gems and ethnic diversity, being home to more than twenty different nationalities: Bulgarians, Russians, Gagauz, Lipovans, Ukrainians, Chuvash, Roma, and, of course, Moldovans too!
On our way to the Moldovan Deep South, we’ll make a few off-the-beaten-path photo stops to admire obscure Soviet-era mosaics and artefacts hidden in plain sight in the forlorn Bessarabian towns of Hincesti and Leova.
After a comprehensive USSR-heritage walk around Cahul, we’ll then move northeast towards Gagauzia, an oddly shaped Turkic-speaking autonomous region within Moldova proper, driving past traditional Gagauz and Bulgarian settlements and reaching the quaint town of Congaz in the late afternoon.
Overnight in Congaz.
DAY 4 • TRANSNISTRIA, MON AMOUR
In the morning we will embark on a cultural tour in and around Comrat, the national capital of Gagauzia, and learn more about Gagauz culture and traditions.
After lunch, we’ll then move east towards the internationally unrecognised Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic aka Transnistria.
After crossing the internal border into Transnistria, we’ll transfer to the historical city of Bendery and then on to the lovely capital Tiraspol, home to a vast plethora of Socialist architectures, Soviet monuments, Lenin statues, sweet-smelling markets, and nostalgic atmospheres.
Overnight in Tiraspol.
DAY 5 • SOVIET HAUNTOLGY
We’ll begin our adventure in Transnistria with a classic USSR-legacy tour around Tiraspol and then explore the exquisitely southern Soviet towns of Chobruchi, Kitskany, Slobozia, and Dnestrovsk.
Besides the usual Soviet highlights, we’ll also scratch the Transnistrian surface and delve into the real life of the country, visiting some of the most beautiful Houses of Culture in the country: true time capsules from the heydays of the Soviet Union.
During our sojourn in Tiraspol, we’ll also witness a true Soviet-style parade, since both our group departure dates have been chosen to coincide with two major national celebrations: Victory Day (May 9th) and Transnistria Independence Day (September 2nd).
Overnight in Tiraspol.
Bespoke Experiences
A caviar tasting session in Tiraspol, an earthy farmer’s meal with a local family in rural Pridnestrovie, and a traditional music-and-dance performance in a village Casa de Cultura in Moldova proper.
DAY 6 • LOST MEMORIES
In the morning we’ll visit the provincial towns of Grigoriopol, and Dubossary, small-scale urban realities full of melancholia, fading glories, and beautiful Soviet-era houses of culture.
We’ll then go deep into Transnistria’s northern heartlands in our endless quest for fading Soviet heirlooms, visiting the riverside village of Goyany and the archetipically Eastern Bloc cities of Rybnitsa and Camenca.
Overnight in Camenca.
DAY 7 • GIPSY KINGS
Today we will re-enter Moldova and whisk through the country’s far north towards Soroca, the unofficial capital of Romanistan, the long-sought and never-realised homeland of the Romani people.
Needless to say, our gallivanting around Moldova’s northern districts will revolve around both the tangible and intangible legacy of the bygone USSR (mosaics, bus stops, houses of culture, monuments, war memorials) and the country’s astounding ethno-cultural diversity.
From Soroca we’ll eventually descend towards Balti, a largely overlooked northern Moldovan city with plenty of socialist architecture and Soviet nostalgia on display.
Overnight in Balti.
Day 8 • FAREWELL TO BESSARABIA
After enjoying a last Moldovan meal together, we'll take care of your transfer from Balti back to the capital Chisinau with a few extra Soviet-themed photo stops along the way.
Late-afternoon arrival in Chisinau and end of the tour.
Possible tour extensions to this itinerary include: Romania and/or Bulgaria.
1990 €
INCLUSIONS
Double/twin-room accommodation (breakfast included), private transport (car/minivan), all entrance fees, English-speaking guiding service, 24/7 on-site and remote assistance.
EXCLUSIONS
Single supplement, international flights, main meals (lunches and dinners), extra drinks, visa fees (if required), tips, travel insurance.
Often labelled as the “country that does not exist”, Transnistria is, in fact, a very real (albeit rather small) territorial entity squeezed between Moldova and Ukraine. The renegade Republic of Transnistria, officially known as Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, seceded from Chisinau after a short but bloody conflict in 1992 and remains a geopolitical conundrum. Unsolved-disputes notwithstanding, Transnistria represents an extremely compelling travel destination with a vast array of USSR-era sights that will please any Soviet-buff, geopolitics-geek, adventure-seeker and odd wanderer curious enough to cross over the Dniester.
ESSENTIAL MODERN CHRONOLOGY
1924: Incorporation into the Soviet Union as an autonomous region within the Moldovan ASSR, then part of the Ukrainian SSR.
1940: The Moldovan ASSR is upgraded to a full-fledged Soviet Republic after the Soviet Liberation of Bessarabia.
1990: Demands for more autonomy in Transnistria lead to political squabbles with the Chisinau-based government.
1991: Dissolution of the Soviet Union and consequent rise of destructive nationalist movements.
1991-1992: Moldovan-Transnistrian War: Transnistria becomes a de facto self-ruling Russian-supported geopolitical entity.
2011: Moldovan-Transnistrian Thaw: the conflict remains unsolved de jure but commercial, cultural and even political relations between the two countries sensibly improve.
5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT TRANSNISTRIA
Melancholic (post)-Soviet Atmospheres: countryside hamlets frozen in time, crumbling Soviet-era remnants and a rich cornucopia of socialist monuments, memorials and public art.
Delicious local cuisine: hearty Eastern European meals and soul-burning homemade spirits.
Inspiring Soviet Architecture: awe-striking Stalinist and modernist buildings and gargantuan concrete apartment blocks.
Welcoming locals: proud and gentle people of genuine curiosity and heartwarming hospitality.
Unusual sights: forgotten jewish heritage, cognac factories and abandoned airports.
BEST TIME TO VISIT TRANSNISTRIA
Late spring (May-June) and late summer (from mid-August to September) are ideal: comfortably warm days and slightly chilly nights. Festivities and celebrations worth travelling for include Victory Day (May 9) and Independence Day (September 02), both marked by grandiose parades and photogenic expressions of national pride.
IS IT SAFE TO TRAVEL TO TRANSNISTRIA?
Short answer: yes, definitely safe.
Long answer: while it is generally ok to walk on your own in Tiraspol after dusk, we recommend to stick to well-lit streets and avoid walking alone when nobody’s around. Aggressive drinking behaviours belong to those Western stereotypes about the “Wild East” that rarely match the actual reality; still… be careful if you see a bunch of young man hanging around with half-emptied vodka bottles in their beefy hands.
VISA AND CURRENCY
The country’s official currency is the Transnistrian Ruble. Most upmarket establishments, such as hotels and restaurants, accept US Dollars and Euros. ATMs are omnipresent but do not accept foreign cards. As of May 2025 you don’t need a visa to visit Transnistria, passports are not stamped upon entry and you'll just get a slip of paper (called “entry card”) at the border. You’ll need to provide an address of where you are staying, tell the officer how long you want to stay in Transnistria, and you’ll get the entry card for that exact amount of time, up to a max of 45 days.
LANGUAGE AND RELIGION
Russian, Ukrainian and Moldovan (here still written in its Soviet-era Cyrillic form) are the three official languages of the republic. English-speakers are rare in Transnistria but communication skills in Eastern Europe easily overcome language barriers.
The route displayed above involves a visit to one or more separatist provinces and/or contested territories. Our tours are aimed to an educated clientele animated by a genuine cultural and historical interest for the little-known regions we offer within our portfolio of post-Soviet destinations. By no means we endorse or support political parties, ideological movements, armed factions and interest groups involved in the military and diplomatic conflicts afflicting the regions we travel to. Specifically we do not support territorial separatism and we strongly reject any form of violence. De facto independent but de jure unrecognised states shall be fully considered as constituent entities of the countries they seceded from. In particular, Transnistria, officially designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester (Unitățile Administrativ-Teritoriale din stînga Nistrului), is internationally recognised as an integral part of the territory of the Republic of Moldova.