Guide to Least Visited Country in Europe: Moldova

26th July 2019 No comments Article

Have you heard of Moldova? If not, do not be alarmed as not many people have been to this country. Ranked as the poorest country in Europe and undoubtedly being the least visited country in Europe, Moldova is severely underrated as compare to her more prominent neighbors such as Paris, Prague, Munich.

Only 121,000 foreigners reported to step in this country. In fact, upon arrival, the immigration officers may posed several questions asking why are you here as a tourist, do you book through a travel agency, which hotel are you booked in? Make sure you prepare all these answer in advance before presenting your passport. Rest assure thou that Chisinau, being the capital of Moldova is tourist friendly with attractions signage clearly indicated at every major street corner. Follow it and you will not miss out the must see sites in this amazing country.

#1: Central Market

The best way to kickstart your adventure in Moldova might be from the central market. Discover what the locals eat, their vegetables, fruits and shop till you drop at the central market. This is located near to one of the 3 main bus stations in Chisinau, close to Boulevard Stefan Cel Mare. This bus station is also whereby one can get the minibus to Transnistria which I will explain detail in the next point.

#2: Transnistria

Since you are in Moldova, why not head to a country that never existed before? Welcome to Transnistria, officially it is one of Moldavian Republic unrecognized state which got separated from Moldova after the dissolution of USSR (Soviet Union). In other words, this piece of land is located between Dniester River and Ukraine.

One of the weirdest places on earth, as one seems to be transported back to the soviet union era. Army tanks heavily guard the checkpoint when one enters from Moldova. Entering from Moldova, one have to take the minibus located behind the central market. I would suggest to head to the border town known as Bender first. Buy ticket from the small container that is next to the bus stand. Bus leaves every 20 minutes from 6am onwards. The bus from Chisinau to Bendery takes around 1.5 hours with that includes “border” crossing. Address of bus station: Str. Mitropolit Varlaam, 58

Foreigners are required to alight, head to the immigration office with your passport. Remain calm and be confident, just tell the officers you are heading to Tiraspol for just a day trip. The officer will not stamp on your passport, but on a separate piece of paper, indicating you are here on a tourist pass. You will have 10 hours to tour the territory before you are required to leave. If you want to stay in the area for a night, you have to arrange separately. A one day tour is sufficient to visit this magnificent autonomous region just to get the experience.

Things to do in Bendery includes touring the fortress, witness the Russian & Transnistria friendship bridge, the army tanks. There is a local market near the bus station in Bender as well. Walk in and have a feel of how the Soviet go about in their daily life. Admire the Russian style buildings.

Do change your money into the local currency: Rubles as it is only accepted in this region. Remember not to change so much, as this currency is not recognized in other parts of the world, which mean you have to convert whatever is left to Euro/ Moldovan Leu.

After touring Bendery, head to Tiraspol , the capital of Transnistria, which you can take an electric tram from Bendery. Take bus #19 to Tiraspol, 30 minutes ride.

Tiraspol has some “tourist” attractions. This includes the Kirov park located close to train station with Orthodox Church and pretty bells tower. Otherwise, head to House of Soviets now named as City Hall. Tank monument, war memorial site remembering those who lost their lives in 1990-1992 war.

#3: Cricova Winery

The biggest wine cellars in the whole world is situated in Cricova, Moldova. Take bus #2 from Chisinau to Cricova, 15km north of the capital. The underground in Cricova lies a real city of wine. If you are a wine lover, do join the tour organised in various languages (Russian, English). The tour includes wine tasting, touring of underground streets, with the total length of the underground galleries exceed 60km. Do you know? Russian president Valdimir Putin celebrated his 50th birthday here as well.