FROM THE BALTIC TO THE BLACK SEA
Highlights of Moldova Private Tour
This has to be the ultimate private tour of Moldova. You not only see the sights, but meet the people, and experience real life from wine tasting to home-cooked meals, local crafts to traditional cooking. You will well and truly know Moldova after this tour. In the company of our excellent local guides and drivers, you will be one of the few tourists privileged to experience this unspoilt and unaffected Moldova.
8 nights * Private guides and drivers * Meet the locals * Experience wineries, castles, family homes, crafts & traditions! * From 2,150 EUR pp
Day 1 - Arrival to Chisinau
Your guide and driver will meet you at the airport (they will have a sign with your name on it) and they will drive you to your hotel in Chisinau city centre.
Day 2 - Chisinau Private Full Day Tour
After breakfast you start your city tour of Chisinau including all the major sights and daily life in the city. Free time for lunch and in the afternoon visit to the Art Museum and the National History Museum/ or Pushkin Museum/ or Military Museum. In the evening enjoy a special dinner in a local wine bar specialized in promoting quality Moldovan wines produced by small producers.
Day 3 - Gagauzia Private Day Trip
Today you will visit Gagauzia, an autonomous territorial unit and part of Moldova. Gagauz people speak a Turkish dialect, but they are Christian. First, we visit the Gagauz Museum in Besalma village and enjoy the performance of a local folk group of old ladies. Later we have lunch in the last remaining kolkhoz (kibbutz) and have a meeting with the manager. The discussion will be totally free, despite the fact that Lenin will look at you in his office! The manager is really open minded, and practically saved the village from poverty. On the way back, a short stop in Comrat, the capital of Gagauzia, then back to Chisinau.
Day 4 - Chisinau - Calarasi area - Soroca
After breakfast, check out and start driving towards Calarasi area. First stop at Frumoasa Monastery and later visit the Honey Museum from Raciula (a small family enterprise), learn about the life of bees, taste different kind of honey and other honey products. At "Parents House" Craft Centre from Palanca village, you will get to know the Moldovan traditional costumes and ethnographic customs, here we will enjoy a very special lunch, trying also the “sarmale” and “placinte” – the most traditional Moldovan dishes. You will be served with the best local wine, while the organic herbal tea, accompanied by homemade jams will surprise you with its amazing taste. On to Soroca, known for its sizable Roma minority. Free dinner and accommodation in a 3* hotel.
Day 5 - Soroca - Pocrovca Old Believers Village and Rudi Monastery - Lalova
In the morning we will drive to Pocrovca to meet the old believers. This Russian community lives quite isolated, trying to keep their traditions alive and have formed quite a prosperous village. We will meet with a family, discuss about Old Russian traditions and taste several original homemade jams. Pay also a short visit to nearby Rudi Monastery, located in the middle of the forest. Later we will come back to Soroca. You will visit Soroca fortress and then drive to the Roma district of Soroca, famous for its flamboyent houses (palaces), where you will have the chance to meet a Roma family, talk to them and admire their house. Arrival in the village of Lalova and accommodation in a very special guesthouse, where we will try homemade traditional food, wine and spirits.
Day 6 - Curchi Monastery - Old Orhei Museum Complex - Cricova - Tiraspol
After breakfast we visit Curchi Monastery, a real pearl of our religious life. Next on to Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei) - an open-air museum which is “arguably Moldova’s most fantastic sight”. Here you’ll see an Orthodox cave monastery expanded and modified inside the cliffs by the monks over the centuries and preserved in a functional state. After a tour of the museum, enjoy lunch with a folk program in the house of a local family in Old Orhei. In the afternoon, visit Cricova winery, which is a real underground wine city, the total length of its galleries is 120 km. After a tour and some obligatory wine-tasting, we drive to Tiraspol, capital of Transnistria.
Day 7 - Etcetera Winery or Purcari Chateau Private Day Trip
Today you discover TIRASPOL where the old USSR is still alive and kicking. Transnistria - is a breakaway territory within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova, but still retains the look of a Communist state and it’s called “the last remaining Stalinist dictatorship in Europe”. After a city tour of Tiraspol, visit to Bender Fortress, then in the afternoon we arrive at Etcetera Winery. This is also your accommodation for the evening. Etcetera is one of the best wineries in Moldova, if not the best one, as in 2016 they won second price at Decanter with their Chardonnay. Traditional dinner and wine tasting.
Day 8 - Etcetera Winery - MIMI Wine Castle - Chisinau
On the way back to Chisinau you will stop for a short tour at Castle Mimi, which is currently listed among the most beautiful architectural masterpieces in the world of wine. The story of the castle begins in 1893 when Constantin Mimi, the last governor of Bessarabia, planted the first grape vines on the place that would become legend over the years. The area of Codru, where the winery is placed, has a unique microclimate and a very good terroir, as a result having intense and aromatic wines. Arrival in Chisinau, free time and accommodation in 4* hotel in the city centre.
Day 9 - Transfer from your hotel to the airport
Our driver will take you to the airport for your flight home or onward flight (this tour is nicely extended with a 2 or 3 night stay in Odessa - ask us for details!)
Overview
Outstanding private tour of Moldova
Exceptional personal guides and drivers
Can start any day of the year
Handpicked guesthouses, 3 and 4 star hotels
Tailor the itinerary to suit you - add day trips, extra nights or travel on to our other destinations eg Odessa!
Call or email us to discuss your travel plans
From 2,150 EUR pp
Notes
For groups of friends we can offer a discount, so please ask us about this
If you want to visit a particular place or event - we can arrange this!
This tour does not include flights - you can book your own or we can do this for you
Tailor-made itineraries are our speciality and we want you to get the right tour for you
Call or email us to discuss your plans
More Reviews
THE TRIP TO MOLDOVA WAS UNIQUE AND TRULY GREAT IN EVERY SENSE, AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE!
The trip to Moldova was unique and truly great in every sense, an unforgettable experience! We had a fantastic time and enjoyed every minute. The two guides, were not only exceptionally nice and forthcoming, they went an extra mile to give us the best possible experience. We would give them 5 out 5 stars! Accommodation and restaurants were excellent. The two highlights for us were the sturgeon farm in Transnistria and the wine tasting in Chisinau. We also ordered some wine now through the guide, who will send everything in the coming days. Thanks for your quick response and for organizing this trip. I will certainly contact you again before our next trip.
MR PERNET, MOLDOVA TAILOR-MADE PRIVATE TOUR, OCTOBER 2021
AN OUTSTANDING TRIP TO MOLDOVA
Just returned last night from an OUTSTANDING trip to Moldova. My daughter and I genuinely fell in love with the country and the inhabitants. A key factor was the top professional and very wonderful [guide]. She was the best guide ever and I cannot recommend her enough.
MS KAAS, MOLDOVA PRIVATE TOUR, AUGUST 2021
TRANSNISTRA WAS THE MOST UNUSUAL
I had a really good time. My tour of Chisinau was led by Christina and Vladimir and they did a great job. The wineries and the monasteries fun. And, of course, Transnistra was the most unusual. I have been to both the Soviet Union and Russia, and this was really a step back in time.
MRS DERINGER, MOLDOVA PRIVATE TOUR, MAY 2016
THANKS AGAIN, AND KEEP UP THIS HIGH STANDARD!
We have returned from our trip to Moldova and Transnistria and just wanted to tell you that it was excellent and far exceeded even our high expectations. The tour guide (Elena) and the driver were exceptionally good throughout. We also much appreciated the time we spent with local peasant families, sharing meals with them, or learning more about their ancient customs. Thanks again, and keep up this high standard!
MR & MRS SPINKS, MOLDOVA PRIVATE TOUR, AUGUST 2018
A MEMORABLE TRIP TO A LARGELY UNKNOWN PART OF THE WORLD
Just wanted to say that the recent Moldova trip was an excellent introduction to a fascinating, beautiful country with a complex history but the most friendly, hospitable people and culture. The traditional food was great and the wines amongst the best I have ever tasted. Transnistria was like going back in time and the Victory Day Parade was surreal but highly entertaining and poignant at the same time, especially the Immortals parade. Thanks again to you and the team for a memorable trip to a largely unknown part of the world.
MR LANCASTER, MOLDOVA VICTORY DAY TOUR, MAY 2018
WE WOULD CERTAINLY RECOMMEND VISITING MOLDOVA
It is indeed now sometime since we arrived back from our holiday in Moldova but we still have very fond memories of the trip. My wife was especially touched by Vladimir's young daughter presenting her with a picture which she had painted as a birthday gift. The hotel in Chisinau was excellent and lived up to its 5 star rating. Chisinau has many interesting places to see and we enjoyed going around the city by the local trams and buses. Other highlights were the visit to the Milesti Mici wine cellars and the fascinating trip to Transnistra. All the arrangements worked well and we would certainly recommend visiting Moldova to people who would like to gosomewhere different and interesting and to use Baltic Holidays to do so.
MR & MRS PENFOLD, PRIVATE TOUR OF MOLDOVA, MAY 2017
THEY WERE VERY KIND AND MADE OUR TOUR VERY SPECIAL
We liked very much our tour! I would like to tell you that we liked specially the guides from Ukraine, Belarus, Kaliningrad and Vilnius. They were very kind and made our tour very special. In general, we liked all the hotels! Thanks a lot!
FABRICIO, TAILOR-MADE TOUR TO UKRAINE, MOLDOVA, BELARUS, KALININGRAD & LITHUANIA, AUGUST 2017
AN OUTSTANDING TRIP TO MOLDOVA
Just returned last night from an OUTSTANDING trip to Moldova. My daughter and I genuinely fell in love with the country and the inhabitants. A key factor was the top professional and very wonderful [guide]. She was the best guide ever and I cannot recommend her enough.
MS KAAS, MOLDOVA PRIVATE TOUR, AUGUST 2021
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