Top vacation destinations in Moldova

We tend to recommend visiting Moldova from late April to early June, or from early September to late October. Moldova's summers are warm, while the winters are cool, if windy. Summer tends to be fairly dry, save for the occasional heavy storm.

Moldova is generally fairly safe, although you should never trust that a driver will slow down just because you’re on a crosswalk! While reforms are being passed and enacted, police corruption can still be a problem, as can public drunkenness. Transnistria, the region that has been de facto independent since the early 90s, is fairly safe, but as an unrecognized country, foreign embassies have little ability to help if you get in trouble. Crossing in and out of Transnistria from Ukraine or the rest of Moldova is easy, and no visa is required for a visit of less than 24 hours.

Moldovan cuisine will look familiar to anyone who has spent time in Romania, with its plentiful grapes, wine, and meat dishes, and wide variety of vegetables. A wide variety of sour soups are popular, as is Mamaliga, a porridge made from corn flour, similar to polenta. Mamaliga is a popular side, sometimes taking the place of bread, and served with any dish, often with sour cream and cheese. Moldovans are fond of pork, beef, and lamb, often marinating and grilling them.

Moldova is famous for its wines, especially its reds. Sparkling wines are popular, and make up an unusually large proportion of wine production. While Moldova has the world’s largest wine cellar, which has over 125 miles of underground passageways (although “only” 34 miles are currently in use), we recommend visiting the second largest wine cellar, with its 75 miles of underground passageways: Cricova. This winery has a much better tour, with more to see, and hid Jews from the Holocaust. Cricova also produces some of Moldova's best wines, some made using the original Champagne methods invented by Dom Pierre Perignon. You should avoid drinking tap water in Moldova.

Most of Moldova's trains date back to the Soviet era, and run infrequently, although there are trains to Bucharest, Kiev, and Odessa. Locals tend to get around by buses, especially minibuses that have set routes, but only start driving once full. We heavily recommend traveling via the private transfers we can provide, as drivers and ticket agents rarely speak anything other than Russian, Ukrainian, or Romanian/Moldovan, and our trusted drivers can help you see what lies in between destinations.