EUROPE’S FORGOTTEN FRONTIERS
May 05 ⇾ May 12
August 29 ⇾ September 05
In addition to our regular group tours to Moldova, we also offer services for private travel parties and lone wolves alike. As a traveller-oriented boutique operator, tailored trips and bespoke adventures are our bread and butter. Get in touch for more info on our customised journeys to Soviet Bessarabia!
DAY 1 to DAY 2 – WELCOME TO MOLDOVA
Meet-and-greet at Chisinau International Airport and transfer to our Soviet-era 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 tour day in Moldova you’ll also have the opportunity to take an optional trip out of town to the famed wine cellars of Cricova, where you’ll enjoy a guided tasting of local vins and other gastronomic delicacies.
For the nondrinkers amongst us, we’ll arrange a nostalgic USSR-heritage side trip across some truly melancholic small Moldovan towns in the immediate environs of Chisinau.
Overnights in Chisinau.
DAY 3 – Gagauzia
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, Sarata-Galbena, 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 – TIRASPOL
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 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 – SOUTHERN Transnistria
We’ll begin our adventure in Transnistria with a classic USSR-legacy tour around Tiraspol and then explore the archetypical Soviet towns of Chobruchi, Kitskany and Slobozia.
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 the two major celebrations in the country: Victory Day (May 9th) and Transnistria Independence Day (September 2nd).
Overnight in Tiraspol.
Bespoke Experience • Sturgeon farm tour and caviar tasting in Tiraspol and traditional lunch with a local family in the Transnistrian backcountry.
DAY 6 – Northern Transnistria
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 delve deep into Transnistria’s northern heartlands in search of more Soviet leftovers, touring the riverside village of Goyany and the no-frills industrial towns of Rybnitsa and Camenca.
Overnight in Camenca.
DAY 7 – Northern Moldova
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.
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.