Helle and Peter did a 3-day road trip in Moldova with Transnistria in May 2026. Moldova is relatively small, but we had underestimated how much there is to. We drove north from Chisinau to the monasteries Curchi and Saharna, stopped by the immense Cricova wine cellar and hiked in Old Orheil. With more time we could have made a larger circle and explored the nature reserves by the Prut river on the Romanian border, and the Gagauz culture around Comrat.
We had a great trip nonetheless, not least due to great sunny weather with 22°C.
Day 1 – Cricova and Vartely wineries
We arrived in Chisinau at midday, and stepped out in beautiful sunny summer weather. We had rented a Skoda Fabia from Sixt, and made a first stop in one one of the omni-present Linella supermarkets for coffee, water and a quick lunch.
A spontaneous decision made us stop at the Cricova Winery at 15.30, where we ere lucky that they had two spots left for their 16:00 tour of the wine cellar. Cricova has the second largest wine cellar in Moldova, where the cellars encompass more than 100 km underground tunnels. It was originally a limestone mine and parts of it is still a working mine, although we only saw the wine cellars. Cricova are especially proud of their sparking wines, produced with the method known from Champagne.
After the cool air of the tunnels, we continued to Orhei and checked in at Chateau Vartely for the night. The 3 course dinner at the winery was delicious, and we shared a bottle of spakling wine from Vartely.
Day 2 – Orhei – Curchi – Saharna – Old Orhei
Before breakfast we visited Curchi Monastery, which is said to be the most beautiful of all monasteries in Moldova. It was situated in a neatly decorated park/garden and had several churches. One of the churches was open and a morning service were ongoing. Beautiful choir songs came out and created an atmospheric and solemn vibe on the entire site.
After breakfast we continued north to Saharna Monastery situated close to Dnistr River in a narrow valley. We hiked the short trail to the nearby waterfall through forest, where we saw the cave church and the holy bath.
There is a trail to the top of a hill above the monastery with nice views of the monastery and the Dnistr river.
We returned south to old Orhei to see the most famous monastery in Moldova: Old Orhei with both a church and a cave monastery.
There are nice walking trails in the protected area, and we walked along the Răut River, where frogs crouched and birds sang. It was so idyllic!
There are many places to stay in Old Orheil, and we checked in at Villa Etnica next to the river. We enjoyed the views of the valley and limestone cliffs with Moldovan cuisine and wine for dinner.
Day 3 – Old Orhei – Transnistria/PMR – Chisinau
The day started with breakfast at the terrace in the sun before heading towards Transnistria/PMR (Pridnestrovie Moldavian Republic), the country that is not recognized by any other country.
Originally we didn’t plan to visit PMR, but when we picked up the rental car they asked if we were going to Transnistria. It only required cross-border papers at a small fee, spontaneously we said yes.
Before reaching the border we came through a couple of military checkpoints, where we were waved through. At the border our passports were checked and we needed to buy a vignette for the car.
After crossing the border the Latin alphabet was replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. The stadium, football club, gas stations and supermarkets are owned by the “Sheriff” group of companies, and we saw the logo many times. The Sheriff group has an interesting story.
Bender is the first city across the border, and Bender Fortress is the main attraction. The fortress sits right at Dnistr River and dates back to 1538, where the ottomans built it.
We were able to change Moldavian lei (MDL) to PMR rubles at the fortress. It’s not possible to use MDL in PMR. They have their own flag, currency (PMR rubles) and car plates. The official languages are Russian, Ukrainian and Moldavian, but Russian is the predominant.
Tiraspol is known for Russian architecture and Lenin monuments and didn’t disappoint.
Tiraspol reminded us of several of the former USSR republics we have visited like Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
We headed back to Chisinau to have a bit of time to explore the capital. Chisinau is a green city where the Russian architecture also is present. Chisinau reminded us of Bishkek.
The Cascades staircase in Mills Park, Chisinau