2023
Tour itinerary can be seen below.
• Meet at Bucharest train station, ready for departure, at 19:15. Our group will separate into four berth cabins.
• Relax for the evening with a few beers from the drinks carriage.
• Our passports will be checked at the border as we exit the EU, and the train will also stop for a few hours while the wheels are changed—railway tracks in former Soviet states are a different size.
• Arrive in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, at 08:55.
• Check into our hotel and rest for a couple of hours before heading to Orhei Vechi, Moldova’s most important historical site. We will see picturesque villages, archaeological sites, hills, and valleys along the way. Orhei Vechi is a monastery carved into the cliff by Orthodox monks in the 18th Century; even today, a sole monk inhabits it.
• Return to Chisinau in the late afternoon, and take the evening at leisure—an excellent chance to check out the city’s restaurants and bars. There may also be a chance to visit the casino in the hotel's basement.
• In the morning we will take walking tour of the capital.
• Tour the Cricova underground wine city in the afternoon. Cricova is the second-largest wine cellar in the world. The tunnels were dug into limestone back in the 15th Century. It was converted into vast wine cellars in the 1950s, stretching out over a massive 120 kilometres.
• Have a traditional Moldovan meal in Cricova, followed by a wine tasting.
• Return to the hotel and spend the rest of the evening relaxing.
• Depart in the morning for the self-declared Republic of Transnistria.
• Pass through border control and collect our visa papers before touring the Soviet architecture in Bendery.
• Enjoy a Soviet-style lunch with your comrades before heading onto the Transnistrian capital, Tiraspol.
• Ride an old Soviet trolley bus, walk around the markets, and take a tour of the city’s Soviet monuments.
• Check into our hotel later and spend the evening at leisure.
• Head out in the morning to watch the Victory Day parade before taking another tour of Tiraspol in the afternoon. Prepare to soak in the festive atmosphere of Victory Day, one of Transnistria’s most important national holidays.
• Eat breakfast, then return to Chisinau.
• Have lunch in Chisinau before our 16:35 train departure to Romania.
• Arrive in Bucharest at 06:15, where the tour will end.
For those wishing to fly in and out of Chisinau, there will be a £50 reduction in tour price.