Moldova, Experience wineries, Castles, Family Homes, Crafts & Traditions-9 Days
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.
Meet the locals * Experience wineries, castles, family homes, crafts & traditions!
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.
Photo by: Antonio Porcelli
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 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 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 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!)
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 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 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 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.
