Moldova tours & holidays

Moldova enjoys a typical continental climate with warm summers and cold winters, with temperature ranging from -5°C to 40°C. Spring and autumn are mild, and summers pleasant. The best time to visit areas like Chişinău, Tiraspol and Transnistria is from May to August. July and August are the high season. The first week of October is also a very good time, due to the annual Wine Festival in Chişinău.

Moldova is a small landlocked, mostly rural country of rolling steppes in the Balkans, surrounded by Ukraine to the north, east and south, and Romania to the west. This is one of Europe’s least known destinations, unspoilt even, where traditional village life can still be experienced, ancient ruins explored, forested hills hiked and growing city life uncovered.

Transnistria is a thin strip of land between the Dniester River and the border of Ukraine, officially known as the Prednistrovie Moldovan Republic (PMR). It declared independence after the Soviet Union broke up into pieces, but is only recognised as an independent entity by other unrecognised former Soviet breakaway republics. It is, however, 'de-facto independent' from Moldova – with its own parliament, police force, currency and coat of arms among other things – and still upholds Soviet values.

The security situation in Transnistria is unpredictable as the region is not under Moldovan control, and tensions may be heightened reflecting developments in eastern Ukraine. Many Western countries do not have an embassy or consulate in Moldova. Usually embassies in Russia or Romania provide consular assistance to travellers in Moldova, however they do not have any recourse inside the territory of Transnistria, and will only be of very limited or no assistance in the case of an emergency. Medical care is almost non-existent in Transnistria, especially for non-citizens. Even if you have travel health insurance, it will often not be valid in Transnistria (even though it may be valid in Moldova), and your insurance might not cover you for any expenses incurred for lost or stolen items. Please choose carefully when shopping for your travel insurance. Please also be aware that international credit/debit cards and traveller's cheques are not accepted anywhere in Transnistria.