All Chisinau Tours & Excursions in 2026

Traveling to Transnistria for the day is very safe. No guns on display anywhere, no military except for at the checkpoint. Also, the money you bring to exchange has to be in excellent condition or else it will not be accepted. No credit cards are accepted. So bring more cash than you think you need just in case. Our guide-Natalia-was very friendly and told us a lot about the history of the place. She took us to the market and had us taste local fruit ( yum!). Everything is so inexpensive there- but make no mistake- it’s subsidized. We also went to a nostalgia restaurant “ Back to the USSR” and everything was decorated just so, to bring back memories ( in case you spent any time behind the Iron Curtain). It was your typical Russian fare, freshly made and tasty. The fortress was interesting as well, although climbing on a very hot day , wasn’t the most pleasant thing. But it had a nice view from above. We had a fun group with people from all over the world and moved pretty quickly. There was a museum of torture there as well but I skipped it. The unnerving thing is that there are Lenin statues everywhere, as well as the hammer and sickle symbols, however they are just for show. The transnistrian society is not any kind of utopian society. We were told by our guide that it has no middle class at all- only very rich and very poor people. Well, that’s not what Lenin stood for. So those symbols have one role and one role only: to show that Transnistria is pro Russia and anti West. What did that get them? Go and see.