Moldova
Discover Moldova
Introduction
Moldova is a landlocked country of 33,843 square kilometres and about 2.4 million people between Romania and Ukraine, most of it the old Bessarabia between the Prut and the Dniester, with the breakaway region of Transnistria across the Dniester to the east and the Gagauz autonomy in the south. It is a country of hills that never exceed 430 metres, of 300 days of sunshine, of 148,500 hectares of vineyards that make it the eleventh-largest wine producer in Europe, and of a capital, Chișinău, that holds a third of the population and was founded as a monastery village in 1436. The only official language is Romanian; three-quarters of the people call themselves Moldovans, and nine in ten are Orthodox.
The Principality of Moldavia was founded in 1359 and reached its height under Stephen the Great between 1457 and 1504, whose fortress at Soroca still stands on the Dniester; it became an Ottoman vassal in 1538, lost its eastern half to Russia in 1812, saw that half join Romania in 1918 and the Soviet Union in 1940, and declared independence on 27 August 1991. The Transnistria war of 1992 left the east bank under a self-declared republic with a Russian garrison, and the country has since balanced between Moscow and Brussels; it became an EU candidate in June 2022 and wrote European integration into its constitution by referendum in 2024.
The war in Ukraine next door is why Canada advises a high degree of caution throughout Moldova and why the UK advises against all travel to Transnistria. Outside that region the country is quiet, cheap and little visited: the cave monastery and Geto-Dacian, Golden Horde and Moldavian ruins of Old Orhei above the Răut, the core of the only national park; the 120 kilometres of cellar at Cricova and the 1.5 million bottles at Mileștii Mici, the world's largest collection; more than fifty monasteries; and a trolleybus ride in the capital for 7 lei. The emergency number is 112, the currency the leu, and the advisories' warnings are about roads, taxis and ID rather than crime.
Is it safe to visit?
Outside Transnistria, the advisories describe a country of petty crime, bad roads and demonstrations to avoid, with a war next door that could change things fast; Canada rates it a high degree of caution. Transnistria itself is off limits by British advice and non-essential-only by Canadian.
Do I need a visa?
Not for up to 90 days in six months on EU, British, Canadian, US and many other passports; bring a return ticket and a passport valid three months beyond departure.
What currency?
The Moldovan leu; euros are accepted, cards work in Chișinău and not reliably beyond it, and few ATMs take foreign cards, so carry cash.
How do I get from the airport?
Trolleybus 30 or bus 165 from the airport 13 kilometres out, or a marked taxi for about 80 lei and 25 minutes.
How much is the trolleybus?
7 lei a ride from 31 March 2026.
What are the emergency numbers?
112 for everything.
Can I visit the wineries?
Cricova, 15 kilometres north of Chișinău, and Mileștii Mici, 18 kilometres south, both run tours of their cellars; their prices are not stated here because their sites did not answer.