The natives, as well as the foreign guests describe Moldova as being a very hospitable country. Each guest is given a very hearty and hospitable welcome. People have been preserving zealously their cultural inheritance, which is now present in their everyday life. As far Moldova’s historical profile is concerned, tourist meet here a mix of cultures combining the Eastern and Western ones, due to the fact that Moldova is a bridge to the Eastern cultures. The nature is rich enough to offer spectacular views of forests, caves, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, natural reserves. One can also find here unique nature monuments: ruins of ancient metropolis, monasteries and several fortresses. In Moldova, wine producing is a cultural tradition preserved for over 3 thousand years, not merely an industry. Tourists can visit numerous underground cellars and even participate in the wine production itself.

Area: 33,700 km2
Population: 4, 3 million
Capital: Chisinau
Religion: Ortodox
Official language: Romanian. Most people speak also Russian. The young generation speaks English, French, Italian.
Currency: Moldavian leu. 1$=13 MDL, 1€ = 16 MDL
Local time: GMT + 2 hours
National holidays:

January, 1^st – New Year
January, 7^th – Christmas
March, 8^th – International Women’s Day
April, May – Easter
May, 1^st – Labour Day
May, 9^th – Victory Day
August, 27^th – Independence Day
August, 31^st – Language Day

How to get to Moldova: by train, bus, airplane (connection in Bucharest, Istanbul, Kiev, Moscow, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Paris)

The main tourist destinations:
Monasteries: Hincu, Capriana, Cosauti, Noul Neamt, Saharna, Ţipova
Underground wine “cities”: Milestii Mici, Cricova, Cojusna, Branesti, Purcari
Fortifications and medieval fortresses: Orheiul Vechi, Soroca
Spectacular landscapes: Saharna, Ţipova, Orheiul Vechi, Noul Neamţ

Approximate prices: : the lowest prices are at the Central Market. The prices in the Supermarkets are higher. The alcoholic drinks can have quite various prices, depending on the manufacturer

Bread - starting with 0,20 €
Meat - 1 kg starting with 4 €
Milk - starting with 0,30 €
Fruit and vegetables it depends on season. In autumn, the price of 1 kg of apples is starting with 0,2€, while in winter, the same kind of apples is 0,5€.
Exotic fruit (bananas, oranges, tangerines, kiwis, lemons) – starting with 1€ for 1 kg
Beer -starting with 0,50 €
Wine -starting with1,5 € / 0,75 l
Vodka -starting with1,5 € / 1l
Pizza - de la 1,7 €
A dinner at restaurant 8-12 €

In Moldova, every visitor is invited to have some of our National Food, as well as wines, cognacs and other drinks. The traditional Moldavian menu consists of food made of meat (beef, lamb, poultry, pork), combined with vegetables and spices. It is highly recommended to taste some of the Moldavian traditional dishes, such as: “zeama cu carne de gaina” (traditional chicken soup), „sarmale” (rice with meat and vegetable rolled in vine leaves), „mamaliga” (hominy), „racitura” (jellied meat), „placinte” (traditional pies). Although, none of them should be served without a glass of wine. Their charm is lost if served without it.
The wine is a separate „chapter” in Moldavian history. If looking attentively at the Europe’s map, one can see that Moldova resembles a bunch of grapes.
Moldova is the wine kingdom. The one who tastes Moldavian wine – is never sorry about it. Moldova is proud of its underground wine galleries, real streets bearing names of wine brands „Cagor”, „Codru”, „Cabernet”, „Feteasca”.
Moldova is welcoming tourists that like active leisure. Here, they can take advantage of wine tours (visiting underground wine galleries), excursions to Moldavian monasteries, extreme sports (hang-glider flight and parachute jump).
In the evening, we invite you to have dinner at one of the restaurants or to visit a night club „City”, „People”, „Studio”, „XXL”, „Military Pub”, „Moscow”. They will definitely impress you by their unique design and entertainment programs. .
The commercial centres „Sun City”, „Jumbo”, „Grand Hall”, „Elat”, „Green Hills”, „Fidesco”, „Gemenii” are open daily for you

The international telephone code +373

Mobile telephony - 2 operators : Voxtel and Moldcell

Getting a visa for Republic of Moldova

Currently the Republic of Moldova maintains a visa regime with the majority of states in the world except CIS member-states and Romania. The holders of UNO passports, of diplomatic passports who are citizens of EU, Canada and USA as well as the holders of service and diplomatic passports who are citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, Peoples Chinese Republic, Islamic Republic of Iran, State of Israel and Republic of Turkey can travel without visas in the Republic of Moldova.

You can get a visa

1. when crossing the board (Chişinau Airport, Sculeni, Leuşeni, Cahul) – for countries where Moldova does not have a diplomatic mission
2. at diplomatic missions and consulates

There are 3 types of visas: tourist, business and standard.
In order to receive a visa the following documents should be submitted

1. an international passport, valid at least 6 months after the stay is over
2. a filled in and signed form
3. a passport type photo

For a tourist visa – a tourist voucher or an invitation signed by a Tourist Agency from Moldova and by the General Consular Direction of the External Affairs Ministry from Republic of Moldova
For a business visa - an invitation from a Moldavian company, printed on a letterhead and signed by the general director of the company
For an ordinary visa – an invitation from a Moldavian citizen, written on a special form issued by the External Affairs Ministry.

EU countries, Canada, Israel and USA citizens can get an entry visa for Moldova without submitting an invitation or a tourist voucher. When entering the Republic of Moldova without invitation for a period of up to 90 days, foreign citizens and non-residents have to show the Immigration officer their passport and customs declaration, confirming the financial support for the entire duration of the stay. The minimum required sum for a foreign citizen is 390 lei for each day of stay (about $30). Foreign citizens intending to visit the Republic of Moldova, must have the return ticket or onward ticket to another country. Transit visas do not permit stays in the Republic of Moldova longer than the indicated time limit.

All foreign visitors are supposed to register their passports at the local police station within 3 working days from the arrival day.

Visa fees (in US dollars):

Tourist visas can be issued only for a single or double entry (for one month), fee varying according to the issuing modality.
When crossing Moldova’s borders travelers must declare all currency and traveler’s cheques in foreign currency.

Non residents of Moldova have the right to bring into the country and take out currency and traveler’s cheques in Moldovan Lei to a value not exceeding 2500 Moldovan Lei. As far as foreign currency is concerned, non-residents may take out of the country sums up to those they declared in the Customs Declaration on entering the country. Additional sums may be taken out provided written permission has been received from the National Bank of Moldova or other authorized bank.

Residents of Moldova have the right to bring currency and traveler’s cheques in or out of the country up to a maximum of 2500 Lei and can take out foreign currency to a maximum of US$ 5000 or the equivalent in other foreign currencies. To export additional sums written permission is required from the National Bank of Moldova or other authorized bank.


Additionally, provided that the above-mentioned bank-permit conditions are respected, both residents and non-residents may take up to $50,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies) in currency (banknotes) out of the country. Amounts in excess of this must be exported by bank transfer.

* There are no restrictions on the amount of foreign currency brought into Moldova.