Day 1: Arrival day

Chisinau

On arrival at Chisinau International Airport, you will arrange your own transfer to the hotel in Chisinau (optional private transfer upon request). After settling in, you can have a walk through downtown and explore the city centre on your own.

Optional (not included in the price): dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 2: Traditional lunch in Trebujeni village and wine tasting at Cricova winery

Chisinau – Orheiul Vechi – Trebujeni – Cricova – Chisinau

In the morning, you will enjoy a walking tour of Chisinau city - the main administrative, scientific and cultural centre of Moldova. During the tour, you will see pieces of history and culture of the city such as the Nativity of Christ Cathedral, the Bell Tower, the Arch of Triumph, the Monument of Stephen the Great, the City Hall, etc.

You will continue your journey to Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei) to see a natural amphitheater revealing a territory which was first inhabited 40 000 years ago. The Cultural, Natural and Landscape Reserve Orheiul Vechi includes a series of historical and cultural monuments as well as natural landscapes in the gorge of the Raut River. Ancient fortifications, cave monasteries, monks and hermits – here you can follow the history of this region. The originality of Orheiul Vechi landscape is due to the gorge of the Raut River, dug under the form of a canyon in the limestone layers of the former Sarmatian Sea, about 14 million years ago.

Next, you will travel to Trebujeni village where at Casa de Sub Stinca guesthouse you will enjoy a traditional lunch.

The day will continue with an excursion and wine tasting at Cricova winery – the only wine enterprise that was awarded the highest state prize “The Order of the Republic” and has been declared by law a national cultural heritage. During the excursion at Cricova winery in the tourist train, at a depth of 80 m, you will discover the wonders of this place. Cricova underground galleries are formed by over seventy streets covering an area of nearly 120 km, each bearing Bacchic names: Sauvignon, Cabernet, Cahors, etc. The jewel of the underground treasure is the National Collection, including over 600 types of wine totaling about 1 million bottles.

In the evening, you will be transferred to Chisinau.


HIGHLIGHTS: Chisinau city, Cultural, Natural and Landscape Reserve Orheiul Vechi, Cricova winery

Day 3: Time travel in Tiraspol – Back in the USSR

Chisinau – Tiraspol – Puhoi – Chisinau

In the morning, you will set off on a time travel in Transnistria. While in Tiraspol, you will discover a real treasure – Aquatir Sturgeon Complex, one of the largest hatcheries in Europe. The complex is equipped with the latest technologies and the fish can reach the size of a man. You will get the chance to taste one of the most expensive culinary delights – caviar with brut sparkling wine or vodka.

In the afternoon, you will have lunch at a restaurant in Tiraspol.

During the city tour in Tiraspol, you will discover Vladimir Lenin’s monument and the tank left from the Second World War. The city seems to be a vestige of the Soviet past. Nevertheless, you will be amazed by the contrasts, one of which is the football complex „Sheriff” - a pearl of contemporary architecture.

Next, you will visit Asconi winery founded in 1994 and located in Puhoi village. The winery achieved a lot due to modern wine making technologies. Nowadays at Asconi estate European varieties are grown, but special attention is paid to indigenous varieties such as Rara Neagra, Feteasca, etc. One of the features of Asconi winery is that they pick up the grapes mechanically at night when the grapes are still cold. During the excursion, wine tasting and lunch at the winery you will be able to discover the wonders of this place.

In the evening, you will return to Chisinau.


HIGHLIGHTS: Aquatir Sturgeon Complex, Tiraspol city, Asconi winery