Traveling
To Moldova
Since
2002 I
have looked at numerous ways of getting to moldova. The reason
for this is because it's quite expensive to fly directly into
the country. This is due to a government airline monopoly preventing
cheaper carriers operating. With all my efforts I'm afraid you
just have to grit your teeth and bear it if you want to fly
all the way to Chisinau. For the more adventurous among you
a huge saving can be made by flying to Bucharest in Romania.
Budget airlines such as Wizzair
and Easyjet operate
from here making costs very cheap. Once in Bucharest you can
travel by overnight train or get a bus. Be aware that the train
from Bucharest to Chisinau only leaves on odd dates of the month
and not even dates. I have noticed recently there is an Air
Baltic flight from Manchester via Riga connecting
to Chisinau and if you book direct with the Air Baltic website
you can get some special deals and fly to Chisinau really quite
cheaply. Should you need more specific information please advise
me of your departure country and I will be pleased to help you
further. If you are traveling from outside Europe please note
a direct flight with Air Moldova is available from Gatwick in
London. www.airmoldova.md
for pricing and other departure countries.
Visa
Information For Moldova
A
few years
ago this would have been a large section on my site, but since
January 1st, 2007 Moldova has relaxed it's visa laws. Holders
of regular passports, citizens
of countries specified below, will NOT NEED entry visa to Moldova
if the stay in Moldova is under 90 days. Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kurdistan, Poland,
Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The
member states of the European Union (Austria,
Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Great Britain, Holland, Portugal, Romania,
Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Hungary), the candidate states
to join the European Union (Croatia, Turkey), Canada, Swiss
Confederation, Japan, the State of Israel, Norway and the USA.
For the above countries all you need to do is show your passport
on entry into Moldova.
Where
To Stay in Moldova
When
I was frequently traveling to Moldova I always preferred the
option of staying in an apartment in Chisinau. This gives you
more freedom to come and go as you please. Depending on your
comfort and location requirements a Moldova apartment will cost
you from 30 euro a day up to as much as you want to pay. For
the more affluent amongst you I would say around 35 to 40 euro
would give you a fairly good standard apartment. If the apartment
thing is not your cup of tea there is always the option of a
hotel. This will set you back at least 70 euro a night depending
on rating. Be aware as they like charging you for all sorts
of extras like leaving after midday and taking people to your
room. There is a few mini hostels in Chisinau that are as cheap
as 20 euro a night but they are akin to staying in a prison.
Often just a box room with a bed and a sink, OK I suppose if
your coming for a football match or something. For more information
about staying in Moldova please look
at my Accommodation
page.
Streetwise
Tips for Moldova
If
I were to write this from my first experiences in Moldova in
2002 I would probably scare you off. I was stopped nearly every
day by the police, which really hacks you off after a while.
In Moldova's defence I must say that the government has made
huge moves forward in stamping out this sort of corruption in
Moldova, especially the harassment of foreign visitors by the
police. Having said this it still does happen from time to time.
This is mainly due to foreigners attracting attention to themselves
in one way or another. Take a look at my Moldova tips bellow
and by in large you should be OK. Make
it easy for the police and they will make it easy for you.
Always carry your documents and it should
be the originals. Should you be out with a native Moldovan please
make sure they also have their ID on them. A local not carrying
their ID can cause you more problems than you not having yours.
Be warned, I once spent 2 hours and 20 dollars in a police station
because my wife didn't have her papers on her and could 't prove
who she was.
My tips to stay safe
-
Always
cary your documents with you. (passport, ID card, other
forms of identity)
-
Keep
your native countries nearest embassies phone number on
you.
-
If
alone try not to look like a tourist when police are close
by.
-
If
alone or in a group try not to advertise yourself to much
on the streets. save it for the bars and clubs.
-
If
you are a man with a woman or woman with a man try not to
make it to obvious you are a couple when walking past police
especially if the age gap is fairly large. I know it sounds
stupid but I did warn you.
-
Never
take anyone at face value, not all people here are good.
Just be carefully who you are talking to and why they want
to talk to you.
-
Try
and avoid talking English when near any police.
-
Never
leave valuables unattended.
-
Make
sure your Visa for Moldova (if you need one) is valid.
-
Use
a taxi late at night even for short trips.
-
But
above all don't be put off, get out and have fun.
Moldovan
Money and ATM's
The
currency in Moldova is Lei. On the top of each page on this
site you will find a converter to change your local currency
into moldovan lei. If you are English like myself I would avoid
bringing British pounds. This is because there are not so many
places to change GBP in Moldova, and the rate between companies
does seem to vary greatly. The best currencies to bring are
euros and US dollars. To change any of these currencies is very
easy, you will find an exchanges everywhere even 24 hours a
day. Try to change your money
during the day. You will find fewer places after
6pm and the rate after this time will go down as competition
for your money reduces. Make sure
your notes are perfect. If
your notes are not perfect (and I mean perfect)
You will find yourself getting the face value of your note less
10%. i.e. 50 euro will become 45 euro. Another tip is to always
get the bill and count your money in front of the cashier, You
will be surprised at how many people will try to short change
you. If you have decide to bring your plastic to use in the
ATM's. I have discovered recently that there
is problems in Moldova with using chip and pin debit and credit
cards to withdraw cash. At the moment chip and
pin will only work in Agroindbank and Victoria Bank ATM's. Non
chip and pin cards from Europe and the USA seem to work fine
in all ATM's.
