Rural & Cultural Experience in Moldova

Day 1

Land at Chisinau International Airport and get transferred to your hotel. After you settle in, take some time to walk around the city centre on your own and get a feel for the place. This evening there’s a welcome dinner with folk music at a rustic restaurant to kick things off.

Start point Chișinău, Moldova (Chisinau International Airport )

Meals: Dinner (Welcome dinner in a rustic style restaurant with folk music)

Optional Activities

• Walk through downtown Chisinau and explore the city centre

Day 2 Chisinau – Orheiul Vechi – Butuceni

Start the day with a guided tour of Chisinau’s historic sites including the Nativity of Christ Cathedral, Bell Tower, Arch of Triumph, and Monument of Stephen the Great. Then head out to Orheiul Vechi, a 40,000-year-old natural amphitheater with historical monuments and cave monasteries. You’ll have a traditional Moldovan lunch at Butuceni guesthouse and then take part in a culinary masterclass where you’ll learn to cook traditional placinte (pies) with sour cherries. Stay overnight at the guesthouse with time to wander the rural countryside.

Meals : Breakfast, Lunch (Traditional Moldovan lunch at Butuceni guesthouse with local specialties (zeama, mamaliga, scrob), traditional pastry and wine)

Included Activities

• Chisinau city tour including Nativity of Christ Cathedral, Bell Tower, Arch of Triumph, and Monument of Stephen the Great
• Visit to Orheiul Vechi natural amphitheater and Cultural, Natural and Landscape Reserve
• Exploration of ancient fortifications and cave monasteries at Orheiul Vechi
• Traditional Moldovan lunch at Butuceni guesthouse with local specialties (zeama, mamaliga, scrob) and wine
• Culinary masterclass learning to cook traditional placinte (pies) with sour cherries at Butuceni guesthouse

Day 3 Hanul lui Hanganu – Tipova

Head to Hanul lui Hanganu guesthouse on the Nistru river, a stone-built property with beautiful views overlooking the Dniester. Grab homemade lunch made from local products at the guesthouse. In the afternoon, check out Tipova Cave Monastery, one of Moldova’s oldest monastic establishments with 18 rooms carved into rock. The Tipova River waterfalls (10 to 16 meters high) are along the way. You’ll overnight at Hanul lui Hanganu and have free time to soak in the rural atmosphere.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Homemade lunch from local products at Hanul lui Hanganu guesthouse)

Included Activities

• Visit to Hanul lui Hanganu guesthouse on the Nistru river
• Homemade lunch from local products at Hanul lui Hanganu guesthouse
• Discovery of Tipova Cave Monastery with 18 rooms carved into rock

Day 4 Socola – Vadul-Rascov – Lalova

Do a scenic hiking tour starting from Socola heading toward Vadul-Rascov village, walking through Moldova’s countryside and traditional villages. Stop for lunch at a family guesthouse in the afternoon. After that, see the main tourist attractions in Vadul lui Rascov village, including one of Eastern Europe’s most impressive Jewish cemeteries with hundreds of gravestones on a hill overlooking the Dniester River. Later, transfer to Lalova and overnight at Hanul lui Hanganu guesthouse.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Lunch break at family guesthouse)

Included Activities

• Hiking tour from Socola to Vadul-Rascov village through Moldova’s countryside
• Visit to Jewish cemetery in Vadul lui Rascov with gravestones overlooking Dniester River

Day 5 Rustic Art Handicraft Complex – Micleuseni – Cazimir

Visit the Rustic Art Handicraft Complex museum which has the largest collection of UNESCO-recognized Bessarabian carpets, plus traditional costumes and handicrafts. A tour explains the history behind each piece. From there, go to Conacul Mierii guesthouse in Micleuseni village for honey tasting and lunch at a small beekeeping property with a honey museum where the owner shares secrets about bee families. Later transfer to Camping ‘Pe Toloaca’ in the Cazimir-Milesti landscape reservation, a hilltop location surrounded by forests and flowers. You’ll overnight at the camping guesthouse with options for forest excursions, bike tours, or campfire gatherings.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Lunch at Conacul Mierii guesthouse)

Included Activities

• Tour of Rustic Art Handicraft Complex with collection of Bessarabian carpets, traditional costumes, and handicrafts
• Honey tasting and lunch at Conacul Mierii guesthouse
• Excursion through beekeeping property and honey museum at Conacul Mierii

Optional Activities

• Forest excursions from Camping Pe Toloaca
• Bike tours from Camping Pe Toloaca
• Chat around campfire at Camping Pe Toloaca

Day 6 Balanesti Hill – Poarta Neamului – Chisinau

Do a hiking tour from Camping Pe Toloaca up to Balanesti Hill (429m), Moldova’s highest point, where you’ll see panoramic views of rolling hills, forests, and villages. Take a lunch break at the summit. After eating, visit Poarta Neamului, a traditional ancestral house museum that shares local cultural traditions and stories, and you’ll taste homemade wine. In the evening, transfer back to Chisinau and check into your hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Lunch break at the top of Balanesti Hill)

Included Activities

• Hiking tour from Camping Pe Toloaca to Balanesti Hill, the highest point in Moldova (429m)
• Visit to Poarta Neamului traditional ancestral house museum
• Homemade wine tasting at Poarta Neamului

Day 7 Tighina – Tiraspol – Bender

Discover Tighina Fortress, a 15th-century medieval fort built by Prince Stephen the Great and later reinforced by Prince Petru Rares. Learn about its history as an Ottoman stronghold and the Moldovan fortifications that followed. Have a Soviet-style lunch at a local Tiraspol restaurant. Take a panoramic city tour checking out Soviet-era landmarks including Lenin’s monument and a WWII tank. Later visit Kislov family winery near Bender for wine tasting, with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc varieties grown on Suvorov Mountain. You’ll return to Chisinau in the evening with free time in the city.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Soviet-style lunch at local restaurant in Tiraspol)

Included Activities

• Visit to Tighina Fortress
• Panoramic tour of Tiraspol
• Wine tasting at Kislov family winery (3 types of wine)

Day 8 Chisinau

Transfer from your hotel to Chisinau International Airport for your departure. If your flight is in the afternoon, you have time to visit the Handicraft Souvenir Market, Central Market of Chisinau, or shops with traditional Moldovan products including wine, chocolate, dried fruits, walnuts, and honey.

End point Chișinău, Moldova (Chisinau International Airport )

Optional Activities

• Visit Handicraft Souvenir Market
• Visit Central Market of Chisinau
• Visit shops with traditional Moldovan products (wine, chocolate, dried fruits, walnuts, honey)