Practical Travel Information

Whether you’re visiting Moldova for a few days or for a longer holiday, knowing all the practical travel details will make your stay in Moldova more enjoyable. Covering everything you need to know to help you plan your trip to Moldova, from how to secure a visa to customs and money, this practical travel information page is the starting point for your trip planning research. Find more information on how to get to Moldova, transportation around the country and the current security situation.

Be sure to also visit our recommended Moldovan travel agencies who can also help you plan your trip to Moldova or our partner site to find a qualified Moldovan tour guide. If there’s something else that we can help with as you plan your travels here, please get in touch — as the entire Moldova Tourist Information Center team is committed to helping you experience an authentic Moldovan welcome.

Visa Information and Entry Requirements

Citizens of more than 100 countries do not need a visa to enter Moldova for up to 90 days every six months. This includes travelers from the European Union, most other European countries, the U.S., Canada, Cyprus, Israel, Georgia, members of the Commonwealth of Independent States and many more country.

Foreigners entering Moldova through Transnistrian region should register within 72 hours of their arrival at the Ministry of Information Technology and Communications on M. Kogalniceanu St. in Chisinau.

You can find the list of which nationalities require visas and which ones to not on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration here.

CUSTOMS

If you enter or leave Moldova with less than 10,000 euros in Moldovan or foreign currency, you don’t need to declare it with Customs. Amounts more than that must be declared.

You must also declare art, historical artifacts, weapons, ammunition, explosives, toxic and dangerous substances, and some other materials. Moldova allows you to bring in items purchased in duty-free zones without paying a duty. They include:

  • Tobacco: 200 cigarettes (one box) or 40 cigars
  • Alcoholic beverages: two liters of wine or two liters of spirits, or five liters of beer
  • Gifts whose total value does not exceed 300 euros
  • Medicine for personal use

Money in Moldova

MOLDOVAN CURRENCY

Moldova’s currency is the leu, whose plural is lei and whose international symbol is MDL. One leu contains 100 bans. 1 Euro = approximately 19 lei and 1 USD is around 17.50 lei.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

It’s not complicated to get lei when entering Moldova. Foreign currencies can be exchanged for lei at banks or currency exchange offices. You will find those offices at the airport, in hotels and on the streets of most cities. Most of the exchanges handle such major currencies as the euro, dollar, British pound, Swiss franc, Russian ruble, and Turkish lira, and currencies of neighboring countries, such as the Romanian leu and Ukrainian hryvnia. You can find official exchange rates on the Moldova National Bank website.

ATMs IN MOLDOVA

You will find ATMs at hotels, banks and shopping centers in Moldova’s major cities and at Chisinau International Airport. Most offer services in Romanian, Russian and English. Smaller cities and villages have limited numbers of ATMs, so it’s a good idea to bring cash when you go to a rural area.

CREDIT CARDS IN MOLDOVA

Major hotels and car rental agencies in Moldova, and many stores and restaurants in Chisinau accept credit cards, such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. But a lot of businesses inside and outside Chisinau only take cash so it’s useful to have some cash with you. Credit card use in rural areas is still almost non-existent except at wineries and bigger establishments.

Before coming to Moldova be sure to let your bank know you are traveling there and ask them not to put a security hold on your credit card transactions simply because you are in an Eastern European country. 

ESTIMATED TRAVEL COSTS IN MOLDOVA

Tourists are surprised — and delighted — at how inexpensive Moldova is. Prices are much lower than in Western Europe, North America or even large cities in the region, such as Kyiv and Bucharest, but the quality is still quite high. Some example travel costs in Moldova include:

  • A five-star hotel room typically costs 150 euros, and a two-star hotel 30 euros.
  • Dinner for two, including drinks, in a luxury restaurant is typically 50 euros
  • A bottle of good Moldovan wine — and the country produces some of the world’s best — is around 12 euros
  • A bottle of Moldovan brandy is about 20 euros
  • A bottle of local beer is 2 euros
  • A visit to a museum costs 1 to 2 euros
  • A theater ticket runs from 5 to 10 euros
  • Top seats at the national opera are around 15 euros
  • A trolleybus costs a third of a euro
  • A taxi trip from one end of Chisinau to the other will usually range between 3 and 5 euros
  • A liter of regular gasoline will be about 1 euro

MOLDOVA TOURISM INFORMATION CENTER

The Moldova Tourist Information Center is located in the center of the capital city, Chisinau at 83, Stefan cel Mare si Sfant Boulevard. Please come by to visit us and ask any questions you might have about visiting Chisinau or traveling around Moldova. You can also find us online at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoldovaInfoCenter

Email: info@moldova.travel