If you love honey, and are curious about how bees are raised, you will adore the Conacul Mierii – or Honey Mansion – inn. Surrounding the inn are fruit trees that burst into bloom in spring and dozens of brightly painted boxes containing bee colonies. You will find the area quiet, except for some soft buzzing. Your hosts, Victor and Ana Ciolacu, work daily with the bees to produce the sweetest and healthiest honey you will ever find. They love to tell their guests – including curious little ones – about the bees’ everyday lives and how they produce honey.

You’re in for a once-in-a-lifetime treat at the Mester Faur, a treehouse inn with thatched roof that you reach by walking up an outdoor staircase. The thatch is a great fit for Cioburciu, whose history dates back 650 years. Around the village is one of Moldova’s loveliest forests. If you love soaking up nature, then a walk through this relaxing woodland is for you. You can also go boating or fishing or tour the Purcari winery.

Vila Dora is a country inn with old wooden floors, huge traditional carpets and rustic furnishings near the Dniester River. The food the owners serve is not only authentic Moldovan, but as fresh as can be.  The inn located in an enchanting region, both in terms of nature and spirituality. Two nearby landmarks are the Japca Monastery and Moldova’s largest Jewish cemetery in the village of Vadul-Rascov. Vila Dora is also close to the medieval fortress at Soroca and the 30-meter-tall Candle of Gratitude Monument. The writer Ion Durta came up with the idea of creating a monument to honor those who have made special efforts to preserve Moldovan culture. It was erected in 2004.

Casa Veche is a more than 100-year-old village house that will give you an idea of how rural Moldovans lived at the turn of the 20th Century. Its owners decided recently to turn it into a bed and breakfast for those looking for a traditional country experience, which can include seeing horse-drawn carts. The food at Casa Veche, which is close to the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border, is all-natural. An interesting story about Palanca village is that an agreement in 2012 that ended a border dispute between Ukraine and Moldova meant that many villagers’ homes were still in Moldova while their farmland suddenly ended up in Ukraine. A new border checkpoint in 2018 has made it easier for the villagers to tend those plots.

The owners of Eco Village Valeni will not only provide you with lodging, but also wooden boats you can use to glide across Lake Beleu, one of Eastern Europe’s most pristine bodies of water. In the boats you can float among water lilies so lovely that it looks like they have been painted on the lake’s surface. If you like fishing, try your luck! An amazing sight is flocks of water birds arriving in Lake Beleu, particularly pelicans. The village of Valeni offers delights as well. You can watch traditional carpets being made on sturdy old looms or visit the Bread Museum, which contains dozens of varieties of this Moldovan staple. Another intriguing spot is a wine cellar with a secret chamber where the women of Valeni hid from invading soldiers in both world wars.