Combined Tour of Moldova and Ukraine

Arriving at the Chisinau International Airport (KIV). Meeting the group at airport.

Transfer from the airport to Bristol Central Park 4* hotel in Chisinau. Check-in at the hotel in Chsinau. 

Walking city tour of Chisinau.

Start the day with visiting Cricova cellars. One of the most popular cellars, which contains the biggest collection of exclusive wines.Here you can admire one of the oldest bottles of wine in Moldova, dating from 1902. There is one story always told in this place about the Russian pilot Yuri Gagarin, who during a visit in 1966, after getting tipsy, got lost and missed the exit. He went out the next day, having spent the night in the tasting room, currently named after him. In one of Cricova’s luxurious tasting halls, a couple years ago the former Russian president Vladimir Putin celebrated his 50th birthday.
(Wine tasting of 4 samples of wine + snack)

Enjoy a traditional lunch in a local agro-pension including moldavian dishes and homemade wine, accompanied by folk music.
After lunch explore Orheiul Vechi. The originality of Orheiul Vechi landscape is due to the defile of the Raut river, dug under the form of a canyon in the limestone layers of the former Sarmatia sea, about 14 million years ago. Local ground is rich in monuments of old civilizations, stone tools and ruins of a middle aged village.

End the day with a stop at one of the oldest monasteries – Monastery Curchi, which has the title “One of the most beautiful Bessarabian architecture” .The monastery has a religious and cultural past of two centuries and a half. This monastery was considered before and now “the most beautiful and famous monastery in Bessarabia”. According to some legends, Curchi Monastery was founded by Stefan the Great, and the architectural ensemble was formed later in the 18th-19th centuries. The most plausible version remains the one specifying that Curchi Monastery was founded in 1773 by the brothers Iordache and Mihail Curchi.

Transfer back to Chisinau.

Our morning drive takes us from Chisinau to Comrat. Comrat is the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, located in southwest Moldova. This is a very interesting territory since the majority of its habitants are Gagauzians. These are the only representatives of Turkic origin that affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church. Gagauzians migrated from Bulgaria together with ethnic Bulgarians and settled in Moldova in XIX-th century. Take the traditional gaguzian lunch in Comrat.

Then we drive to Besalma village for visiting National Gagauz history and ethnographic museum “D. Cara-Ciobanu” which introduces the history and culture of the Bulgarians and Gagauzians south of Moldova.  Enjoy Gagauzian folk program.

 Afterward, a short drive into the countryside brings us to the charming Albota de Sus. Albota is a village with an almost forgotten past. It was created as a Bessarabian German colony in 1880. Until 1940, right before the war, one hundred and fifty-seven families lived here. Apart from a Russian postman and a shopkeeper of Jewish faith, everyone was German. All the houses and lands were registered under German names. It is still possible to read the profession of the people living in every single household. 

Return to Chisinau.

An unforgettable trip to the Transnistria region. 

First stop Bender (Tighina) city, here we will visit the memorial and Sherif shop. Then we will have a tour of the Bender fort.

Next stop Tiraspol- the capital of Trannistria. In Tiraspol you will have the opportunity to travel in time back to USSR. You will start by visiting the monument of Vladimir Lenin and tanks left from the Second World War. The city seems to be a ghost of the Soviet past. Here we will serve the lunch in a tradtional restaurant.

End the day by visiting an amazing winery – Castel MIMI. Legends are made by great people that accomplish big things, being driven by their passion and dreams, without being afraid to put in hard work and dedication! One of these people is Constantin Mimi, a pioneer, an emblematic wine maker and an important public figure of XX-th century. He dedicated his life to wine. By applying the knowledge he acquired in Western Europe, Constantin Mimi managed to build the first chateau in Moldova. This led him to produce great wines and raise the standards by implementing new technologies. Thanks to his actions the country’s wine making industry was saved a couple of times, so Moldova can be today one of the leading wine producers in the world. (Wine tasting of 6 samples of wine + Dinner)

Return to hotel in Chisinau.

Today we head to Odessa, but on the way have a stop at Chateau Purcari Winery the oldest winery from Moldova.

Wine-tour of cellars and wine-tasting of such wine’s sorts as “Negru de Purcari” which was delivered to the Queen’s court. (Wine tasting of 5 samples of wine + Lunch).

Drive to Odessa through Palanca customs. Arrive at the hotel Alexandrovskiy 4*, check-in for 3 nights.

Discover the city of Odessa in a complex city tour, by visiting the key places like Deribasovskaya – a unique historical and architectural site. Will meet the masterpieces of architecture – Theater of opera and ballet and historical buildings of museums. Walk along Primorsky Boulevard – remarkable panorama will impress you with a view on the marine station, port and sea. Here we will acquaint you with the famous Potemkin stairs. During this excursion you will see historical sights of the city, visit beautiful
Shevchanko park, where old fortress walls are located, stroll along Alley of Fame. Then your bus drives you along central streets of the city, you will see cozy Pushkinskaya, Rishelievskaya, Lanzheronovskaya streets, Onboard our excursion bus, you will have a ride in famous French boulevard and attractive Arcadia resort area.

Lunch in a local restaurant wich will include the most famous dishes.

Continue the day by visiting the Catacombs. Length of Odessa catacombs is currently considered to be 2.5 thousand kilometers. It was estimated theoretically, more or less detailed information that is available states of 1.7 thousand kilometers of underground cavities. Catacombs form a unique “Odessa subway” – a hundred thousand kilometers of underground roads, which appeared during city construction 200 years ago, when stone was excavated from mines. Besides that, catacombs have their own climate, permanent humidity and temperature of +15°С. During the first years of city construction, catacombs became a shelter for various criminal gangs and groups. They arranged storages of different goods exported from Odessa by contraband traffic.

One of the most beautiful theatres in the world – Theatre of Opera and Ballet, created according to
project of Felner & Gelmer architectures, with interiors that strike by beauty and lavish decorations,
where best artists of the world performed Theatre was and still is an illustration of how successful is5
the blend of art and wealth. Several styles are combined in the design of the facade and the interiors of the theater. Here you can find elements of the Italian Renaissance and the Vienna Baroque, classical baroque and rococo, but the stylistic components are in absolute harmony and create a coherent composition.

Time at leisure, for shopping and exploring Odessa. 

After breakfast you will have some free time or depending on the flight schedule drive to airport.