London to Moldova by rail...

Why not?  You travel on comfortable trains from London via Vienna to Bucharest.  You then take a venerable Moldovan sleeper train called the Prietenia from Bucharest to Chisinau, capital of Moldova.  This page explains how to travel by train from the UK via Munich and Bucharest to Chisinau in Moldova.

Pictured right, at the Romania-Moldovan frontier each sleeping-car of the Prietenia is lifted on hydraulic jacks to change the bogies.  You remain on board while this is done.

  London to Chisinau train times, fares, tickets

  What's Moldova like?

  Useful country information

  Recommended guidebooks

  Hotels in Moldova

Useful country information

London to Chişinău (Kishinev)

London ► Chişinău

• Step 1, travel from London to Bucharest via Paris, Munich & Budapest, as shown on the London to Romania page.  The journey takes less than 48 hours by train.

• Step 2, travel overnight from Bucharest to Chişinău on the Prietenia sleeper train, leaving Bucharest Gara de Nord at 19:20, calling at Ungheni (the Moldovan frontier) from 04:32 until 06:10 and arriving at Chişinău at 08:15.

  The Prietenia has 4-berth 2nd class sleepers and 1st class 2-berth sleepers.  There is a bar car selling snacks and drinks, but no restaurant, so take your own provisions along.  There is reportedly now free WiFi.

  Since January 2022 it's been running 3 times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays from Bucharest.  It will resume daily operation from 11 December 2022.

Chişinău ► London

• Step 1, travel overnight from Chişinău to Bucharest on the Prietenia sleeper train, leaving Chişinău at 17:20, calling at Ungheni (Moldovan frontier) from 19:02 until 20:50, and arriving at Bucharest Gara de Nord at 06:17 next morning.

  The Prietenia has 4-berth 2nd class sleepers and 1st class 2-berth sleepers.  There is a bar car selling snacks and drinks, but no restaurant, so take your own provisions along.  There is reportedly now free WiFi.

  Since January 2022 it's been running 3 times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Sundays from Chişinău.  It will resume daily operation from 11 December 2022.

• Step 2, travel from Bucharest to London as shown on the London to Romania page.

How much does it cost?

• Bucharest to Chişinău costs 134 Romanian Lei (around €25) one-way at standard tariff in a 2nd class 4-berth sleeper, around 155 Lei (€34) in 2-berth sleeper or 282 Lei (€61) with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself.

  Booked in advance online, you may find special fares for a bed in a 4-bed sleeper from just 89 Lei (€19).

• Chişinău to Bucharest costs around 1120 Leu (€50) per person per berth in a 1st class 2-berth sleeper or around 560 Leu (€25) per person per berth in a 2nd class 4-berth sleeper.  For fares from London to Romania see the London to Romania page. 

How to buy tickets

• To buy tickets from London to Bucharest, see the London to Romania page.

• The Bucharest-Chişinău train can be booked online in two places:

  Option 1, it can be booked at the Romanian Railways website, bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.  Click EN top right for English.  Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti (Romania).  Chisinau is listed as Kishinev (Moldova).  Tickets must be collected from the station ticket office at Bucharest Nord (so don't use it for one-way journeys starting in Moldova).

  Option 2, it can also be booked at the Moldovan Railways site www.railway.md, the direct link to the English booking page is on.railway.md:10000/?lang=en (please let me know if that stops working).

  This can book the train in either direction with print-your-own tickets, it accepts foreign traveller passport numbers, and it has now been confirmed by several travellers that it works fine with most international Visa & MasterCard credit cards (if one fails, try another).  Further feedback always appreciated.

• Alternatively, you can book the Bucharest to Chişinău train at the international booking office at Bucharest Nord station as there are almost always plenty of places available even on the day.

What's the Bucharest-Chisinau train like?

The Prietenia has elderly Soviet-era 4-berth 2nd class sleepers & 1st class 2-berth sleepers.  There is a bar car selling snacks and drinks, but no restaurant, so take your own provisions.  The train's name Prietenia means friendship in Romanian.  The cars are jacked up at the border station of Ungheni to have the bogies changed, from Romania's standard gauge (4'8.5") to Russian gauge (5').  You remain on board while this nis done.

The Prietenia from Chişinău to Bucharest about to leave Chişinău.  Photos courtesy of Malcolm B & Peter Brogdale.

1st class 2-berth compartment.  Larger photo.		Destination board in car 4.

Travellers' reports

Traveller Josy Spooner wrote this illustrated blog about a journey on this train in 2015, and it hasn't changed much since then:  happinessisthe.wordpress.com/2015/09/20/a-vintage-train-journey-to-chisinau-moldova/

Traveller Robert Hall reports:  "The Romanian boarder was reached at 0400ish where our passports were taken away and scanned.  The Moldovan’s are much more efficient and had a portable passport reading machine, although a second inspection resulted in ours being taken away again – I guess this is because our passports had a fair number of stamps and visa’s in them and they wanted to check them a bit more!  The train was comfortable enough and bedding was provided. A pillow case, basic towel and two sheets were supplied in a plastic bag.  In the space that went over the corridor from our compartment was a choice of either blankets or duvets.  We had to make up the beds ourselves – no seats had to be taken apart. Whilst the gauge change itself at Ungheli went without issue/notice some of the shunting does not encourage sleep!"

Traveller and group organiser Neil McDonald describes his party of sixty kilted Scotsmen knocking back the Moldovan champagne on the Prietenia :  "I would describe the comfort as typical Soviet type comfort, although I enjoyed my journey on this service and indeed I intend using this service again.  There were comments about bugs in some of the carriages but I never had any problems with my carriage.  The Staff were a mixture of personalities, and with a party of 65 people spread over 6 carriages I got mixed reports about the stewards.  Some (well most) were extremely friendly towards my group (almost all Kilted Scotsman) however some were grumpy and one steward seemed on the take.  Most were very good with dealing with lost documentation and some of my group ended up sleeping in completely the wrong carriage without any problems.  The train buffet was a very cheap and cheerful effort.  I managed a small plate of chicken from the train buffet for the grand sum of 70p (it was soon sold out as word spread of the price through the train) and we discovered bottles of Moldovan Champagne going for £2.50 (have a guess how long that lasted too).  Other items were going cheap as well."

Sleeper corridor aboard the Prietenia.  Photo courtesy of Jon Ethridge.		Chişinău railway station, Moldova.   Photo courtesy of Jon Ethridge.

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	The Chisinau to Odessa train.  Courtesy of Discoverbyrail.com

London to Moldova via Berlin, Warsaw, Kyiv & Odessa

There's another option.  Why not travel from London via Berlin and Warsaw to Kyiv, sleeper to Odessa, then use the Odessa to Chisinau train?

• See the UK to Ukraine page for travel options between London and Odessa.

• Train 641 leaves Odessa at 18:45 daily arriving Chişinău at 22:20.  Buy tickets at the station.

• Train 642 leaves Chişinău at 07:09 daily and arrives Odessa at 10:45.

• Buy tickets for the Odessa-Chişinău train at the station, or you can buy tickets online (if starting in Odessa) at Ukrainian Railways booking.uz.gov.ua.  Click EN for English.  For Chişinău, type Kishineu.  Tickets must be collected at a Ukrainian station, they cannot be collected in Moldova.

What's Moldova like?

Travel David Keating reports from a visit back in summer 2006, still relevant although much has changed since then:  "I cannot foresee Chisinau becoming a tourist hotspot.  It was from what one can see from old photographs once a very attractive city, but it was mostly flattened in WW2.  There are one or two individual buildings of note still left, including a fine old station recently restored.  It is a very green city with plenty of trees and parks.  The central market is an excellent old fashioned food and general market which no longer exists in places like Poland.  No one hassles you in Moldova, it's cheap to eat and drink though accommodation can be more pricey.  At Orhei Vecchi there is an UNESCO heritage site comprising an unusual limestone cliff exposed by river erosion in which over the centuries mankind has burrowed, with many interesting remains.  There are also half a dozen attractive monasteries.  There is no where really to stay outside the capital, but the country can be reached usually on appalling roads in a day trip.  The countryside is unspectacular otherwise, rolling landscape, greatly impoverished villages.  There is a village by the river near Orhei, Trebushen, where an enterprising family provide pleasant accommodation with all meals and local wine at €30 per day per person.  People do stay from all over the world, for example stray Japanese, Scandinavians, Italians and French.  The village is not spoilt by modern buildings, there is walking to be done and otherwise pottering about. Some venture on the river.  The family arrange collection of guests from Chisinau, which is about 40 km away.  The place is desperately poor, and with the embargo placed on all imports by Russia the situation can only get worse.  Over 80% of agricultural produce, wine etc was exported to Russia.  Putin is putting the squeeze on to prevent Moldova following in the track of Ukraine.  Transnistria, the breakaway enclave supported by Putin is a difficult place to visit.  Tales come through of tourists having to pay for so-called visas etc.  The rail link from Ukraine and Russia passes through Transnistria, as does the Russian gas supply, and the main power station providing over 80% of the electricity comes from there.  When Stalin carved up the Romanian territory of Moldavia, he cut some off and gave it to Ukraine, in particular its coastal territory  and took a piece of Ukraine and stuck it on. The heavy industry, military base, power stations were located on the other side of the Dniestr river in what had not been part of Romania. It is that chunk which holds many assets which together with a slice seized on the Romanian side of the river that comprises the breakaway enclave. The EU has declared it illegal and none of its henchmen can visit or pass through EU territory. It is a major conduit of arms made there, drugs, people trafficking, etc.  This autumn the Russian embargo will really start to bite harder. More than a third of the population has left for greener pastures mostly as illegal workers in Portugal, Spain, Italy, the UK of course and here in Ireland.  The ones that go are the young fit ones.  In rural Moldova 80% of women between the ages of 16 and 36 are missing most of them forcibly taken into prostitution. It is a major scandal."

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European Rail Timetable & maps

The European Rail Timetable (formerly the Thomas Cook European Timetable) has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  It is essential for regular European train travellers and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Published since 1873, it had just celebrated 140 years of publication when Thomas Cook decided to pull the plug on their entire publishing department, but the dedicated ex-Thomas Cook team set up a private venture and resumed publication of the famous European Rail Timetable in March 2014.  You can buy it online at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses) or www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide).  More information on what the European Rail Timetable contains.

Rail Map Europe is the map I recommend, covering all of Europe from Portugal in the west to Moscow & Istanbul in the east, Finland in the north to Sicily & Athens in the south.  Scenic routes & high-speed lines are highlighted.  See an extract from the map.  Buy online at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide) or at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses).

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You should take a good guidebook.  For the independent traveller, this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  Both series are excellent.  The Lonely Planet range offers an in-depth guide for Romania and Moldova or a guide covering all the countries in Eastern Europe.  You won't regret buying one!

Click the images to buy at Amazon...

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Hotels in Moldova

Other hotel sites worth trying...

www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

Backpacker hostels...

www.hostelworld.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

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Travel insurance & VPN

Always take out travel insurance...

You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer.  It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit.  These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I use an annual policy myself.  Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here.  Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.

  www.staysure.co.uk offers enhanced Covid-19 protection.

  You can use www.confused.com to compare prices & policy features across major insurance companies.

  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

Curve card saves foreign transaction fees...

Banks often give a poor exchange rate, then charge a currency conversion fee as well.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this.  The balance goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.  And you can get a Curve card for free.

How it works:  1. Download the app for iPhone or Android.  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to most European addresses including the UK.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, just like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance onto whichever of your debit or credit cards you choose.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I use a Curve Blue card myself - I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I'm recommending it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card - they'll give you £5 cashback through that link, too.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  VPNs & why you need one explained...

When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure.  A VPN means your connection to the internet is encrypted & always secure, even using unsecured WiFi.  In countries such as China where access to Twitter & Facebook is restricted, a VPN gets around these restrictions.  And lastly, you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geographic restrictions which some websites apply - for example one booking site charges a booking fee to non-European visitors but none to European visitors, so if you're not located in Europe you can avoid this fee by browsing with a UK IP address using a VPN.  VPNs & why you need one explained.  ExpressVPN is a best buy and I use it myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription, and I get a small commission to help support this site.

Carry an Anker powerbank...

With tickets, reservations, vaccination records and Interrail or Eurail passes now often held digitally on your mobile phone, it's vital to keep it charged.  I recommend carrying an Anker powerbank which can recharge your phone several times over if you can't get to a power outlet when you're on the move.  I never travel without one.

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