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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.
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
Useful country information
London to Chişinău (Kishinev)
London ► Chişinău
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Step 1, travel from London to Bucharest as shown on the London to Romania page.
The journey takes less than 48 hours by train.
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Step 2, travel from Bucharest to Chişinău on the Prietenia sleeper train, leaving Bucharest Gara de Nord at 19:08, arriving Chişinău 08:44.
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.
The train calls at Ungheni on the Moldovan border from 04:08 to 06:03, where each carriage is jacked up to have its bogies changed from standard to 5' gauge. You remain on board while this is done.
Chişinău ► London
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Step 1, travel from Chişinău to Bucharest on the Prietenia sleeper train, leaving Chişinău at 17:05, arriving Bucharest Gara de Nord 06:35.
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.
The train calls at Ungheni on the Moldovan border from 19:58 to 21:35, where each carriage is jacked up to have its bogies changed from 5' gauge to standard gauge. You remain on board while this is done.
How much does it cost?
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For fares between London & Bucharest, see the London to Romania page.
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Bucharest to Chişinău costs 134 Romanian Lei (around €25) one-way 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 to yourself.
Booked in advance online, you may find special fares for a bed in a 4-bed sleeper from just 89 Lei (€19).
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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.
How to buy tickets
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Buy tickets from London to Bucharest as shown on the London to Romania page.
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The Bucharest-Chişinău train can be booked online in two places:
Option 1, book at the Romanian Railways website, bileteinternationale.cfrcalatori.ro.
Booking opens 30 days ahead. Click EN top right for English. Bucharest is listed as Bucuresti. Chişinău is listed as Chisinau.
The Romanian Railways site can sell the 1st class 2-berth compartments as either single (for sole occupancy) or double.
You can book the train in either direction, tickets can be printed out or shown on your phone.
Option 2, book at the Moldovan Railways site www.railway.md.
The English booking page is on.railway.md:10000/?lang=en, please let me know if that link stops working.
Booking opens 30 days ahead. The Moldovan Railways site only sells the 1st class compartments as 2-berth, so if you want sole occupancy you have to add a phantom child.
You can book the train in either direction, tickets can be printed out or shown on your phone. It has been confirmed by several travellers that it accepts most international Visa & MasterCard credit cards (if one fails, try another). Further feedback always appreciated.
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Alternatively, you can book the Bucharest to Chişinău train at the international booking office at Bucharest Nord station, there are almost always plenty of places available even on the day.
What's the Bucharest-Chisinau train like?
The Prietenia has elderly but comfortable Soviet-era 4-berth 2nd class sleepers & 1st class 2-berth sleepers. There's 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 is done.
The Prietenia from Chişinău to Bucharest at Chişinău. Photos below courtesy of Malcolm B, Peter Brogdale & Raphaël Lorenzo.
At Ungheni, the carriages are separated, jacked up, and the bogies are changed because of the difference in track gauge between Romania (standard gauge) and Moldova (broad gauge). You remain on board while this happens. Photos courtesy of @Simply_Railway.
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 0400-ish 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 Ungheni 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."
Chişinău station
Chisinau station. Courtesy of @AndyBTravels and Discoverbyrail.com.
Chisninau station interior. Photos courtesy of @AndyBTravels and Discoverbyrail.com.
Chişinău station platforms. Below, the Prietenia is ready to leave. Photos courtesy of @AndyBTravels and Discoverbyrail.com.
What's Moldova like?
Travel David Keating reports from a visit back in 2006, still relevant today although much has changed: "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."
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).
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
Hotels in Moldova
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.
Travel insurance & other tips
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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 have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk 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 and gets 4.7 out of 5 on
Trustpilot.
www.columbusdirect.com is also a well-know brand.
If you live in the USA try
Travel Guard USA.
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Get an eSIM with mobile data package
Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a European mobile data package and stay connected. Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list. There's no need to buy a physical SIM card! Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.
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Get a Curve card for foreign travel
Most banks give you a poor exchange rate then add a foreign transaction fee on top. 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 money you spend on your Curve card 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 Curve app for iPhone or Android. 2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses. 3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card. 4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app. You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.
I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader. The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than getting a card out). I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend 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.
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Get a VPN for safe browsing. Why you need a VPN
When travelling you may use free public WiFi which is often insecure. A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi. It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply. See VPNs & why you need one explained. ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using this link you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription. I also get some commission to help support this site.
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Carry an Anker powerbank
Tickets, reservations, hotel bookings and Interrail or Eurail passes are often now held on your mobile phone. You daren't let it run out of power, and you can't always rely on the phone's internal battery or on being near a power outlet. I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over. Buy from Amazon.co.uk or buy from Amazon.com.
Touring cities? Use hill walking shoes!
One of the best things I've done is swap my normal shoes for hill-walking shoes, in my case from Scarpa. They're intended for hiking across the Pennines not wandering around Florence, but the support and cushioning for hiking works equally well when you're on your feet all day exploring foreign cities. My feet used to give out first and limit my day, now the rest of me gives up before they do!