Practical Information

It's easy to travel by bus from Iasi (Romania) to Kishinev, then on to Odessa (Ukraine). The bus from Iasi operates around five times a day and costs US$6, whereas the Odessa bus is more frequent and charges US$3. In Kishinev, the bus station is opposite the market, right in town.

Don't count on getting any visas at the borders if you travel this way - purchase them beforehand at the embassies in Budapest or Bucharest. You may hear that these visas can be obtained at the borders, but this is not recommended. On the Kishinev-Odessa leg, you pass through the breakaway province of Transdiniestra. This is no problem if you have your visas (a transit fee of under US$1 is collected), but you could have costly problems if you're looking to get your visas at the borders.

There is also a night train from Bucharest to Chisinau (and Chisinau to Bucharest). If travelling from Bucharest you should have your Moldovan visa before travelling on the train, it is not possible to obtain it at the border. The journey is 12 hours and includes about 2.5 hours at the border for changing the bogies of the train and border controls. Train windows do not open so the journey can be very hot in the summer. The train station in Chisinau is about 2 km from the 'Hotel National' end of boulevard Stefan cel Mare.