Moldova Discovery

“Natalia is professional, prompt, knowledgeable, provides the right amount of information, (ie. she doesn’t speak incessantly:) )and takes questions from clients. Hotel Bristol is very conveniently located; the reception area needs a facelift & lifts are ancient- took ‘forever’ to arrive. (Not that you can do anything about it but it did add to the ‘stress’ especially when in a hurry). Misha is hardworking, safe driver. Operator fulfilled expectations, and we were fortunate to also have good fellow travellers. The only letdown was the food - f&b does constitute an important factor on the overall enjoyment of a trip. Lunch at the fort at Soroca was below par (chicken was dry and apple strudel hard and cold). No coffee was served / offered at any of the venues (perhaps not a local practice?) ”

“We had a city tour with Natalia (1) who was knowledgeable and friendly. The rest of our tour (and transfers) were with Leonid as driver and Natalia (2) as our guide. Leonid was charming, a great and safe driver, and always opened our doors with a smile. He also carried bags in hotels where there were no lifts. Natalia (2) was a font of information and extremely well organised throughout the tour and always ensured we were briefed for the following day in terms of changes to the itinerary, weather and any dress restrictions. Both were always on time, courteous and jolly and we very much enjoyed the time with them. This was amongst one of the best holidays we have had which is largely down to the approach and attitude of everyone we met. We stayed at the best accommodation available, which bearing in mind the country and some of the rural locations, was all adeqate. We enjoyed some of the more traditional styles of accommodation and it is the first time I have slept on a bed with a fire underneath as an electic blanket (thankfully not needed). We have been to 112 countries, and this ranks amongst one of our best holidays. We were constantly told that no one goes to Moldova for 17 nights but it is hard to understand why more people don't go. There was a wide variety of experiences and although we visited several wineries, they had all been carefully selected to provide a different aspect to wine making. The people were incredibly friendly and everyone went out of their way to ensure we had the best experience possible: for example, the Barsa Alba cognac factory was opened up especially for us on a Sunday. We also enjoyed staying at two different hotels in the capital. It was also a pleasure to meet and stay at the guest house of Mihaela who had put the itinerary together for us. ”

“The hotel is in a great location, rooms are huge, breakfast was brilliant with lots of choice. A fantastic and memorable trip with lots to offer. I would, personally add an extra night in Chisinau so you have one full day to do a city tour. We only had 2 hours on day 2 and then we were off to Gagauzia. Day 2 would be great as a full day in the city. I would also have a winery visit at the start of the tour and one at the end of the tour. The two winery visits were the day after each other, so it would have been good to split these up at each end. ”

“Natalia was a great guide, very knowledgable about her country. I learned a lot. She was also good fun. The Hotel Bristol in Chisinau was fine, nice big room, good breakfast. Loved the stay in Butuceni, basic but lovely. It would have been good to have another night out of Chisinau, maybe add a day to the trip to see more of rural life? The timing of the meal and wine tasting at Cricova was not great. We'd not had lunch so were really hungry by 4pm or so. All that wine at that time just felt wrong. Ideally this would be an early evening event (say 6pm). The 'Art Rustica' craft centre turned out to be someone talking about rugs. She was very enthusiastic and some of the rugs were interesting, but it was I'm afraid pretty boring. A craft centre (not just carpets) would have been better. I appreciate that UD can't arrange trips to Transnistria but it would have been good to advise travellers to spend an extra day in Chisinau and arrange our own trip. I've seen it go badly wrong when someone from the travel company goes on a recce. Emma handled the relationship with Natalia brilliantly. All in all a fascinating country and the Moldovan wines were terrific! ”

“Natalia the guide was very good. Really helpful and knowledgeable. The hotel was great. Nice big rooms, fantastic breakfast, good pub and great location. The village accommodation was very cosy and nice and the people friendly. Really good well organised trip. Good food, great accomodation and good itinerary. Enjoyed it all especially the lovely wine. Natalia was a great guide. Knew her stuff and was very good at keeping to schedule. A great ambassador for her country. Moldova exceeded my expectations in lots of ways including being very clean in most places and being quite litter free, unlike Britain! ”

“I would recommend a trip to Moldova.|As a driver Boris was unflustered and professional making the journeys stress free.|Natasha is a first class guide - enthusiastic, friendly and knowledgeable. |Her desire to make Moldova a discovered tourist destination was clear to see and infectious.|Victoria at Cricova was very good. Please pass on thanks for the wine tasting and bottle recommendation at the shop. So too Anastasia at Purcari. I used her tips to top up my purchases at the airport in my way home. Would love the chance to stay at Purcari - the lunch was amazing. Top quality food. Very good value.”

“I was extremely happy with the whole trip: organisation, my companions, the places visited and, especially, our excellent guide, Natasha (aka Natalie). She was extremely knowledgeable, professional, personable and wecolming. Throughout our trip, she was determined to show us the best Moldova has to offer - and did so with great enthusiasm. My only criticism would be that the initial walking tour of Chisinau could have been taken at a slower pace, allowing a little time for photography. Maybe also a little time initially to meet and chat with the other articipants. Accommodation was good too. The City Park Hotel is well located for seeing the best parts of the capital. Moldova exceeded my expectations!”

“The guide, Andre, was superb - extremely knowledgeable about everything and willing to take us to places we'd asked for off the itinerary. Fun and really lovely to be with.”

“The Bristol Hotel was a particularly good location. Great breakfast options. It was a very good trip. Although the accommodation in the village hotel was less sophisticated it was very enjoyable for its atmosphere and peace and quiet. The guide, Natalia, was exceptionally good. ”

“I really enjoyed the tour. Very interesting location, the local guide Natalia was very knowledgeable and very helpful in sorting out my dietary restrictions.”