EU citizens staying less than 90 days
don't require anything more than their passport.
-24h
we got at the border for free in 15min without anything
else that just showing our passport. No stamp on
the passport just a piece of paper (see pic below)
-3 days permit:
If you want to stay more than 24h you must apply
for a 3days permit, you can apply personally at
the OVIR office ( Kotovskiy street 2/A in Tiraspol)
or,as we did, to have it managed by your hotel.
We had our passport withdrawn for 24h. Still no
stamp on passport just a piece of paper (see pic
below) and it was for free. When you leave the country
the border guards withdraw you permit.
The currency is the Lei, at the
time of writing 1€= 21 Lei (Dec2014)
TRANSNISTRA
MONEY
Transnistran Ruble (see photo below). At the
time of writing (Dec'14) 1euro=14 Trans. Ruble.
(for more rate see the pic below)
No way to officially change it outside the country
even in the main gate as Odessa or Chisinau train
station, so be sure to get rid of them before
leaving.
Several money changers in Tiraspol or Bender,
you easiest way is to change at the station that
is where all the buses and train arrive.
Transnistran Ruble (1 ruble note =1/14 euro)
Transnistran ruble exchance rate (dec2014)
I'm sorry but there's no Lonely Planet
dedicated to Moldova and Transnistra. The only option
is to retrieve the 2007 edition of the LP Romania
& Moldova (there's also a chapter on Transnistra).
It seems the latest edition of LP Romania is without
Moldova chapter.
-Rent a car in Modova (www.rentedcar.md)
I paid 28€/day + 2€/day for the toddler
seat + 150€ as deposit
The car was crap: a huge crack on the windscreen,
something always beeping as an empty tank signal (but
it was full!), few times the engines stopped ,…
so I wouldn't really recommend this rent car company.
I didn't tried to enter Transnistra by the rented
car and it's something I'd avoid since very exposed
to border guard bribery.
- Police patrolling
Watch out while driving in Moldova to stick to
the speed limit even where they are unreasonably
low. In a two lanes road in the countryside I was
chased and then stopped by police claiming I was
driving 85km/h where the speed limit was 50km/h.
They even showed a photo of my car taken with the
speedmeter, and obviously there were no signs on
the road of 50km/h speed. They asked for 50€
fine I negotiated to 20€. If you go for the
negotiation approach don't ask for the receipt:
FAQ ON TRANSNISTRA
- Will I've problem once I reenter Moldova or I'll
leave Moldova after I've been in Transnistra?
No, since for Moldova Transnistra is still Moldova
and nobody will stamp a Moldovan exit stamp on your
passport. Our case was even worse since we really
exit Moldova going to Ukraine (again no Moldovan
exit stamp but Ukrainian entry stamp) and we entered
again from Transnistra (still no Moldova entry stamp,
but Ukrainian exit stamp). So at the end we had
a clear proof on the passports that we left and
reentered Moldova without exit/entry stamps. To
make it worse the Ukrainian border guards stamped
the passports exactly below the original Moldovan
entry stamps (it wasn't by chance since they looked
for it), anyhow when we left finally Moldova from
Chisinau airport the border guards saw the stamps
but they didn't complained anything
- How to reach Transnistra?
No airports in the whole country so it can be
by car (hire a driver), bus/van (several per day,
1.5h) or by train (2h, once per day at 7.00am).
The less hassling way as concern border guards it's
told to be the train; anyhow nobody annoyed us entering
by bus. For sure by car you are much more exposed
unless don't hire a well-known driver
- What to see in Transnistra?
Tiraspol: tank monument, National Museum, Parlament,
the Theatre
Bender: the Nister river,the fortress, tank monument,
was victim monument,
- Can I take picture in Tarnistra?
yes, but avoid showing off.
