A Day Trip in Transnistria: What It’s Like and How to Get to Tiraspol from Chisinau
Transnistria has fascinated me ever since I’ve heard of its reputation of being the “country that doesn’t exist”. I had the pleasure in catching a glimpse of it by visiting for a few hours.
I was traveling with a partner who spoke fluent Russian, and unfortunately, they fell ill during the trip so we had to get back to Chisinau and cut the trip short. I couldn’t write a full guide on Transnistria, so I’ll write this post just to share what I observe from this short, but very unique trip.
Summary of Transnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway state by the Dniester River in eastern Moldova. It self-established itself shortly after Soviet Union’s dissolution. It has its own currency and military that are separate from Moldova. They speak Russian, and while Russia supports Transnistria, No UN nation recognizes them as an official country, even Russia themselves. While Transnistria is the most-known name, it’s locally-known as Pridnestrovie.
How to Get to Tiraspol from Chisinau
Getting to Tiraspol from Chisinau can be done from the Central Bus Station. I headed to the Central Bus station from my hotel, the Courtyard at around 10am after breakfast.
From what seemed to be a smooth ride, we were hit by traffic that made us arrive 15 minutes later than we should. We got off the taxi and walked just a block away to get there faster.
Marshrutkas, or shuttles, run everyday on-route to Tiraspol. You can buy tickets through one of the counters inside the station.
Border Control
An hour later, we arrived at the border control. Obviously, no pictures can be taken, but I observed people with Moldovan, Transnistrian, and Ukrainian passports go through. I was the only American at the time.
The process itself was very smooth. We all queued up until we’re called. The guard talked English and asked how long I’ll be staying. I replied with just this day, and he then gave me a migration card in form of a paper slip with the expiration at 22:53. A very specific time that I have no idea of.
Getting out was also easy. In fact, it was easier as we just have to give out my passport to the driver with my migration card and we’re good after.
What Tiraspol is Like
There are few landmarks of Tiraspol footsteps away as soon as you get off the marshrutka starting at just in front of the Green Market.
Green Market
Green Market’s the farmer’s market of Tiraspol just before 25th October St. You can find the bus stop for the way back to Chisinau on Karl Lieknecht St on the northern exit of the Green Market.
It reminds me of the markets I’ve visited in Samarkand, Uzbekistan so it felt familiar.
In the Green Market, I saw a kvass barrel. Kvass is a drink made from fermented rye. It has an acquired taste, but somewhat familiar with a non-alcoholic beer. A popular drink is post-Soviet countries, and I did try it once in Kyrgyzstan.
Suvorov Square
Just after the Green Market is the Suvorov Square that covers the main street of Tiraspol that’s named after the beginning of the Bolshevik Revolution led by Vladimir Lenin back in October 25th.
You can find green space with flags of Transnistria and the statue of Alexander Suvorov, the founder of Tiraspol.
On a certain spot of the pavement, you can find the map of the 25th October St with its notable landmarks. It was formerly named Pokrovskaya St.
Across the Suvorov Square, you can find the statue of Catherine the Great, who was once the Empress of Russia, and a playbale character in Sid Meier’s Civilization V, a game that greatly sparked my interests in traveling the world.
By the Catherine statue, there’s a cute stylized vending machine for coffee.
To the west of the Catherine the Great statue and across Suvorov Square is the Memorial of Glory that commemorates the Veterans and the fallen of previous wars.
An eternal flame is set at the memorial to give respects to the fallen.
By the memorial lies a decommissioned T-34, a Soviet-era tank.
Across the Memorial of Glory is where you can find Lenin statue that stands in front of Transnistria’s government building.
Back in USSR Restaurant
For lunch, we went to the ‘Back in USSR Restaurant’ with its very Soviet theme decor. It’s located to the east of 25th October St. It looks very touristic, but it’s not like many tourists visit here anyway.
There’s tons of Vladimir Lenin memorabilia showcased in the restaurants. You can also buy some souvenirs in the restaurants like fridge magnets.
Like the name, they mainly serve Russian food. There could be other cuisines like Moldovan, but I couldn’t recognize them when reading the menu. They were all in Cyrillic, so being able to read them helps with ordering. However, at least one staff somewhat understood English!
After ordering, we started with glass of apple juice. No joke, this was the best-tasting apple juice I’ve ever had! It felt so fresh and the sweetness was natural.
For appetizer, we got the olivier salad. It’s basically Russian potato salad, and the caviar on top was a nice surprise.
Then, we shared a bowl of pelmeni, or Russian dumplings. There were options of meat-filled or cherry-filled. The cherry-filled was interesting, but I still prefer my dumplings with meat rather than fruit.
Then, I got the Chicken Kiev. It was bone-in which was a new variant to try. The tissue frills was cute and helped with picking up the bone since it was hot. I believe the use of the tissue frills was a common way to present for this dish during the Soviet times.
Outside of the restaurant, I also saw a fascinating Soviet-styled scale.
Overall, a pretty nice restaurant that’s worth a visit in Tiraspol! Quirky with good and interesting food at affordable price.
Foreign Influences in Tiraspol
What I did not expect was how there were some foreign influences that has entered Transnistria. At first, I was under the impression that everything would be heavy-handed in Soviet feel, but certain parts of the city kept with modern worldwide trends.
For example, I was surprised to see Fantastic 4 billboard in front of Cinema Tiraspol. It was one of the most recent American movies released during my visit. It would’ve been very cool to see what it’s like to watch a movie here, and if they’d be formatted differently or not.
Next thing I found was a boba store! I definitely had to give Transnistrian bubble tea a try. It was bland and didn’t came in with any sugar. It’s possible that I did not order it correctly due to language barrier. There was too much milk and I can barely taste the tea. The boba they used are also berry-flavored popping bobas, which were fine. I’d rate it a 4/10.
DHL also have services in Tiraspol.I was under the impression that Sheriff, the conglomerate of Transnistria, would have everything for services since they operate supermarkets, gas stations, football stadium, and so on.
Lastly, I did not take pictures, but there were stalls that sold labubus at the stalls at the park by Catherine the Great statue. Yes, even those little devils made it here. They’re most likely fake, but it’s still fascinating that world trends still made their way here.
Free Public Wi-Fi
Because Moldovan SIM card does not work here, you can try accessing wifi scattered around the city. Free wifi can be found at the park behind Catherine the Great statue. Though it only lasted 30 minutes. I was able to have it activated again on my phone twice, but after that, I could not activate it anymore. It was good enough to at least explore around 25th October St.
Other than that, restaurants like Back in USSR had free wifi that guests could use, and I’d assume other businesses would have as well to make navigating through Tiraspol easier. Still, it was challenging, and it made me realize that I’m way too reliant on my phone to get around.
Money Exchange
Cash is a must in Transnistria, and they even have their own currency of Transnistrian Ruble, separated from Moldovan Leu. You can exchange Moldovan Leu to Transnistrian Ruble, but exchanging with US Dollars will yield the most favorable exchange rate. You can track forex rates on Pridenstrovian Republic Bank. USD seems to have persisted on 16.1 Transnistrian Ruble per USD no matter what, while other currencies are dynamically affected by global exchange rate.
Unfortunately, I was not able to show the plastic coins that Transnistrian rubles are known to circulate. They could be less common nowadays compared to before.
Conclusion
Even though it was a short trip, I was glad to be able to visit Transnistria, and it is certainly one of the most unique places I’ve set foot on. It has a strange atmosphere, but it overall feels safe to walk around on.
What’s more surprising is how foreign trends permeate into this corner of the world which leaves me with the impression that it may not be as secluded as most would think on the outside.
