Best of Moldova: Cricova Winery & Old Orhei and Curchi Monastery
Description
You will get an excellent opportunity to visit one of the oldest wine productions in Moldova - the wine cellars of Cricova Winery, most visited in Moldova. It represents an unique underground city, well-known all over the world by its huge labyrinths of streets, & especially by its excellent wines. It's also a good way to visit the most valuable natural and cultural heritage of Moldova - Old Orhei reservation, together with Curchi Monastery, which is one of the most beautiful monasteries in our country. A full day Tour to see Best Sights of Moldova. Depending on the number of bookings, sometimes the tour could be private or shared with small groups, up to 8-10 people. But from our experience most of our groups are 3-4 or 5 people.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will visit Curchi Monastery complex, that is around 30 km from Old Orhei reservation. Cultural, religious and historical essential background of over two centuries makes Curchi Monastery highly qualified heritage among the most significant monuments of Moldavian religious architecture.
Visit the popular Old Orhei with its famous Cave Monastery, Butuceni Ethnographic Museum from beginning of XX century, ruins of Tartars city Shehr al-Djedid (14th - 16th centuries). It is a just an unique natural and historical complex in the open air.
Cricova Winery is situated at a depth of 60-80 meters, representing a real underground city. Cricova Winery represents a unique underground kingdom well-known all over the world by its huge labyrinths, and especially by its excellent wines. Here we will have a 2,5 hour tour, that includes excursion in Cricova's wine sections and wine tasting (3 types of wines, Nuts, biscuits, water).
Time for lunch in a local old-fashioned restaurant, which serve authentic, ecological Moldavian food. Fabulous traditional food while visiting the Ethnic Village.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We can pick you up where you will stay: hotel, motel, hostel, apartment. We will need just to know your exact address in Chisinau and we can pick you up directly from there.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(190)
Fantastic your, fantastic guide, loved it. Would highly recommend! Went on this tour with my sister and mum and it was amazing. Going at your own pace you get to see the amazing monastery, museums, tunnels and more and then you finish on the wine tour which was simply amazing, I would do it all over again. Moldova was beautiful covered in sunflowers lovely!
Ecaterina the guide was very friendly and on time. Made us all feel very comfortable
Prompt pickup with information put on WhatsApp. Glad they mentioned taking along sweater or jacket as Cricova Winery is underground and quite cool. Make sure to wear sneakers and not sandals as ground is rocky at Orhei Monastery.
Corina was wonderful. Her passion for Moldovan history and culture is impressive. The tour was well paced and informative.
A great day, Natalia is an excellent guide who was knowledgeable, friendly and very open to honest discussion around different questions. The sites visited were a great introduction to some of the best places in Moldova. We are looking forward to trying another tour with this operator in the future.
Natslia was a very knowledgeable and friendly guide. We enjoyed the Moldavian scenery, great sites and good local food, which Natalia Found a bit away from the touristy places. Highly recommendef
I recently took the Best of Moldova tour with Ekaterina, covering Curchi Monastery, Old Orhei, and Cricova, and it was the highlight of my trip. If you are looking for a comprehensive way to see the most important sites outside of Chisinau in a single day, I highly recommend booking with her. We started at Curchi Monastery, which is easily one of the most beautiful churches I have seen in Eastern Europe. The grounds are incredibly peaceful and well-maintained. From there, we went to Old Orhei. The cave monastery carved into the limestone cliffs is a unique historical site, and the views overlooking the river valley are stunning. It was great to have Ekaterina explain the layers of history there, as it made the archaeological site much more meaningful. We finished the day at Cricova Winery. Exploring the massive underground tunnels by electric train is a surreal experience, and the wine tasting was professional and generous. Ekaterina is an excellent guide. She is knowledgeable, punctual, and speaks perfect English. She managed the timing of the day perfectly so we never felt rushed, but we still saw everything promised. If you want a deep dive into Moldovan history and culture with a professional who knows her stuff, this is the tour to take. Thanks Ekaterina!
Fantastic tour with excellent guide/driver Cristian and three other very friendly travelers from the US and Netherlands. It is not a cheap tour but is very high-end, we travelled in a spotlessly clean and brand new Land Rover Discovery. We visited Curchi Monastery, Old Orhei ( both the cliff top and cave monastery) and Cricova Winery. There was time for lunch at Cricova before the winery tour in the underground streets, and the tasting afterwards was very informative and good fun. Plenty of nice wine too for those that wanted it. Cristian was happy to stop at lots of viewpoints so that we could take photos. Highly recommended tour!
I would highly recommend this tour! Natalia was an excellent guide, very informative and friendly. The tour was very well organised and I had a great day! This is a brilliant way to see some of the rural sights in Moldova.
Very complete tour of the monasteries and landscapes of northern Chisinau, very well explained by the guide. Food in a traditional restaurant in the village. Very interesting visit to the Cricova winery and a luxurious and detailed wine tasting. Recommended and essential tour.
