Just 200 km from Romania and 400 km from Poland, Pridnestrovie has a central location which is easy to get to from most of Europe. It's a beautiful country with a friendly, multiethnic population. It has a fiercely independent people who takes great pride in the nation and it is a lot cleaner and better kept than other countries in South East Europe.

If you decide to visit please bring a camera and compare what you see here in Pridnestrovie with what you see elsewhere in the region. Although not a rich country, living standards in Pridnestrovie [0] have improved markedly since independence in 1990 while in Moldova, on the other side of the Dniester river, living standards are down.

To get to Pridnestrovie you would normally either go via Chisinau (Moldova) or Odessa (Ukraine) and then continue your journey by bus, taxi, train or private car.
Buses to Tiraspol and Bender depart from the Central Bus station in Chisinau every 30-45 minutes. Cost of the ticket one way is about 2 USD. From Chisinau, the trip to Tiraspol takes an hour and a half, stopping at the international border about an hour into the journey.
Buses to Grigoripol, Rybnitsa and Dubossary depart from the North Bus Station of Chisinau at regular daily intervals, too.
Buses and passenger trains also depart daily from Odessa, going to Tiraspol in Pridnestrovie.

Taxies are widely available. If required, your hotel will help you rent a car. Gasoline is fairly inexpensive (an average of a dollar fifty per gallon). There are busses and trolley busses in every city in Pridnestrovie as well as intercity buses between the towns and cities of the country.
Pridnestrovie has a fully open market economy. There are no currency controls of any kind in Pridnestrovie. Euros and US dollars are freely allowed (and generally accepted) in Pridnestrovie but Pridnestrovie also maintains its own local currency. And to get the best prices on local goods and services it is recommended that you change at least some of your money into PMR Roubles. Exchange houses are widely found throughout the country. You can also freely exchange money at any bank, as well as with the "Cambio"-booths which are found in bus- and train stations.

In Tiraspol, most foreigners prefer the 2001-built "Hotel Timoty" (395A Karl Libknecht St., centrally located in the business district of town). The suites have jacuzzis, cable TV and broadband Internet. Rates start at €56/night. For nightlife without leaving your hotel, the Timoty has its own disco. Other hotels in the city include "Hotel Friendship" and "Hotel Stork", each from around $20/night and up, with breakfast included. In Bender, the recommended hotel is the newly built "Hotel Starie Bendery" with rates from $40/night including breakfast in the hotel's own onsite restaurant.

To best get a sense of what it feels like to be Pridnestrovian, here is a tip: Come to Tiraspol's main soccer stadium [1] on a weekend and get swept up in the emotion when the home team plays. The stadium is part of a sports complex on 40 hectares with a main soccer arena, five training fields, an in-door hall, dwelling complex for players, a 5-star hotel and casino and a soccer school for children.

• Tiraspol: The color of Tiraspol is green throughout, with a beautiful leisure zone on the banks of the Dniester. There is an old Tree Garden in the centre of the town. Also in Tiraspol, visit some of the museums: the History Museum and the city's Art Museum as well as the amazing wine-museum “Butylka”, the only one of its kind in the world. The museum is housed inside an artificial bottle which stands 28 m tall, making it the world's largest bottle-shaped building. Located just 10 km from Tiraspol, a tour of the museum includes tasting of local area wines and cognacs. The locals are also very fond of their resort area near lake Cuciurgan. Ask don't forget to ask about the Unesco-monument neolithic stand known as the "Koltakova Beam" and about the excavations of Scythian barrows.
• Bender: Visit the location of the third century B.C. human settlement near the oldest Dniester gorge or the fort dating back to the middle ages.
• Dubossary: Visit the dig on the Dniester river and the impressive Hydro-Power Plant. On your way between Dubossary and Rybnitsa make a stop at the beautiful Yagorlyk nature reserve.
• Rybnitsa: For a unique photo opportunity, have lunch at the panoramic view restaurant overlooking the Dniester. Leaving Rybnitsa, you can stop at the Rashkov national park and visit its nearby historic Catholic Church before you reach Kamenka.
• Kamenka: In the north of Pridnestrovie, Kamenka is located in a valley encased by mountains. Strikingly beautiful, it is also much warmer than other parts of the country. For centuries, the area was favored for medical treatments. It hosts the large "Dniester Sanatorium"; a modern and comfortable health resort with swimming pool, a large library, a billiard room, light interiors, a fine dining room and a 550-seat cinema.

Don't leave Pridnestrovie without first taking in a bit of our country's culture: The Pridnestrovian State Symphony Orchestra often performs concerts of classical music in the country's main concert hall, known as the "Palace of the Republic". Pridnestrovie also has its own state-funded theater, home to the "N. S. Aronetskaya" drama and comedy troupe. And almost weekly you can catch performances by the state's dance and folklore music group "Viorika".

There are lots of places to eat in Pridnestrovie, from pizzerias to al fresco luncheons in open air biergartens. But for more formal dining, some of the perennial favorites are the "Restaurant Hunter" in Tiraspol and, also in Tiraspol, the Ukrainian restaurant “Kumanek”. Or try the elaborate "Café Eilenburg", named after the Tiraspol's sister-city in Germany. In Bender, the restaurant "Old Bender" is recommended. In Dubossary, "Restaurant Nistru", and in Rybnitsa the panoramic "Restaurant View" which overlooks the Dniester River.

The crime rate is extremely low in Pridnestrovie, so there is nothing in particular to be concerned about. The rumors of drugs / weapons / smuggling / mafia are just that ... rumors. Attribute them to Moldovan smear propaganda; not to any basis in fact or reality.

No visa required when entering Pridnestrovie. However, all foreign citizens must register upon arrival in Pridnestrovie. For daytrips the registration is handled right at the border for a cost of less than 50 cents. Stop at the last checkpoint on the border and go to the Pridnestrovian government's Migration office for a little paper which is checked upon exiting the country. For longer stays, registration with the migration office should be handled within 24 hours of your arrival. Registration for foreign citizens who plan to stay in the country for more than one day must be done with either the Migration Office or local police. Your hotel will take care of the registration if required.

In Tiraspol, the Pridnestrovian government's migration office is located downtown on 2A Kotovskiy St, Tiraspol. Office hours are 9 am - 5 pm weekdays, with a lunch break between noon and 1 pm. For questions, please call the Migration Office at tel (+373 533) 7-90-83. During weekends or outside office hours you may also register at the main Tiraspol Police Station, downtown at 66 Rosa Luxembourg St.

The paperwork process is transparent and easy. There is no visa required and only a quick, hassle-free registration for longer stays. As a multi-ethnic country, Pridnestrovie welcomes foreign visitors. We hope that you'll visit, and that your visit will help you distinguish between the bad press that Pridnestrovie gets abroad and the reality of what this young country has actually accomplished.

We hope to see you soon: Welcome to Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica!

WHAT'S RELATED: Travel information: Visit Pridnestrovie [1] A visit to Pridnestrovie: What life is really like here [1] Reports and impressions from other visitors [1] Tiraspol, capital of Pridnestrovie [1] more... [2]

EXTERNAL LINK: VisitPMR.com: "Visit PMR" travel website [3]