Day trip through Ukraine and Moldova from Romania?
Jun 19, 2016, 10:08 pm
#16
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 1
Congrats on having a good trip!
This is clearly too late, but just in case anybody ever comes upon this thread via search:
A casual drive through Moldova & Ukraine is a bad, bad, not good, very bad idea. At the very least go with a Russian-speaking guide familiar with the area & the realities.
Travelling by train/bus is likely a lot less cumbersome & much safer but of course a street-smart local(ish) guide would really help.
Maybe you're a super-tough Iraq vet Chuck Norris type, in which case disregard—but for the rest of us—
Obviously don't go into active conflict zones, but that's only a footnote.
Both are very poor countries. An aloof foreigner is an easy target for bribe-seeking* customs officers (in both countries), you're basically guaranteed to be stopped by bribe-seeking* police in both countries, and you're an easy target of crime. It may seem like scaremongering, but it's not unimaginable that someone who spots you (a foreigner driving a car, as you make a pit stop) will take the opportunity to follow you in a car as you drive out of town with the intent of stopping you to rob you or steal the car or both. (I'm personally aware of such incidents).
Roads are .... and so are drivers. Car theft is common; a pretty new rental car with foreign plates look particularly attractive. People routinely use fancy antitheft devices and industrial-grade car alarms; someone will totally take the trouble to break into the car to pull out the car radio. I suspect you'll either pay through the nose to have the rental company allow you to go to MD+UA or simply won't be able to do it.
Medical care is ...., emergency medical care away from major cities particularly. If, god forbid, you're in need of medical help, dispense cash eagerly to all medical personnel that you have to deal with. Carry your own emergency antibiotics, medical gloves, needles & syringes, boil water & wash fruit/veg. Cholera & TB are active in the area, and there's an HIV epidemic, so behave yourself. Ask your doc what vaccinations you need.
At least a somewhat working knowledge of Russian is essential (naturally Romanian+Ukrainian will work too), English will get you nowhere except trouble.
Oh and, naturally, carry cash (local funny money, but greenbacks will work in a pinch. Small denominations obviously.)
In other words, one doesn't just casually take a road trip through MD+UA. Unless you're Chuck Norris in which case disregard.
=================
* or worse
This is clearly too late, but just in case anybody ever comes upon this thread via search:
A casual drive through Moldova & Ukraine is a bad, bad, not good, very bad idea. At the very least go with a Russian-speaking guide familiar with the area & the realities.
Travelling by train/bus is likely a lot less cumbersome & much safer but of course a street-smart local(ish) guide would really help.
Maybe you're a super-tough Iraq vet Chuck Norris type, in which case disregard—but for the rest of us—
Obviously don't go into active conflict zones, but that's only a footnote.
Both are very poor countries. An aloof foreigner is an easy target for bribe-seeking* customs officers (in both countries), you're basically guaranteed to be stopped by bribe-seeking* police in both countries, and you're an easy target of crime. It may seem like scaremongering, but it's not unimaginable that someone who spots you (a foreigner driving a car, as you make a pit stop) will take the opportunity to follow you in a car as you drive out of town with the intent of stopping you to rob you or steal the car or both. (I'm personally aware of such incidents).
Roads are .... and so are drivers. Car theft is common; a pretty new rental car with foreign plates look particularly attractive. People routinely use fancy antitheft devices and industrial-grade car alarms; someone will totally take the trouble to break into the car to pull out the car radio. I suspect you'll either pay through the nose to have the rental company allow you to go to MD+UA or simply won't be able to do it.
Medical care is ...., emergency medical care away from major cities particularly. If, god forbid, you're in need of medical help, dispense cash eagerly to all medical personnel that you have to deal with. Carry your own emergency antibiotics, medical gloves, needles & syringes, boil water & wash fruit/veg. Cholera & TB are active in the area, and there's an HIV epidemic, so behave yourself. Ask your doc what vaccinations you need.
At least a somewhat working knowledge of Russian is essential (naturally Romanian+Ukrainian will work too), English will get you nowhere except trouble.
Oh and, naturally, carry cash (local funny money, but greenbacks will work in a pinch. Small denominations obviously.)
In other words, one doesn't just casually take a road trip through MD+UA. Unless you're Chuck Norris in which case disregard.
=================
* or worse
Jun 20, 2016, 6:12 am
#17
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: OTP
Programs: AF/KL platinum, Turkish gold, QR gold
Posts: 1,572
I'm sorry, but the story you tell cannot be further from the truth (at least regarding Moldova) and is exaggerated. Cholera and stuff, really?
Yes, perhaps if you base yourself on experiences of a decade or more ago, I would agree corruption and police hassle could be a problem for those driving or even walking the streets. But now? Not anymore, certainly not for a foreigner.
In Moldova, you are as likely to see fancy BMWs as an old Dacia. Foreign licence plates are *very* common due to sheer amounts of Moldovans working abroad, returning to home. A (Romanian) rental car wouldn't look out of the place at all with its licence plate, and in most cases wouldnt have clear rental car stickers anyway, so its not recognisable as such.
Of course, speaking the language (Romanian much more than Russian, certainly in the countryside) is always helpful. But while the odd situation might occur, the days of corrupt police fishing for bribes and such problems are largely over compared to a decade back.
I do agree that road quality can be bad away from the main roads, and driving at night should be avoided (it's easy to ruin a wheel in a pothole!).
And no, I'm not a native Romanian speaker, nor am I Chuck Norris
(On Ukrainian driving, I have no experiences myself, but a friend of me had zero problems on road trips over the last years to Lviv or Crimea - before the Russians stole it)
Yes, perhaps if you base yourself on experiences of a decade or more ago, I would agree corruption and police hassle could be a problem for those driving or even walking the streets. But now? Not anymore, certainly not for a foreigner.
In Moldova, you are as likely to see fancy BMWs as an old Dacia. Foreign licence plates are *very* common due to sheer amounts of Moldovans working abroad, returning to home. A (Romanian) rental car wouldn't look out of the place at all with its licence plate, and in most cases wouldnt have clear rental car stickers anyway, so its not recognisable as such.
Of course, speaking the language (Romanian much more than Russian, certainly in the countryside) is always helpful. But while the odd situation might occur, the days of corrupt police fishing for bribes and such problems are largely over compared to a decade back.
I do agree that road quality can be bad away from the main roads, and driving at night should be avoided (it's easy to ruin a wheel in a pothole!).
And no, I'm not a native Romanian speaker, nor am I Chuck Norris
(On Ukrainian driving, I have no experiences myself, but a friend of me had zero problems on road trips over the last years to Lviv or Crimea - before the Russians stole it)
Jun 20, 2016, 8:15 am
#18
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PEK
Programs: A3*G, UA Gold EY Silver
Posts: 8,958
Actually, it's exactly what you're doing. 
This isn't the 1990s. I haven't heard of anyone being asked for a bribe or giving one in 10+ years.
It's much more likely to happen in Venezuela or Honduras than in Moldova or Ukraine. Again, there hasn't been anything in the news about things like this since the late 1990s.
Roads are really bad, as I mentioned above. Drivers - most are very predictable and abiding by the rules of the road. You always have a small percentage of crazy ones.
I agree that taking a foreign rental car into Ukraine is not a good idea for a number of reasons, though theft is not at the top of the list.
Agreed, medical care is poor outside major urban areas.
Most pharmacies are well-stocked and if you have $$ you can buy what you need. It's always a good idea to get vaccinated.
Not true about the last sentence.
Card acceptance is at about the level of southern and central Europe, and worse than northern Europe.
Sounds like someone had a bad experience. Are you willing to share?
I know of many foreigners who have travelled around the countryside of both countries without incident.
An aloof foreigner is an easy target for bribe-seeking* customs officers (in both countries)
it's not unimaginable that someone who spots you (a foreigner driving a car, as you make a pit stop) will take the opportunity to follow you in a car as you drive out of town with the intent of stopping you to rob you or steal the car or both.
Roads are .... and so are drivers.
Car theft is common; a pretty new rental car with foreign plates look particularly attractive. People routinely use fancy antitheft devices and industrial-grade car alarms; someone will totally take the trouble to break into the car to pull out the car radio. I suspect you'll either pay through the nose to have the rental company allow you to go to MD+UA or simply won't be able to do it.
Medical care is ...., emergency medical care away from major cities particularly. If, god forbid, you're in need of medical help, dispense cash eagerly to all medical personnel that you have to deal with.
Carry your own emergency antibiotics, medical gloves, needles & syringes, boil water & wash fruit/veg. Cholera & TB are active in the area, and there's an HIV epidemic, so behave yourself. Ask your doc what vaccinations you need.
At least a somewhat working knowledge of Russian is essential (naturally Romanian+Ukrainian will work too), English will get you nowhere except trouble.
Oh and, naturally, carry cash (local funny money, but greenbacks will work in a pinch. Small denominations obviously.)
In other words, one doesn't just casually take a road trip through MD+UA. Unless you're Chuck Norris in which case disregard.
I know of many foreigners who have travelled around the countryside of both countries without incident.