poisson

Getting to Tiraspol: It's easy enough. The bus station is right beside the Central Market. Buses to Tiraspol leave every 20-30min. I found the bus with the Tiraspol sign on the front, and the driver walked me up to the window where I paid for the ticket. I believe it was just under 37MDL (around $2).

The drive was bumpy because roads in Moldova aren't great, but luckily it's only about an hour.

At Bender, you have to cross the Transnistria border. There were 4 other people on the bus and they all had passports that allowed them into Transnistria without a visa. Since I have a US passport, I was required to get a permit/visa (free cost) that allowed me to stay for 24hr. I walked up to a window where the guy took my passport, entered the information, and gave me the paper permit/visa.

Afterwards, he handed me the passport and said to walk with a guy in military fatigues. The guy looked at my bags in the bus, said OK Good, and then took my passport up some stairs. This is when I got worried because my passport was no longer in my possession. He came back about 10min later with my passport. I still have no idea why my passport was taken.

Tiraspol: The train/bus station is just north of the city. It's about a 10min walk from the main part of town. I arrived shortly after 12PM and had heard that buses to Odessa fill up quickly, so I asked to buy a ticket for a bus that left around 5pm. Unfortunately that one was full, so I was stuck in Tiraspol until 7PM.

Tiraspol does have a tourist office now! It's on the road leading to/from the train/bus station, about halfway towards the main part of town. The ladies working there spoke English and gave me a map in English. They also sold some post cards and other souvenirs (which I doubt you'll find anywhere else in town).

Also, since Transnistria isn't an officially recognized country, you can't use debit cards or credit cards and as far as I know, there aren't any ATMs that will work. I brought Moldovan Lei and was able to convert them to Transnistrian Rubles at exchange booths that are all over town. I didn't even have to say anything; just hand them the money and they know what to do.

I have T-Mobile in the US and get free roaming in many countries. However, my roaming did not work in Transnistria. Fortunately, I was able to get cell reception from Moldova in certain parts of the city.

Highlights were the House of Soviets with the giant Lenin statue outside



A Soviet era movie theater


A Soviet tank


And another Lenin statue in front of a government building


I also went into the Sheriff supermarket which is owned by a former KGB guy. The Sheriff brand is also a soccer team and a large hotel in Tiraspol.


The Kvint distillery in Tiraspol is known for producing cognac, vodka, and other types of spirits.


There really weren't many advertisements in Tiraspol except for local related things. Absolutely no capitalism here.


Overall, Tiraspol is an interesting place to spend half a day. It gives you a glimpse of what life would be like in a modern day USSR.