Posted: June 9 2019
How to get from Chişinău to Tiraspol via the border at Bender. Moldova to Transnistria.
Getting from Chişinău to Tiraspol is very much simplified from yesteryear.
You get the marshrutka or bus from Gara Centrala which is behind the Piata Centrala (central market). You'll find the bus or marshrutkas at the end of Bay 17. You don't buy the ticket at the ticket office. You pay the driver or conductor. Fare as of 2019 from Chişinău to Tiraspol is 37 MDL. The big bus is scheduled to go at 11am. Marshrutkas, the infamous mini vans used across the former Soviet empire run as and when. At the check point/border with Transnistria which is just before the town of Bender, you jump out. Enter the small immigration office, present your passport and you will be asked how many days and where you will be staying. They have a list of the hotels in Tiraspol. I told them 3 days and 'Like Home Hostel'. They gave me 9 days. It was that easy. You no longer need go register at the MFA upon arrival in Tiraspol any more. Below is my migration card. 
There are no further checks. You continue to Bender and then Tiraspol. Door to door took me 1 hr 45 for the 77km. Arrival in Tiraspol is at the Gara Centrala which is right next to the train station.
It's then a 10 minute walk to the main street, October 25th street which runs East-West through town. There are a couple of exchange bureaus along the way. If you are tired of buses, you can also take the train. It runs from the main train station (Vogzal) in Chişinău. I have no hard evidence about this train but the schedule at the station quoted that it departs Chisinau at 07:05. It said it runs on 5,6, & 7 which is Friday, Saturday & Sunday but the ticket lady said it was possible to go 'tomorrow', when I asked on the Monday. Evghenia at Like Home Hostel in Tiraspol called for us and she was told that the train running back to Chişinău was 'everyday' and as suspected the return train was very late in the evening. In any case, it runs the Chişinău Odessa route, stopping at Bender-2 and Tiraspol. But why let the train take the strain? Just take the freaking bus like the locals do. |
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