Transnistria is an unrecognized country, when you are there, it looks like being in the soviet union. How is it to hitchhike there?
Where is Transnistria located?
Transnistria is an unrecognized country on the territory of Moldova. It is said that it is part of Moldova under Russian military control.
It is on the other side of the Dniester river, that’s also the name. So it borders Ukraine and Moldova.
It is only recognized by other unrecognized countries as the Republic of Artsakh or what others call it Karabkh.
Transnistria have their own military, flag, money and so on, so when visiting it feels like being in a different country. The people often have Moldovan citizenship, but also often the Russian and I even saw the Transnistrian Passport, which is basically useless. The money is also just worth something within the walls, outside you are not able to use it.
How is hitchhiking in Transnistria?
After I was hitchhiking into Transnistria, it was quite early and I checked out some things close to the border in the town Bender.
It was time for some hitchhiking!
When standing on the road, just old cars were passing, as if we were in the Soviet Union. It took a while until someone stopped, which was due to the high traffic on the road, which was leading into the capital Tiraspol.
After half an hour, a local stopped, who actually spoke some German, due to his work in Germany. We talked in German and he drove til the end of the country, to get to his mothers place, for picking up things, before rushing to the airport in Moldova.
I was able to see the countryside, which was great. We drove after that to Tiraspol, where he was showing me some sights and gave me at the end some food, to survive the day. That was really kind. I was able to learn about the territory and see an official Transnistrian Passport.
When hitchhiking again, it went really quick, when comparing it to some western European countries. The only issue was the language, because English is not widely spoken, but with Russian or Romanian (similar to Italian) you would be fine.
Summary
Hitchhiking in Transnistria felt safe, the people I met were really nice, just hitchhiking is not that common there. Still the waiting time seems to be decent, it is not that long. When being in the cities, walking around is the way to get around. The cities are not big and most of the sights are always within walking distance, which makes it easier to explore them.
Besides the fact that the population is generally speaking really nice to foreigners, the language barrier is a bit problematic, but for those things, there are some offline translators, which could help you out in situations like that.
Because of the age of the cars, it might not be the most comfortable ride you will ever have, but it is at least an authentic one. Which could be fun to experience.
I would love to hear your experiences about this place, or questions. Share it with me in the comments.
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Transnistria Stories: Hitchhiking in Transnistria
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