Friday 16th of July

• Arrive into Bucharest as per your own schedule and check into your hostel which is in a nice and central location in the city. Some really nice buildings in the area. 

• There will be a pre-tour orientation at 6pm to talk through the itinerary and any questions you might have. 

• We will have dinner this evening in Care Cu Bare, the food here is incredible.  

• A few drinks around Bucharest’s old town after dinner 

Saturday 17th of July

• Today we start with a tour of Bucharest taking in some the cities main attractions including the Parliamentary Palace, which required a fifth of the old city to be demolished on the orders of the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, we will also visit Revolutionary Square and visit the last resting place of Ceausescu since his execution while trying to flee Bucharest with his wife in 1989. 

• After the tour you will have a free afternoon to explore Bucharest for yourself before we catch our overnight train to Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova. 

Sunday 18th of July

• We arrive into Chisinau early this morning and transfer to our centrally located hotel. You may need a little rest, especially if you opted to have a few beers on the train last night, in which case feel free to relax in your room or take some free time to stroll around the area. 

• In the afternoon we will take a walking tour around Chisinau City centre, visiting the Parliament Building ,Military Museum and the memorial built in memory of the victims of World War II. Parts of this, especially some of the audio visual material is completely harrowing but leaves you with a real understanding of the millions of victims of the soviet states during the war.

• There is a large outdoor market which we will go to that is a good place to buy Moldovan souvenirs if anything takes your fancy. Next up is the main square in Chisinau where we also visit the central park

• We return to the hotel to take a trip to Cricova Winery, a seriously impressive attraction located just outside of Chisinau. Central and Eastern European wines are often overlooked. Alas, another person’s loss is your gain as we work our way around the winery, dug deep into underground limestone that was originally dug as part of the foundations of Chisinau in the 15th century. Our guide will tell us all about the wine making process at Cricova and you can do a wine tasting also which we highly recommend. 

• Some authentic Moldovan food tonight for dinner at a popular local restaurant before checking out the nightlife in the city

• Overnight at our Chisinau Hotel.

Monday 19th July

• Breakfast at the hotel

• We depart for the breakaway republic of Transnistria this morning with a 3-4 hour train journey.  

• When we arrive in Tiraspol, we will register with immigration and at the train station we will transfer to our local hotel. This particular hotel is definitely an authentic Soviet experience and was of the first tourist hotels in the whole region. 

• Next we'll kick off our tour of Tirispol

• Check out the 1950’s fun fair before a photo opportunity on 25th street with a huge poster board the former President Smirnoff with the presidents of two other partially recognised nations namely South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

• We will visit the University of Tiraspol and speak with some of the students currently studying there in addition to visiting City Hall and its impressive Lenin statue. We will go onwards to the Russian Orthodox Church of Tiraspol with its golden dome structure. Females must wear a head cover here and males must not have hats of any kind.

• General Suvorov of the Russian Imperial Army has gone down in history as a military genius having never been defeated in battle. We will visit a statue in his honour before paying a visit to the War of Independence Memorial.

• The Parliament Building Houses a huge statue of Lenin, the biggest found outside of Russia.

• For a taste of home, we will head to Andy’s Pizza for lunch – a popular local eatery!

• If you like you can purchase some really excellent brandy for $3 a bottle at a store that we will visit nearby.

• We’ll then switch it up and board an old Soviet ferry without an engine and cross the Dniester river to see how the village people live across from Tiraspol. This is an area truly lost in the USSR!

• We will spend the evening at one of the parks in Tiraspol, most likely Popedi Park  before visiting a local bar.

Tuesday 20th of July

• For breakfast we'll check out a great Ukrainian restaurant, be prepared to be offered a shot of pepper vodka – even if it is only 9am!

• We'll check out the flea market, great spot to pickup some souveniers.

• Next up we take a trip to Bender. Bender that is one of the largest towns in Transnistria. There is a huge variety of goods available here at really inexpensive prices.

• We will visit one of the local churches in Bender before heading onto Lenin Park where the city’s impressive central fountain is located.

• The city train station is interesting as it is well kept but completely underused with very few passengers passing through. There is a really cool old train here that dates from WWII with a hammer and sickle embossed onto its front. We will also visit the civil war museum in memory of the conflict between Transnistria and Moldova.

• We will make our way to City Hall which looks exactly as it did during the civil war and bears the scars to this day.

• After all this sightseeing we will take a break for some lunch in the city.

• The river here is also pretty nice – we will take a walk along it before stopping at another 1950’s amusement park (popular in these parts). Bring some swimwear if you like as there are some great swimming spots along the river. 

• We take a bus from Bender to Tiraspol.

• Back in Tiraspol we head to 7Fridays for dinner.

• Overnight at our hotel in Tiraspol.  

Wednesday 21st of July

• We make our way to Tiraspol train station and catch the train to Odessa in Ukraine where we will just have the day to explore. 

• You can get some lunch when we arrive, before taking a stroll around and checking out some of the fairly incredible architecture. Odessa was once the 4th largest city in imperial Russia and major trading hub for the Soviet Union. It remains a major port city and popular beach resort today. 

• Free afternoon and evening in Odessa

Thursday 22nd of July

• Morning breakfast, followed by free time in the city or an optional tour of this historic part of the world

• We call this our ‘Odessa Depression’ tour, a staple of any dark tourist itinerary. Featuring abandoned Stalin era factories, abandoned Soviet brothels and nightclubs and the infamous killing ground of hundreds of victims of the Odessa mafia.

• Free time in the afternoon to explore the city.

• Overnight train to Kiev.

Friday 23rd July

• When we arrive at Kiev central station we will check into our hotel.

• In the afternoon we will take a walking tour around the city including independence square and other areas of interest. Afterwards, you have the option to return to the hostel and relax or pay a visit to a firing range with high caliber Soviet weapons (extra charge)

• In the evening we will get dinner and visit the infamous Palata No.6, one of the world’s top 10 bars to drink in before you die. If you feel like it you can have a shot while wearing a straitjacket and helmet that is set on fire. Apart from that it’s a popular place that serves good food. 

• We stay overnight at Kiev Station Hostel

Saturday 24th July

• Today we travel by private bus to the Exclusion Zone. Before our Chernobyl tour kicks off we will get breakfast en route and view a documentary on the nuclear disaster.

• Our permits to enter the zone will be processed upon arrival. Please keep in mind that the exact areas we visit and the order in which we will visit can vary. 

• We visit the main square of Chernobyl and a memorial to the disaster in addition to the village of Zalissa.  There is a statue of Lenin that still stands proud and in good condition. We will check-out a local church and an abandoned Synagogue

• We will have lunch at a local eatery here where current workers at the site are fed each day. All of the produce is brought in from outside the zone and is actually pretty delicious!

• There is a dock with 3 monstrous cranes on the river bank. We will also visit a former local shop, Kindergarten.

• The village of Kopachi which was abandoned in 1986.

• The steel and concrete sarcophagus which was constructed over reactor number 4. We will visit Pripyat central square which is pretty haunting and unlike anything you will have seen before outside of a computer game!

• We will also visit the local amusement park which is equally as haunting and unique in addition to a local supermarket, swimming pool, school number three (including gas masks) and The Bridge of Death.

• Tonight we sleep at The Chernobyl Hotel where you can purchase some local beer or vodka after dinner. (Rooms here are twin sharing)

Sunday 25th July

• Up early with breakfast in the hotel, before we head back into the zone.

• Duga 3, nicknamed the “Russian Woodpecker,” a Soviet “over-the-horizon” radar at its base “Chernobyl 2.”

• Barrack Cooling towers on the side of the unfinished reactors 5 and 6. Visit the Fish farm and “Red Forest”.

• Panel buildings with Soviet emblems, Palace of Culture and “Jupiter” factory.

• Visit the ruins of the School #1, hospital and morgue.

• Pripyat passenger boats on River Port, “Prometheus” cinema, music school and athletic stadium.

• Laboratory in the former kindergarten, greenhouses and bus station.

• We board our bus for the drive back to Kiev.

• End tour in Kiev and depart via private arrangement.