Bucharest to Moldova – the train journey not to miss!
Last updated on July 31st, 2026 at 05:35 am
There’s a great reason to go to Bucharest – that’s to leave it again – by train to Moldova!
A daily sleeper train called the ‘Prietenia’ (Friendship) runs from Bucharest (Bucuresti) to Chisinau, the capital city of Moldova. Its a journey not to miss – given you travel in an old soviet style carriage, get swung up into the air, meet some interesting people, and generally arrive on time in the morning in a new city.
Trust me / it has to be one of the most interesting trains you can catch in Europe – if not THE most interesting! And apart from that, it takes you to a fascinating place – Chisinau and Moldova!
Contents
The train journey you wont forget – Bucharest to Chisinau!
What types of seats and carriages are there?
Timetable for the train from Bucharest to Chisinau – and vice versa
How to buy tickets for the Bucharest to Chisinau train – or vice versa
The cost for a sleeper train all the way from Bucharest to Chisinau!
What happens on the journey from Bucharest to Chisinau?
Travel Tips for the Bucharest to Chisinau train journey
Trip Planning Checklist
These are the booking platforms I personally use for all my travels. If you book through these affiliate links, it helps support this site and keeps me producing free travel guides – at absolutely no extra cost to you. Thanks so much for the support! Cheers!
All in one – if you want to book flights and accommodation as a package, use expedia
Flights – use skyscanner or booking.com to find and book your flight – I often find the same flight cheaper than booking direct with the airline!
Accommodation – use booking.com or for a hostel – Hostelworld. I use both.
Internet – buy a yesim eSim or Airalo before you go. I use both depending on where I am going.
Tours and Activities – book with Viator or GetYourGuide. Top picks for Bucharest are:
- Bucharest 3-hours Walking Tour (Small Groups) or the City Highlights Guided Walking Tour
- 3-Hour Dark History Tour with a Local – really explains much of the city’s past – I highly recommend along with a communism tour.
- Communism and History Guided City Walking Tour or The Real Tour of Communism – without understanding this era you cant understand the city or Romania!
Tours and Activities – my top things to do in Chisinau are:
- Take an amazing day trip to Transnistria! go with Back in USSR – Transnistria or this one day in Transnistria or Tiraspol: Guided City Tour with Hidden Gems
- Visit the incredible Cricova and Milestii Mici Wineries and visit old Orhei and the monasteries
- Take a walking tour of the city or this Private Cherry Liqueur tour topped off with a bar visit and drunk cherry! Trust me – its delicious! Or get some exercise and take a bike tour of the city!
Car rental – I usually use DiscoverCars
Insurance – I usually use EKTA , but another good option, especially if you are from the US is SafetyWing. EKTA works well as they accept any nationality, any age and its ok if you are already traveling – which is perfect for me!
Buses, trains, ferries – 12Go is often my first option for buses, ferries and trains – they are expanding worldwide but are very strong in Asia. They cover parts of Europe like Germany and France, and Australia and Latin America – especially Argentina.
Hiking – I use AllTrails for online and offline hiking trails – it means you know exactly where you are on the trail and makes getting lost a lot harder!!
Thanks so much if you use one of these links – it costs you nothing but helps me keep writing!
The train journey you wont forget – Bucharest to Chisinau!
So lets get on with the details of the train and the journey…..
What types of seats and carriages are there?
You can buy tickets for a 1-person, 2-person, or 4-person sleeper compartment. All tickets are for sleepers only – no standard seats! Its half the charm of it all. The sleepers are separated into male and female.
But, I booked a 4-bed sleeper and somehow ended up with two guys on the way to Chisinau – definitely not a female compartment. It turned out to be the best thing though! They are musicians from Italy and we had a great time with them playing Italian folk music well into the night! I managed to get it right on the way back from Chisinau to Bucharest though and shared with three young students. It was an intriguing journey with lots of information shared about our lives. They were incredibly well educated – it was really impressive!
Timetable for the train from Bucharest to Chisinau – and vice versa
The train leaves from Bucharest to Chisinau at 7.10pm every day. It leaves on time!! It arrives in Chisinau at 8.44am the next morning (or later in my case – but only by about an hour).
The train leaves Chisinau at 5.05pm every day – and also leaves right on time. It arrives in Bucharest at 6.47am the next day.
How to buy tickets for the Bucharest to Chisinau train – or vice versa
Buy at the station
There seem to be berths available on the day. I definitely saw people buying them at Chisinau. This may change as more people start to visit Moldova, but it is currently by far the least visited country in Europe. However to be sure, either buy at the station a few days ahead, or…
Buy online at the Romanian Rail website
The Romanian Railways website- CFR which offers the booking system in English and Romanian. Its very easy to use and the tickets came through quickly via email for me.
Note: select Bucuresti Nord (not Buchuresti) as your departure point.
Buy online at the Moldovan Rail website
The Moldovan Railways website which offers booking system in Russian and Romanian. I didn’t use this site but it looks relatively easy to follow in Romanian – especially if you can read some Italian or Spanish as Romanian is quite similar to Italian.
Note: Once you have bought your ticket, you can either print it or simply show it on your phone – it has a QR code. I used my phone – no problems.
The cost for a sleeper train all the way from Bucharest to Chisinau!
It cost me 262 Romanian Lei return in a 4 berth sleeper – about 54-56 USD or Euro. That was for a non-refundable ticket. You can pay 100 Lei more for a refundable ticket, but given you don’t need to book way ahead you shouldn’t need to change your dates.
As you can see that is pretty much the cost of 2 nights accommodation in a hostel – and you are transported as well. A pretty good deal I thought!
For a 2-berth, the cost I was quoted was 414 Lei (about 85 USD or Euro) and for a 1-berth 545 Lei (about 100 USD or Euro) .
What happens on the journey from Bucharest to Chisinau?
After the train departs the conductor brings you each a pack of sheets and pillow case for your bed. You make your own bed up when you are ready to lie down and take it easy!
But in the early hours of the morning things start to happen! First you have to hand your passport to the conductor and s/he will take it away for processing you ouot of Moldova. After a while there they give your passport back to you – only to come and collect it again to enter Moldova. On the Moldova side you will probably have a border guard ask you (and everyone else) why you are visiting Moldova. “Tourism” is all they need to hear.
Then its gets to be real fun – the train shunts back and forth and splits off all the carriages. The carriages are then jacked up individually – with you on board – so they can change the wheels! They need to change from standard gauge to broad gauge (Soviet style). Its quite fascinating and you can watch it all from either end of the carriage. Just open the door and look, but don’t fall out – there are no health and safety barriers or warnings here!
All this means you either try and sleep through it or just take it as part of the experience and enjoy! Needless to say you might not get a lot of sleep.
The timing of all this border stuff and wheel changing stuff is much better coming from Moldova back to Bucharest, so if you’re only going one way – that is the best way!
Food on the train
There’s plenty of booze available to purchase on the train – but not much in the way of food. They have snacks like chips and biscuits and that’s it, so bring your own. They also did not have water available – just juices and sodas – again bring your own. There are a mass of food outlets at Bucharest station – but not at Chisinau if you are coming in that direction.
Loos on the train!
The worst part of the train – basic and relatively unpleasant – but do-able! Better if you don’t need to do no 2’s on the way!
Where do I catch the train?
From Bucharest to Chisinau catch the train at Bucharest Gara de Nord. Its very easy to get to by metro as there is a stop at the station.
From Chisinau – catch the train from Chisinau Station at 1 Aleea Garii, not far from the center of the city. It is easy to get to by bus no 8, and you may even walk.
Chisinau Train Station
The Chisinau Train Station is an interesting building so take the time to have a look around – maybe when you leave if you are doing the return trip. It was built just after WWII and has been recently renovated. Outside across from the drop off area, there is a poignant memorial to to Victims of Stalinist Repression.
Note that there is an ATM just outside the station – its not terribly obvious though. Exit the main doors and with your back to the station turn right and you will find it in a corner just along from the main doors. Don’t change money at the station if you can avoid it, as the rate will be lower than in town.
Where to stay in Bucharest
Book a hotel with booking.com or a hostel with Hostelworld.
In the city itself, there are many options, but these top picks will get you started:
High end – Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest or the InterContinental Athénée Palace Bucharest by IHG
Mid Range – Epoque Hotel – Relais & Chateaux or the Rosetti Hotel
Good value – the The Mansion Boutique Hotel or La Boheme Boutique Casa Soare
Budget – try the Tempus, or, the Novos Luxury Suites, or, Host Tina
Backpackers – Bedsy, or, T5 Social, or, Host Tina
There are also plenty of apartments across the city and across all budgets, for example One88 Apartments penthouse!
Where to stay in Chisinau
Luxury: highly rated are the Nobil Luxury Boutique Hotel or The Richmond Hotel or for something more boutique try the Gregory Boutique Hotel Chisinau
Mid Range: Try the Hotel Tulip Residence, or for an apartment try the Sky Exclusive Vip Apartaments
Budget: Try the Small House ApartHotel or Scandi on Flowers Street
Backpacker: I would recommend the one I stayed in – the Hostel Amazing Ionika Center City.
Travel tips for the journey!
- Bring your own water, food and snacks – your options on the train are very limited.
- Bring antiseptic wipes – the loos are not fun.
- They have clean sheets etc and plenty of blankets, so you don`t need to worry about the sleeping part of it.
- Arrive at the Bucharest station with plenty of time so you can find your train – its not hard but it is a large station and you don’t need any stress.
- Booking online for the Bucharest to Chisinau journey worked well for me. You can buy a return ticket when you get to Chisinau or consider flying out of Chisinau – depending on where you want to go next!
- Be prepared for broken sleep but a fascinating journey. Do look out the doors at the end of your carriage when you are up in the air having your wheels changed – but don’t fall out!
Related Posts – at either end of the journey!
The 13 best things to do in Chișinău and Moldova!
Visiting a country that isn’t a country – a trip to Pridnestrovie or Transnistia!