Cricova or Mileștii Mici: which Moldovan wine cellar to visit from Chișinău

Both are underground wine cellars a short drive from the capital, and both can fill a half day. For the city itself, start with the Chișinău travel guide, and for how a cellar day fits into a trip, see Chișinău in 2 days. Pick Mileștii Mici if you want a short visit with a clear format and online booking. Pick Cricova if you want a longer tasting with a wider range of packages and you are willing to book by phone.

All prices below come from the two cellars' own websites, read on 4 October 2026. They are quoted in Moldovan lei (MDL), and the cellars can change them at any time, so confirm the price when you book. Prices are per person unless a page says otherwise.

Cricova's own site describes the complex as the largest underground wine complex, dating from 1952, with long labyrinths of galleries. The tour page lists the tour schedule as Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 20:00 and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, and a separate schedule for the on-site "Kingdom of Wine" tourist complex, open from 10:00 to 23:00 every day. Booking is made in advance by phone, and the page lists +373 79 202 999 as a contact number on the cellar's own site.

The packages run from a short tour to a long tasting. The Underground City tour lasts 1 hour 10 minutes and costs 400 MDL, covering the underground streets, the wine aging section, the classic sparkling wine production section, the National Collection and Tasting Complex and a cinema. The Business tour runs 1 hour 30 minutes at 700 MDL and adds a tasting of four wines with nuts, biscuits and water. The Expert tour lasts two hours, costs 950 MDL and pours seven wines with cheese, dried fruit and water. Longer packages with food run from the Național at 1,300 MDL for three hours to a four-hour V.I.P. package at 3,100 MDL, and the page notes that these larger packages are for groups of four or more.

There is also a Matinal tour at 250 MDL, lasting 1 hour 10 minutes, available only Monday to Friday at 10:00. A souvenir option adds 250 MDL and includes a bottle of classic sparkling wine and a dry red wine. Two surcharges matter for planning. Starting from 4:00 PM and on weekends, 100 MDL is added to the standard package price per person, and on public holidays the Matinal tour is not available and a 100 lei surcharge applies to all other packages. Children aged 2 and up pay a special excursion price of 200 MDL.

The page also lists rules you should plan around. Tours are conducted in Romanian, Russian, English, French, Turkish and Italian, so ask for English when you book. Tours start at the time set during booking, and if you are late the reservation is canceled. Pets are not allowed on the tour. Cricova states that the underground temperature remains constant between +10 and +12 °C and that humidity is 97 to 98 percent throughout the year, so bring a warm layer and shoes you do not mind getting damp.

Cricova suits visitors who want a full, tasting-led visit, who like the idea of a long underground tour and who are comfortable making a phone booking. It suits groups of four or more who want one of the food-heavy packages. It is a weaker choice for anyone who wants a quick, spontaneous visit or who dislikes phone reservations.

Mileștii Mici is the other well-known option, in the village of Mileștii Mici in Ialoveni district, south of the capital. Its own website presents guided visits through underground galleries, the Golden Collection and a tasting complex, with booking offered on the site. It lists working hours as Monday to Thursday from 10:00 to 18:00 and Friday to Sunday from 10:00 to 19:00, a tourism phone number of +373 67 121 121 and the email address [email protected].

The format is built around fixed menus, each with a price marked "from". The shortest is the Winery Visit, which lasts 50 minutes, includes the underground galleries, the Golden Collection and the tasting complex, and comes with a gift bottle of "Moldova de Lux" sparkling wine, from 350 MDL. The "Hai, Noroc!" menu lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, adds three wines and a platter of cured meats, breadsticks, walnuts and prunes, and starts from 800 MDL. The "Univers" menu lasts two hours, pairs five wines with Caprese bruschetta, warm dishes and dessert, and starts from 1,200 MDL. Longer menus with more wines and a meal run higher, with the premium "Boieresc" menu listed from 2,200 MDL, so the right pick depends on how much of your afternoon you want to spend at a table.

Mileștii Mici suits visitors who want a defined, shorter visit, who like to book online and who want a cellar day that fits around other plans. It suits families and mixed groups where not everyone wants a long tasting. It is a weaker choice for visitors who want the widest choice of tour lengths or who want a long tasting-and-dinner format like Cricova's food-heavy packages.

Start with time. If you have a morning and want to be back in the city for lunch, the Mileștii Mici Winery Visit at 50 minutes or the Cricova Matinal or Underground City tour at 1 hour 10 minutes fit best. If you have a half day and want to taste, the Cricova Business and Expert tours or the Mileștii Mici "Hai, Noroc!" and "Univers" menus fit, at 1.5 to 2 hours each. If you want a meal inside the visit, look at the Cricova Național and Premium packages or the Mileștii Mici food menus, and plan the day around them.

Next, consider price. At the entry level the two are close: 350 MDL for the Mileștii Mici visit against 400 MDL for the Cricova Underground City tour, with a 250 MDL Cricova Matinal tour as the lowest listed price on a weekday morning. At the mid level, Cricova's Business tour at 700 MDL sits under the Mileștii Mici "Hai, Noroc!" from 800 MDL. Remember the Cricova surcharges for weekends and for starts after 4 PM, and the 250 MDL souvenir option, before you compare totals.

Then consider booking style. Cricova asks for a phone booking, so ask your hotel to call or have a local number ready. Mileștii Mici offers booking on its website, which is easier if you do not have a local phone plan. In both cases, a late arrival can cost you the slot, so give your driver the exact time. Finally, consider direction. Cricova lies north of the capital and Mileștii Mici lies south, so the better choice can follow your hotel. If you stay in a northern district, Cricova is an easier pickup, and if you stay in the south, Mileștii Mici is. Your base in Chișinău shapes this.

You do not have to choose only one. A visitor with three days can pair one cellar with Orheiul Vechi, and a wine enthusiast can visit both on separate half days. A single day with both cellars is possible but tiring and expensive, and the tastings add up, so do not stack them without a driver.

Both cellars are a short drive from the city center. A taxi booked through your hotel is the simplest option, and FCDO advises asking your hotel to order a taxi or give you the number of a reputable company, not sharing a cab with strangers and not flagging down unofficial ones. Agree the price and the waiting time before you set off if there is no meter. A tour with transfer removes the question, and the official site or reseller guide explains how to compare a cellar's own price with a reseller's.

Do not drive after tasting. FCDO calls drink-driving a serious offense in Moldova, and says driving standards are poor, roads are of variable quality and there are many traffic accidents, so it advises avoiding driving outside urban areas where possible, particularly at night. If you rent a car for a wider route, keep the cellar visit for a day when someone else drives. Keep your passport copy with you, because FCDO says police checks are frequent.

The first mistake is turning up without a booking. Cricova says booking is made in advance by phone, and a reservation is canceled when you arrive late. The second is expecting weekday prices on a weekend: Cricova adds 100 MDL per person from 4:00 PM and on weekends, and a different list of rules applies on public holidays. The third is underestimating the cold. The cellars stay near +10 to +12 °C in every season.

The fourth is assuming cards work everywhere. FCDO says paying by card is now generally widespread but not always possible, particularly outside the capital, and advises carrying some euros in clean notes. Ask how the cellar takes payment when you book, and keep Moldovan lei for small purchases. The last mistake is ignoring the paperwork: your passport, a return or onward ticket and your insurance should be sorted before you pay for non-refundable tours. The travel insurance guide explains what to check, and the Moldova guide covers entry rules and money. Set up your phone before you land with an eSIM for Moldova so that your driver, your hotel and the cellar can reach you.

Check the cellar's current page before you pay: Cricova tours and Mileștii Mici are the two sources used for every price here. If a page now shows a different number, trust the page.