Jewish heritage

About Tour

The Jews of Ukraine and Moldova, along with others in the successor states of the old Russian Empire, have been at the center of some of the most dramatic events of modern history: the I and II World Wars, the Holocaust, revolutions, pogroms, political liberations, repressions, the breakup of the Soviet Union and the establishment of independent states. Jews in these countries have gone through dizzyingly rapid changes in economic and social mobility. There are many places you may visit - synagogues, memorials, schools, Jewish history museums, libraries and Jewish cemeteries. Today, Jewish communities of Moldova and Ukraine are witnessing great renaissance.

1 st Day

Arrival in Chisinau

Included highlights:

On arrival to Chisinau your acquaintance with the capital of Moldova starts. First, you check-in at the local hotel and meet local guide who will take you for 4 hours city tour including:

  • Holocaust Jewish Memorial,
  • Jewish Cemetery,
  • Chisinau Synagogue,
  • Chisinau Jewish Pogrom 1903-1905 Memorial,
  • I. Manger Jewish Library,
  • Jewish History Museum and Kishinev Jacobs Jewish Campus (KEDEM).

Optional highlights:

Lunch in the restaurant specialized in traditional Moldovan cuisine or on your preliminary request you you may have lunch with Kosher Food.

Included meals:
  • Lunch
2 nd Day

Between Jewish and Roma comunity

Included highlights:

  • Start our trip to Soroca town known for its sizable Roma minority.
  • On arrival to Soroca we visit the fortress which is the unique monument of defensive architecture of Europe.
  • Lunch in the local restaurant.
  • Drive to the Roma’ district of Soroca famous by its “Posh” palaces.
  • The highlights of the tour are local synagogue and cemetery.
  • Return to Chisinau.

Optional highlights:

On your preliminary request we can even arrange a meeting with the local Jewish community leader.

Included meals:
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
3 rd Day

Last Jewish experiences in Moldova and departer

Included highlights:

  • Transfer to the International airport in Chisinău.

Optional highlights:

Beltsy city is the biggest industrial and cultural center in the Northern part of Moldova. According to some sources, the first Jews appeared in this region of Moldova at the beginning of the 10th century. In 1580, the locality later named Beltsy was formed around a small Jewish tavern - korchma. During the second part of the 19th century, Jews made up more than 50% of the population in Beltsy and small surrounding settlements. Starting with 1989, the Beltsy Jewish community is the second biggest community after Kishinev as well as the regional center for 49 small towns and villages in the North of Moldova. Jewish population is 2,000 (plus about 600 from Beltsy periphery). Since 2000, the Beltsy community has a winning program with the Jewish Federation of Greensboro, NC that supports the main projects of the local Jewry.

  • Visit the synagogue and the Association of the Jewish Organizations of Beltsy, the "Hesed Yakov" Welfare Center, JCC, that serve the local community.
  • Visit the local synagogue, the cemetery and speak to the local Jewish community.

Included meals:
  • Breakfast

What People Say

More reviews ›

Dear Victoria,

I personally want to thank you for such a great trip through these beautiful places. I enjoyed seeing the changes and modernization of Romania but I found that Moldova has a special charm and I enjoyed the atmosphere and the people. I was very happy with the way you introduced the tour to us and everything was wonderful the food, wine, accommodation.

Thanks again for everything you did to make our trip so nice.

Victoria, Just a short note to say thank you very much for everything on Sunday. Despite the long and tiring journey caused by the road closure in Ukraine, we thoroughly enjoyed our day, and learned so much about Moldova, Transnistria and Ukraine. We particularly enjoyed discovering Tiraspol, as it's such an unusual place and gave us a glimpse of how life was under the former Soviet regime. Because British history is relatively simple, with few invasions and no changes of borders, we struggle to understand the complexities of European history. 

We were very impressed with your understanding - and with your excellent English language skills in explaining it all to us. It certainly brought to life our visit to your country. I hope your journey back home was a little easier than the one to Odessa. Please give our thanks to our driver on the day - I'm afraid we do not recall his name but we appreciated all he did to negotiate the way through the border crossings for us and to get us to Odessa as quickly as he did despite the obstacles. Good luck for future success in your career. If you are ever in England and are able to visit our area, do not hesitate to give us a call. We could show you the historic city of Winchester and the busy port and waterside areas of Portsmouth, which I'm sure you would find interesting. Thanks again for everything.

Hi, Natalia.

This weekend I made some order in my holyday pictures. There I found your card, and therefore I hereby sent you the best greetings from Greenland with my thanks for Your guidance during my stay in Moldova late September. It was a great experience for me to visit your country, of which I got a good impression even if I only had a few days there.