Old Orhei & Cricova Winery Tour: Underground Cellars

Two underground worlds in a single afternoon

This full-day tour from Chisinau combines Old Orhei's open-air archaeological complex with Cricova's vast wine cellars, a working underground city carved from limestone. Hotel pickup and drop-off, a professional guide, wine tasting and snacks are included. The pace alternates between exploration and rest: an hour at the ruins, a leisurely lunch break, then 2.5 hours walking the cellar tunnels before the drive back to your hotel.

Step-by-step itinerary

Visit Old Orhei and Cricova Winery

• Pick up at hotel/apartment
• Drive 1 hour to Old Orhei
• Explore Old Orhei site for 1 hour
• Enjoy 2 hour relaxing lunch/dinner
• Drive 45 minutes to Cricova
• Take 2.5 hour wine cellar excursion
• Wine tasting at Cricova
• Drive 1 hour back to Chisinau/hotel

The experience

Old Orhei sits on a hillside overlooking the Orhei Veche valley, an open-air museum where you walk among the remains of a medieval fortress, churches carved into the rock and the foundations of dwellings that span centuries. The guide leads you through the site for an hour, then you settle into a two-hour lunch or dinner break: time to rest and absorb what you've seen rather than rush through another stop.

Cricova is something else entirely: an underground city of limestone tunnels stretching for miles beneath the surface, built originally as a stone quarry and later converted into wine cellars. The 2.5-hour excursion takes you through the passages where the National Oenotec collection is stored: thousands of bottles aging in the cool, stable darkness. You taste wines during the tour and walk past the vast racks where Moldovan vintages sit waiting. The scale of it is the thing: the tunnels go on, and the cellar system is still in use, still producing.

The full itinerary runs about six hours from hotel to hotel, with a one-hour drive each way. A professional guide speaks English or Russian throughout, and hotel pickup is included in the booking. Moderate fitness is needed for walking the uneven ground at Old Orhei and the cellar passages, though the pace is steady rather than strenuous.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and drop-off in Chisinau.
• professional guide in English or Russian.
• wine tasting at Cricova.
• snacks during the tour.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day

AgesAdult (18 to 56 years) · Under 18: can't be booked

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish and Russian

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Moderate physical effortNot recommended with back problems

Operated by Hi Moldova DMC

Is this one for you?The guide speaks English or Russian, so you'll follow the commentary comfortably in whichever language suits you. This tour works well if you want to see both the medieval ruins and the working wine operation without splitting the day into separate bookings.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Russian.

What exactly is Old Orhei and what will I see there?

Old Orhei is an open-air archaeological complex and museum on a hillside in central Moldova, featuring the ruins of a medieval fortress, churches carved directly into the rock face, and the remains of settlements from different historical periods. You'll walk among these structures for about an hour with your guide, who explains the history and significance of each site.

How deep do the Cricova wine cellars go, and what happens during the cellar tour?

Cricova's cellars extend for miles underground through limestone passages originally quarried for stone. During the 2.5-hour tour, you walk through the tunnels where thousands of bottles from the National Oenotec collection are stored, see the working cellar operations, and taste wines as part of the experience.

Is lunch included in this tour, and what should I expect?

A two-hour break for lunch or dinner is built into the itinerary at a local restaurant, giving you time to eat and rest between Old Orhei and Cricova. You choose what to order from the menu. The meal itself is not included in the tour price.

What's the minimum age to join this tour?

Participants must be at least 18 years old due to the wine tasting component. If you have specific dietary requirements, let the operator know at the time of booking.

Will I need to be in good physical shape for this tour?

Moderate fitness is recommended. At Old Orhei, the ground is uneven and you'll be walking uphill and downhill. The Cricova cellars involve walking through underground passages on level ground, but the tunnels are extensive and the tour lasts 2.5 hours. The tour is not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries.