Route Highlights

The tour starts by picking up the participants in Chisinau, wherefrom participants are transported up the river to Sanatauca or Japca monastery. We will stay overnight in a unique place of Moldova, where the Silk Road was going north and east. Vadul Rascov for centuries was the border village, where trading between larger regions was made. This is one of the reasons why a few hundred years ago about 90% of the population of Vadul Rascov were Jewish people. Before the electric dump in Dubasari was built in 1955, here was a unique place where you could do fording over the river without to go down on the horse.

Just across the river, there is established the Rascov village (it is in Transnistria, we do not go there) with less than 2.000 inhabitants and churches with 3 different religions: Synagogue, Orthodox & Catholic churches. From the Dacian language, Rascov means a pocket of money, which would mean you have to leave some money here.
Some streets in the center of the village are still stone-made for hundreds of years ago. Just to compare, in Moldova’s capital Chisinau at that time, there were no stone-made streets.

Vadul-Rascov village is located about 160 km from Chisinau, and the last 50 km of the road is challenging.  Depending on the group decision route could be shortened by starting in Japca Monastery or starting in Sanatauca + 7 km.  The route goes all the way down the river to the Soldanesti district, and the team will stay overnight in authentic rural houses in the same garden with locals.

Kayaking distance: 37 km
Difficulty level: medium
Note: in the case of south wind this route becomes challenging and difficulty increases to high.
Duration: 2 days
Accommodation: Rural Houses or Camping
The starting point will be decided depending on the group’s expectations about difficulty, and the overall group fitness level and chosen by group accommodation.

Itinerary

Day 1.

• 07:30 Departure from Chisinau
• 11:00 Arriving at the starting point
• 11:10 Quick second breakfast
• 11:30  Kayaking Sanatauca (Japca) – Vadul Rascov 18 km (from Japca 14 km)
• 15:00 Lunch in Vadul Rascov
• 15:30 Excursion in the village
• With accommodation – tents:
  • 18:30 Kayaking to Monastery  +4 km;
  • 19:30 Kayaking to campsite  +1km
  • Tents arrangement, collecting wood for the night fire;

• With accommodation in houses
  • Check-in to stay overnight houses;
  • Excursion around houses, leaving the luggage
  • Excursion to the local museum in the village
  • Jewish heritage tour including medieval cemetery visit.
• 20:00 Dinner & homemade wine tasting
• free time

Day2:

• 08:00 Breakfast
• 09:00 Hiking tour to Natural reservation;
  • Unique in Moldova open mineral water spring;
  • 300 years old caves in the reservation;
• 11:00 Kayaking to Tarasova/Solonceni (16 km);
• 14:30 Departure from Tarasova, Rezina District
• 15:40 Late lunch in Tipova
• 16:30 Excursion in Tipova Monastery
• 18:00 Departure to Chisinau
• 20:30 Arriving in Chisinau.

Each participant carries their kayak from the trailer to the river (20 meters).

After training is done, each participant signs an agreement for being responsible for himself and the other participants in his(her) boat.

There is absolutely no risk for people who can’t swim. the kayaks we use, are very stable, and for 5 years we have never had a case when the kayaks would overturn. The professional life vests are keeping the participants absolutely safe.

The average speed on the water is about 2 to 2.5 km/hour.

When route finishes, each participant gives back the kayak in a clean form and helps to carry it to the trailer.

What is included:

• Medical insurance
• Kayaks
• Instructor & Guide
• Life-vests
• Food & water along the way
• Instructions for kayaking
• Transportation with kayaks back to Sanatauca, Tipova and back to Chisinau
• Entrance ticket & Professional Guide in Tipova Monastery
• Tents, sleeping bags, and everything you need for camping
• Dry bags transportation in the car while the group is on the water.

What to take with you

Kayaking means exposure to the sun almost the whole day. We recommend that you make sure you have the following things with you:

• swimsuit and sun protecting cream – if you want to catch a beautiful tan! or long-sleeved shirt and long pants if you want to protect yourself from the sun ( recommended);
• hat, sun protection cap (hat is preferred, to cover neck and ears), a bandana to cover neck;
• sunglasses;
• warm clothes for the evening;
• comfortable shoes to get into the water;
• anti-mosquito cream/spray (only if you plan to stay overnight somewhere);
• bottle of water;
• gloves (as desired);
• zip-lock package, or a hermetic closing case – something for protecting your cell phone/camera from getting wet.
• some specific medicine (if necessary).

Food & drinking water

We take responsibility to arrange the drinking water and food along all the way. Please indicate your food preferences if any in advance, when registering.

Group size

Standard groups are up to 17-20 people. In the case of 40+ people, the estimation might change.

The maximum number of attendees we can process: 120+ persons on kayaks & 50+ bicycles (see cycling tours).

See more:

Instructions on water safety and rules for kayak usage

Our Kayaks

Environmental & Social Responsibility