Chisinau eSIM
In Chisinau you connect to Orange or Moldcell, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The median across the country is 41 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Orange and Moldcell
- Real speed in Moldova
- 41 Mbps median, 10 Mbps for the slowest tenth118 travellers across Moldova, rolling 90 days
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Chisinau
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $2.63 | $7.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $1.98 | $9.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.49 | $14.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.29 | $25.89 |
How Moldova compares across Europe
- Speed rank
- 44 of 46 destinations we sell in Europe
- Regional median
- 71 Mbps
- Consistency
- The slowest tenth still reaches 24 percent of the median
- Upstream networks
- 2, Orange, Moldcell
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Armenia, 43 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Azerbaijan, 39 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 1: Chisinau
- tenth percentile
- 10 Mbps
- Behind these figures
- 118 travellers, rolling 90 days
Landing at Chisinau International Airport (RMO)
- Airport
- RMO / LUKK
- Distance
- 13 km from the centre of Chisinau
Getting into Chisinau
- Trolleybus route 30 and city buses from the airport into Chisinau (RMO)
- RTEC trolleybus route 30, Aeroport to Piata Marii Adunari Nationale (RMO)
Worth knowing about Chisinau
- Chisinau airport changed its IATA code from KIV to RMO on 18 January 2024, so older bookings and apps may still show the former code.
- It is the only airport in Moldova with regular passenger flights, so there is no alternative arrival airfield in the country.
- The airport is linked to the city by trolleybus, an electric overhead-wire service, rather than by any rail or metro.
- The airport trolleybus is route 30, which the operator RTEC titles Aeroportul to Piata Marii Adunari Nationale, ending at the main square in the centre of Chisinau.
- Contactless validators are fitted to trolleybuses 3, 22, 23, 24 and 30 and to buses 2 and 5, so the airport trolleybus is one of the routes that takes cards.
- Any Visa or Mastercard card, or a phone or watch, can be tapped on a Chisinau validator. The fare is 6 MDL and no local account or app is needed.
- The validator prints no ticket. When the conductor comes round you present the same card or device at their POS terminal, which reads back the payment.
- Chisinau city hall began cashless fares in March 2021 with Mastercard and Moldova Agroindbank. Conductors carry terminals that accept contactless cards from any bank in the world.
- On 17 June 2026 the Moldovan government approved a rule requiring prepaid SIM and eSIM cards to be activated only against an identity document, with a twelve month period for operators to adapt.
- The Moldovan government stated that at the time of that decision prepaid cards could still be activated without identifying the user, and that existing prepaid cards will not have to be re-registered.
- Orange Moldova says its 5G network reaches Chisinau plus Balti, Ungheni, Cahul, Soroca and Orhei, and quotes speeds of up to 2.1 Gbps in Chisinau.
- Moldcell says its 5G covers a growing part of Chisinau, and beyond the capital only Cahul, Ungheni, Causeni and Balti.
- Chisinau city hall put free wifi into new trolleybuses from 1 February 2016. Fitted vehicles carry the words Internet Wi-Fi gratuit under the windscreen and by the middle door.
- RTEC directs passengers to its official Telegram channel for route changes, timetables and service announcements rather than to a ticketing app.