Getting in

• Chișinău International Airport: Skip the airport-taxi scrum: trolleybus 30 stops outside arrivals and runs via Botanica, Ismail Street and central Ștefan cel Mare; allow about 40 minutes and roughly 6 lei (the published fare—check the current one onboard). If it is not running, cross to the road-side stop for bus 33, which goes toward the Central Railway Station/Ismail Street. A metered app taxi is sensible late at night, but agree on card/cash and meter use before getting in; airport taxis commonly try to add extras.
• Chișinău Central Railway Station (Gara Feroviară): It is south-east of the core, not a grand central-European station. Take bus 33 or trolleybus connections toward Ismail Street and Ștefan cel Mare; central hotels are typically 15–25 minutes away, traffic permitting, for the standard city fare (about 6 lei). A Yandex Go or Letz taxi is useful with luggage and should be a short, low-cost ride; do not negotiate with random drivers outside.
• Gara Centrală (Central Bus Station): This is the practical arrival point for many domestic, Romanian and Transnistria services, behind the Central Market. The centre is walkable in roughly 15–25 minutes, or use the trolleybus network along Ismail Street for the standard city fare. Buy international tickets inside the station, not from an ad-hoc driver.
• Gara de Nord / Gara de Sud bus stations: Gara de Nord handles northern-Moldova and many Ukraine services; use trolleybuses 9, 13 or 37 south along Ismail Street toward the centre. Gara de Sud is for southern Moldova and Iași/Romania; trolleybus 9 runs north on Ismail Street. Budget roughly 20–35 minutes to central Chișinău, longer in traffic; neither station warrants an expensive private transfer.