- Duration: 10 Days
- Location: Departure from Bucharest
- Available Seat: Please contact us!
- Price: 846 €/person
The tourists who are coming to Romania find themselves placed in the rather difficult situation of having to choose between just some of the countless and wonderful sightseeing itineraries on offer. For, although it has a surface area of just under 240 000 square kilometers, Romania can boast almost all geographical landforms: mountains, sea, delta, lakes, hills, winding valleys, caves, gorges, waterfalls etc.
Day 1
Bucharest
Arrival at the international airport of Bucharest. Meet and greet with the guide. Depending on the arrival time, free time for city tour in order to admire the architecture of the surnamed “Little Paris” of the 30’s. Visit the major tourist spots: University Square, Stavropoleos Church, the Palace of Parliament, Cismigiu Garden, Lipscani Street (the former merchants’ street), Herastrau Park.
Welcome dinner in a traditional restaurant. Overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 2
Bucharest – Tulcea – Crisan
Breakfast. Departure to the Delta Danube. In Tulcea visit the Danube Delta Museum, with a great collection of plants, fossils, fauna and living fish. Lunch in a restaurant.
Take the boat to Crisan, following Sulina channel. On the way you’ll see the human life and activities, especially fishing. The traditional fishing villages of the Danube Delta seem relics of an ancestral world. The people of these waterways are fishermen, and make their living entirely from what they catch.
Dinner and overnight in a pension in Crisan.
Day 3
Letea Forest
Breakfast. Departure on boat to Letea sand bank, the largest (170 km²) and the highest (12 m) river-maritime sand bank in the delta. The relief is predominant with dunes of 3-10 m, with several depressions with abundant vegetation, especially trees. The most representative is the Letea Forest (known as well as Hasmacu Mare Forest) of almost 3000 ha, with a surface of 500 ha that has been transformed since 1938 in national reservation.
Another highlight in the area is the great among of wild horses (over 2000). Initially the natives’ animals, the horses were then released in the nature for self-sustenance and then they became wilds and they couldn’t be catch anymore. The horses are now a threat for some species of plants in the reservation and the officials are searching for a solution to protect both, the flora and the horses. Package lunch.
As well, explore the secrets of the delta, well surnamed the paradise of birds. Depending on the season you’ll see Pelicans, Cormorants, Swans, Ducks, Herons, Eagles, Egrets, Ibis, etc. The very discreet intervention of human civilization allows to the flora to survive and propagate in the best conditions. There are over 1000 species of plants, like water lilies, lianas (the only place in Europe where the lianas are growing), gray oak trees, ash tree, linden tree, trembling poplar, etc.
Dinner and overnight in the same pension in the middle of the delta.
Day 4
Crisan – Tulcea – Berca – Brasov
Breakfast. Departure to Brasov region. In Berca visit the Muddy Volcanoes, a geological and botanical reservation of 35, 7 ha, with volcanoes, with craters of 3-4 m high and 6-9 m diameter. The mud, consisting of melted rocks under gas pressure, is pushed out from 3000 m. The landscape looks like an astron lunar surface, with craters, cracks, gullies and no vegetation closed to the cones.
Lunch in a restaurant. Continue to Brasov. Visit the historical centre: The Black Church (dating from 1477, acquires the name after being blackened by smoke from the 1689 great fire), The Council Square, The Rope Street, Catherine’s Gate. Evening walk to the Tampa Mountain, in order to have a great view over the city and its surroundings.
Dinner in a restaurant and overnight in 3* hotel.
Day 5
Brasov – St. Ana Lake – Lacu Rosu – Bicaz Gorges – Bicaz Lake
Breakfast. Departure to Neamt region. Near Tusnad, take a walk round about the Lake Saint Ana, the only crater lake in Romania, which water purity approaches of that of distilled water. Close the lake, there is the Tinovu Mohos Reservation, known as the Moss Swamp, cause to the moss which covers the ground all around the lakes. The green sponge aspect is quite unusual, the plants species are very diverse and adapted to the swamp morphology and the landscape is pure and wild. The entrance in the reservation is permitted just with the guide. Lunch in a restaurant.
Continue to Lacu Rosu (Red Lake), formed in 1837 after a landslide which blocked the Bicaz river. Its color is caused to the reddish alluvia deposited in the lake. The road passes through Bicaz Gorges along the 8 km of ravines, often in serpentines between the narrow walls, is one of the most spectacular drives in the country.
Continue along the border of the Lake Izvoru Muntelui, the largest artificial lake on the interior waters of Romania.
Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel near the lake border.
Day 6
Bicaz Lake – Vatra Dornei – Ciocanesti – Ieud
Breakfast. Departure to Maramures, one of the regions of Romania with the best preserved traditions and culture. The road passes through the Zugreni Gorges, at the foot of the Rarau Mountain. If the time allows, take a trip from Chiril to the top of the mountain (1650 m altitude) and admire Pietrele Doamnei (tall limestone rocks with corals and fossils). Lunch in a restaurant in Vatra Dornei.
In Ciocanesti village admire the outside wall of the houses, painted with traditional models and colors, the same models that appear on the traditional costumes.
Continue to Maramures passing over Prislop Pass and following the gorgeous valley of the Bistrita River.
Arrival in Ieud. Dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse.
Day 7
Ieud – Viseu de Sus – The Vaser Valley – Barsana – Baia Sprie
Early breakfast. Departure toward Viseu de Sus in order to take the Mocanita train, a steam-power locomotive using a narrow gauge railway, which will offer an unforgettable experience for ¾ hours. The line is 43 km long following the Vaser Valley and the motion speed is 10km/h. Package lunch.
Visit the wooden complex of the Barsana Monastery, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Arrival in Baia Sprie. Short hike to the Blue Lake, an elliptical water surface of 4 m depth formed through accumulation of the rainfalls in an abandoned mine of iron sulfate and melanterite. This composition gives to the water the green – blue color. When there are people in the water, the color is changing, having differing shades and inflexions.
Dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse in Baia Sprie. The owner is as well potter and will make you pottery demonstrations and even teach you the art of clay.
Day 8
Baia Sprie – Cluj-Napoca – Turda – Sibiu
Breakfast. Departure to Cluj-Napoca city. Visit The Botanical Garden (with over 10 000 species of plants throughout the world), the biggest in Romania. Visit the historical center: Saint Michael’s Church (built in the 14th century in a Gothic style), The Orthodox Cathedral, The National Theatre, Palace of Justice, Iuliu Maniu Street (also known as The Street in the Mirror). Lunch in a restaurant.
Continue to Turda, in order to visit the Salt Mine, where the salt extractions were made even from antiquity. Since 2008, when it entered in a modernization and improvement process, the salt mine is a great touristic attraction through the galleries, big rooms (each one with its specific) and especially through the salt lake on the bottom.
Arrival in Sibiu. Visit the medieval city founded in 1191 by the Saxons: Grand Square, Brukenthal Palace (an important Baroque building which houses the main part of the National Brukenthal Museum since 1817, one of the oldest museums in the world), the Jesuit Church, the Council Tower, Huet Square, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Lesser Square and Liar’s Bridge. Sibiu was the European Capital of Culture in 2007 and in every week-end there are festivals, fairs or cultural events.
Dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel in centre city.
Day 9
Sibiu – Transfagarasan / Cozia – Curtea de Arges – Bucharest
Breakfast. Departure to Bucharest following the Transfagarasan Road (if the period allows), the second-highest road in Romania, which passes between the highest peaks in the country, Moldoveanu and Negoiu. Stop at Balea Lake in order to admire the surroundings and eventually climb on the ridge for a better view.
The road continues near the Vidraru Lake border, one of the biggest accumulation lakes in Romania. Stop on the dam and admire the view. The statue of Prometheus is impressive.
If the Transfagarasan is closed (from November to June) detour to Ramnicu Valcea and then to Curtea de Arges. Stop at Cozia and visit the monastery founded in 1388, being the only edifice in Byzantine style preserved in Romania.
In Curtea de Arges visit the Cathedral of Curtea de Arges. Built in the early 16th century with pale grey limestone and decorated inside with frescoes, the monastery is a masterpiece of the Byzantine style, with Moorish arabesques.
Arrival in Bucharest. Free time for shopping and visits. Farewell dinner and overnight in a 3* hotel.
Day 10
Bucharest
Breakfast. Last visits and shopping. Departure.
HIGHLIGHTS
*Bucharest city
* Museum of the Delta in Tulcea
* Letea Reserve
* Danube Delta Reserve
* Muddy Volcanoes in Berca
* Brasov city
* St. Ana volcanic lake
* Moss Swamp
* Red Lake
* Bicaz Gorges
* Izvoru Muntelui Lake
* Zugreni Gorges
* Ciocanesti Village
* Mocanita steam-power strain
* Barsana wooden complex
* Blue Lake and Pottery session in Baia Sprie
* Cluj-Napoca city
* Turda Salt Mine
* Sibiu medieval city
* Transfagarasan Road and Balea glacial lake
* Curtea de Arges monastery
PRICE:
Organized groups: 846 €/person
Special! Private tour: 1 453 €/person
*202 €/person SGL Supplement
Included:
- Accommodation: 2 nights in 3* pension and 7 nights in 3* hotels
- Full board (check-in with dinner and check-out with breakfast)
- All transport and round transfers
- Fuel, road and parking taxes
- Entry tickets for the visits in the program
- English speaking attested guide
- Boat and ship cruise in Danube Delta
- Specialized local guide for the boat cruise in the delta
Not included:
- Air tickets
- Taxes for cameras and filming
- Drinks off the boarding
- Driver for the private tour
- Tips
NOTE:
- The program in the present form is available if Day 1 is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday, according to the opening hours of some visits or activities in the tour. If Day 1 differs, they will be replaced or cancel.
- Rates do not apply during the main holidays (Easter, Christmas and New Year) and during great events (festivals, concerts, fairs).
