Transylvania and the Danube Delta

Start and end in Bucharest! With the Explorer tour Highlights of ROMANIA, you have a 10 days tour package taking you through Bucharest, Romania. Highlights of ROMANIA includes accommodation in a hotel as well as an expert guide, meals, transport and more.

• Day 1

  Bucharest – Sinaia – Bran - Brasov<br> In the morning, the guide will be waiting for you at the airport OTP Bucharest. After a short refreshment, we begin the trip to one of Romania`s Royale Family`s favorite cities: Sinaia. Named after St. Catherine Monastery on Mount Sinai, Sinaia became the unofficial capital of the Kingdom of Romania towards the end of the 19th century. We will enjoy a traditional lunch in the restaurant “Vanatorul”, directly in the garden of the Peles Castle. Then, we will have an orientation tour of the resort including a view of the famous Casino, inspired by the one in Monte Carlo. We will also visit the Gardens of the Peles Castle in Sinaia, the royal residence of King Charles I of Romania and known as one of the most beautiful summer royal residences in Europe. <br> <br> Afterwards we drive to Bran where we will discover the castle of Dracula and the truth behind the legend.<br> <br> The castle was built in 1377 to safeguard the trading route between Transylvania and Wallachia, enlarged and restored a few times to become a royal residence in the 1920s under Queen Marie of Romania. You can enjoy cheese tasting on the premises. Then we drive to Brasov where we will have a city tour. You get to see the main touristic features of this middle-aged city inside the Carpathian Arch: The Council Hall, the Black Church, Saint Nicholas Church, the Schei quarter, The Rope Street etc. Accommodation for one night in the city centre of Brasov. <br> <br>

  Included destinations:

  Bran • Brașov • Bucharest • Sinaia

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  Day 1

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• Day 2

  Brasov – Prejmer – Sighisoara – Biertan – Sibiu<br> In the morning, after the breakfast we head to Prejmer where we will visit the UNESCO Fortified Church, the most important and best preserved fortified church in Transylvania. After a short walk on the battlement parapet and after seeing the famous "Death Organ" we drive to Sighisoara to discover the secrets of the medieval UNESCO city. We will see cultural attractions like: the Venetian House, the Clock Tower, Dracula`s birth house, the House with the deer antler etc. We will climb up 175 stairs , passing through the Covered Staircase, until we reach the beautiful Church on the Hill. We will take the lunch at the famous Restaurant Dracula, the birth house of Dracula. After lunch, we will travel to Biertan where we will visit another UNESCO Fortified Church of great importance in Transylvania, which was the Bishop's residence for almost 300 years and we can have a nice view over the village. In the evening we will drive to Sibiu in order to discover the secrets of the magnificent city. We will visit the main cultural objectives like: The Evangelical Church, the Liar’s Bridge, The Council Tower, The Brukenthal Museum and The Small Square with “the eyes of the city”. Accommodation for two nights.

  Included destinations:

  Biertan • Brașov • Prejmer • Sibiu • Sighișoara

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  Day 2

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• Day 3

  Sibiu – Cisnadie - Cisnadioara – ASTRA - Rasinari - Sibiel – Sibiu<br> After breakfast, we invite you to explore the villages surrounding Sibiu, located at the bottom of the Cindrel Mountains. First, we will visit Cisnadie, where one of the most beautiful, fortified churches in Transylvania is. Next, we head towards Cisnadioara to visit the medieval fortress. On return to Sibiu, we will visit Astra Village Museum, where you can also enjoy a traditional lunch. Then we will drive over the Shepard villages Rasinari (where you can visit Emil Cioran Memorial House and the Orthodox Episcopal Church), Poplaca and Orlat to Sibiel to see the museum of icons painted on glass. After this we will be transferred back to Sibiu.

  Included destinations:

  Cisnădie • Cisnădioara • Rășinari • Sibiel • Sibiu

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  Day 3

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• Day 4

  Sibiu – Alba Iulia – Turda – Cluj Napoca<br> After breakfast, we go to one of the most important towns in Transylvania – Alba Iulia. This town was for a long-time capital of the region, also here in 1.12.1918 was signed a pact uniting Transylvania with the Kingdom of Romania. We will also visit old citadel with Orthodox and Roman-Catholic cathedrals, unification hall and many other monuments. Next, we will go to Turda and visit salt mine here, which since 1992 is access for public as a touristic attraction. Free time in the mine where we can use many features like swimming a boat over underground lake or the only in Europe underground Ferris wheel. In the afternoon, we will have a city-tour of Cluj-Napoca and we will discover the beauty of the capital of Transylvania. The first thing to see are the ruins of the old Roman camp. Next, we’ll discover the old Benedictine monastery, the square of the history museum and you will see the house of the famous Hungarian king, Matei Corvin. The Catholic Church “St. Michael”, a milestone in Cluj (the second largest Gothic church in Transylvania) is an absolute must on our program. Bannfy Palace, Continental Hotel, “old Town Hall” and the “mirror street” complete the city’s urban architecture. The headquarters of the « Babes Bolyai » University is proof of the city’s student tradition, Cluj being the host of more than one hundred thousand students every year. Our tour ends with the visit of the Orthodox Cathedral and of the National Theater, built in the former lumberjack market. Accommodation for 1 night in Cluj-Napoca in the city centre.

  Included destinations:

  Alba Iulia • Cluj-Napoca • Turda

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  Day 4

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• Day 5

  Cluj-Napoca – Baia Mare – Surdesti - Sighetu Marmatiei – Sapanta – Barsana – Rozavlea – Viseul de Sus<br> After breakfast, we will start our journey with a drive to Baia Mare. Then we will drive to Surdesti, to visit one of the typical for the region churches, made entirely out of wood. Afterwards, we will drive to Sighetu Marmatiei where we will have lunch and optional we can visit the museum of the communism, to see how this regime destroyed Romanian nation. In the afternoon, we will go to the city of Sapanta and visit the “merry cemetery”, where all the graves are very colorful and have a short rhyme about the live of the person on them. Another impressive live experience will be the wooden sculpture workshop at the house of the one who used to paint the famous crosses from the Sapanta cemetery. Then we continue our tour with the amazing wooden churches in Maramures, one of the best-preserved region in Romania. We will be also able to see the locals that are still wearing their traditional clothes and use the horse pulled wagons. We will visit the 16th-17th century UNESCO monasteries starting with the Monastery Barsana. Afterwards, we will visit the beautiful UNESCO wooden church Rozavlea. In the evening, we will arrive in Viseul de Sus.

  Included destinations:

  Baia Mare • Bârsana • Sighetu Marmației • Surdesti • Vișeu de Sus

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  Day 5

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• Day 6

  Viseul de Sus – Carlibaba – Vama – Moldovita – Gura Humorului<br> After breakfast, we will go to the Train Station to enjoy one of the most original experience of the trip. From here we will take a ride in a local sightseeing train, formerly used for transporting wood from the forest, during which we can admire beautiful landscape and natural beauty of north Romania. When the ride will be over we head towards Bucovina (hosting real monkish tresure listed in the UNESCO World Heritage), on the way passing Prislop Pass, one of the highest and most picturesque passes in the country. We will have the opportunity to admire traditional Romanian houses while visiting the most beautiful village in the country – Carlibaba. In Vama, at the Painted Eggs Museum, we will have the opportunity to assist at a workshop of painted eggs where we will admire the unique technique of painting the eggs and their special patterns and colours. In the afternoon, we will visit Moldovita Monastery, a place where the art of mural painting is alive since the XVI century. The nuns will explain us here about the everyday life of the monastery. In the evening, we will arrive in Gura Humorului.

  Included destinations:

  Gura Humorului • Moldovița

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  Day 6

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• Day 7

  Gura Humorului – Sucevita – Voronet – Suceava – Agapia – Iasi<br> After breakfast, we will drive to the nearby Sucevita Monastery, the so called "Pearl of the Moldavian Monasteries". We will stop in Marginea, where during a workshop we will be tought about another beautifull tradition of Bucovina: ceramics. Then we will drive to Voronet, where we will be visiting the Voronet Monastery, also known as the “Sistine Chapel of the East”. Here we will admire the beautiful frescoes of bright and intense colours, especially the famous “blue of Voronet”. We will have lunch in Gura Humorului and then we will get ready for the next two stops: Suceava and Agapia. Suceava used to be the capital of the Principality of Moldavia from 1388 to 1565. We will visit first the Seat Fortress, a medieval castle situated on the eastern edge of the contemporary city, built during the reign of Petru II of Moldavia and extended and strengthened during the reign of Stephan the Great. Also in Suceava you will learn during a workshop at „Ia Bucovina” why the Romanian Peasent Ladies are so beautifully dressed. The traditional female costume in Romania is called „ia”. The workshop will be lead by one of the Romanian women that carries on the tradition that inspired several famous international designers: the of sewing and the carefully handmade embroidery of the Romanian „ia”. Later, on the way to Iasi, we will visit Agapia, where we will admire the biggest Monastery in Romania (over 500 nuns), and also the church with a unique inside painting, made by the most famous Romanian painters (Nicolae Grigorescu). In the evening, we will arrive in Iasi, the city that used to be capital of Romania, during the World War. After visiting the center with its lovely buildings and monuments (the Church of the Three Hierarchs, the Palace of Culture, the Metropolitan Cathedral, etc.,).

  Included destinations:

  Agapia • Sucevița • Voroneț

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  Day 7

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• Day 8

  Iasi – Niculitel – Saon - Danube Delta<br> After an early breakfast, we begin the journey to the Danube Delta. The first stop will be Niculitel, the Paleo-Christian Basilic in the foothills of Red Rock. The crypt-martyrium of the Basilic Niculitel was built around 370 AD, during Emperor Valens, on the site of an ancient tomb. Next stop will be Saon Monastery, founded in 1846 under the Ottoman domination of the Dobrogea County by the departure of monks from the Celic-Dere Monastery. Those coming to Saon raised here adobe few cells and a chapel for the monastery Celic-Dere.<br> <br> In the afternoon, we will reach Tulcea, and we will begin to explore the beauty of the Danube Delta. Dinner and accommodation in Danube Delta.

  Included destinations:

  The Danube Delta
• Day 9

  The Danube Delta<br> After the breakfast, we will visit the biggest reed landscape in Europe, and we will get the chance to enjoy this UNESCO world natural heritage. Being the second largest river Delta in Europe, after Volga Delta, and the best preserved on the continent, the Danube Delta will give us unforgettable memories of the wild and unattached nature. We will walk along the Paradise, admiring 98% of the European aquatic fauna and the 327-bird’s species that give together the eminence of the place. We will travel mostly on the water, through the channels that always amaze the tourists who come back to the Danube Delta each year or those who visit it for the first time, to see where large predatory fish live, or the most beautiful scenery this reservation has to offer.
• Day 10

  Tulcea – Bucharest<br> After an early breakfast, we will depart to Bucharest. We will have lunch at a famous traditional restaurant in the old part of the Capital`s center. Before the transfer to the airport, we will have city tour Bucharest and we will visit the Press House, the Kisselef Boulevard, The Arch of Triumph, the Victoriei Square, the Victoriei Street, the Revolution Square, the Cotroceni Palace the Stavropoulos Church, Herastrau Park, Selarilor Street, Hanul lui Manuc, Lipscani Street. In the afternoon, you will say goodbye to the guide at the airport Otopeni.

  Included destinations:

  Bucharest