Hidden Beauties of Romania

9 days / 8 nights

Off the beaten tracks - this is the best description of this new proposal. By taking this tour, you will get to see magnificent sights that regular tours don’t reach: Saxon fortified churches of Transylvania, Lake Saint Anne, Lacu Rosu Area (Red Lake) and the Bicaz Gorges (the most beautiful in Romania), Maramures wooden civilization (unique in Europe) and medieval salt mines. And if you go all the way to Timisoara (city in the west part of the country), you will see 2000 years old Roman baths, Hunedoara Castle and a splendid city – Timisoara.

You won’t miss the best known attractions either: Peles Castle - the summer residence of the royal family, Bran Castle – also known as Dracula’s Castle, Brasov – the crown city of Transylvania, the painted monasteries of Bucovina – UNESCO World Heritage, Sighisoara or Sibiu medieval towns.

At the end of this tour you can take the train from Timisoara to Budapest or Wien, or you can fly to one of the numerous cities that have direct flights with Timisoara (Option 1), or you can go back to Bucharest (Option 2).

Day 1

Bucharest – Sinaia – Bran – Brasov – Poiana Brasov (190 km)

Breakfast. Meeting the Romanian guide at 9.00 am at your hotel. Panoramic sightseeing tour of the city, including: the Palace of Parliament (also called The People’s House; 1984-1989) is the most imposing administrative building in Europe (265.000 sq. meters), second largest building in the world, after the Pentagon in Washington, Calea Victoriei with its landmarks (the CEC building, the Postal Palace, Royal Palace – now hosting the National Art Museum of Romania, The Romanian Athenaeum), the Arch of Triumf, Kisseleff Boulevard.

Drive to Sinaia and visit to the Peles Castle, the former summer residence of the royal family of Romania, a fine example of German Renaissance style of architecture, with elaborately-decorated rooms. Sinaia Monastery (built in 1695) is our last stop on our way to Bucharest. It houses a rich and valuable collection of religious objects: icons, old precious books and ceramics from the 16th centuries.

Then we continue with Bran Castle built in the 13th century as a fortress between Transylvania and Wallachia, it is a reference point due to its beauty, as well as to Count Dracula's legend, whose ghost still haunts these old places.

We end the day with a panoramic walking tour of Brasov, the crown city of Transylvania, including the Black Church, the Council Square, the Old Town Hall and the statue of Johannes Honterus, „the apostle of Transylvania”.

Dinner and accommodation in Poiana Brasov.

Day 2

Poiana Brasov – Prejmer – Baile Turnad (Saint Ana Lake) – Miercurea Ciuc – Lacu Rosu (210 km)

Breakfast. In the morning visit to the Prejmer Fortress (15th century), the best-preserved peasant fortress of Transylvania, included in the UNESCO patrimony. Continue with the visit of Sumuleu-Ciuc Monastery where the largest catholic pilgrimage in Central Europe takes place. Each year, on Whit Sunday, thousands of people gather to celebrate their victory against King John Sigismund who tried to convert them to Unitarism.

In the afternoon, drive to Lacu Rosu mountain resort, a place famous for its beauty and for the legend around it (the legend of the Red Lake). Dinner and accommodation in Lacul Rosu.

Day 3

Lacu Rosu – Piatra Neamt – Agapia – Neamt Monastery – Voronet – Gura Humorului (175 km)

Breakfast. Drive through one of the most spectacular areas in Romania, the Bicaz Gorges. The rest of the day is dedicated to the medieval monasteries Agapia, Neamt and Voronet, the last one was surnamed the Sistine Chapel of the East due to its western wall paintings called “the last judgment”.

Dinner and accommodation in Gura Humorului.

Day 4

Gura Humorului – Campulung Moldovenesc – Ieud – Barsana – Sighetu Marmatiei (200 km)

Breakfast. Drive to Campulung Moldovenesc and visit the Woodcraft Museum. In the afternoon we will discover the Historical Maramures, one of the oldest European civilizations, with a lot of Dacian and pre-Christian symbols; the area is famous for woodencarved gates, handicrafts and wood-crafts. Visit the Church from the Hill from Ieud, a wooden church dating back from the 14th century and the Nunery of Barsana, one of the most beautiful wooden assembly in the area. Dinner and accommodation in Sighetu Marmatiei.

Day 5

Sighetu Marmatiei – Sapanta – Surdesti – Rohia – Cluj Napoca (230 km)

Breakfast. Start the day with a visit to the Merry Cemetery, unique in the world for its happy epitaphs carved on the funerary monuments by the local craftsman Stan Patras and the open-air handicrafts exhibition.

Continue the day with a visit to the Surdesti Church built in 1766 and 56 meeters in height, it used to be until just a few years ago the tallest wooden structure in Europe and Rohia Monastery - founded in 1926 by Nicolae Gherman  in remembrance of his daughter Anna who died suddenly in 1922. In his dreams, Anna directed her father to build a monastery in a mountainous area outside of Rohia. A complex of buildings  dedicated to quiet prayer and spiritual uplifting.

Dinner and accommodation in Cluj Napoca.

Option 1

Day 6.1

Cluj Napoca – Turda – Alba Iulia – Geoagiu Bai (140 km)

Breakfast. Visit to the Bothanical Garden, the most beautiful from Romania. Drive to Turda where you visit the medieval salt mine with bells shaped like domes.

In the afternoon walking tour of the Unification City of Romania – Alba Iulia. You can admire the Orthodox Cathedral and the Union Hall, the medieval citadel with the original gates and walls in a stellar shape, was constructed between 1716 – 1735 by Giovanni Morando Visconti, using the Vauban system — the largest of this kind in South-Eastern Europe.

Dinner and accommodation in Geoagiu Bai, a 2000 years old resort.

Day 7.1

Geoagiu Bai – Hunedoara – Timisoara (220 km)

Breakfast. Visit to the Hunedoara Castle; the impressive size and architectural beauty sets it among the most precious monuments of medieval art, subsequent developments mixing Gothic style with Renaissance and Baroque. The building lies on a rock around which flows the river Zlasti. It has an impressive draw bridge, countless towers, a number of interior courts, and two large halls, "Knight Hall" and "Diet Hall", as it housed the diet of Transylvania for a very short period.

Dinner and accommodation in Timisoara.

From Traian Vuia International Airport there are direct flights to: Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munchen, Milan, Torino, Verona, Venice, Bologna, Ancona, Florence, Rome, Bari, Athens, Salonic, Budapest, Lviv, Kiev, Chisinau, Odessa and Viena.                               

Option 2

Day 6.2

Cluj Napoca – Turda – Tragu Mures – Sighisoara (167 km)

Breakfast. Drive to Turda where you visit the medieval salt mine with bells shaped like domes. Visit the Palace of Culture in Targu Mures city, well known due to the impressive collection of mirrors and glass-painted icons. Departure to Sighisoara, the only medieval citadel in Europe that is fully inhabited, first mentioned in 1280 under the name of “Castrum Sex”; sightseeing tour of the city, including the Clock Tower Museum, the Covered Stairs and the Church on the Hill. A visit in the house where Vlad “Dracula” was born, today a cozy restaurant, and two mediaeval attractions are also included: the Torture room and the Mediaeval Weapons Collection.

Dinner and accommodation in Sighisoara.

Day 7.2

Sighisoara – Biertan – Sibiu (100 km)

Breakfast. On the way to Sibiu, visit the three-rounded walls church of Biertan, included on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage. Continue to Sibiu. Hermanstadt, the German name of Sibiu, was the European Cultural Capital for 2007. Discover this beautiful medieval town step by step:  The Evangelical Cathedral, The Large Square, The Small Square, The Liars Bridge and The Stairs Passage and the Brukenthal Art Museum, one of the first of its kind in Europe. In the evening, if you’re not still strolling on the narrow streets of Sibiu, you can visit ASTRA Village Museum, an open air exhibition with households and amenities from all over Romania, an opportunity to see and experience how the life used to be in rural Romania.

Day 8.2

Sibiu – Ramnicu Valcea – Curtea de Arges – Bucharest (282 km)

Breakfast. Drive along the pitoresque Olt River Valley. Continue with Cozia Monastery erected in the 13th century by Old Mircea, ruler prince of Wallachia and Curtea de Arges Monastery, an architectural jewel, emphasized by the ethernal legend of the sacrifice for creation knwon here as the legend of Master Manole.

Dinner and accommodation in Bucharest

Day 9.2

Bucharest - Otopeni Airport (30 km)

Breakfast, time at leisure and transfer to the airport.

The rate includes:

Ø        transport by car / minibus with air conditioned for the entire itinerary.

Ø        Accommodation as indicated or at similar hotels

Ø        Half board

Ø        English/French/Spanish/Italian speaking guide

Ø        Entrance fees as per program

Ø        Festive farewell dinner in the last day.

Not to be included:

Ø        Plain tickets

Ø        porterage at the airport

Ø        transfers from and to the airport

Ø        medical insurance

Ø        drinks

Ø        porterage in the hotels

Ø        personal expenses

Suggested hotels*:

·          Poiana Brasov – Hotel Bradu 3*, Sport 3*

·          Lacu Rosu – Hotel Lacu Rosu 3*

·          Gura Humorului – Hotel Best Western Bucovina 4*

·          Sighetu Marmatiei – Hotel Marmatia 3*

·          Cluj Napoca – Hotel Victoria 3*

·          Geoagiu Bai – Germisara Hotel & SPA 4*

·          Timisoara – Hotel Timisoara 4*

*If the suggested hotels are not available for the requested period, the accommodation will take place in a similar hotel.