Tour Private 11-Day Transylvania, Apuseni, Maramures And Bucovina

Guide

English Speaking Guide

Accommodation

10 nights accommodation

Transport

Air-conditioned private standard vehicle or van

Meals

All breakfasts 8 nights dinner ( 3 courses, tea, coffee, water, wine and plum brandy )

Not included:

Others

Admission fees, other meals

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Day 1 Day 1: Bucharest - Curtea De Arges Monastery - Poienari Castle - Vidraru Dam - Sibiu - Sibiel
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Bucharest - Curtea De Arges Monastery - Poienari Castle - Vidraru Dam - Sibiu - Sibiel

Pick you up at 9 am from your hotel in Bucharest. Visit Curtea de Arges Monastery. This cathedral and monastery complex is considered one of the country’s most important ecclesiastical sights. The church was originally built by Wallachian ruler Neagoe Basarab (r 1512–21), with marble and tiles brought in from Constantinople. The current edifice dates from 1875 when French architect André Lecomte du Nouy was retained to save the complex, which was in near ruins. Visit Poienari Castle, The Eagles’ Nest of Vlad the Impaler, which was once a powerful fortress guarding the entry to a strategic pass linking Wallachia with Transylvania. The castle’s vantage point was recognised as early as the 13th century, when Wallachian leaders first built a tower to guard the pass. Two centuries later Vlad Ţepeş enlarged the castle, using it as both a fortress and a prison. Legend has it most of the work was carried out by captured Turks. Stop at Vidraru Dam. Take a ride on Transfagarasan road ( Top Gear Road ). Stop at Balea waterfall and Balea glacial lake. Lunch at Balea Chalet, near the lake. Transfer to Sibiel village, overnight in Sibiel village at Ramona guest house, en suite single room, 3 courses dinner, wine and Romanian plums brandy, breakfast included.
Day 2 Day 2: Sibiel - Sibiu - Astra Ethnographic Museum - Sibiel
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Sibiel - Sibiu - Astra Ethnographic Museum - Sibiel

Visit Sibiu medieval town. The walking tour of Sibiu is dedicated to the tourists who want that their passage through Sibiu will be a memorable experience. During the guided tour, I’ll lead your steps through the cobbled streets, from the imposing medieval walls to the romantic squares surrounded by historical buildings; from the colourful Orthodox Cathedral to the majestic Lutheran Church, from the legends of the Bridge of Lies to the amazing stories of the medieval guilds. Sibiu is awash in aristocratic elegance. Noble Saxon history emanates from every art-nouveau facade and gold-embossed church. Renowned composers Strauss, Brahms and Liszt all played here during the 19th century, and Sibiu has stayed at the forefront of Romania’s cultural scene through its festivals of opera, theatre and film, as well as rock, jazz and more. Beyond its grand architecture, Sibiu has a good dose of bohemian flair.

Visit Astra Ethnographic Museum. Five kilometres from central Sibiu, this is Europe’s largest open-air ethnographic museum, where churches, mills and traditional homes number among 400 folk-architecture monuments on-site.

Return to Sibiel village, overnight in Sibiel village at Ramona guest house, en suite single room, 3 courses dinner, wine and Romanian plums brandy, breakfast included.
Day 3 Day 3: Sibiel - Hunyads Castle - Alba Iulia Citadel- Campeni- Garda De Sus
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Sibiel - Hunyads Castle - Alba Iulia Citadel- Campeni- Garda De Sus

Nice day, today! After breakfast, it’s time to further discover the landscapes and more of Romania. Visit Hunyadi Castle in Hunedoara, one of the seven wonders of Romania and Transylvania most spellbinding fortress. The castle is thought to have been cursed and many believe that it is the most haunted castle in Europe! Let’s go there and find out! Equally chilling is the Bear Pit, where prisoners were thrown to animals after their usefulness expired.

Alba Iulia’s star-shaped citadel is one of Transylvania’s most overlooked sights. The walls of this magnificently preserved citadel – the largest in Romania – enclose grand monuments and museums, glittering churches, and archaeological treasure.

Transfer to Garda de Sus, overnight in 3-star guest house, en suite room, 3 courses dinner, breakfast included.
Day 4 Day 4: Garda De Sus- Exploring The Area. Breakfast. Exploring The Area Including Scarisoara Ice Cave And Poarta Lui Ionel Cave
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4: Garda De Sus- Exploring The Area. Breakfast. Exploring The Area Including Scarisoara Ice Cave And Poarta Lui Ionel Cave

Explore Scarisoara Ice cave, or the Scarisoara Glacier - the largest ice cave in Romania, boasting over 3,000-year-old ice, is located in the Apuseni Mountains in Alba County, 16 km from the Scarisoara commune that also lent its name to this geological marvel. It currently pertains to the Garda de Sus village.

Declared a natural monument and a speleological reserve, the cave holds the world’s second-largest underground glacier after the Dobsinska cave in Slovakia. Situated at an altitude of 1,150 meters, it is famous for housing inside a glacier with an area of over 5,000 sq. m. and an ice layer between 26 and 37 meters thick. Take pictures of the entrance, an impressive sinkhole, that has 60 m diameter and descends 48 m, leading you to the body of the cave where you will walk on 70000 cubic meters of ice (30 m thick). Be prepared to enter the underworld to admire the magnificent landscape,

Visit also the village "Casa de Piatra", Tauz Spring, Coiba mare and Coiba Mica caves, Poarta lui Ionele Cave and admire the marvellous landscape.

Return to Garda de Sus, overnight in 3-star guest house, en suite room, 3 courses dinner, breakfast included.
Day 5 Day 5: Garda De Sus - Turda Salt Mine - Bogdan Voda - Ieud- Botiza
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: Garda De Sus - Turda Salt Mine - Bogdan Voda - Ieud- Botiza

Breakfast. Visit Turda Salt Mine. Step inside UFO-shaped theme park! Visit Turda salt mine, one of the largest in Europe and one of the top 10 underground wonders in the world!

Welcome to Maramures! Widely regarded as Romania’s most traditional region, dotted with steepled wooden churches and farmhouses fronted by ornately carved gates, Maramureş feels as if you are climbing into a horse-drawn time machine and heading back a couple of centuries. Indeed, Maramureş’ tapestry of pastureland, peopled by colourfully garbed peasants, jumps straight out of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Welcome to the heart of folkloric, medieval Romania, where the last peasant culture in Europe continues to thrive.

Medieval Maramureş exists in the Mara and Iza Valleys and eight of their churches are on Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites. Among the best are Deseşti in the former and Poienile Izei in the latter, not just for their architecture but for their well-preserved interior wall paintings.

Overnight in Botiza village at Cretuca Pension, en suite rooms, 3 courses dinner, traditional plum brandy, breakfast included.
Day 6 Day 6: Botiza - Sapanta - Desesti- Breb - Sarbi - Ieud - Botiza
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Botiza - Sapanta - Desesti- Breb - Sarbi - Ieud - Botiza

The Merry Cemetery, UNESCO world heritage, consists of colourful painted wooden crosses that adorn the tombstones and the naive paintings which represent scenes from the life of the departed while also telling joyful stories with a touch of irony. It is the most famous touristic attraction located in Northern Romania and was ranked at the top of European cemeteries and the second in the world after "The Valley of The Kings".

Its uniqueness comes from the different approach it takes - whereas the popular belief is that death is a sad event, the cemetery tries to make death a natural part of life - a belief which comes mainly from the Dacians, who believed in eternal life and for which death was merely a passage to another world. Shown in art exhibitions across Europe, the crosses attract coachloads of visitors who marvel at the gentle humour of the epitaphs and the human warmth that created them.

Explore Maramures including Breb village, stop in Sarbi village Sârbi Village, an idyllic Maramures village, famous for its wooden gates and for the 100 years old mill which is perfectly functioning today, with water. Here, a man together with his wife, grinds the corn using rocks, washes the clothes and the old carpets, cuts wood, but also prepares HORINCA - the plum brandy, a traditional alcoholic drink which is stronger and tastier than any whiskey, as the locals say. Gheorghe Opris, a colorful character who has transformed his property into an open-air museum. He is also famous here for his “magical” gate: all carved wood from which alcohol flows freely. More precisely, this is horinca, which flows through a small tap judiciously concealed inside the wood and connected to the sacred tank. As you will discover, the inhabitants of Maramures are hospitable!

Overnight in Botiza village at Cretuca Pension, en suite rooms, 3 courses dinner, traditional plum brandy, breakfast included.
Day 7 Day 7: Botiza - Barsana - Borgo Pass - Vatra Dornei- Gura Humorului
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 7: Botiza - Barsana - Borgo Pass - Vatra Dornei- Gura Humorului

Breakfast. Visit Barsana Monastery. Drive through Borgo Pass. Welcome to Bucovina! Bucolic Bucovina is dotted with slant-roofed village houses and lovely groves of beech trees (indeed, the name ’Bucovina’ derives from the ancient German and Slavic roots for beech). As in neighbouring Maramureș, across the mountains, you’ll encounter old women in colourful traditional dress, fearless children riding bareback on horses, and enterprising locals scouring the forest for some truly massive mushrooms. It’s an ornery place, and both public transport and foreign languages can be lacking, but Bucovina is nevertheless highly worthwhile for hill walks, cycling, rural idylls and, of course, taking in those unforgettably colourful monasteries.

Transfer to Gura Humorului village. Visit Humorului Monastery. Overnight in Gura Humorului village at Florence de Munte Pension, en suite single room, 3 dinner courses, wine and Romanian plums brandy, breakfast included.
Day 8 Day 8: Gura Humorului - Voronet - Painted Egg Museum - Moldovita - Sucevita - Marginea - Gura Humorului
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 8: Gura Humorului - Voronet - Painted Egg Museum - Moldovita - Sucevita - Marginea - Gura Humorului

Hello Bucovina! After breakfast, you have the opportunity to admire some of the unique painted monasteries of Bucovina: "The big four" - the monastery of Voronet, the monastery of Humor, the monastery of Moldovita and the monastery of Sucevita; all of them listed as UNESCO world heritage.

Visit The Painted Egg Museum in Vama village. Deep in the heart of Bukovina, in Vama, you will see the most varied and numerous collection of dyed and decorated eggs in Romania and one of the most important ones in Europe at once.

The museum is also helpful to discover the traditions from the area and the art of decorating the Easter eggs.

Visit Marginea black pottery centre. The Black Ceramics of Marginea – Marginea Ceramics is already a well-known brand. Historians date the beginning of pottery at Marginea in 1500. Pottery appeared due to the necessity of storing food. The pottery had its role in primitive society development because it made possible the storage of food. Imagine your kitchen without these ordinary objects. Due to its geographical position, Marginea commune is surrounded by forestes, its soil is argellaceous and it is crossed by the Sucevita river. All these features are fundamental for the craft born from the magical triangel of clay, water and fire

Return to Gura Humorului.

Overnight in Gura Humorului village at Floare de munte Pension, en suite single room, 3 dinner courses, wine and Romanian plums brandy, breakfast included.
Day 9 Day 9: Gura Humorului - Nicolae Popa Ethnographic Museum- Bicaz Gorge- Red Lake- Gheorgheni- Borzont- Sighisoara
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 9: Gura Humorului - Nicolae Popa Ethnographic Museum- Bicaz Gorge- Red Lake- Gheorgheni- Borzont- Sighisoara

Breakfast. Visit Nicolae Popa Ethnographic Museum.

Welcome to Bicaz Gorges & Lacu Roşu! National Highway 12C winds its way through the Bicaz Gorges (Cheile Bicazului), 20km west of Bicaz. It’s a spectacular ride as the road cuts through sheer 300m-high limestone cliffs along which pine trees improbably cling. The road runs directly beneath overhanging rocks in the ‘neck of hell’ (Gâtul Iadului) section. A few kilometres west begins Transylvania’s Harghita County and Lacu Roşu (Red Lake), a pretty lake where you can get a bite and a boat, or hike around.

Hungarian traditional lunch. Transfer to Sighisoara, overnight in Sighisoara medieval town at Casa Wagner Hotel, en suite room, breakfast included.
Day 10 Day 10: Sighisoara - Viscri - Bran Castle - Brasov
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 10: Sighisoara - Viscri - Bran Castle - Brasov

Breakfast. Visit Sighisoara medieval town - UNESCO world heritage and Vlad the Impaler birthplace. So resplendent are Sighişoara’s pastel-coloured buildings, stony lanes and medieval towers, you’ll rub your eyes in disbelief. Fortified walls encircle Sighişoara’s lustrous merchant houses, now harbouring cafes, hotels and craft shops. Visit Sighisoara medieval town including The Clock Tower, The Church on the Hill and the house where Vlad the Impaler was born.

Walking along the wall that surrounds Sighisoara citadel we admire the five centuries-old houses along with the towers erected by various guilds of the citadel, from which the Shoemakers, Tailors and Tin Makers Guilds towers are the most impressive. We visit the Church on the Hill but not before climbing the 175 covered steps which were built in 1642 in order to make easier access for the schoolchildren’s.

Visit Viscri, an authentic Transylvanian village and the oldest fortified church in Transylvania and UNESCO world heritage site. Walking through this enchanting village is like going back in time! Even Prince Charles of Wales, attracted by the beauty of this area, bought a house here a few years ago.

With a medieval fortification at its heart and bucolic meadows in its surrounds, Viscri epitomises the romance of rural Transylvania. Flowing from Viscri’s medieval fortified church are cobbled lanes flanked by rows of cornflower-blue houses. The only sounds are the rattle of horse-drawn carts and the clank of a blacksmith’s workshop. Viscri village remains one of the best-preserved Saxon villages in Romania. Have a walk through the village and discover a cultural and natural landscape which disappeared in most parts of Europe.

Time allocated for taking pictures and walking through the village. Your guide will lead you to the best spots!

On the approach to Bran village, while the castle appears through the mist like something out of a fairytale, it will quickly become clear as to why this magnificent castle is the most well-known castle in the world! Visit Bran Castle and discover the truth behind the legends! Immerse yourself in the legend of Vlad the Impaler, inspiration for the fictional Count Dracula! The castle is built on a hilltop with view on each part of the valley. The castle got its fame from the novel “Dracula”, written by Bram Stoker and Dracula movie due later directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The Bran Castle tour will show us the castle’s many well-preserved rooms and chambers. Gothic furnishings and details help set the scene for ghastly legends of all that happened here, including the imprisonment of Vlad the Impaler.

Transfer to Brasov town, overnight in Brasov town.
Day 11 Day 11: Brasov - Bears Sanctuary - Rasnov Fortress - Peles Castle - Bucharest
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 11: Brasov - Bears Sanctuary - Rasnov Fortress - Peles Castle - Bucharest

Visit The Bears Sanctuary which is located in the forest, 2 km away from Piatra Craiului National Park. It covers an area of 69 hectares of forest, streams and ponds where the brown bears live. It is the biggest of this kind in the entire world. Visit the Bears Sanctuary - an amazing place for such beautiful animals! This " 5 stars all-inclusive resort " for bears hosts around 100 rescued bears from captivity. They have a chance for a new and better life now! Taking pictures is allowed. Prepare your cameras!

There are many historical tales about Râșnov Fortress, the citadel built by Teutons in the 13th century to stave off Tartar invasion. Set on a wooded hill above Râșnov, the chunky stone fortress is stacked with red-tiled turrets and buildings, making it look like a walled village. After around 30 minutes on the road, head inside Râșnov (own expense) with your guide. Walk around the courtyards and ramparts, and admire the sweeping views from the walls. See the fortress’ well as your guide explains the legend surrounding it, and hear how medieval villagers would live in the fortress as a refuge in times of war.

Our last destination is the tourist town of Sinaia, where Peles Castle is located. Arrive in Sinaia, once an exclusive aristocratic resort, where we visit Peles Castle, the summer residence of the former Romanian royal family. Peles Castle is one of the most beautiful museums in Romania and was built in almost 40 years by King Charles 1.

Transfer to your Bucharest hotel or to OTP International Airport.

11 days tour

Private 11-Day Transylvania, Apuseni, Maramures And Bucovina

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Itinerary of your trip Private 11-Day Transylvania, Apuseni, Maramures And Bucovina

Day 1: Bucharest - Curtea De Arges Monastery - Poienari Castle - Vidraru Dam - Sibiu - Sibiel

Day 2: Sibiel - Sibiu - Astra Ethnographic Museum - Sibiel

Day 3: Sibiel - Hunyads Castle - Alba Iulia Citadel- Campeni- Garda De Sus

Day 4: Garda De Sus- Exploring The Area. Breakfast. Exploring The Area Including Scarisoara Ice Cave And Poarta Lui Ionel Cave

Day 5: Garda De Sus - Turda Salt Mine - Bogdan Voda - Ieud- Botiza

Day 6: Botiza - Sapanta - Desesti- Breb - Sarbi - Ieud - Botiza

Day 7: Botiza - Barsana - Borgo Pass - Vatra Dornei- Gura Humorului

Day 8: Gura Humorului - Voronet - Painted Egg Museum - Moldovita - Sucevita - Marginea - Gura Humorului

Day 9: Gura Humorului - Nicolae Popa Ethnographic Museum- Bicaz Gorge- Red Lake- Gheorgheni- Borzont- Sighisoara

Day 10: Sighisoara - Viscri - Bran Castle - Brasov

Day 11: Brasov - Bears Sanctuary - Rasnov Fortress - Peles Castle - Bucharest

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