Designed for slow pace travel, that allows you to alternate the days accompanied by knowledgeable tour guides with those in which you explore at your pace and give yourself time to soak in the local atmosphere, which Bucharest and the cities of Southern Transylvania have plenty of.
The tour includes:
– Assistance and expenses of experienced, licensed and knowledgeable tour guides, fluent in your language, as per itinerary;
– Private transportation by sedan throughout your tour (including all local airport transfers);
– All transportation expenses;
– Airfare and airport taxes for the in-tour flight;
– Fare for the Transylvanian train ride (including transfer from the hotel) if you choose to go to Sighisoara by train (day 6);
– 8 nights in 4* hotels;
– All entrance fees while accompanied by our tour guide;
– All breakfasts;
– One exclusive traditional lunch.
The tour does not include:
– Airfare to and from Romania;
– Your meals other than specified;
– Fees for excess luggage on the in-tour flight;
– Entry tickets and fees for activities on the free days;
– Gratuities for local guides (only if satisfied and entirely up to your discretion).
Private chauffeured transfer from the Bucharest airport/border to your downtown hotel.
Along with your tour guide, you will discover Bucharest’s wide squares and avenues, bordered by 19th century art nouveau French-inspired architecture, which during the age earned the city the nickname “Little Paris”. The political struggles of the last century have changed the city landscape, leaving behind a remarkable diversity, ranging from the palaces and concert halls of old to the worker neighborhoods and megalomaniacal projects of the communist decades, who’s ultimate expression is the largest parliament building in the world. The colorful pedestrian Old Town offers a variety of choices for a leisurely evening, with its beehive of activity around its restaurants, bars and coffee shops.
Free day in Bucharest. Suggestions: National Art Museum hosted in the former Royal Palace; National History Museum; Choral Temple (an exquisite synagogue); taste the ample choices of local street food, very popular among the locals and increasingly sought after by foreign foodies. Designed, without sparing any expenses, almost two centuries ago by a team of German landscapists, Bucharest’s Romantic Central Park, the Cismigiu Garden, invites you to take a stroll through its shaded alleyways or to row on its two interconnected lakes and under the original arched stone footpaths. In the winter, you may test your skills, skating on the joyous ice-ring before or after a cup of hot cinnamon wine served steaming at the edge of the frozen lake.
After leisurely packing your bags in the morning and a private chauffeured transfer from your hotel to the Bucharest airport, have a 40 minutes flight over the Carpathians. The Sibiu guide will be awaiting you at the airport and will use his local knowledge to help you pick from the multitude of restaurant options for lunch. Then he will lead you on a walking tour through the streets of this German-looking town, which lie under the watchful “eyes” of the roof dormers. Despite its day-time tranquil feel, in the evening it becomes the host of numerous cultural events and festivals, especially since 2007, when it was the European capital of culture.
Free time in Sibiu. You have the whole day to fall in love with this idyllic city, highly prized by numerous major publications, like Forbes or National Geographic. Suggestions: You can feel like Quasimodo in the attic of the dizzying Evangelical Church tower from where one gets a bird’s-eye view over the sprawling medieval center against the background of the surrounding snow peaked mountain. Mingle with the locals in the ungentrified fresh produce market. Visit the 18 century palace of the Transylvanian governor, Samuel Bruckenthal, who was a passionate art collector and wanted to share his treasures with the world. So, at his bequest, after passing away, his residence was converted into one of Europe’s first public art museums. You may also take a 10 minute cab ride to the locals’ favorite retreat, Astra open-air museum: a collection of traditional houses, windmills, water operated sawmills and wooden churches from all over Romania. The 240 acres park displays all this around a center lake.
Today you meet your next guide either in the hotel lobby or, for railway aficionados, after an experiential two hour ride through the waiving hills, fields and villages of the Transylvanian plateau. Take a guided tour of the walled city where Dracula was born. You may still walk the cobbled streets and marvel at the defense towers. Since the citadel is still completely surrounded by its original defenses and the age of most of the buildings inside range from three to six hundred years, UNESCO decided, in 1999, to add the entire Old Town on its list of protected sites. Carry on, by private car, to the much larger walled city of Brasov. During the city tour, walk the streets of the Medieval old town and be dwarfed by its majestic 14th century Gothic cathedral. In the evening, have your pick among the local restaurants whose cuisine reflects the ethnic melting pot of the region.
The stories left untold will be continued, when yesterday’s guide will take you through the ski resorts of the Carpathian Mountains, to visit Peles Castle, one of the most astonishing royal residences of Europe, adorned both inside and out with the best of 19th century craftsmanship. Head back over the mountains, where we will invite you to an exclusive home-cooked meal, representative of local cuisine. Don’t shy away from garlic; it may come handy during your next visit: Bran Castle. It’s unproven whether it really chases away vampires, but it certainly gives you more personal space in the crowded interior. Within the castle’s age-beaten confines find out about its true histories and Dracula legends.
Free time in Brasov. Suggestions: Climb the nearby Tampa mountain by cable car. Opportunity for a short hike on the summit, on the way to the eagle-nest platform that offers an unimpeded view over the entire Old Town and into the distance. For bibliophiles, we recommend a visit to the First Romanian School, home of the oldest surviving printing press of Romania (16 century), which used a technology – block printing – made obsolete by Gutenberg’s mobile letters. Some of the exhibits had been printed on the actual machine. For the more active type, you may get your heart pumping from the beauty of the scenery as viewed from above during a private flight on a four sitter plane that will show you Brasov and its surrounding. Or go with an English speaking wildlife expert to spots where you can safely see wild bears foraging. We will provide a list of contacts for these independent activities, which you may book yourself or with our assistance.
Private chauffeured transfer to the airport.
