ZOOM ON ROMANIA
15 days cultural tour

Romania is the perfect land of contrasts and paradoxes, a country where past and present meet and found a harmonious, wonderful world. Through its famous painted churches and monasteries, folk art or feudal castles in the Carpathian Mountains and Transylania, and especially the traditional rural life, Romania is a vast living museum.
The new world is embodied by the bold modern urban architecture and by the Western styles of life adopted by Romania's townsfolk. There is a wealth of folk tales, legends, arts passed on through the centuries waiting to be discovered along with many other wonders, in an exceptionally beautiful natural space.

We invite you to discover Transylvania - a real province, yet also a mysterious land steeped in romance, legend and folklore. A unique combination of history, myth and scenery is preserved here, in almost unchanged medieval towns, in lively folk-tales and culture and in landscapes that seem to spring from the past.
Continue to a place where the wood has its own soul. Maramures, “the land of faith”, a treasure of still surviving old customs and rites, has carved in wood its own history, keeping, like nowhere else in Romania, its traditions, popular garb and art.

Last, but not least, you are invited to walk along the old trails to the monasteries - UNESCO patrimony (Moldovita, Sucevita, Voronet, Humor) - whose architecture and paintings would be unthinkable without the beautiful landscape of the “Sweet Bucovina“, the “land of beech trees”.

Day 1
Bucharest - Bran (190 km)
Meet at Bucharest international airport and drive to Bran – Brasov region. Dinner and overnight in Bran in a rural guesthouse.






 

Day 2
Bran - Rasnov - Predeal - Sinaia - Bran (130 km)
Breakfast. Visit the Bran Castle, known also as Count Dracula's Castle, even though he has never stopped there. Drive to Rasnov. Visit the Saxon fortress Rasnov, located on a 150m high hill, dominating the surrounding plane.
Drive to Sinaia, in the Prahova Valley - considering the natural background and the bourgeois summer residences built here, it is not surprising why Sinaia was surnamed the Pearl of the Carpathians. Lunch in a restaurant in Sinaia.

Visit the impressive Peles Castle, dating from the end of the 19th century. It was built by the First King of Romania, Carol I of Hohenzollern. Visit the Pelisor Castle, not far away from Peles Castle, a smaller castle, built between 1899 and 1902 by a Czech architect Karel Liman and decorated by the Viennese Bernhard Ludwig for King Ferdinand (the nephew of King CaroI I) and Queen Maria.
Back to Bran for dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse.


 

Day 3
Bran - Brasov - Prejmer - Harman - Sighisoara (150 km)
Breakfast. Drive to Brasov, the "Crown City" of Transylvania, named Kronstadt by the Saxon colonists. Visit the Council Square and the Black Church - the greatest Gothic church between Wien and Istanbul. Lunch in a restaurant in Brasov.
Departure to Sighisoara with stop in Prejmer and Harman.

In Prejmer visit the 13th century peasant fortress, one of the biggest in South-Eastern Europe. In Harman (“the honey hill”) visit a 13th century peasant citadel, with its church clock tower. Drive to Sighisoara. Dinner and overnight in Sighisoara in a newly refurbished Saxon house (3* hotel).


 

Day 4
Sighisoara - Biertan - Medias - Cluj-Napoca (160 km)
Breakfast. Tour medieval Sighisoara (to its "Saxon" founders, "Schassburg"), an imposing fortified hilltop town dominating the valley below. You will discover a well preserved Saxon medieval town still inhabited, part of UNESCO Patrimony.

Drive to Biertan to visit one of the biggest Saxon fortresses in Transylvania. Lunch in a restaurant in Medias.
Continue to Cluj-Napoca. Dinner in a traditional restaurant and overnight in a 3* hotel in Cluj-Napoca.


 

Day 5
Cluj-Napoca - Dej - Beclean - Sacel - Maramures (180 km)
Breakfast. City tour of Cluj-Napoca, one of the biggest towns in Transylvania, with old traditions of culture, research and education. The modern Cluj-Napoca keeps many traces of its history. Lunch in a traditional restaurant.

Departure to Maramures. On the way, stop and visit the Banffy Estate in Bontida, a beautiful monument of architecture, transformed by the communist government into an agricol cooperative headquarters. Its restoration has been financed by Mihai Eminescu charity, supported by Prince Charles.
Dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse in a village in Iza Valley.
 

Day 6
Maramures tour: Botiza (Poienile Izei) - Sighetu Marmatiei - Sapanta - Barsana - Botiza (Poienile Izei) (130 km)
Breakfast. Discover the historic Maramures. Visit the wooden church in Ieud and continue to Sighetu Marmatiei. Stop and visit the Memorial Museum of the Victims of Communism and of the Resistancei. The communist regime used this high security prison to eliminate the intellectual opponents.
Lunch in a restaurant in Sighetu Marmatiei. Drive to Sapanta. It became famous due to its history, brilliantly illustrated in the Merry Cemetery, unique for the colourfully painted wooden crosses.


On the way back stop in Barsana to visit the Orthodox Monastery, a popular pilgrimage spot in Maramures. Back for festive dinner with local players "ceterasi" and overnight in a rural guesthouse.




 

Day 7
Maramures-Bucovina: Botiza - Sacel - Borsa - Iacobeni - Bucovine (180 km)
Breakfast. Visit local weavers, who are using traditional wooden looms to make the famous Maramures carpets. The wool used is dyed in natural vegetal colours. You may buy carpets directly from the handcrafters (Don't hesitate, as you'll get a better price, you'll have the guarantee of authenticity and you'll support local life too).
Departure for Bucovina through the Prislop Pass, following the gorgeous valley of the Bistrita river. Stop for lunch (packet lunch). If they are in place, we’ll also visit a sheepfold. You may see shepherd preparing traditional white cheese (Feta cheese, as you call it).

Stop and admire the outwalls of the houses in the village of Ciocanesti (decorated with stylised flower models).
Dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse in Bucovina.
 

Day 8
Bucovina tour (150 km)
Breakfast. Discover Bucovina, land of the outwall frescoes painted monasteries. Visit Voronet Monastery, UNESCO Patrimony, the “Sixtine Chapel of the East”. Continue to Manastirea Humorului to visit the local monastery renowned for its exterior frescoes. Lunch in a guesthouse.

Drive to Marginea, a village famous for its black pottery considered to date back to the ancient Dacian period. Go on with the Sucevita monastery, founded by the Movila family in the 16th century, whose frescoes are considered "the testament of the old Moldavian art". Visit Moldovita monastery and a local egg decorator.
Dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse in Bucovina.




Day 9
Bucovina - Vatra Dornei - Lunca Ilvei: The Generous Carpathians (75 km + 1 hour train ride)
Breakfast. Drive to Vatra Dornei to take the train for Lunca Ilvei (a ride in a Romanian train is a great experience). Lunca Ilvei is a mountain village, located in North-Eastern Transylvania, between Transylvania and Bucovina, on the superior watercourse of Ilva Valley. The area is part of Bargau Mountains, with altitudes between 850m and 1450m, offering ideal conditions for holidays: healthy air, natural products and specific country life activities.

Lunch in a guesthouse in Lunca Ilvei and discover mountain village life in the afternoon.
Dinner and overnight in Lunca Ilvei in a rural guesthouse.

 
Day 10
The rural roots (4 hours easy rambling)
Breakfast. Rambling around Lunca Ilvei. The landscapes are very picturesque and strengthening, with slow peaks dominated by volcanic hills, pastures and hayfields, combined harmoniously with shady coniferous forests sheltering a rich and various fauna.

From the high hills, during cloudless days, you can admire the wide open landscapes up to the Transylvanian Plateau and Dornelor County and to the mountaintops of Rodna and Calimani. Visit to a sheepfold, forest berries pick-up; lunch by a mountain stream - Romanian barbecue with "tzuica" (plum brandy).
Dinner and overnight in Lunca Ilvei in a rural guesthouse.


 

Day 11
South across the Carpathians: Lunca Ilvei - Borgo Pass - Bistrita - Reghin - Toplita - Gheorgheni (180 km)
Breakfast. Leaving Lunca Ilvei. Ride in a horse-drawn cart to the Borgo Pass - the place where Bram Stoker located the action of his novel "Dracula". Packet lunch by the river en route and continue to a Szekler village near Gheorgheni.

Dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse. You'll enjoy the flavors of local gastronomy.
 
Day 12
Lazarea - Praid - Corund - Lazarea (120 km)
Breakfast. Local visits in Lazarea: the Count Lazar Castle, including an exhibition of modern art, the Franciscan Monastery, the open air modern art museum.
Drive to Praid - lunch in a traditional Hungarian restaurant.

In the afternoon explore the historical salt mine in Praid which is one of the important salt mines of the Transylvanian Plateau. Drive to Corund, one of the most representative Hungarian pottery centres in Transylvania.
Back for dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse in a village near Gheorgheni.


 

Day 13
Lazarea - Gheorgheni - Lacu Rosu - Bicaz - Lazarea (65 km)
Breakfast. Drive up the mountains to the Red Lake (Lacu Rosu) and Bicaz Gorges (Cheile Bicazului) and then drive up to Lake Mountain Spring (Izvorul Muntelui).
Lunch in a restaurant by the lake.
In the afternoon enjoy a cruise on the picturesque lake (weather permitting).

Back to Lazarea for dinner and overnight in a rural guesthouse.
 
Day 14
Lazarea - Miercurea Ciuc - Sfantu Ghorghe - Brasov - Sacele - Valenii de Munte - Ploiesti - Bucharest (230 km)
Breakfast. Departure to Bucharest. Stop for lunch in a restaurant in Brasov region and then continue to Bucharest.
In the evening, bus and walk city tour of the major tourist spots: the University Square, Stavropoleos Church, Lipscani Street (the former merchants' street), the Palace of the Parliament.

Farewell dinner in a restaurant with folk music performance. Accommodation in a 3* hotel.


 

Day 15
Bucharest (20 km)
Breakfast. Free time for city sightseeing and shopping.
Transfer to the international airport for departure.


 

Duration	15 days / 14 nights
Lodging	rural guesthouses (ocasionally, bathrooms shared between tourists) and hotels
Notes	1. Rates do not apply during Easter, Chrismas and the New Year period. 2. According to the opening hours for some visited sites (e.g. museums), this programme can be applied as it is if Day 1 is Monday or Tuesday. If Day 1 differs, some visits or activities will be replaced consequently. 3. Price does not include: extra taxes for cameras and filming (requested in some places - e.g. the monasteries), personal drinks off the boarding, tips (optional).

2012 RATES
NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS	PERIOD	PRICE/ PERS	SGLE SUPPL	PRICE INCLUDES
2 (private tour)	all year long	2355 EUR	275 EUR	- lodging: 11 nights in rural guesthouses and 3 nights in hotels (on a double room basis occupancy) - boarding: full board (as specified in the programme) - entry tickets for the visits included in the programme - transport and transfers in Romania by car, minibus or coach - all road and parking taxes - train tickets for day 9 - half a day ride in a horse-drawn cart - transport of luggage - English speaking attested tour guide - all taxes
8 (constitued groups)	all year long	1410 EUR	275 EUR
		1465 EUR	275 EUR
Quotation on request for other group sizes or discounts for children under 12