Old Town

Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your driver, and then you will be transferred to your centrally located boutique hotel. This is Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, a city where you will find contrasts at every step of the way. In Romanian, the name of the city is derived from the word “bucurie”, meaning “joy”, which is exactly what we’re promising you will feel at the end of your experience. The city is surrounded by legends about its founding, as well as about its name. The protagonist of one of those legends is none other than Mircea the Elder, a legendary prince of Wallachia, which founded the city after he defeated the Turks in a difficult battle. At night you will start your Romanian adventure through a tour of Bucharest’s Old Town, where you will admire the historical buildings that were scarred by the Communist regime, but also the modern structures recently completed. You will enjoy a delicious dinner with traditional products in one of the most beautiful and interesting locations in Bucharest, Caru cu Bere, a place where the interwar period brought to its tables celebrities like The Rolling Stones, Demi Moore, and the Crown Prince of Japan.

Transfagarasan Highway

After serving your first Romanian breakfast, you will put on our trekking gear and the second chapter of your adventure will begin, with a trip to an estate that belonged to the family of Vlad the Impaler. You will climb the 1480 stone steps in order to reach the proud Poenari Citadel, one of the fortresses that belonged to the infamous Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration behind the legend of Dracula. You will then take a trip on the best road in the world, as named by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, Transfagarasan. Prepare your cameras for wonderful scenery, where the mountains seem so close that you’ll feel like you can touch them, and where the wilderness of the forest will charm you. Will make a short stop at the Vidraru Dam, a colossal building raised with a great human sacrifice, designed to resist any earthquake and flood. For lunch, you will stop at the Valea cu Pesti restaurant, where we encourage you to try the local Trout. After a full day like this, you will head towards the boutique hotel, located close to Sibiu’s city center. Overnight in Sibiu

Centrul Istoric

Breakfast Today you will discover together the taste of Transylvania, its history, and its beautiful and hard-working people. Some of the best dishes in Romania is in Transylvania, the region which was, over the years, home to many nationalities which left their mark on the local cuisine. Today you will learn the art of baking Saxon bread. The Transylvanian villages are quiet and remote, but behind their gates, you will find people that work from dusk ‘til dawn, and today you will meet one of the local families that inhabit this historic region. The animal farm and the bio-garden that you will visit today belongs to a local family, and you will help with housekeeping, feed the animals, and you will embrace the family atmosphere. Afterward, you will hop on your bikes and take a ride to a nearby village where you will visit a fortification that dates back to medieval times. Here, the locals will teach you how to bake a traditional Saxon bread, the same that Prince Charles himself orders it every time he comes to Romania. The recipe for Saxon bread is different in each family, but the local women were taught ever since they were children the secret behind baking the perfect bread. Its unmistakable smell can be picked up from hundreds of meters away, and together you will learn how to bake a perfect bread, how to clean the burnt crust, which is used in cereal-based coffee, and you will serve it together with other local products. At night, you will head back to Sibiu where you will spend the night. The stunning city of Sibiu was founded by German settlers in the 12th century, but the first human settlements in the area are dating from the Paleolithic period. The city was named the European Capital of Culture in 2007, and each year it hosts Romania’s most beautiful Christmas Market. Sibiu Grand Square is located in the center of the city, and it is one of the largest in Transylvania. It is also close to numerous important attractions, such as the Brukenthal Palace which houses the National Brukenthal Museum, and to the Jesuit Church. Overnight in Sibiu.

Centrul Istoric Sighisoara

Breakfast The fourth day is dedicated to the appreciation of the cultural heritage that we were blessed to have in Romania, and one of the touristic attractions that you will visit today is Biertan Fortified Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The church was fortified in the Middle Ages by its craftsmen, whose descendants live in this area to this day, preserving traditions that are hundreds of years old. BBC presented the uniqueness of Biertan, and compared it to a “medieval prison for marriage problems”. Like any other Saxon settlement, the village had an urban organization, standing out through a French style of rows of houses placed around a central square, on top of which the imposing Fortified Church watches. The interior of the church is spectacular, with the impressive monument combining the Gothic and Renaissance styles beautifully. It is said that inside the church you can find a cell where couples were locked in order to solve their personal issues. You will then take a stroll through the village, where we will attend a local workshop of traditional embroidery, and then you will serve lunch in a medieval-themed restaurant. Then, you will leave for Sighisoara, whose historic center is included in the UNESCO Wolrd Heritage Centre. Sighisoara is the only inhabited medieval citadel in Europe, and some historians claim that it is the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler. Due to its remarkable architecture, it's imposing positioning, and its geographic ambiance, the city was named the “Pearl of Transylvania” ever since the 19th century. In Sighisoara, you will visit the Clock Tower, about whose clock a legend says that it is never desynchronized, thus tourists and locals always adjust their clocks according to the one in the tower. The roof has a pyramidal shape and is 34 meters tall, being covered by two bulb-shaped domes covered in copper sheets. The roof of the Clock Tower closes with a small golden globe, and on top of it, a meteorological pole was placed, with a metal rooster on top that tells the direction the wind is blowing from. Also, if the rooster faces the sunset, it is said that it will rain soon. You will then head to a castle that belongs to the Kálnoky Family, mentioned in official documents for the first time in 1588 as the landowners of Micloșoara. The archeologic sites proved that a manor existed on that location before today’s castle. Near the castle, you will also find an English park from the 19th century, where today only a couple of rare species of trees remain. Overnight at a traditional guesthouse.

Cetatea Rupea

Breakfast Today you will meet some of the people who chose to make Romania their home. You will discover their stories, why they moved here, as well as the things they have done for the local community. You will start the day with a short visit to the Rupea Citadel, one of the oldest fortifications in Brasov County, which offers a splendid view over the village and its surroundings. The citadel is composed of three courts built between the 13th and 17th centuries, their extension having been caused by the demographic growth. It was used both as a defense citadel as well as an administrative citadel of Saxon seat. After visiting it, you will head to Saschiz, a small town which, at one point, was the rival city of Sighisoara. Here, a local craftsman will teach you how ceramics are made, according to ancient techniques. Here you will meet a couple which settled here and made a goal out of promoting local products and growing short food chains. You will visit their household and the processing workshop, and we will enjoy some homemade cookies, a cup of coffee, water, and some delicious jars of jams and pickles. Your next heroes are some people that developed a pottery workshop in the community, a workshop that reinvents the ceramics made in the area between the 16th and 18th centuries, together with the local authorities, a foundation from Great Britain, and another one from Romania. Together, we will find out their story and learn their techniques, which you will then apply when you will create your own ceramics, which you will keep as souvenirs. Afterward, you will head back to the guesthouse to spend the night and have dinner. Overnight at a traditional guesthouse (dinner included).

Libearty Bear Sanctuary Zarnesti

Breakfast On the sixth day, you will listen to the murmur of the forest and discover the wild animals of Transylvania. The Romanian Carpathian Mountains are home to approximately 6,500 bears and 3,000 wolves, making it one of Europe’s wildlife hotspots as well as one of the last resorts of wildlife diversity. Besides bears and wolves, a large number of lynx, deer, wild boars, and chamois live in these mountains. From Micloșoara you will leave for Brasov, a very beautiful city, located in the center of Transylvania. You will step into the natural world ever since the first hours of the morning, by climbing the Tampa Mountain Natural Reservation. It was created in order to protect and preserve the natural landscape and the species of flora and fauna, and it is considered the only natural reservation in the world located in the middle of a city. The plant collection of Tâmpa is remarkable: 458 superior plants and over 40 species of mosses. A large number of plants are protected at a national and European level, such as Snake’s Head (Fritillaria meleagris), which is almost extinct. Other animal species also live there, such as European pine martens, squirrels, and numerous brown bears and grey wolves. The animals can also be observed from a quiet observatory in the natural reservation so that you can truly enjoy the beauty of nature. Once you reach the top of the mountain, you’ll be able to admire the beautiful city, and then we will take a cable car ride in order to get back to the city and take a city tour. You will discover some of the most important touristic attractions in Brasov, as well as a small part of its history. The rest of the day is booked for a bear tracking session through the wild forests of the Carpathians. Our trained professionals will guide you through the forest and will initiate you into the art of animal tracking, and you’ll have the chance to spot some of the wild animals mentioned above, as well as some of the birds that live in this area (hawks, buzzards, mountain eagles, peregrine falcons, owls, woodpeckers, and more). After four hours of wandering through the forests, you will head back to Bran Castle, where you will learn more about the spooky Dracula Legend. You will take a tour of Dracula’s Castle and discover some of its stories and legends, and with a little bit of luck, you might even stumble into Count Dracula himself. The evening is then followed by a traditional Dracula dinner and overnight in a beautiful mansion. Overnight in Bran.​

Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)

Breakfast Today you will follow the footsteps of Dracula and discover the villages that are strongly connected with Dracula himself. Every village, every mountain road, and every mountain peak reminds us of the tales of the infamous vampire lord. You will then head to Sinaia, where we will visit Peleș Castle, the former residence of the Romanian Royal Family. The Royal family is a branch of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty, and it is related to most of the great European Royal Families, including the British Royal Family (Windsor dynasty), the Spanish Royal Family, the Danish Royal Family, the Greek Royal Family, the French Royal Family (Bourbon) and the Russian Imperial Family (Romanov). Peles Castle has an approximate number of 160 rooms, and during Nicolae Ceausescu’s Regime, the castle was designated a protocol location. Peles Castle was the first fully electrified castle in Europe. Due to the exquisite quality of the wines and champagnes, the Rhein & CIE Azuga Wine Cellars became in 1920 the “Main supplier of the Royal Court of Romania”. Halewood continues this tradition by recreating the elegance and shine of the interwar period to its RHEIN EXTRA sparkling wine. Today, the Rhein & CIE Azuga Wine Cellars are a promotion center for the wine culture, providing all the wine lovers the chance to visit a functioning wine cellar and to discover the authentic atmosphere of a sparkling wine factory more than 120 years old. Your trip to Romania has ended, make sure to start planning your next trip, to discover even more of what Romania’s history and legends. Transfer to Bucharest.