Current as of: October 10, 2024 - 18:05

trad buildings

Highlights of Romania Trip Notes

  • Ways to Travel: Guided Group
  • Destination: Romania
  • Programmes: Culture
  • Activity Level:

    1 out of 7 - Easy

  • 10 Days: Land Only
  • Ages: 16+
  • Trip Code: AWB
  • Carbon Footprint: 16kg CO2e

Trip Overview

From Cluj-Napoca to Bucharest, explore several regions and uncover age-old traditions, history and culture

Immerse yourself in Romanian life, sample traditional food and meet craftsmen still mastering ancient techniques. This tour starts in the buzzy city of Cluj-Napoca in northern Romania. We then head north to the Maramures region where old traditions are still part of daily life and wooden churches are scattered throughout. We then journey south, discovering the fascinating towns and villages in Transylvania, including the Unesco-listed Sighisoara, Sibiu and Viscri. The tour ends in Bucharest, the capital city, a fitting final destination of this trip.

At a Glance

  • Accommodation: 9 Classic nights (4 hotel, 5 guesthouse)
  • Travel by air-conditioned bus/minibus
  • Option to travel by train to your adventure

Highlights

  • Experience local life in Romanian villages and visit craftsmen
  • Discover the beautiful landscapes of the Carpathian Mountains
  • Uncover medieval heritage; visit the Unesco sites of Sighisoara, Sibiu and Viscri

Is This Trip for You?

This trip is graded Activity Level 1 (Easy).For more information on our trip gradings please visit our Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.

This itinerary includes the main highlights of Romania plus some well-kept secrets that provide true insight into the local culture. There will be some long drives (maximum five hours per day) on winding roads through varying scenery. All hotels are equivalent to two- and three-star accommodation yet the standard may vary depending on location. In some of the more rural villages, we stay in locally run guesthouses, some of the facilities are basic, but the warm hospitality more than makes up for this.

Group

Group normally 4 to 16, plus a local leader and driver. The local leader is with you from Day 1 until the evening of Day 9.

Adult min age: 16

Min group size: 4

Max group size: 16

Itinerary

Highlights of Romania

Land Only

  • Start City: Cluj Napoca
  • End City: Bucharest

Land Only Itinerary

Day 1
Start Cluj-Napoca

The trip starts in Cluj-Napoca. Depending on your arrival time, you may wish to explore one of the most beautiful and vibrant cities in Romania. During the dualist Austro-Hungarian period, Cluj experienced significant urban development with strong Western influences. This is visible in the city architecture, which is very different from Bucharest.

Accommodation: Hotel

Day 2
Travel north to the Maramures region

This morning, we leave Cluj and head to Maramures. On our way, we stop for lunch in Breb, a village laid out in a natural amphitheatre. It’s surrounded by the Rooster’s Ridge, the last (and most spectacular) remnant of a volcanic crater that erupted 9m years ago. In Breb, old traditions are highly respected and preserved, so a short stroll reveals beautiful wooden gates carved and decorated by local craftsmen and traditional old houses, one with links to King Charles III.

In the afternoon, we visit Desesti Church, the only old wooden church on the Unesco World Heritage list that is still open for the religious services of the local communities.

This evening, we stay at a guesthouse in the rural village of Botiza. Before we dine, we have a weaving demonstration from a local artisan. You may notice a few recurrent symbols, such as the rope of life, the sun, vegetal motifs and folk dances. All have a deeply symbolic for the villagers, representing daily chores, religion, ancestral beliefs and even death.

Accommodation: Local guesthouse

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 3
Visit the ancient capital of Maramures and Barsana Monastery

We continue discovering the Maramures region, starting at the Merry Cemetery. Here, more than 800 beautifully carved wooden crosses displaying bright, cheery paintings and annotated with limericks reveal the stories of almost everyone who has died in the town of Săpânţa. We continue with the Memorial of the Communism victims in Sighetu Marmatiei, the ancient capital of Maramures. We visit a museum in a former political prison, which provides a sobering testimony of the dark years in Romania. This afternoon, we visit the incredible Barsana Monastery, one of the greatest masterpieces of Maramures crafts.

Accommodation: Local guesthouse

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4
Visit the medieval town of Sighisoara

Before leaving Maramures, we have a last stop here to discover more of the local artisans. We then leave Maramures and head south to the medieval town on Sighisoara. Halfway, we stop in Transylvania – which has been nicknamed the new Tuscany – to delve into the local wine industry with a tasting. After, we continue our journey to Sighisoara. This medieval citadel, one of the best-preserved in Europe, will give you the feeling of travelling back in time, as you walk through the narrow, cobbled streets. This fortified town is characterised by the presence of towers that were formerly managed by the congregations of artisans; the Tailor’s Tower is a real wonder of medieval architecture.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 5
Discover Transylvania; overnight in Sibiu

Today we drive into the heart of Transylvania with its fortified churches. From the top of the towers, we have beautiful views of the countryside and colourful, traditional houses. We drive through the Unesco-listed Biertan, a Saxon village with a double-wall fortification. We enjoy lunch with a family. In the evening, we arrive in Sibiu, a medieval city outstandingly well preserved and restored. It was elected the European Capital of Culture in 2007, due to its unique architectural style and atmosphere.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 6
Drive to Viscri via Carta and Lisa

We continue driving through the foot of the highest peaks in Romania, the Fagaras Mountains. On our way, we visit the impressive ruins of a centuries-old Franciscan monastery in Carta. We continue to the Valtori complex in the village of Lisa, a wool-processing workshop powered by hydraulic energy, a technique passed down for generations. At lunch, we will be delighted by a simple meal with a local family.

In the evening, we arrive in the secluded village of Viscri. Our last activity of the day is visiting the tiny fortified church here, a pearl of Transylvania, which was restored with the help of The Prince’s Foundation, founded by King Charles III. In your free time, you can also visit the property of the King, a traditional old house transformed into a museum.

Accommodation: Local guesthouse

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7
Walk through Viscri; continue to Brasov

In the morning, we walk through the village, visiting a blacksmith along the way. Leaving Viscri, we go to Brasov. This city (Kronstadt in German) was founded in 1211 when Teutonic Knights were sent here by Andrew II of Hungary to fortify the border. The city has a rich Saxon, Hungarian and Romanian heritage, manifested in a lot of sights worth visiting: the White and the Black Towers, the Council House, St Nicholas Church, the first Romanian school, narrow streets and coloured houses, all very well preserved within the old city walls and towers. This evening, we stay in the small village of Magura and enjoy dinner at the local guesthouse where we also spend the night.

Accommodation: Local guesthouse

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8
Explore Dracula’s castle; continue to Rasnov

Today, we visit Bran Castle, better known as Dracula’s Castle. For many years, it was home to Queen Marie of Romania, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter. We have a lunch of delicious traditional dishes in the yard of a fortified church and end the day with a great dinner and a campfire, if weather allows us.

In the afternoon, we have free time to stroll Magura village with its amazing views.

Optional: Those interested can do bear watching with specialised guides in bear hides. Available upon request at a separate cost. We can guarantee the availability only at the moment of the request, better to book before arrival in Romania.

Accommodation: Local guesthouse

Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 9
Arrive in Bucharest stopping at Peles Castle en route

Today we head to the capital of Romania, Bucharest. On our way, we stop at Peles Castle, the former residence of the Romanian royals and an architectural highlight. We then continue our drive to discover the Romanian capital. Sometimes known as the Paris of the East with a mix of 18th– and 19th-century buildings, socialist blocks and modern buildings.

We will arrive in Bucharest in the middle of the afternoon, or a bit later according to the traffic into Bucharest. On the way to the hotel we will stop to see from outside the gigantic Palace of Parliament, the biggest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon.

After checking in, we say goodbye to our local guide. For a deeper dip in the history of Bucharest booking post-tour accommodation is recommended.

Accommodation: Hotel

Meals included: Breakfast

Day 10
End Bucharest

After breakfast, we begin our return journeys home. Alternatively, speak to your sales representative to add more nights to your trip and extend your time in Bucharest.

Meals included: Breakfast

Accommodation

Hotels and Guesthouses

We stay in three-star hotels in the bigger cities. In the rural areas, we stay at family-run guesthouses. In some of the guesthouses, we sometimes have shared bathrooms (one bathroom for two rooms). In the smaller guesthouses, the rooms might be split over several guesthouses close to one another.

Please note: The guesthouse on Day 2 and 3 does not have wifi.

Single supplement from £ 300

Accommodation - Pre Trip

If you want to spend more time in Cluj to explore the city, your sales representative can look into pre-tour accommodation for you.

At the end of your tour, it is possible for us to organise additional nights in Bucharest. Please ask your sales representative.

Food & Drink

All breakfasts, five light lunches and five dinners are included.

We indulge in fantastic home-cooked meals on this trip as we spend most nights staying with local families and in guesthouses. Breakfasts consist of homemade bread and cheeses plus a selection of locally sourced meats, salad and tea/coffee. The light lunches are prepared by guesthouses. Some days we have traditional vegetable soup for lunch with homemade crème fraiche and bread.

Dinners are usually two or three courses, centred around pork or chicken. Lots of guesthouses will prepare sarmale cu mamaliguta, a traditional Romanian dish of minced pork wrapped in pickled cabbage leaves and served with polenta and a chilli.

It’s not all about the food though; every household makes their own tuica (pronounced tsweeka), a spirit usually made from plums and flavoured with herbs from their garden or the surrounding area. This is usually drunk while being welcomed into the house and after dinner.

Transport

For this trip, we use an air-conditioned private bus, the size of which will depend on the group size, with a local driver.

Weather & Seasonality

Spring: Cool mornings and evenings, warm in the daytime. Pack some warm and waterproof clothes if travelling as showers cannot be ruled out and can last all day. Daytime temperatures of 7C-17C (45F-63F).

Summer: Warm with longer daylight hours; maximum temperatures of 35C (95F) and an average of 23C (73F) in the lower areas.

Autumn: Normally cool and dry. Temperatures of 10C-20C (50F-68F) though we recommend packing some warm layers for early mornings and evenings plus waterproofs as showers cannot be ruled out.

Joining Instructions

Key information

Recommended arrival time: You can arrive at any time today. There will be a welcome briefing in the evening, but if you miss it the leader will update you separately
Airport: Cluj-Napoca Airport (CLJ)

Highlights of Romania

Getting to the start hotel

Exodus provides one group arrival transfer from the airport to the start hotel, which is timed to coincide with the arrival of a chosen flight from London, UK. You may join this transfer at no extra cost, provided you can be at the airport before the transfer leaves. Speak to your sales representative for the group arrival transfer times or to arrange a private transfer.

If you would like further information on joining this trip, please speak to your sales representative.

Catching your return flight

There’s a group departure transfer to Bucharest Airport (OTP) for customers who Exodus booked onto a chosen flight to London, UK. Please speak to your sales representative if you wish to join. If the group departure transfer does not suit your flight time, speak to your sales representative to arrange an alternative transfer.

Full joining instructions including local emergency numbers will be sent to you as part of our Final Joining Instructions. If you do not receive these at least a week before departure, or require them earlier please contact our office or your travel agent.

Location start: Cluj Napoca
Location end: Bucharest

What To Take

Essential Equipment

We recommend you bring the following items:

  • Small backpack for water bottle, camera and snacks etc when walking or sightseeing
  • Reusable water bottle
  • Sun hat, sunglasses and sunscreen
  • Comfortable pair of walking shoes
  • Warm jacket or fleece for cool evenings
  • Waterproof jacket
  • Headlamp if you want to read in the evening (some rooms don’t have lights next to the bed)

We recommend packing only one piece of checked baggage.

Practical Information

Visa

Romania

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Romania. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

Vaccinations and Health

Romania

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rabies, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and tuberculosis (TB). Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic. 

Local Time

Romania's time zone: Europe/Bucharest (UTC +03:00)

Electricity

Romania's electricity: Plug types C (two round pins) and F (two round pins) – 230V, 50Hz 

Highlights of Romania

Money

Romania's currency: Romanian leu (RON) 

ATM Availability

ATMs and banks are available in the larger towns and cities, including Bucharest, Cluj and Sighisoara. You can use credit cards in many shops and restaurants in Bucharest but we recommend taking plenty of cash for shopping in the smaller villages.

Extra Expenses & Spending Money

Please budget 70 Romanian lei (US$15) per person for lunches and 80-100 lei (US$17-US$22) per person for dinner when not included.

Drinks: A beer costs about 7 lei (US$1.30) in small towns and up to 20 lei in the cities. A glass of wine is around 20 lei (US$5)

Optional bear hide visit: Approximately 400 lei (US$87) per person (minimum two people)

Tipping

Although optional, a tip for the leader at the end of the trip is greatly appreciated. As a guideline, we recommend a contribution of 23 lei (US$5) per client per day. It is also customary to leave a tip for any additional local staff who support your trip, for example, drivers, cooks and hotel staff. This can be handed to your leader at the end of the week to distribute accordingly. In total for the leader to distribute to all relevant staff, we recommend to budget approximately 50-75 lei (US$11-US$16) per person per week.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

  • Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
  • This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
  • Guesthouses run by local families are used on five nights during this tour.
  • Read more about our other initiatives here.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

  • By travelling in a small group, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
  • We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for reusable bottles.
  • The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves and archaeological sites generates income used to upkeep and develop these important sites. We visit the Unesco World Heritage sites of Sighisoara, Sibiu and Viscri.
  • With our partners, Rewilding Apennines, we rewild 100 square meters (1,075 sqft) of land per passenger who travels with us.
  • Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

  • Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
  • Our local partners are members of Eco-Romania association, which developed a system of certification in ecotourism to objectively assess how local tourism services comply with the principles of ecotourism.
  • Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

  • Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
  • Plastic waste reduction: Please bring a reusable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Important Information

Your safe participation 

When booking this trip, you should be confident in your ability to participate in all activities described in these Trip Notes. If you have any doubt about your suitability, please call the Exodus office and ask to speak to one of the experts on this itinerary. 

Although our leaders are well trained to deal with different capabilities, if they have any concerns about someone’s ability to safely take part in an activity, or their impact on other people’s enjoyment, we authorise them to take necessary action which, in some circumstances, may involve asking someone to miss that activity. 

By booking this trip you agree to our Booking Conditions which clearly state that our leaders have the authority to do this. In these rare instances we will ensure anyone sitting out is safely provided for and offered alternative options where possible. Refunds will not be provided for activities missed and customers may be liable for additional costs incurred. 

How to Book

  1. Check availability: Go online to check availability, or contact us by phone or email.
  2. Secure your place: You can provisionally hold a place on this trip, usually for between three and seven days.
  3. Complete your booking and payment

When you’re ready to book, go to our website for online bookings, book over the phone or you can complete a booking form (available online or on request by calling us). We accept all major credit and debit cards, or you can pay be cheque.

After booking

You will receive your booking confirmation letter and invoice, which includes extra information and guidance about your travel arrangements.

Full joining instructions, including local emergency numbers and details of how to reach the start point, will be sent to you approximately two to three weeks prior to departure. If you do not receive these at least a week before departure, or require them earlier, please contact our office or your travel agent.

Trip Note validity

These Trip Notes are valid from the “Current as” date on page one. They will occasionally be updated after booking and before departure; if there are any updates that significantly impact the inclusions or itinerary, customers will be written to separately. They will also receive a link to the most up-to-date Trip Notes with their Final Joining Instructions before travelling.

The information in these Trip Notes is given in good faith. Where differences exist between the Trip Notes and our current brochure or website, the Trip Notes supersede the brochure and website. All holidays can be subject to unexpected changes; to enjoy them you should be prepared to be flexible where necessary. Occasionally, it may not be possible to follow the itinerary as planned. This may be for a variety of reasons – climatic, political, physical or other. In these circumstances we will make the best-possible alternative arrangements that maintain the integrity of the original itinerary.

Licensing

Exodus is fully licensed and bonded as a tour operator. We hold Air Traffic Organisers Licence (ATOL) number 2582, issued and bonded with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). We are also bonded to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and we are members of the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) and ABTA – The Travel Association. This means you can book your Exodus holiday with confidence, as all money paid to us for your trip is fully protected.