Private 9-Day Transylvania and Bucovina UNESCO Tour in Historical Romania

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Bucharest - Peles Castle - Brasov
2 stops
1
Bucharest
Our accredited guide will meet you at your hotel at 9 am.
Admission ticket free
2
Peles Castle
Our first 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.
1 hour • Admission ticket not included
Day 2
Brasov - Bears Sanctuary - Rasnov Fortress - Bran Castle - Brasov
3 stops
3
Libearty Bear Sanctuary Zarnesti
he 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!
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission ticket not included
4
Rasnov Citadel: Garden and Panoramic View
Visit Rasnov Fortress, which was built in the 13th Century, might just be the most enchanting of them all! The fortress is the biggest in Transylvania and one of the best-preserved in Romania. Beautiful panorama over Barsa Land from the very top of the fortress.
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission ticket not included
5
Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)
Also called Dracula's Castle, it is situated at the entrance of Bran-Rucar pass. A remarkable architectural, the monument was built between 1377-1382 on a rock 60 m. After Bran Castle visit, head to a local restaurant for lunch of fresh salads, traditional soups, delicious sarmale, meat, chicken, vegetables and other regional fares (drinks and meals at own expense). Traditional lunch can be arranged in Bran village.
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission ticket not included
Day 3
Brasov - Fagaras Fortress - Sibiu - Sibiel.
2 stops
6
Fagaras Fortress
Encircled by a moat fringed with willow trees, Fagaras Fortress is an impressively intact fortification from medieval Transylvania. Visit Fagaras Fortress and Valer Literat Museum, whose visual highlights include delicately painted Saxon furnishings and a room exhibiting splendid glassware and learn about outlaw men and anticommunism resistance.
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission ticket not included
7
Sibiu
Sibiu is the heart of Germanic Transylvania. Saxon colonists called the town Hermannstadt. Sibiu town lies on the site of one of the largest Middle Age fortresses from Romania. In the Middle Ages Sibiu was surrounded by three concentric rings of fortified walls. Some have survived, along with a fascinating network of squares, staircases and towers dating between 13 and 18 centuries. We visit the Big Square which is the historic centre of Sibiu, first mentioned in documents in 1411 as a cereal market, the square existing since 1366 when the third fortification belt of the city was finalized. We visit the Little Square which is the second-largest historic place of Sibiu and one of the most beautiful in town and Huet square, dominated by the Evangelical Church, which is the oldest in Sibiu, the Liars' Bridge. Highlights: The Big Square, The Little Square, The Council Tower, The Bridge of Liars, The Evangelical Cathedral and the oldest house in the town.
1 hour • Admission ticket free
Day 4
Sibiel - Hunyadi Castle - Alba Iulia - Sibiel
2 stops
8
Castelul Corvinilor
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.
1 hour 15 minutes • Admission ticket not included
9
Cetatea Alba Iulia
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.
1 hour • Admission ticket free
Day 5
DAY 5: Sibiel - Borgo Pass - Gura Humorului
1 stop
10
Stop at Borgo Pass, the famous place where Dracula Castle is located in the novel. We can have lunch at the Hotel Castle Dracula.
1 hour • Admission ticket free
Day 6
DAY 6: Gura Humorului - Voronet - Painted Egg Museum - Moldovita- Sucevita - Marginea - Gura Humorului
4 stops
11
Manastirea Voronet
You don’t have to be very religious to enjoy a visit to Voronet Monastery where you’ll see the most famous of the painted churches of Bucovina. Included today on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with six more churches from the region, this religious monument is a unique symbol of how local medieval princes emphasized their great support for the Orthodox faith in a time when its existence was threatened by the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the ‘the Sistine Chapel of the East’ due to its splendid frescoes, the church of the Monastery of Voronet was built in just a couple of months, in 1488, by Stephen the Great, the most popular prince of Moldavia, after one of his victories against the Ottoman armies. This was a common practice of the prince who promoted an architecture known as the Moldavian style. Many of the churches built this way are still preserved until today in the regions of Moldavia and Bucovina.
45 minutes • Admission ticket not included
12
Moldovita Monastery
Moldovita Monastery is one of the eight painted churches included on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, all masterpieces inspired by the Byzantine art of the 15th and 16th centuries. Their distinctive element – the external walls covered with frescoes representing complete religious cycles – makes them unique in the myriad of churches built anywhere in the world in that time.
45 minutes • Admission ticket not included
13
Sucevita Monastery
One of the must-see cultural attractions from Romania, the colourful image of Sucevita Monastery will stay with you for many years to come after you’ve seen it. Few religious monuments are as inspirational and mesmerizing as Sucevita Monastery, one of the eight painted churches from Bucovina included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. A masterpiece and ‘a testament of Moldavian art’, Sucevita Monastery marks the end of an era, a time in which medieval religious art reached new levels of innovation and creativity in this part of Romania.
45 minutes • Admission ticket not included
14
Letitia Orsivschi's Egg Museum
The initiator of this private initiative is Mrs Letitia Orsvischi, artisan and creator of most exhibits found in the museum. She has represented Romania at many international exhibitions as she is very appreciated in her line of work. As an artist, she learned the craft from her family. Visit The Black Pottery Centre in Marginea village.
45 minutes • Admission ticket not included
Day 7
DAY 7: Gura Humorului - Nicole Popa Ethnographic museum - Bicaz Gorge - The Red Lake - Sighisoara.
3 stops
15
The Popa Museum
Visit Nicole Popa Ethnographic museum. This attraction is in Tarpesti, where you meet the “village world” - ethnography, folklore, history, and traditional masks under one roof.
1 hour • Admission ticket not included
16
Bicaz Gorges
Bicaz Gorges are without a doubt one of the most breathtaking natural attractions in Romania, especially if you decide to leave your car behind and explore its many trails on foot. Crossed by the road that links the historical regions of Moldavia and Transylvania, these gorges are one of the most popular summer destinations in Romania. Located in the central part of the Eastern Carpathians, in the splendid Hasmasul Mare Massif, the gorges wind for six kilometers along the course of the Bicaz River. Their tall rocky walls reach 350-400 meters, narrowing up to seven meters in its most spectacular part, the Hell’s Gate.
Admission ticket free
17
Red Lake
The Red lake is yet another amazing creation of nature. This one is more recent than Bicazului Gorges. The Red lake is the first natural dam lake created in Romania. In 1837, one of the massifs in the area collapses and locked the Bicazului Valley close to the Bicazului Gorges, which created the lake.
30 minutes • Admission ticket free
Day 8
DAY 8: Sighisoara - Viscri - Prejmer - Brasov
2 stops
18
Viscri Fortified Church
Visit Viscri, an authentic Transylvanian village and the oldest fortified church in Transylvania. 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. Time allocated for taking pictures and walking through the village. Your guide will lead you to the best spots!
1 hour • Admission ticket not included
19
Peasant Fortified Church at Prejmer
Prejmer Fortified Church was conquered only once but went through 50 sieges during its hundreds of years of existence. A remarkable success for this historical monument now part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and a must-see of any itineraries through medieval Transylvania. Located only a few kilometres from Brasov, one of the seven citadels founded by the Saxon colonists starting with the 12th century, the fortified church of Prejmer had from the beginning a challenging mission. The most eastern Saxon village from Transylvania, close to Buzau Pass, Prejmer was often in the front line of enemy attacks which could only mean that the fortified church had to endure more sieges than most similar constructions from the region. A task for which Prejmer Fortified Church was strengthened for centuries, starting with its founders, the mythical Teutonic Knights.
45 minutes • Admission ticket not included
Day 9
DAY 9: Brasov - Snagov Monastery - Bucharest
1 stop
20
Snagov Monastery
About 45 kilometres north of Bucharest, on an island in the middle of Snagov Lake, lays the monastery with the same name. Built around the time of Vlad the Impaler’s grandfather, Mircea the Old, the monastery has become famous as the burial place of the king of Walachia who would become the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. There are many gaps to fill when it comes to the life of Vlad the Impaler. While his life has been exploited and his heroic battles against the Turks highly praised, little is known about the last hours of his legendary life. It is believed that Vlad’s decapitated body was found in the woods around Bucharest by the monks of the Snagov Monastery and brought here to be buried since both Vlad and his father had donated money to the church. But Snagov was also a place of punishment. In a small cell, Vlad the Impaler invited his victims to kneel in front of an icon of the Virgin Mary. Suddenly a trap door would open and his guest would be sent to a ditch below where stakes stood erect ready to pierce his body. Decapitated skeletons found here stand as proof of these horrific crimes. Another legend says that after the battle with the Turks in 1476, subsequent to which he died, the body of Vlad the Impaler was secretly buried in the Christian manner inside either of the churches. In one version of the story, Vlad was murdered in a nearby forest, and the monks of the monastery found the body. Perhaps the monks felt indebted to Vlad for the additions he insisted be added to their abode, most bizarrely, the prison and the torture chamber. Whatever the reasons, the monks dressed the body richly and put it to rest in front of the church altar. The Legends of Snagov Monastery Peasants talk about the “hidden treasures” of the Impaler. Sensing death, Vlad had them make cast-iron barrels in which he placed silver, gold and precious jewels; he then ordered the course of a river to be diverted by a dam (perhaps the Dambovita river) after getting rid of the riches, he gave free flow to the river and all the peasants involved were IMPALED! Visitors who cross the lake by boat or over the bridge, reach the quiet, remote monastery that brings the legend alive! One can pay his respects at Dracula’s tomb, located at the altar footsteps, and admire the beautiful frescoes, some of which go as far back as the 15th century. Locals tell stories about a different church that existed here, which fell into the lake together with its steeple, during a storm. When the wind blows they say you can hear a chime rising from the bottom of the lake. Nevertheless, people are superstitious and the monastery has had its fair share of bad luck: floods, earthquakes, the burning of the bridge connecting it to the mainland during the 1821 revolution as well as being transformed into a prison in the 19th century. Although there has been a lot of debate around the real tomb of Vlad the Impaler and whether you are a Dracula fan or not, the monastery of Snagov is worth a peek! It was once an important hub of the cultural and monastic life: it hosted a printing shop as well as a mint…When coming here travellers understand why it was used as a refuge as well as a prison… As for the vampire hunters…what better place to end a trip to Romania than the legendary burial place of the count of all counts: Count Dracula?! Transfer to your hotel in Bucharest city or to the airport.
45 minutes • Admission ticket not included

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Peles Castle is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. When is closed it can be seen only from outside. For more info please visit peles.ro.

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