Itinerary
Day 1 / BUCHAREST ARRIVAL
Meet your guide at the airport in Bucharest and transfer to the HOTEL EUROPA ROYALE 4*
Enjoy some leisure time at the hotel and dinner on your own, for which we have a very nice recommendation:
the oldest surviving restaurant in Bucharest: CARU’ CU BERE (The Beer Wagon), which offers also different shows each night (reservations upon request).
The restaurant was established in 1879 in Calea Victoriei Street by Ion Carabasanu, a former Romanian army volunteer, coming from Transylvania. The building and the establishment became famous in the commercial field of Bucharest, at the beginning of the 1900’s, when the owner, received the military decorations of the Order of the Romanian Crown and of the Order of the Star of Romania. Today, the restaurant is as loved as it was when it first opened. The restaurant is a relaxing 10 minutes’ walk from to the hotel.
Meal plan: no meals included on this day
Day 2 / BUCHAREST - SINAIA
Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will head to the city of Sinaia, one of the most popular ski resorts in Romania.
During the summer the city is teaming with mountaineers and nature’s lover that are coming from all the corners of Romania as the place is the entrance gate of the Bucegi Mountains. Tow cable cars are taking tourists up from the city to 2000 meters’ elevation eighter for the best ski slopes of simply to enjoy the views. Where the city ends a trail is leading up to the impressive Peles Castle a visit that you will definitely remember.
Majestically situated on a hilltop and a landmark of Romania, this particular castle is a daily reminder of the glorious royal past of the country.
It took over 40 years and hundreds of builders and artist to create this masterpiece that can still be admired today like it once was, as there is not even a single piece of furniture or decoration missing.
Built to serve the purpose of a summer residence for the royal family, Peles is full of items such as Murano glass, carved walnut, silk rugs, and polished marble. One of the most admired places is the so called Oriental Room where we can still see today the collection of weapons of the king. Lunch on your own.
After this exquisite visit you can serve lunch in a very traditional way at the restaurant CUTITUL DE ARGING – (The silver knife) where the meat is served pierced on a sword, or you can simply breathe in the clean air of Sinaia. Check in at FOISORUL CU FLORI 4*
Meal plan: Breakfast
Day 3 / SINAIA - BUSTENI - BUCEGI PLATEAU - PESTERA
Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning you will be transferred to Busteni where you will take the cable car to Bucegi Plateau where two of the most iconic sites of Romania are found.
First is the Sphinx and the Babele ( the old women). They are a natural rock formation located at an altitude of 2200 meters. The name of the Sphinx came as it is very similar to a human head if it is looked at from an certain angle. Romanians actually say that it resembles the head of Decebal the ancient king of Dacia, and in ancient times the people considered that it is representing a supreme divinity.
The second most popular attraction of this area is the Cross of Caraiman, a 36 meters cross erected on the top of the mountains to commemorate the nations heroes that served the country in the First World War. Called also the Heroes' Cross, this monument will not leave your sight from the moment you enter Busteni until you will depart it as it is situated in a strategic position.
Today you will enjoy your delicious lunch-box prepared by the hotel, surrounded by beautiful mountains peaks.
After enjoying the views and the clean air you will once again take the cable car and descend towards Busteni from where you will head to the area referred as Pestera (the cave) by car, passing through incredible mountain and plateau landscape and the man-made lake – Lacul Bolboci.
Accommodation at HOTEL PESTERA 4*
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch- box, Dinner
Day 4 / PESTERA - IALOMITA CAVE& MONASTERY - PESTERA
Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning a 5 minutes’ walk will lead you to Ialomita Cave and the monastery built in the entrance. Situated at an altitude of 1500 meters and hided deep in the mountains, this place is a quite rare attraction, and not so many people came to visit because the access road was built very recent.
The cave itself it is stretching over 480 meters of both galleries and halls, from which 400 are accessible to visitors. The access at some point is cut by an upstream portion called the Shrine. In the entrance of the cave visitors can admire a monastery built in the 16th century.
After the visit you will return to the hotel and have lunch. You will have the entire afternoon at leisure just to relax and enjoy the landscape and fresh mountain air.
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 / PESTERA - RASNOV - BRASOV
Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will leave the secluded location of Pestera and head to Rasnov where you will visit the citadel, one of the best rustic fortification towns preserved in Romania.
After this amazing visit you will go back in time millions of year as you will experience Dino Park, the only dinosaurs theme park in Romania and the biggest in the South – East of Europe.
Lunch on your own. After lunch you will arrive to Brasov.
The city is nestled between the peaks of the Carpathian Mountains and boasts an impressive mix of gothic, baroque and renaissance architecture. It was founded in 1211, by the Teutonic Knights, later on settled by the Saxons, that turned it into a walled citadel and developed it to become one of the richest towns in Transylvania.
In Brasov you will have a pedestrian guided tour of the city and you will visit the Black Church. Build in the XIV century the church is the most representative historical monument in the city. You will continue the tour, visiting the First Romanian School and one of the narrowest streets in Europe – String’s Street.
After the tour you will check in at the HOTEL AMBIENT 4* hotel.
Meal plan: Breakfast
Day 6 / BRASOV - ZARNESTI BEAR SANCTUARY - DRACULA’S CASTLE BRAN - BRASOV
Breakfast at the hotel. Today you will embark on a 4x4 adventure, in which you will visit the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Zarnesti. Built in 1998, by Cristina Lapis, a nature and wildlife lover, as a safe haven for bears that were exploited by the locals and kept in small cages, the Libearty Bear Sanctuary is today home to more than 70 rescued bears that are being cared for. Here the bears climb trees, swim in the pools and can enjoy their new life on a private owned estate that measure over 70 hectares of oak and hazel forest in the Carpathian Mountains above the Transylvanian town of Zarnesti. Continuing the 4x4 tour route you will experience first-hand the majestic mountain area of central Romania as you will pass through some remote villages and you will take in all the natural beauty that is surrounding this area. Lunch on your own. After lunch you will visit one of the most iconic castles of Romania, known as Dracula’s Castle- Bran. Bram Stoker’s character Dracula is often confused with Vlad the Impaler who was a very cruel Romanian Prince with a castle located high above a valley perched on a rock with a flowing river below in the Principality of Transylvania. A description perfectly fit for Bran Castle, a fortress built in the year 1211 by the Teutonic Knights –a catholic religious order formed in Palestine during the late twelfth century by German crusaders. Late in the afternoon you will arrive back to Brasov.
Meal plan: Breakfast
Day 7 / BRASOV - TARGOVISTE - BUCURESTI
After a delicious breakfast , you will head back to the capital city Bucharest, and on your way back you will visit the Royal Court of Muntenia region, situated in Targoviste.
Built between the 15-17th century this is the place from where the country was ruled in those times, and it is maybe the most representative for Romanian architecture and art as the monuments here contain innovative elements which influenced that age. One of the most impressive standing monument is the Chindia Tower. Built with a clear military purpose during Vlad the Impaler’s rule, the tower over the ages had different purposes such as: storing the state treasury or a guard point. In the more close ages, as the city lost its importance people used it as a fire spotter as it was the tallest building in the area. Nowadays it is hosting a small museum and different exhibitions.
Lunch on your own.
After lunch continue to Bucharest, where upon your arrival and check in at the HOTEL EUROPA ROYALE 4* you will have time to relax.
Meal plan: Breakfast
Day 8 / BUCHAREST
After a delicious breakfast, you will dedicate this day to explore the capital city of Romania- Bucharest.
Your day will start with a panoramic tour and continue with the visit to the biggest administrative building in the world The Palace of Parliament.
Built by the former communist ruler Nicolae Ceausescu as part of his ambitious urban development, this building stands for one of the most extravagant and expensive constructions made in the last century.
After the visit you will be transferred back to the hotel where you will enjoy free time before the departure or you can chose to explore on your own the city.
Meal plan: Breakfast
Day 9 / BUCHAREST – DEPARTURE
Breakfast at the hotel. Today in time for your flight you will be transferred to Otopeni International Airport.
Meal plan: Breakfast
Accomodation & Tarriffs
| Location | 4* Category |
|---|---|
| Bucharest | Europa Royale Hotel |
| Sinaia | Foisorul cu Flori |
| Pestera | Hotel Pestera |
| Brasov | Hotel Ambient |
Included services
- 8 nights’ accommodation at the specified hotels or similar
- Meals specified in the program
- English speaking guide throughout the tour
- All transfers and tours indicated in the outlined itinerary
- Excursions, visits and activities, according to the program
- Entrance tickets for all the mentioned visits
- Passenger welcome kit with map, suggested restaurants, gift and pick-up time
- 24-hours emergency phone numbers
- Visa assistance if required
Extra services
- Visa costs if visa is required
- Flights or other flight related costs
- Early check-in & late check-out
- Porterage (airport & hotel)
- Other meals, except for the ones specified in the program
- Additional drinks, except the ones indicated in the meal plan
- Tips for guide and driver
- Optional excursions and visits
- Personal expenses
- Medical insurance
- Other services or expenses, except the ones mentioned in the “included” section (for example: massages, casino, telephone, internet, etc.)
Observations
- Remarks about feasibility of tours: most tours can be done also during the winter November- March (may vary in some areas), but some roads may not be accessible in that period due to heavy snow fall.
- Tariffs are subject to changes, especially if heavy fluctuation in exchange rate and/or fuel prices.
- All tours and tariffs are subject to changes in case of cancellations or overbooking of flights, changes in timetable, bad weather and road conditions, strike, closing of sites, natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods.
- No services have been blocked for this tour. Ground services availability will be checked when we receive your enquiry. The availability will be re- confirmed, when the deposit has been made and received.
- In case of a last minute notification from the hotel, regarding the already confirmed availability, we commit ourselves to replace it with another hotel from the same category, or a superior one.
- For the transportation services, we will use cars, mini vans or buses, adequate to the number of participants.
Reservation
- The prices are valid for 2017, except legal holidays in Romania, when additional costs may apply.
- We will supply you with all the required company details, including the SWIFT code, in order to safely proceed with the payment.
- Payment will be made in Euros, to the provided bank account.
- In case of payment by credit card, the bank will perceive an extra commission of 1.6%, of the full value of the transaction.
- The payment will be made, as follows:
- For the ground services, an advance payment of 30% of the full value of the package, will be made at the moment of the reservation.
- The other 70% of the full value of the package, will be paid the latest, one month before the beginning of the services and the exact dates for the payment will be set through annexes to the contract.
- For service confirmations received 30 days before they commence, full prepayment will be made at the moment of the confirmation.
- If the client wishes to include also the flights in the present package, the price for the flights, will be paid in full, at the moment of their reservation.
- Airline companies can modify the flight’s schedule or status, according to their internal organization, without any prior notice to the travel agency. Trip Tailor cannot be made liable for any changes in the schedule of the booked flight, which falls completely in the responsibility of the airline company.
