RELAXED TOURING
Day 1: BUCHAREST – SINAIA – BRAN – BRASOV ( aprox. 220 km. / 137 miles )
Start the tour driving north towards Transylvania. While crossing the Southern Carpathians, stop in Sinaia to visit one of the most beautiful castles in Europe – the famous Peles Royal Castle, a masterpiece of German New-Renaissance architecture, commissioned by King Carol in 1873 and completed in 1883 The Peles Royal Castle is the world’s first castle fully powered by locally produced electricity.
The second visit will allow you to travel back time, in the Medieval Age. You will see Bran Castle, the most visited castle in Romania also thanks to the legendary character, Dracula.
Bran Castle is home to a rich collection of Romanian and foreign furniture and art items from the XIVth-XIXth centuries. It sits up atop a tall rock, overlooking the picturesque village of Bran. On the grounds bellow, there is an open-air ethnographic museum of old village buildings with exhibits of furniture, household objects, and costumes.
The day will end in Brasov where you will enjoy a walking tour of the downtown in the Council Square and see the Black Church, a Gothic masterpiece, being the largest Gothic construction in Eastern part of Europe.
Overnight in Brasov, hotel 4* Optional dinner in Poiana Brasov ( the most famous famous moutain /ski resort of Romania lies 12 km / 8 miles away on a winding road ) where the famous movie Oscar nominated movie THE COLD MOUNTAIN has been shot
Day 2: BRASOV – SIGHISOARA – BIERTAN – SIBIU ( aprox.260 km. / 160 miles)
After breakfast you will leave Brasov and head to Sighisoara. After aprox 2 h and 30 minutes you will arrive in Sighisoara / Schäßburg- the only medieval citadel still entirely inhabited in South-Eastern Europe. Its picturesque architecture reminds you of some of the most illustrious medieval fortifications in Western Europe. Sighisoara was fortified by the Saxon guilds – the Blacksmiths’, Butchers’ and Cobblers’ are among the defensive towers which still survive and the beautifully preserved medieval citadel is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.Explore the Old Town of Sighisoara with cobbled streets, burgher houses and ornate churches. Start your orientation tour along the medieval street and see the Clock Tower known as the Council Tower (for an interesting panoramic view) built in the second half of the 14th century and expanded in the 16th century. Continue tour with the Venetian House, built in the 16th century. Visit Dracula’s house where Vlad Tepes was born in 1431 and lived with his father until 1435 Afterwards free time to explore on your own. You may go up the stairs at the Clock Tower (for an interesting panoramic view) and enjoy a walk on the covered stairs to the Church on the Hill or enjoy a cup of tea /coffee in the small historical square.
You will leave this beautiful town and stop in the village of Biertan (UNESCO Heritage) where you will see one of the first German settlements in Transylvania. The name was firstly attested in 1283. It had an urban organization, notice the franconic style of the rows of houses around the central square overlooked by a grandiose fortress-church. Here you will find out the unique method of the citizens to keep their marriages and avoid getting divorced.
Afterwards you will continue your tour to SIBIU. Upon arrival arround 16 : 30 accommodation. Afterwards, at 17 : 30 your private tour-guide will invite you to have a walking tour of the historical part of the city where there is also the restaurant where you will have the dinner starting from 19 : 00
Sibiu was a German medieval citadel, with the first documentary attestation in 1191, and the old name Hermanstadt. Sibiu is considered the most beautiful city in Romania and being so well preserved, in 2007, gained the title of the European Capital of Culture. You will enjoy here a walking tour in the old town (the historical center of Sibiu) including The Large Square, The Small Square with the picturesque Liars Bridge, the old fortifications of the city, the Council Tower, etc.
Day 3: SIBIU – HUNEDOARA – KLADOVO/SERBIA (aprox 370 km. / 230 miles)
After breafast we drive to Hunedoara where we will visit Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle. The fairy-tale Gothic castle, with its drawbridge over a rushing river, the pointed turrets and towering buttresses is maybe the best representation of the archetypal Transylvanian castle
Built in the 14th-15th centuries, the castle belonged to the ancestors of King Corvinus, the Hungarian king of the 15th century. It is here that Vlad the Impaler was imprisoned on his way to Budapest..
In the autumn of 2014, the Hunyadi castle became decoration for a historical film about Vlad the Impaler shot by an American film production company. The castle of Hunedoara was chosen to run the most important moments of the four-hour documentary about Prince Vlad the Impaler. The historical film “Vlad the Impaler” is directed by Keon Waxman, and among the actors there is also Dominic Purcell, the actor who starred in the series “Prison Break.”
The scenic road continues along the valleys of the Carpathian Mountains. The Roman journey continues with the Baile Herculane spa. Founded by the Romans in a lush and beautiful area, the spa developed into a major tourist attraction during the Austrian occupation.
Afterwards we will enter Serbia by crossing the famous Iron Gates (Portile de Fier / Djerdap) dam. Continue on route to Kladovo for overnight. Be ready for a Traditional Sebian Dinner
Day 4: KLADOVO /SERBIA– ORSOVA – CRAIOVA (aprox 220km. / 137 miles)
After breakfast , meet your tour-guide in the hotel lobby and get ready to leave the hotel in order to travel towards Orsova / Iron Gates. The most spectacular scenery must surely be the dramatic gorge of the IRON GATES, a narrow passage dividing Europe’s Alps in the northwest from the Carpathians in the southeast and forming a natural border between Serbia and Romania. Weather permitting (othewise the same itinerary it will be done by bus instead of boat ) , enjoy a BONUS / FREE 75 minute cruise on the Danube Gorges (the longest of Europe 134 km / 83 miles ) The cruise will take you in the heart of the cauldrons ( small and big ) and you will see the tallest and impressive rock sculpture (42.9 meters in height and 31.6 meters in width) from Europe – Decebalus’s face (Decebalus was the last King of Dacia, who fought against the Roman Emperors Domitian and Trajan to preserve the independence of his country, which corresponded to modern Romania ),Tabula Traiana ( the ancient Trajan’s Plaque), Ponicova Cave and Mraconia Monastery.
After lunch we go towards Craiova for the overnight.
Day 5 CRAIOVA – HOREZU – BUCHAREST ( aprox. 330 km. / 205 miles)
After breakfast , meet your tour-guide in the hotel lobby and get ready to leave the hotel towards Horezu, a small village from Wallachia, famous all around the world for its inhabitants handicraft – Ceramics. ( Craftsmanship of Horezu ceramics was inscribed in 2012 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity –UNESCO site ) All colours you can imagine, painted plates like you’ve never seen before and a unique tradition will make Horezu Village one of the most interesting places you have ever visited before We will visit: Hurezi Monastery ( UNESCO Site ) – the most comprehensive ensemble of medieval architecture preserved in Wallachia and a Ceramical Workshop. After the lunch your trip continues towards Bucharest. Arrival in Bucharest arround 18 : 00
Overview
TOUR STARTS
Bucharest
TOUR ENDS
Bucharest
DISTANCE COVERED
aprox. 1400 km. / 869 miles
What’s included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Private tour – guide
- Private transport by air-conditioned car / minivan /van with separate driver ( ensures your tour -guide full attention throughout the days )
- 1 night accommodation in a 4 star hotel in Brasov
- 1 night accommodation in a 4 star hotel in Sibiu
- 1 night accommodation in a 4 star hotel in Kladovo / Serbia
- 1 night accommodation in a 4 star hotel in Craiova
- 4 ( buffet ) breakfasts
- 1 ( three course set menu ) lunch
- 1 ( three course set menu ) dinner in Sibiu
- 1 ( three course set menu ) traditional Serbian Dinner in Kladovo
- Entrance fees at the sights
What’s not included
- Other meals than specified
- Drinks during the meals ( lunches and dinners)
- Expenses of private nature like souvenirs
- Gratuities (appreciated but optional /entirely at clients’ discretion)