Tour of Romania starting from Budapest

Your tour starts in Budapest, where you will be picked up by our guide from your hotel or from your requested location. At 10 AM you will leave Budapest and take a 4-hour trip to Oradea.

Once in Oradea, you will have free time for lunch, and then you will check in at a centrally located hotel.

Although it is almost one thousand years old, Oradea is marked by the Vienna Secession art movement which influenced most of the important buildings of the city throughout the 18th century. The historical center was completely restored, and you will visit the Black Eagle Palace, built in the early 20th century, and the Moon Church, who got its name from a golden sphere which tells the phases of the moon. You will also take a trip to the Episcopal Palace, the Moskovits Buildings, and the Oradea Fortress, an impressive star-shaped medieval defense point.

At night, you will take a walking tour through the city center and its public gardens.

After a delicious breakfast, you will head towards a beautiful town in Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca. But on your way there, you will stop at one of the most impressive underground places in the world, the Turda Salt Mine. In the last 2,000 years, over 3 billion tons of salt was extracted, but now the mine was transformed into an underground theme park where you can take a boat ride on the lake, play mini golf, tennis, and much more.

Your next destination is one of the best-preserved traditional villages in Transylvania, Rimetea, the place where the sun rises twice. You will then head to Cluj, one of the most dynamic cities in Eastern Europe. Its history can be traced back to more than two thousand years ago when the Romanian people laid the foundation for a municipality. Your Cluj city tour starts with the Saint Michael’s Church, built in the 15th century by Matthias Corvinus, one of Hungary’s most important kings. After that, your sightseeing tour will continue with other symbolic buildings from the Cluj Old Town, such as Banffy Palace, the Opera House, and Mirror Street.

The third day of your tour continues with a visit to Gherla, the only city in Romania built in a baroque style by Armenian colonists in the 18th century. Probably the most impressive thing about Transylvania is the cultural diversity of the region, which blends beautifully into an impressive community. This can be observed in almost every town in Transylvania, including your next destination, Bistrita.
The city was founded by Saxon colonists, and here you will stop for a city tour and for a taste of the delicious local pies (the costs of the pies are not included in the total price), famous throughout the whole region.

From Bistrita, you will pass through the beautiful Carpathian Mountains, which are home to the largest population of wolves and brown bears in Europe. It is said that the rich forests and the deep valleys of the Carpathians are what inspired Bram Stoker when he chose the location of Dracula’s Castle.

You will make a stop at Pasul Tihuta to admire the beautiful sights offered by these impressive mountains before continuing to the historic region of Bukovina.

Your first landmark in Bukovina is one of the most famous painted monasteries included in UNESCO’s patrimony, the Voronet Monastery. This stunning work of art was built in 1448 in only 3 months and 3 weeks. What makes it so special is the famous blue of Voronet, a shade of blue whose secret composition is unknown to this day. Together with Santorini and Meteora Monastery, Voronet is one of the wonders of the Byzantine world.

Tip: For an enhanced experience, visit the Voronet Monastery during winter. The shades of blue that dominate the building stand out beautifully in a field of white snow.

Today you will visit another UNESCO Painted Monastery, Sucevita, the largest and most complete of them all. Its construction started in 1585, and its most impressive mural is the “Ladder of Divine Ascent”, an artwork of great importance in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Here, you will taste some of the fresh local products in a food tasting session, which will serve as an introduction to the local cuisine. Filled with fresh products and delicious appetizers, the session will surely charm you through the unique flavors of the Romanian cuisine.

After lunch, you will bid farewell to Bukovina and pass through Neamt, a where medieval monasteries are hidden among the wild forests. You will make a stop at the Nicolae Popa Museum, a private collection of clothes and traditional objects from one of the richest area in Romania in terms of culture. Besides getting a glimpse into the history of the region, you will have the chance to wear a popular Romanian outfit and take some photos for unique memories.
You will then reach Piatra Neamt, where we will check in for the night.

In the morning you will leave the small city of Piatra Neamt and pass again through the Carpathian Mountains into the Bicaz Gorges through one of the most spectacular areas in Romania. For thousands of years, the Bicaz River carved its path through the Carpathian Mountains and left behind a perfect pass from Moldavia to Transylvania.

Your next stop will be in Sighisoara, a city renowned for its medieval architecture, where you will find the last inhabited fortress in Europe, included today in the UNESCO patrimony. The fortress is surrounded by impressive towers, each built by a different medieval guild, but the most impressive one being, by far, the Clock Tower. It was built in the 14th century, and you can climb on top of the tower for an amazing view over the narrow streets of the city, guarded by colorful stone houses.

Your next landmark in Sighisoara will be its Hill Church, with beautiful frescoes that have been preserved since the 15th century. The church is located on top of a hill, and it can be reached by climbing the 175 wooden stairs known as The Pupils’ Staircase.

You will spend the night in Sighisoara, a place well known for its street performers that keep alive the medieval atmosphere of the city.

One of Romania’s most impressive features is, by far, the picturesque landscapes: small villages hidden between the hills, inhabited by Romanian peasants who go about their business as if the whole world stands still. In your 6th day in Romania, you will take a trip to Viscri, one of the last traditionally authentic villages in the country. Here, you will enjoy a relaxing carriage ride of the surroundings and you will find out a little bit of the local traditions while talking to some of the villagers.

You will then visit Romania’s most popular tourist attraction, Dracula’s Castle. Going by the official name of Bran Castle, it was erected in the 14th century by the Teutonic Knights as a defense point over the main commercial route between Transylvania and Wallachia. After centuries of being used as a strategic position, the castle was turned into a summer residence by Queen Marie of Romania, and in the last 50 years its popularity sky-rocketed, mainly due to Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

After taking a tour of Bran Castle, you will head to Brasov and visit the Black Church, the largest gothic church between Istanbul and Vienna. You will also take a walking tour through Brasov’s Old Town including the Council Square, a place filled with legends that will make for an unforgettable night.

Depending on the time of arrival in Brasov, we will attend an organ recital at the Black Church.

On your last day in Transylvania, you will go to Sinaia to explore one of Europe’s most beautiful castles, Peles Castle. This was the summer residence of the Romanian royal family, and it was built according to the requirements of King Carol I of Romania.

After a tour of Peles Castle, you will make our way to Romania’s capital city, Bucharest, which is less than 2 hours away. Also known as “Little Paris”, Bucharest will charm you with its variety of landmarks, ranging from the impressive Palace of the Parliament to the charming Herestrău Park.

Once in Bucharest, you will have free time for lunch, after which you will take a standard tour of the People’s Palace, the crown jewel of Ceausescu’s communist regime, and then you will take a walking tour of Bucharest’s Old Town, a place renowned for its active nightlife.

You will be transferred to the airport according to your flight schedule.

Optionally you can book a day trip to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria or a trip around Bucharest.