Airport Pick-up - Bucharest City Tour & Accommodation

Palace of Parliament - Constructed by Communist Party leader Nicolae Ceausescu, the grand Parliament Palace is the second largest administrative building globally, following the Pentagon. Its interior boasts opulent crystal chandeliers, mosaics, oak paneling, marble, gold leaf, stained-glass windows, and floors adorned with luxurious carpets.

Muzeul National al Satului “Dimitrie Gusti” - Village Museum - Established by royal decree in 1936, this captivating outdoor museum, the largest in Europe, spans approximately 30 acres along the shores of Lake Herastrau in Herastrau Park. It showcases a collection of 50 buildings that represent the history and design of Romania’s rural architecture.

Old Town - Walking tour of the Historical Center of Bucharest - The city’s unique charm is best experienced in the area known as Lipscani, a maze of streets between Calea Victoriei, Blvd. Bratianu, Blvd. Regina Elisabeta, and the Dambovita River. Once a glamorous residential area, the old city center is gradually transforming into an upscale neighborhood.

Bucharest - Sinaia Monastery - Peles Castle - Brasov Tour & Accommodation

Manastirea Sinaia - Visit the Orthodox Monastery of Sinaia, also known as the Cathedral of the Bucegi Mountains. It was the first structure in the area of the current mountain resort, serving as a valuable Romanian religious site and architectural monument built at the end of the 17th century.

Peles Castle - Situated in Sinaia (44 km from Brasov), it is regarded by many as one of the most beautiful castles in Europe. Nestled in the natural backdrop of the Carpathian Mountains, the castle is a masterpiece of German Renaissance architecture.

Brasov Historical Center - Brasov Tour: Surrounded by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and adorned with gothic, baroque, and renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historical attractions, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania. Tour highlights include the Black Church, Citadel of Brasov, Ecaterina’s Gate, White Tower, Black Tower, Council Square, City Hall, and Palace of Justice.

Brasov - Bran Castle - Rasnov Fortress - Brasov Free Time & Accommodation

Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle) - Explore one of Romania’s most renowned sights, a medieval dwelling dating back to the 14th century. The legend of Dracula, based on the life of Vlad Tepes/Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476), a ruler celebrated by Romanians for resisting the Ottoman Empire, is associated with this castle. Known as a formidable adversary of the Turks, Vlad organized the state and enforced the law by applying the death penalty and impaling those he deemed enemies.

Rasnov Citadel: Garden and Panoramic View - Approximately halfway between Brasov and Bran lies the town of Rasnov, founded around 1225 by German Teutonic Knights. Rasnov’s impressive fortress, built in the 14th century, protected the people of Rasnov and surrounding villages from numerous invasions at the time. During wars, townsfolk would gather their cattle and retreat into the fortress.

Brasov - Biertan (UNESCO) - Sighisoara Tour (UNESCO) & Accommodation

Biertan Fortified Church - The architectural ensemble from Biertan impresses with its harmonious positioning, aesthetic and historic value, and especially the original substance preserved since the late 15th and early 16th centuries, which led to its inclusion on The UNESCO List of World Heritage. After visiting the church, stroll around the village to feel as if you’ve traveled back in time.

Sighisoara - Founded by German craftsmen and merchants known as the Saxons of Transylvania, Sighisoara is an excellent example of a small, fortified medieval town that played a significant strategic and commercial role on the fringes of central Europe for several centuries. Tour highlights include The Clock Tower & History Museum, The Church on the Hill, House of Dracula, The pupils’ roofed stairways, and Central Square.

Sighisoara - Bicaz Gorges - Red Lake - Bucovina: Voronet Monastery (UNESCO) & Accommodation

Bicaz Gorge - Hasmas Mountain National Park - In the morning, take the road that winds through the Bicaz Gorges to cross from Transylvania to Bucovina. This road is among Romania’s most breathtaking and spectacular. The gorge twists and turns steeply uphill for three miles, cutting through sheer 1,000-foot limestone cliffs on its journey through the mountains. *Tour Guide will make a photo stop.

Red Lake - The Red Lake is a natural storage dam lake located at the foot of the Hasmasu Mare Mountains, near the town of Gheorgheni. It is the largest natural mountain lake in Romania, named after the reddish alluvia (iron oxides and iron hydroxides) deposited in the lake by the Red Creek. During Ceausescu’s reign, these two wonders were must-visit tourist destinations for those wishing to spend their vacations in the mountains. The lake appears dark and foreboding, with stumps protruding from the water, evoking thoughts of a lacustrine civilization that met its fate just a few years before your visit. Enjoy lunch with a lake view, take a walk around, and perhaps feed the ducklings on the lake.

Manastirea Voronet - Among Romania’s most picturesque treasures are the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina (in northeastern Romania). Their painted exterior walls are adorned with elaborate 15th and 16th-century frescoes featuring portraits of saints and prophets, scenes from the life of Jesus, images of angels and demons, and depictions of heaven and hell. In the afternoon, visit the most famous of the painted monasteries: Voronet, known as ‘the Sistine Chapel of the East’ (UNESCO). Voronet’s most stunning feature is a Last Judgment fresco painted – as at all the churches – on the exterior façade. The blue paint, which has miraculously never faded, is known worldwide as ‘Voronet blue’.

Humor Monastery - Sucevita Monastery - Moldovita Monastery - Marginea Village & Pottery Workshops - Painted Eggs Museum

Humor Monastery - Visit Humor Painted Monastery - UNESCO site

Sucevita Monastery - Visit Sucevita Painted Monastery - UNESCO site

Ceramica neagra Marginea - Village of Marginea and Regional Pottery of Bucovina. Marginea Ceramics is a well-known brand. Historians date the beginning of pottery at Marginea to 1500. The village is famous for its black pottery. Local artisans still produce this pottery, and you can pick up a piece as a souvenir of the region.

Moldovita Monastery - Visit Moldovita Painted Monastery - UNESCO site

Letitia Orsivschi’s Egg Museum - The Painted Eggs Museum showcases the largest collection of painted eggs in Romania and is one of the most significant in Europe. Located near the painted monasteries, the museum is an important place to discover the traditions of painted egg craftsmanship. In the workshop, you will see the work of Professor Letitia, the museum’s owner and creator of painted eggs, who will explain the meanings of Bucovina symbols. The Painted Eggs Museum includes over 3,000 eggs, gathered by Letitia over 12 years of participation in national and international exhibitions, and of course, Bucovina eggs made by the artist herself. The collection includes rare eggs, such as those of emu, rhea, tinamu, turtle, crocodile, flamingo, and very small eggs, like those of partridge, sparrow, dove, and also of pheasant, peacock, quail, duck, goose, turkey, and ostrich.

Bucovina - Wooden Churches of Maramures (UNESCO) - Accommodation in Viseu de Sus

Wooden Churches of Maramures - In the morning, embark on a wonderful and scenic journey towards the Maramures region. Maramures is considered by many to be the heart and soul of rural Romania. With its picturesque countryside of small villages, rolling hills, pastures, and meadows full of wildflowers, Maramures epitomizes all that the rural lifestyle encompasses. Visitors to Maramures have a unique opportunity to step back in time and witness simpler times and simpler lives. Maramures is a small and unique location in the geographical heartland of Europe that has carefully and distinctively preserved the culture, traditions, and lifestyle of a medieval peasant past. The region stands as a testament to tradition; to a romantic era of simplicity, pride, and moral values that many of us can only now read about or hear from our grandparents. Little has changed over the centuries. Families remain in the same villages as their ancestors. Traditional skills and crafts are passed down from generation to generation. Traditional hand-woven clothing continues to be practical. The church remains the soul of the village. Neighbors know one another and continue to lend a helping hand. Life in Maramures is like a mystery. Visitors to Maramures drive through mountain passes and descend into the valleys of life where the mystery of rural traditions unfolds before their eyes.

Barsana Monastery - Explore monastic life in the most traditional area of Romania. Visit Barsana Monastery and its amazing two-level wooden church.

Wooden Church In Rozavlea - Visit Rozavlea Wooden Church - UNESCO site

Mocanita Steam Train Ride - Merry Cemetery - Peri Monastery (UNESCO) - Accommodation in Sighetu Marmatiei

Merry Cemetery - The spiritual philosophy of the people of Maramures is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in Sapanta. The town folks’ ancestors considered death as a beginning, not the end, and this faith is reflected in the carvings in the town’s unique Merry Cemetery. Blue wooden crosses feature a carved scene and humorous verses that endeavor to capture essential elements - both the good and the imperfections - of the deceased’s life. Even without the benefit of translation, visitors can appreciate the handiwork of sculptor Stan Ion Patras, who began carving these epitaphs in 1935, and his successors. Patras’ house in the village is now a fascinating museum. Sapanta is also home to several wooden gates and one of the region’s tallest wooden churches.

Sapanta-Peri Monastery - This site features one of the most representative churches for Maramures - the tallest wooden church in the world. Located next to Sapanta Village, within a dendrology park, this monastic settlement dates from the 14th century. Currently, the monastery hosts eight nuns and is included in the UNESCO Patrimony.

Maramures - Cluj Napoca Walking Tour - Sibiu Walking Tour

Cluj-Napoca - Cluj-Napoca City Tour - This western city in the region of Transylvania traces its origins back to the Dacian settlement of Napuca in the 2nd century A.D. The main square, resplendent with 18th and 19th-century buildings and home to many shops and restaurants, is dominated by the 15th-century St. Michael’s Church, one of the finest examples of gothic architecture in Romania. Tour highlights include Union Square, St. Michael’s Church, Opera House, Historical Center, and Orthodox Cathedral Dormition of the Theotokos.

Sibiu - Sibiu’s Old Town retains the grandeur of its earlier days when rich and powerful guilds dominated regional trade. Like Sighisoara and Brasov, it has a distinctly Germanic feeling. Sections of the medieval wall still guard the historic area, where narrow streets pass steep-roofed 17th-century buildings with gable overhangs before opening into vast, church-dominated squares such as Great Square and Little Square. Tour highlights include the Evangelical Church, The Bridge of Lies, Historical Center, Brukenthal Museum, The Stairs Passage, Holy Trinity Cathedral, and antique & souvenir shops.

Sibiu - Curtea de Arges Tour - Bucharest

Curtea de Arges - Curtea de Arges is a city on the right bank of the Arges River, where it flows through a valley of the lower Carpathians. The name, literally The Court upon Arges, refers to the former status of the town as the capital of Wallachia. Take a walking tour of the town visiting the Princely Church and Old Court ruins, the Episcopal Church, and the unique Olari Church, a painted church from Moldavia found on Wallachian grounds.

Goodbye Romania! Transfer to Bucharest Airport.

Otopeni - Pick-up from your hotel lobby and transfer to Bucharest Airport.

• Full tour assistance
• Air-conditioned transportation
• Round-trip airport transfer
• Included breakfast
• Licensed English-speaking guide & driver

• Food and drinks
• Souvenirs
• Gratuities

Experience the true essence of Romania on this 11-day customized tour. Travel back in history when you visit one of the globally renowned painted monasteries in Bucovina, take a journey to the historic mountain-top fortress of Sighisoara, and soak up the allure of ancient folklore-infused villages throughout Transylvania and Maramures. You will discover Romania’s plethora of architectural gems and immerse yourself in its thriving, vibrant arts culture.

• A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
• Please note that hotels may be subject to change depending on availability, in this case a similar hotel will be provided.

If you cancel at least 3 full day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.