Rural Romania – Where Time Stands Still

ITINERARY

Day 1 – Flight to Cluj Napoca

Afternoon flight from London for a late evening arrival in Cluj. Overnight hotel stay.

Day 2 – Mediaş & Veseud

Morning train to Mediaş arriving in time for lunch (included). We stay for 2 nights in homestay accommodation in the village of Veseud. All our homestay accommodation has been specially converted for tourist use and includes en-suite facilities. Dinner at the accommodation.

Day 3 – Saxon Villages

We explore Saxon villages with their fortified churches and have lunch with a village family.

Day 4 – Sighişoara Medieval Fortress

We visit the fortified citadel of Sighișoara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and birthplace of Vlad the Impaler (better known as Count Dracula), then continue into Eastern Transylvania, an area settled by Hungarian peoples. Accommodation with dinner for 2 nights at a homestay in Praid.

Day 5 – Hungarian Villages

Optional visit to the Praid salt mine before driving to Corund, famous for its ceramics. We continue through a remote area with small Hungarian villages, stopping en route for lunch with a village family.

Day 6 – Maramureş

We drive north, pausing en route at the delightful Liliac Winery for wine tasting and a picnic lunch. Cross the Carpathians into Maramureş, a remote region where life has remained almost unchanged for centuries. We stay for 2 nights in Hoteni.

Day 7 – Village Life

Exploring some of the local villages, we find old wooden churches, examples of domestic industry, machines powered by water and fields worked by hand or horses. We will also visit the famous Merry Cemetery where the gravestones have been painted by local artists to depict the lives of those who have passed away.

Day 8 – Vişeu de Sus

Visit more remote villages, have lunch with a village family and continue to Vişeu de Sus, centre of the logging industry, for a 1-night stay.

Day 9 – The Last Forestry Railway in Europe

There is no road access to much of the Vaser Valley and so the timber is removed by train. We take a ride along the 20km route behind steam. BBQ lunch provided at the upper terminus. In the afternoon we drive over the Prislop Pass into Bucovina and our next homestay at Moldovita where we stay for 2 nights. Dinner included.

Day 10 – Painted Monasteries

We visit the Painted Monasteries at Sucevita and Moldovita and take a trip on another former forestry railway. Lunch included and dinner at our accommodation.

Day 11 – Return to Cluj

Today we visit the Voronet Monastery before having lunch in Gura Humorului and catching the early afternoon train across the mountains to Cluj, arriving mid-evening.

Day 12 – Cluj to London

Transfer to airport for flight to London, arriving early afternoon.

Due to the limited number of rooms in “homestay” accommodation, this tour will be limited to 12 persons.