Key details
• Private tour: only for you and your partner/family/group
• In English: with a guide or driver (other languages upon request)
• Dates: you decide the dates
• Services: you choose the type of services and options
• Location: it starts and ends in Bucharest
• Duration: 8 days in total
• No flights included
Short description
The most important attractions from north to south in 1 week. The tour includes everything you can not miss in Romania. With time to explore the Capital city, Transylvania and the Painted Monasteries, it becomes the most recommended trip to get to know and enjoy this country.
What you will do
• Admire the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina, jewels of Byzantine art surrounded by fir trees and pastures
• Discover the rural and natural beauty of the country: villages, meadows, haystacks and the impressive Carpathians
• See UNESCO attractions: Sighișoara, a medieval "postcard" citadel and Prejmer, the beautifully preserved fortified church; and get to know the most famous castles: Peles and Bran (“Dracula's castle”)
• Visit Bucharest (unique capital city and new European destination) and Sibiu (European Capital of Culture in 2007); spend 2 nights in a row in Brasov (former "Crown city")
Advantages
Why Santiago Tour?
1. Local experts and excellent guides
2. Local prices and selected services
Why a Private Tour?
1. It's flexible - you decide when to travel and how
2. It's personal - a trip for you and according to your preferences
Price
This is a private tour, adaptable to your travel dates and preferences, organized only for you and your partner / family / group.
| Number of participants |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 or more |
Price* / person |
€1354 |
€1009 |
€999 |
€889 |
€799 |
* Discount: up to - €200/person, in case of choosing English-speaking driver-guide instead of proficient tour guide (see below in options)
Services
What is Included:
• Accommodation: 7 overnights according to the program, in double room with breakfast included, 3* Smart type (see below)
• Transportation by modern vehicle according to the program, with related expenses and 2 airport-hotel and return transfers included
• Assistance: English speaking proficient tour guide, as per program
• Guided visits mentioned in the program, 1 attraction with free entrance: Cozia Monastery, and 8 attractions with entrance fee included: Clock Tower (Sighisoara); Painted Monasteries of Moldovita and Voronet, and the Painted Eggs Museum (Bucovina); Prejmer fortified church; Bran Castle; Peles Castle (standard tour approx 1h) (Sinaia); Village Museum (Bucharest).
3* Smart Type Accommodation: mainly 3* superior hotels with quality services
or similar, depending on availability.
• Single room supplement: + €175.
What is Not included:
• flights and travel insurance
• personal expenses, such as: mini bar, phone calls, porterage etc.
• photo / video fees during the visits (if applicable)
• in general, all services not specified in "what is included"
• tips for the guide and/or driver.
Options
1. Accommodation
• 4* Comfort type - mainly 4* hotels with quality services: Bucharest - K+K 4* Hotel (center 0); Sibiu - Ramada 4* Hotel (center 0); Bistrita - Coroana de Aur 4* Hotel (center 1); Piatra Neamt - Central Plaza 4* Hotel (center 1); Brasov - Armatti 3*- superior Hotel / Belfort 3*- superior Hotel (center 1). Or similar, depending on availability. Total extra charge: approx. + €45/person in double room and the single supplement changing to: €195.
• 3* Economy type - mainly 3* standard hotels and pensions, with quality services. Total discount: approx. - €35/person in double room and single supplement changing to: €155.
Notes on accommodation
• Confirmed hotels can be communicated only after making the reservations on specific dates
• center 0 / center 1 / center 2 means: 0-5 / 5-15 / 15-25 minutes walking distance from the center (the important tourist area of the city)
• Some 3* boutique hotels and pensions don't have an elevator or air conditioning (because it is not usually required). If these are essential requirements, please let us know or choose the 4* Comfort option.
2. Assistance
A. With a proficient tour guide. Option included in the price.
• English-speaking tour guide, offering detailed explanation, presentations, and guided tours. The tour guide also makes all necessary arrangements, as well as restaurant and meal recommendations.
• a tour guide for the entire program, no local tour guides being used in general. Some attractions only allow guided tours (their own staff); if the included tour is not available in English, our tour guide will join you and translate or even make the tour by himself (if allowed).
• depending on availability: a tour guide who also drives (1 person), or a tour guide plus a driver (2 people), with fee, meal allowance, and accommodation included.
• only with a tour guide and starting from 4 participants, you can also choose meal options: lunches and/or dinners.
B. With a driver-guide. Discount: up to - €200/person.
• English-speaking driver-guide, facilitating the visits, the entrances to attractions, the check-ins and other details. The driver-guide is also able to make restaurant and meal recommendations.
• offers basic information about the main attractions and the country but not detailed explanation or presentations. Some attractions only allow guided tours (their own staff); if the included tour is not available in English, our driver-guide will join you and translate or even make the tour by himself (if allowed).
• his fee, meal allowance, and accommodation are included.
C. With a tablet. Discount: to be communicated on request.
• tablet with Internet access that serves for navigation purposes and to facilitate the trip, with apps and useful information; a travel guide in English; a road map (all to be returned at the end of the trip).
• implies transportation by rental car and 2 transfers, airport-hotel and return, included.
• accommodation is optional (can be added or not) and visits will be done freely, without asisstance.
3. Meals
• Half board (lunches): + €80/person, 6 lunches, days 2-7. Half board (dinners): + €105/person, 6 dinners, days 2-7. Full board: + €185/person (both previous options).
Meal notes:
• meal options are only possible for a minimum of 4 participants and accompanied by a tour guide
• meals are organized in local restaurants and hotel restaurants
• Lunches and / or dinners are provided on full days of the program and they are tourist-menu type (standard): 3 dishes (starter, main, dessert), bread, and mineral water. They do not include drinks such as coffee, wine, beer, soft drinks etc.
• breakfasts are already included with the accommodation
• meal options are more suitable for groups.
Read the General Conditions for a Private tour by clicking here
How it is organized
• 7 Overnights: Bucharest – Sibiu – Bistrita – Piatra Neamt – Brașov (2) – Bucharest
• Itinerary: Bucharest (the capital) - Sibiu (European Capital of Culture 2007) - Sighișoara (UNESCO medieval city) - Targu Mures (cultural town) - Bistrita (appearance in "Dracula" novel) - Bucovina (Painted Monasteries) - Piatra Neamț (Moldavian style downtown) - Prejmer (UNESCO fortified church) - Brasov ("Crown city") - Bran (Dracula's Castle) - Sinaia (Peles Castle) - Bucharest (the capital).
• The tour has 7 overnights and 8 days: 2 days for arrival & return and 6 days of program with activities such as city tours, free time, and visits along the route.
Short description
Concept:
• 8 days in total and planned to take place from Sunday to Sunday. It can be adapted to your flights and preferred dates while taking into account the visiting hours of the attractions included in the program.
• The program can be slightly customized to match your preferences and ideas, or it can be the draft for a tailor-made trip made from scratch. To calculate travel times, take into account an average speed of approx. 50 km / hour (except highways).
Custom-made:
• Adapt: if the return flight is in the afternoon, there is enough free time in Bucharest. Otherwise, we recommend adding 1 more day in the capital city.
• Improve and relax: 1 extra day
You will spend 2 nights in a row in Gura Humorului (Bucovina): one extra + one to replace the night in Piatra Neamt.
Possible visits and/or additional activities: the Painted Monasteries of Sucevita and Humor, excursion by the steam train "Mocanita Hutulca", Cacica Salt Mine, trekking. The next day: time for a short trekking on the Red Lake and the Bicaz Gorges (approx. 1h) and / or visit the beautiful Agapia Monastery.
Also, on day 3, a shorter and more relaxed journey is made, spending the night in the fine town of Targu-Mures.
Program
Day 1 of 8. Arrival in Romania
Bucharest ☾
Program: transfer and free time (if possible)
Arrival at Bucharest Airport and meeting with Santiago Tour’s guide or driver.
Transfer to the accommodation.
Depending on the arrival hour, free time in the city (without driver or guide). You can stroll around the old town where the capital is recovering its "belle époque" charm: the Central Bank, CEC Palace, or Macca-Vilacrosse Covered Passage, and its medieval identity: the Prince Court of Vlad Tepes "the Impaler", the Old Court Church or Stavropoleos Monastery.
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Day 2 of 8. A Byzantine monastery and arrive in Transylvania
Bucharest – Cozia – Sibiu ☾. 280 km
Program: visit Cozia Monastery; tour and free time in Sibiu
Breakfast. We leave Bucharest for Sibiu. En route, we visit Cozia Monastery on the banks of the river Olt, with a splendid old church in Byzantine style. We cross the Southern Carpathians and arrive in Sibiu, the European Capital of Culture in 2007. Time for lunch and check-in at the accommodation. In the afternoon, a walking tour of the city, whose eye-shaped dormers give charm to a beautiful Central European architecture. While strolling, we encounter: the fortifications, the Large Square, the Small Square, the Evangelical Cathedral and the Orthodox Cathedral. Free time in the city.
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Day 3 of 8. The medieval “postcard” town
Sibiu – Sighisoara – Targu Mures – Bistrita ☾. 240 km
Program: visit Sighisoara and brief stop in Targu Mures
Breakfast. We leave Sibiu for Sighisoara, the “postcard” town with an unforgettable collection of medieval buildings, declared a World Heritage Site. Walking tour including the Clock Tower (history museum with a panoramic view). Free time and maybe lunch, and continue with the program arriving in Targu-Mures, that stands out for its elegant city center and the original Palace of Culture (Viennese Secession style). Brief stop and then follow the route to Bistrita, an old city in Transylvania famous for its appearance in "Dracula" novel. Overnight accommodation and free time.
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Day 4 of 8. Bucovina and the Painted Monasteries
Bistrita – Moldovita – Voronet – Piatra Neamț ☾. 295 km
Program: visit Moldovita and Voronet monasteries, and the Painted Eggs Museum
Breakfast. We leave for Bucovina, a splendid mountainous region dominated by the green of its firs and pastures, famous for the Monasteries painted on the outside - unique jewels of Byzantine religious art. Brief stop on the way, at the “Borgo Pass” and its mysterious "Dracula's Castle" hotel, and then we arrive to visit Moldovita monastery. The convent church stands out for its impressive exterior scenes such as the Tree of Jesse and the Siege of Constantinople, all on a red and ocher color background. We continue with the program and discover the popular art of Bucovina and its character through a visit to the Painted Eggs Museum, understanding the technique and admiring the artist's collection. Time to have lunch en route and arrive at Voronet Monastery. Visit of the church, called "The Sistine Chapel of the East'' for the monumental composition of the “Last Judgment” and the value of its “Voronet blue”, recognized in international art catalogs. Then, in the afternoon, we finish this day’s itinerary in Piatra Neamt, a city with an original historical center in Moldavian style. Overnight accommodation and free time.
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Day 5 of 8. Surprising nature and back to Transylvania
Piatra Neamț – Red Lake – Brașov ☾. 245 km
Program: time at Bicaz Gorges and the Red Lake; visit Brasov
Breakfast. We leave for Transylvania, arriving at Bicaz Gorges - a narrow and spectacular pass in the Carpathians - followed by the unusual Red Lake, originated by a natural dam. Free time to enjoy nature and then continue the itinerary. Possible Hungarian lunch in this enclave region that we cross and arrive in the afternoon in Brasov, a charming town located at the foot of high mountains. Walking tour admiring the Council Square and its unique buildings, the Black Church, an imposing Lutheran church, and the beautiful Catherine’s Gate. Overnight accommodation and free time.
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Day 6 of 8. Dracula's Castle, a Fortified Church and the Crown Town
Brasov – Prejmer – Bran – Brasov ☾. 90 km
Program: visit Bran Castle and the fortified Church of Prejmer; free time in Brasov
Breakfast. In the morning we go to Prejmer village, where we visit the Fortified Church, the most complete and best preserved in Transylvania, part of the UNESCO heritage. It is a church initiated by the Teutonic Knights themselves and continued by the Cistercian monks and the Saxons colonized during the Middle Ages. The place of worship is surrounded by a beautiful fortification with a very original element on the inside: family rooms occupied by the villagers in case of siege, warehouses, and even a classroom. Then we continue the route to Bran and discover "Dracula's Castle", where the myth of the Count-Vampire enfolds in mystery a great historical fortress. Visit and time to have lunch. In the afternoon, return to Brasov: free time and overnight accommodation.
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Day 7 of 8. A royal castle and the capital city
Brasov – Sinaia – Bucharest ☾. 170 km
Program: visit Peles Castle and Bucharest
Breakfast. In the morning we go to Sinaia mountain resort, visiting Peles Castle, the last royal residence in Europe built in neo-Renaissance style. Afterwards, we follow the itinerary to Bucharest. Arrive in the capital and visit the city: the Village Museum, an open air display of the country's rural architecture; Revolution Square with the Romanian Athenaeum - one of the most iconic buildings, the Art Museum - former royal palace, and the balcony of the former Central Committee - where dictator Ceausescu delivered his last speech; Constitution Square, just in front of the Palace of the Parliament (second largest building in the world); Patriarhiei Church and the Palaces of the Romanian Orthodox Patriarch. Time for lunch, during the visit, overnight accommodation and some free time in the afternoon.
Optional: Extra day in Bucharest.
If the return flight (the next day) is early, an extra day in the capital city is recommended. The city tour will take place on this full day and you will enjoy enough free time in Bucharest. Suggestions for spending the free time: The Old Town (Lipscani), the parks of Bucharest, the Treasury (History Museum), the Art Museum, the famous Obor Market or Therme (the thermal baths at the north of the city).
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Day 8 of 8. Return
Bucharest - Airport ✈
Program: free time (if possible) and airport transfer
Breakfast. Free time in the city depending on the flight and transfer to the airport. End of Santiago Tour’s services. Thank you!
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