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: 4 days in total
• No flights included
Short description
A different tour, with a focus on the rural charm of Transylvania but without losing sight of the most famous cities: Sibiu, Sighișoara and Brașov. Spend the nights in 3 original and different villages, enjoy nature and local gastronomy, and visit the famous castles.
What you will do
• Stay in charming houses, in 3 authentic and different villages in Transylvania
• Sibiel: visit the Glass Icons Museum; Viscri: visit Prince of Wales’ favorite village; Bran: possible visit to Bran Castle or other activities
• Enjoy nature (optional trekking), an included snack, and typical meals (optional)
• Visit Sibiu (European Capital of Culture 2007), Sighișoara (medieval "postcard" town), and Brașov (former "Crown city"); and discover the Royal Castle of Peles, in Sinaia
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 |
€674 |
€484 |
€459 |
€389 |
€339 |
* Discount: up to - €115/person, in case of choosing English-speaking driver instead of guide (see below in options)
Services
What is Included:
• Accommodation: 3 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 included
• Assistance: English speaking guide, as per program
• Guided visits mentioned in the program, a snack in the countryside (cake and coffee / tea) and 2 attractions with entrance fee included: Glass Icons Museum (Sibiel) and Peles Castle (standard tour approx 1h) (Sinaia).
3* Smart Type Accommodation: mainly 3* superior pensions with quality services
or similar, depending on availability.
• Single room supplement: + €50.
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
• Superior type: mainly 4* and 3*- superior pensions, with quality services: Sibiel - Domeniul Orlandea Ioana 5*; Viscri - Viscri 125; Bran - Conacul Torzburg 4* / Conacul Bratescu 4*. Or similar, depending on availability. Total extra charge: to be communicated on request.
Notes on accommodation
• Confirmed accommodation can be communicated only after making the reservations on specific dates
• In general, the pensions don't have an elevator or air conditioning. If these are essential requirements, please let us know.
2. Assistance
A. With a guide. Option included in the price.
• English-speaking guide, offering detailed explanation, presentations, and guided tours. The guide also makes all necessary arrangements, as well as restaurant and meal recommendations.
• a guide for the entire program, no local guides being used in general. Some attractions only allow guided tours (their own staff); if the included tour is not available in English, our guide will join you and translate or even make the tour by himself (if allowed).
• depending on availability: a driver-guide (1 person), or a guide plus a driver (2 people), with fee, meal allowance, and accommodation included.
• only with a guide and starting from 4 participants, you can also choose meal options: lunches and/or dinners.
B. With a driver. Discount: up to - €115/person.
• English-speaking driver, facilitating the visits, the entrances to attractions, the check-ins and other details. The driver 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 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
• lunches and dinners will be organized freely or with the help of your assistant.
• breakfasts are included with the accommodation
Read the General Conditions for a Private tour by clicking here
How it is organized
• 3 Overnights: Sibiel - Viscri - Bran
• Itinerary: Bucharest - Cozia Monastery - Sibiu (European Capital of Culture 2007) - Sibiel (typical village of “Marginimea Sibiului”) - Sighișoara (UNESCO medieval town) - Viscri (Charles of Wales's favorite village) - Brasov (“Crown city”) - Bran (charming village where Dracula's Castle is located) - Sinaia (Peles Castle) - Bucharest
• The tour has 3 overnights and 4 full days of program, with activities such as: visits along the route, city tours, trekking, snack, leisure activities (optional) and free time.
• Doesn't include arrival and return days, and any type of activity or accommodation in Bucharest.
Short description
Concept:
• 4 days in total and planned to take place from Wednesday to Saturday. 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: several optional activities and visits are offered to customize the trip based on your preferences.
Program
Day 1 of 4. A Byzantine monastery and reach Transylvania
Bucharest - Cozia - Sibiu - Sibiel ☾. 299 km
Program: visit Cozia Monastery; city tour and free time in Sibiu; overnight accommodation in Sibiel
We leave Bucharest for Sibiu. En route, we visit Cozia Monastery, on the bank of the river Olt, with a splendid old church in Byzantine style. We cross the Southern Carpathians and arrive in Sibiu, European Capital of Culture in 2007. Time for lunch and 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 and then continue to Sibiel. It is a typical village in the beautiful rural area of “Marginimea Sibiului”. Overnight accommodation and the option of having dinner in a rural house, with local products, homemade wine, palinca (typical plum liquor), and a folklore show.
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Day 2 of 4. The medieval “postcard” town and rural Transylvania
Sibiel - Sighisoara - Viscri ☾. 160 km
Program: visit the Glass Icons Museum in Sibiel; visit and free time in Sighisoara; visit and time in Viscri; snack in a transylvanian village
Breakfast. In the morning, we visit the collection of the Glass Icons Museum, the most important of its kind in Romania, displaying surprising naive painting styles. We then leave for Sighisoara, the “postcard” town with an unforgettable collection of medieval buildings, declared a World Heritage Site. Walking tour around Citadel Square, framed by buildings such as The House with the Stag, the Venetian House or the Clock Tower. Free time to walk the cobbled streets and perhaps climb the 1642 Covered Staircase. It’s a passage of more than 170 wooden steps leading to the school, the Church on the Hill, whose restoration was awarded, and to the old German cemetery, with a certain Romantic atmosphere. Sighisoara still maintains much of its fortifications and here you can also find the house where Vlad Tepes "the Impaler" is supposed to be born back in 1431. Time for lunch. During this day’s itinerary, we also discover the rural charm of Transylvania by having a quick snack. Optional: detour to the secular oak reserve of Braite, 7 km from Sighisoara, and go on a trekking within the protected area while enjoying the surroundings (no extra cost).
In the afternoon, we continue to the famous Saxon village of Viscri, one of the most beautiful in Transylvania, being the favorite of Prince Charles of Wales. Overnight accommodation in a quaint rural house and go for a walk in the village, enjoying its tranquility and authenticity. Optional visit of the UNESCO fortified Church, a jewel of the 13th century. You can admire the Bacon Tower - its location made it particularly cold and allowed for ham and bacon to be stored there, while every piece was being stamped with its owner’s unique house number. In some other rooms, a small museum has been organized with objects and tools of daily life in the past, and from above you have a view of the entire sleeping landscape that surrounds the hill and its white church.
Moreover, you can visit a blacksmith workshop, still operating, and attend a show from a pre-capitalist time, the "parade" of about three hundred cows that return from the pasture, each one to its home. Option of having an authentic dinner, or a refined one at the end of the day (Transylvanian gastronomy: "farm-to-table" and "slow-cooking" ingredients, in a place with exquisite decoration).
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Day 3 of 4. A city in the heart of the country; Dracula's Castle and its magical surroundings
Viscri - Brasov - Bran ☾. 110 km
Program: city tour and free time in Brasov; optional: visit Bran Castle; optional: trekking or activities in Bran and the surroundings
Breakfast. We leave Viscri for Brasov, a charming town located at the foot of high mountains. Arrival and walking tour admiring the Council Square and its unique buildings, the Black Church, an imposing Lutheran church, and the beautiful Catherine’s Gate. Free time and the option of having lunch. We then continue to Bran and discover "Dracula's Castle", where the myth of the Count-Vampire enfolds in mystery a great historical fortress. Optional visit, free time, and overnight accommodation in a charming guest house. Also optional: go on a trekking route exploring the villages and the natural landscape of this low area located between the Bucegi Mountains and Piatra Craiului limestone massif. Other possible activities: ride in a horse cart or egg painting workshop (subject to availability and upon request).
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Day 4 of 4. A royal castle and return to the capital
Bran - Sinaia - Bucharest. 175 km
Program: visit Peles Castle, free time in Sinaia, and return to Bucharest
Breakfast. Possible trekking in the morning, if you didn’t have enough time the previous day or you simply want to explore more, and leave Bran heading back South. We arrive in Sinaia mountain resort where we visit Peles Castle (standard tour), the last royal residence in Europe built in neo-Renaissance style. Time to stroll through the center of Sinaia, have lunch and perhaps a coffee on a terrace in its beautiful park, and return to Bucharest (overnight accommodation not included). End of Santiago Tour’s services. Thank you!
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