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: 6 days in total
• No flights included
Short description
All must-see attractions in Romania, in a short but balanced tour, with a special focus on Dracula-related sites.
What you will do
• Follow Dracula's route: his birthplace, Bran Castle, his tomb at Snagov Monastery, and the Real “Dracula's castle” in Poienari (optional, day 2)
• Spend 1 night in the charming city of Sighisoara: “postcard” medieval town and World Heritage Site
• Visit Bucharest (unique capital city and new European destination), Sibiu (European Capital of Culture in 2007), and Brasov (former "Crown city")
• Discover Transylvania with its village houses, haystacks, and the impressive Carpathians
• Tour Transfagarasan, “the highway of the clouds” (optional)
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 |
€939 |
€709 |
€679 |
€604 |
€549 |
* Discount: up to - €145/person, in case of choosing English-speaking driver instead of guide (see below in options)
Services
What is Included:
• Accommodation: 5 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 guide, as per program
• Guided visits mentioned in the program, 1 attraction with free entrance: Cozia Monastery, and 7 attractions with entrance fee included: Curtea de Arges Monastery; Biertan Fortified Church; Clock Tower (Sighisoara); Bran Castle; Peles Castle (standard tour approx 1h; Sinaia); Snagov Monastery; Village Museum (Bucharest).
3* Smart Type Accommodation: mainly 3* superior hotels with quality services
or similar, depending on availability.
• Single room supplement: + €135.
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); Sighisoara - Central Park 4* Hotel (center 0); Brasov - Armatti 3*- superior Hotel / Belfort 3*- superior Hotel (center 1). Or similar, depending on availability. Total extra charge: approx. + €40/person in double room and the single supplement changing to: €155.
• 3* Economy type - mainly 3* standard hotels and pensions, with quality services. Total discount: approx. - €25/person in double room and single supplement changing to: €115.
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* and 4* 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 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 - €145/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
• Half board (lunches): + €55/person, 4 lunches, days 2-5. Half board (dinners): + €70/person, 4 dinners, days 2-5. Full board: + €125/person (both previous options).
Meal notes:
• meal options are only possible for a minimum of 4 participants and accompanied by a 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
• 5 Overnights: Bucharest – Sibiu – Sighișoara – Brașov – Bucharest
• Itinerary: Bucharest (the capital) - Curtea de Arges (outstanding Monastery) - Sibiu (European Capital of Culture 2007) - Biertan (UNESCO Fortified Church) - Sighișoara (UNESCO medieval city) - Bran (Dracula's Castle) - Brasov ("Crown city") - Sinaia (Peles Castle) - Snagov (the Monastery and Dracula’s official tomb) - Bucharest (the capital)
• The tour has 5 overnights and 6 days: 2 days for arrival & return and 4 days of program with activities such as city tours, free time, and visits along the route.
Short description
Concept:
• 6 days in total and planned to take place from Sunday to Friday. 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: on day 2 you can choose the program according to your travel preferences and ask us about the price change.
• Relax: you can spend 2 nights in Sibiu and / or Brasov, having more time to relax and explore the cities, or the option of visiting more attractions
• Extend: you can add 1 night in Cluj Napoca, discovering “the capital” of Transylvania with a bonus, which is the visit of the beautiful Alba Iulia citadel en route.
Program
Day 1 of 6. 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, 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 6. A special monastery and arrival in Transilvania
Bucharest – Curtea de Arges – Sibiu ☾. 290 km (5h)
Program: visit the monasteries of Curtea de Arges and Cozia; free time in Sibiu
Breakfast. We leave Bucharest heading toward the Carpathians and their highest massif: Fagaras. We arrive in Curtea de Arges, the first capital of Wallachia and visit the Monastery, with its impressive oriental stone decoration, site of the royal pantheon. Time for lunch and continue along the Olt River Valley, with a brief visit to Cozia Monastery and its splendid old Byzantine-style church. In the afternoon we arrive in Sibiu, European Capital of Culture in 2007. Free time and overnight accommodation.
Optional: Day 2 Relaxed. More time in Sibiu, Transylvania
Bucharest – Sibiu ☾. 280 km (4h 1/2). the price changes!
Program: visit Cozia Monastery; tour and free time in Sibiu
With fewer kilometers and less travel time, you arrive earlier in Sibiu. En route, we make a brief visit to Cozia Monastery and it’s old Byzantine-style church. Take advantage of the afternoon in Sibiu by visiting the city and enjoying free time. The next day, during the morning, a possible visit to Astra Museum. At 96 ha, it is the largest open-air ethnographic museum in Europe. But its value lies above all in the rural heritage: more than 350 houses, mills, workshops and restored original facilities. Protected by a forest, and displayed lake, this site is rated 3* by Michelin Guide. Also, a possible visit of the Brukenthal Museum (second collection of art in the country) with masterpieces by Jan Van Eyck, Bruegel or Titian.
Optional: Day 2 Adventure. Poienari and Transfagarasan
Bucharest - Curtea de Arges - Poienari - Transfagarasan - Sibiu ☾. 315 km (7h). the price changes!
Program: visit Curtea de Arges Monastery and Poienari Fortress; touring Transfagarasan
Possible only in July and August, when the road is open to traffic and the weather allows it (with some exceptions).
This day, after visiting Curtea de Arges Monastery and Poienari Fortress, we continue to Sibiu via Transfagarasan. At the foot of Fagaras mountains, we discover Poienari fortress, a medieval site related to Prince Vlad the Impaler. Four centuries later, he inspired the Dracula character, so famous in our times. The effort to climb the 1400 stairs requires good physical condition but is fully rewarded by incredible landscapes, the tragic history of this place, and the legends surrounding the ruins. On the other hand, Transfagarasan is a truly spectacular experience. The "highway of the clouds" reaches 2042 m and constantly twists, advancing through tunnels and viaducts, leaving behind Vidraru Dam (166 m high), several waterfalls and Balea glacier lake, to finally arrive after its 91 km to Transilvania.
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Day 3 of 6. Medieval heritage in Transylvania
Sibiu – Biertan – Sighisoara ☾. 110 km
Program: visit Sibiu, Biertan fortified Church and Sighisoara
Breakfast. Walking tour of Sibiu, a city whose eye-shaped dormers give charm to the beautiful Central European architecture. While strolling, we encounter: the fortifications, the Large Square, the Small Square, the Evangelical Cathedral and the Orthodox Cathedral. Next, we leave for Biertan, a small Saxon village that surrounds a fortified and monumental Church, protected by UNESCO. Possible lunch in a rural house. In the afternoon we arrive in 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) and overnight accommodation. 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.
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Day 4 of 6. Dracula's Castle and a City in the heart of the country
Sighisoara – Bran – Brasov ☾. 165 km
Program: visit Bran Castle and Brasov
Breakfast. Leaving Sighisoara, we follow the route to Bran and visit “Dracula's Castle", where the myth of the Count-Vampire enfolds in mystery a great historical fortress. Time for lunch and continue to 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 5 of 6. The royal castle, Vlad's tomb and the capital city
Brasov – Sinaia – Snagov – Bucharest ☾. 180 km
Program: visit Peles Castle, Snagov Monastery and Bucharest, the capital city
Breakfast. We leave for Sinaia mountain resort where we visit Peles Castle, the last royal residence in Europe built in neo-Renaissance style. Then we continue to Bucharest, with a stop in Snagov. Here, in the middle of a forest there’s a lake that protects an island and its Orthodox church. It is here where the official tomb of Vlad the Impaler “Dracula” is located. After the visit, we finish this day’s itinerary in Bucharest. City tour: 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, and overnight accommodation.
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Day 6 of 6. 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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