Key details
• Private tour: only for you and your partner/family/group
• In English: with a tour guide (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
All the must-see attractions of Transylvania, visited from the charming city of Brasov, plus Bucovina: the unique heritage of the Painted Monasteries, in the authentic north of the country. Spend two nights in a row in Brașov, Piatra Neamț, and Bucharest, enjoying a full day to explore the capital. A relaxed and attractive program at the same time, the perfect mix between vacation and tour.
What you will do
• Enjoy nature in the Carpathians: the Red Lake and the Bicaz Gorges
• Admire the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina, jewels of Byzantine art surrounded by unparalleled landscapes
• Discover the rural charm of Transylvania through a snack
• Explore the Palace of the Parliament: entrance and tour in the 2nd largest building in the world, known as "Ceausescu's palace"
• See Sighisoara - a medieval "postcard" citadel and get to know the most famous castles
• Visit Bucharest (unique capital city and new European destination) and 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 |
€1339 |
€1004 |
€979 |
€879 |
€794 |
* 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, a snack in the countryside (cake and coffee or tea) and 8 attractions with entrance fee included: Peles Castle (standard tour approx 1h) (Sinaia); Bran Castle; Clock Tower (Sighisoara); Painted Monasteries of Voronet and Humor, and Agapia Monastery (Bucovina); Village Museum and the Palace of Parliament (standard tour approx 1h) (Bucharest).
3* Smart Type Accommodation: mainly 3* superior hotels with quality services
or similar, depending on availability.
• Single room supplement: + €170.
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); Brasov - Armatti 3*- superior Hotel / Belfort 3*- superior Hotel (center 1); Piatra Neamt - Central Plaza 4* Hotel (center 1). Or similar, depending on availability. Total extra charge: approx. + €50/person in double room and the single supplement changing to: €205.
• 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: €170.
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 (1) - Brașov (2) - Piatra Neamt (2) - Bucharest (2))
• Itinerary: Bucharest (the capital) - Sinaia (Peles Castle) - Bran (Dracula's Castle) - Brasov (“Crown city”) - Sighișoara (UNESCO medieval town) - Brașov - Red Lake and the Bicaz Gorges - Piatra Neamț (Moldavian style downtown) - Bucovina (Agapia Monastery and the Painted Monasteries of Humor and Voronet) - 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, visits along the route, snack, trekking, hot springs (optional), and free time.
Short description
Concept:
• 8 days in total and planned to take place from Friday 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 the second-to-last day there are 2 options to customize, if you wish, your program: Therme (Bucharest hot springs) or a detour along the Wine Route.
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, 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 royal castle, Dracula's Castle, and a city in the heart of the country
Bucharest – Sinaia – Bran – Brașov ☾. 205 km
Program: visit Peles Castle, Bran Castle, and Brasov
Breakfast. We leave Bucharest heading toward the Southern Carpathians and arrive in Sinaia mountain resort. We visit Peles Castle (standard tour), the last royal residence in Europe built in neo-Renaissance style. 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. Time for lunch and then we finish this day’s itinerary in Brasov. 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 3 of 8. The medieval “postcard” town and rural Transylvania
Brasov - Sighisoara - Brasov ☾. 230 km
Program: visit and free time in Sighisoara; snack in a Transylvanian village
Breakfast. This day we take a trip to 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 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 and return in the afternoon to Brasov, visiting a Transylvanian village, discovering the rural charm of the area and having a quick snack. Overnight accommodation and free time.
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Day 4 of 8. Surprising nature
Brasov - Red Lake - Piatra Neamt ☾. 240 km
Program: visit Brasov; time at the Bicaz Gorges and the Red Lake
Breakfast. Visit Brasov in the morning, if there is not enough time on day 2, and leave the city heading north. The itinerary takes us through a series of lowlands the Transylvanian plateau and up to the unusual Red Lake, originated by a natural dam, from whose surface fossilized pine trunks emerge. Free time to enjoy nature, take a boat ride and perhaps have a Hungarian lunch, typical of this enclave region. We then continue with the Bicaz Gorges, a narrow and spectacular pass in the Carpathians, the result of the erosion of the calcareous rocks that rise up to 300m. Short trekking admiring the impressive natural environment of the gorge, and then follow the route arriving in the afternoon in Piatra Neamt, a city with an original historical center in Moldavian style. Free time and overnight accommodation.
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Day 5 of 8. Bucovina, two Painted Monasteries, and an original convent
Piatra Neamt - Agapia - Humor - Voronet - Piatra Neamt ☾. 260 km
Program: visit Agapia, Humor and Voronet monasteries
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. En route, we discover Agapia Monastery, an immaculate white convent whose church was painted in neoclassical style by Nicolae Grigorescu, the most distinguished Romanian painter. Next, we follow the itinerary to the small Humor Monastery and visit the church that stands out for its wonderful interior frescoes (The Praying Virgin, The Last Supper) and still preserves four icons of great beauty dating back to the 15th century. Time to have lunch and then arrive at the Voronet Monastery. Visit 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. Right after, we return to Piatra Neamt arriving during the afternoon. Free time to walk downtown or take the cable car to Mount Cozla, enjoying a beautiful view over the Bistrita River Valley. Overnight accommodation in the city.
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Day 6 of 8. Return to the South
Piatra Neamt - Bucharest ☾. 350 km
Program: free time in Bucharest; optional: Therme (the hot springs of Bucharest) or the Wine Route
Breakfast. We leave Piatra Neamt for Bucharest, crossing the historical region of Moldavia to the south. Short stop in Marasesti, admiring the Mausoleum dedicated to the heroes of the First World War. The end of the conflagration made possible voting in previously occupied Romanian provinces and, subsequently, the formation of Greater Romania in the time of King Ferdinand and Queen Maria. Time for lunch en route and we arrive in the capital in the afternoon. Free time and overnight accommodation.
Option 1: Therme (the hot springs of Bucharest), north of the city.
Before arriving in Bucharest, a stop is made at Therme. Time to enjoy this modern, extensive and much appreciated wellness center. There is the option of having lunch in one of its restaurants. Recommended time: 3-4 hours, recommended area: The Palm / Elysium, entrance fees can be checked on their website. Later, we continue to the accommodation planned in Bucharest, where the program for this day ends.
or Option 2: The Wine Route
Before arriving in Bucharest, we take a detour along the “wine route” and arrive at one of the special wineries in the area called “Dealu Mare” (“the Great Hill”). Visit, wine tasting and the option of having a typical lunch. Later, we continue to the planned accommodation in Bucharest, where the program for this day ends.
These options do not imply a price change but they partially reduce free time in Sinaia and Bucharest. Tickets, food, drinks, and any other spendings should be taken into account.
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Day 7 of 8. Explore the capital
Bucharest ☾. 30 km
Programa: visitar Bucarest y tiempo libre
Program: visit Bucharest and free time
Breakfast. Full day in the capital with a city tour. Duration: approx. 5 hours. We visit: 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. Free time in the afternoon and overnight accommodation. Suggestions for spending the free time: The Old Town (Lipscani), the parks of Bucharest, the Treasury (History Museum), the Art Museum or the famous Obor Market.
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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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