Highlights of Romania

From Cluj-Napoca to Bucharest, explore several regions and uncover age-old traditions, history and culture

Immerse yourself in Romanian life, sample traditional food and meet craftsmen still mastering ancient techniques. This tour starts in the buzzy city of Cluj-Napoca in northern Romania. We then head north to the Maramures region where old traditions are still part of daily life and wooden churches are scattered throughout. We then journey south, discovering the fascinating towns and villages in Transylvania, including the Unesco-listed Sighisoara, Sibiu and Viscri. The tour ends in Bucharest, the capital city, a fitting final destination of this trip.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
• Guesthouses run by local families are used on five nights during this tour.
• Read more about our other initiatives here.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for reusable bottles.
• The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves and archaeological sites generates income used to upkeep and develop these important sites. We visit the Unesco World Heritage sites of Sighisoara, Sibiu and Viscri.
• With our partners, Rewilding Apennines, we rewild 100 square meters (1,075 sqft) of land per passenger who travels with us.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• Our local partners are members of Eco-Romania association, which developed a system of certification in ecotourism to objectively assess how local tourism services comply with the principles of ecotourism.
• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring a reusable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Is this trip for you?

This trip is graded Activity Level 1 (Easy).For more information on our trip gradings please visit our Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to contact us.

This itinerary includes the main highlights of Romania plus some well-kept secrets that provide true insight into the local culture. There will be some long drives (maximum five hours per day) on winding roads through varying scenery. All hotels are equivalent to two- and three-star accommodation yet the standard may vary depending on location. In some of the more rural villages, we stay in locally run guesthouses, some of the facilities are basic, but the warm hospitality more than makes up for this.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as not suitable for full wheelchair users, but it may be suitable for other persons of reduced mobility. Please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

Romania

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rabies, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) and tuberculosis (TB). Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic. 

Visa

Romania

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Romania. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/romania
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/romania
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/romania/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Romania.html

Food & Drink

All breakfasts, five light lunches and five dinners are included.

We indulge in fantastic home-cooked meals on this trip as we spend most nights staying with local families and in guesthouses. Breakfasts consist of homemade bread and cheeses plus a selection of locally sourced meats, salad and tea/coffee. The light lunches are prepared by guesthouses. Some days we have traditional vegetable soup for lunch with homemade crème fraiche and bread.

Dinners are usually two or three courses, centred around pork or chicken. Lots of guesthouses will prepare sarmale cu mamaliguta, a traditional Romanian dish of minced pork wrapped in pickled cabbage leaves and served with polenta and a chilli.

It’s not all about the food though; every household makes their own tuica (pronounced tsweeka), a spirit usually made from plums and flavoured with herbs from their garden or the surrounding area. This is usually drunk while being welcomed into the house and after dinner.

Weather

Spring: Cool mornings and evenings, warm in the daytime. Pack some warm and waterproof clothes if travelling as showers cannot be ruled out and can last all day. Daytime temperatures of 7C-17C (45F-63F).

Summer: Warm with longer daylight hours; maximum temperatures of 35C (95F) and an average of 23C (73F) in the lower areas.

Autumn: Normally cool and dry. Temperatures of 10C-20C (50F-68F) though we recommend packing some warm layers for early mornings and evenings plus waterproofs as showers cannot be ruled out.