YOLO TOURS
ROMANIA

​Highlights

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• Private 9 day tour in Transylvania & Bucovina from Bucharest

• Travel through the beautiful Transylvania countryside & explore traditional villages

• Learn about the history from an expert local guide

• Visit Peles Castle - the most beautiful castle in Romania

• Explore the famous Bran Castle and learn about the legend of Count Dracula

• Visit the famous UNESCO Painted Churches of Bucovina

 

 

          

Itinerary

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Day 1. Airport pick-up - Bucharest City Tour – Accommodation in Bucharest

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Parliament Palace - Built by Communist Party leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, the colossal Parliament Palace is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon. The interior is a luxurious display of crystal chandeliers, mosaics, oak paneling, marble, gold leaf, stained-glass windows and floors covered in rich carpets.

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Village Museum - Founded by royal decree in 1936, this fascinating outdoor museum, the largest in Europe, covers some 30 acres on the shores of Lake Herastrau in Herastrau Park. It features a collection of 50 buildings representing the history and design of Romania's rural architecture.

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Old Historical Center of Bucharest - Perhaps the city's unique charm can be best observed in the area known as Lipscani, which consists of a jumble of streets between Calea Victoriei, Blvd. Bratianu, Blvd. Regina Elisabeta and the Dambovita River. A once-glamorous residential area, the old city centre is now slowly being refashioned into an upscale neighborhood.

 

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Day 2. Bucharest – Sinaia Monastery – Peles Castle – Brasov Walking Tour – Accommodation in Brasov

 

Sinaia Monastery: Visit the Orthodox Monastery of Sinaia also called the Cathedral of Bucegi Mountains. It was the first construction in the area of the present mountain resort being a valuable Romanian religios site and architectural monument built at the end of the 17th century.

 

Peles Castle: Located in Sinaia (44 km from Brasov), it is considered by many one of the most beautiful castles in all Europe. In the natural back drops of the Carpathian Mountains the castle is a masterpiece of German Renaissance architecture.

 

Brasov - Fringed by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and resplendent with gothic, baroque and renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historical attractions, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania.

Tour highlights: Black Church, Citadel of Brasov, Ecaterina's Gate, White Tower, Black Tower, Council Square, City Hall and Palace of Justice.

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Day 3. Brasov – Bran Castle aka Dracula’s Castle - Rasnov Fortress – Free time in the afternoon in Brasov - Accommodation in Brasov

 

Bran Castle also known as the 'Castle of Dracula' - Discover one of the most famous sights in Romania, a medieval dwelling dating from the 14th century. The legend about Dracula, Stoker's story is based on the life of Vlad Tepes/Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476), a ruler revered by Romanians for standing up to the Ottoman Empire. Known as one of the most dreadful enemies of the Turks, Vlad started organizing the state and enforcing the law by applying death penalty and impaling all those he considered enemies.

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Afterwards we will head to the town of Rasnov to explore their amazing fortress. Approximately halfway between Brasov and Bran, lies the town of Rasnov, which was founded around 1225 by German Teutonic Knights. Rasnov’s impressive fortress - was built in the 14th century to protect the people of Rasnov and surrounding villages from the numerous invasions happening at the time. During periods of war, the townsfolk would pick up their cattle and retreat into the fortress.

 

 

Day 4. Brasov – Prejmer Fortified Church (UNESCO) – Sighisoara Tour (UNESCO) & Accommodation

 

Fortified Church of Prejmer - One of Eastern Europe’s best preserved fortified churches lies 16km northeast of Brasov. Surrounding a cross-shaped church (originally built by the Teutonic knights) are walls 12m high and 4m thick that protected the church and Prejmer’s inhabitants during times of war, when each family would retreat into its own room.

 

Founded by German craftsmen and merchants known as the Saxons of Transylvania, Sighisoara is a fine example of a small, fortified medieval town which played an important strategic and commercial role on the fringes of central Europe for several centuries.

Tour highlights: The Clock Tower & History Museum, The Church on the Hill, House of Dracula, and the Pupils Roofed Stairway.

 

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Day 5. Sighisoara – Red Lake – Bicaz Gorges – Voronet Monastery (UNESCO) – Accommodation in Voronet, Bucovina region

 

The road that slices through the Bicaz Gorges  is among Romania's most staggering and spectacular. The gorge twists and turns steeply uphill for three miles, cutting through sheer 1,000-foot limestone cliffs on its journey through the mountains. Enjoy your lunch at a little restaurant with a view of the Red Lake and afterwards if you have some bread left you can feed the ducklings.

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The Red Lake is a natural storage dam lake and is situated at the foot of Hasmasu Mare Mountains, somewhere near the town Gheorgheni. It is the largest natural mountain lake in Romania. The lake seems dark and threatening, the stumps that come out of the water makes you think that a lacustrine civilization met their fate just a few years before you pass by. Flocks of ducks just fly around you if you decide to venture into sailing a boat. This is a strong reason for which you should row your boat for almost 10 minutes in a contest along with the ducks.

 

Nestled in the rolling hills of northern Moldova is the region of Bucovina, home to one of the world’s greatest art treasures: the UNESCO World heritage sites of the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina. Built in the 15th and 16th centuries and featuring colorful exterior frescoes depicting dramatic religious scenes, these richly decorated houses of worship are unique in the world.

Among the most picturesque treasures of Romania are the Painted Monasteries of Bucovina (in northeastern Romania). Their painted exterior walls are decorated with elaborate 15th and 16th century frescoes featuring portraits of saints and prophets, scenes from the life of Jesus, images of angels and demons, and heaven and hell.

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Voronet Monastery - Perhaps the most famous and stunning of the painted monasteries is Voronet, founded in 1487 by Stephen the Great to celebrate a victory over the Turks. Widely known throughout Europe as "the Sistine Chapel of the East" due to its interior and exterior wall paintings, this monastery offers an abundance of frescoes featuring an intense shade of blue commonly known as ‘Voronet blue.’  The composition of the paint continues to remain a mystery even now, more than 500 years after the church was built.

 

 

Day 6. Humor Monastery (UNESCO) - Marginea Pottery Workshops – Sucevita Monastery (UNESCO) – Moldovita Monastery (UNESCO) – Painted Eggs Museum - Accommodation in Voronet

 

Humor Monastery - Founded in 1530, Humor (Hoo mor) is rather small physically, but looms large among Bucovina’s treasures with a variety of frescoes dating from 1535, including one illustrating the Return of the Prodigal Son and one with a “humorous” depiction of the devil as a woman.

 

Visit the other painted churches in the region that are not to be missed: Sucevita, with its distinctive greens, and Moldovita, where the frescoes are predominantly gold and deep blue.



Village of Marginea and Regional Pottery of Bucovina

Marginea Ceramics is already a well-known brand. Historians date the beginning of pottery at Marginea in 1500. The little village is famous for its black pottery. Local artisans still produce this pottery - you can pick up a piece as a souvenir of the region. You will also be able to learn a little about this form of art and make your own piece under the guidance of an experienced potter.

 

The Painted Eggs Museum exhibits the largest collection of painted eggs in Romania and also one of the most important in Europe. Located not far from the Voronet, Moldovita or Sucevita monasteries, the museum is an important place to discover traditions of the painted eggs handcraft. The Painted Eggs Museum includes over 3,000 eggs, gathered by Letitia in 12 years of participation in national and international exhibitions, and of course Bucovina eggs made by the artist herself. The collection includes rare eggs, like those of emu, rhea, tinamu, turtle, crocodile, flamingo, and very small eggs, like of partridge, sparrow, dove and also of pheasant, peacock, quail, duck, goose, turkey, ostrich.

 

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Day 7. Voronet – Targu Mures Walking Tour – Sibiu Tour & Accommodation

 

Targu Mures - Named literally for a 'market' on the Mures River and known as the city of roses, Targu Mures enjoys the best of both Romanian and Hungarian cultures. During medieval times, guilds, made up of groups of craftsmen, played an important role in the evolution of the town. Today its centrally located Roses Square is lined with modern street- side cafes and restaurants, churches, and monuments. Targu Mures' top attraction is The Culture Palace, a flamboyant early 20th-century city hall with an outstanding stained-glass hall, housing some of main local museums.

 

Sibiu Walking Tour - This fortress town is a pedestrian-friendly city with two easily accessible levels: The Upper town, home to Sibiu's historic sites and the Lower town lined with colorful houses on cobblestone streets and bounded by imposing city walls and defense towers overlooking the river Cibin.

Tour Highlights: Evangelical Church, The Bridge of Lies, Historical Center, The Stairs Passage, Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, Brukenthal Museum, Towers and Bastions.

 

 

Day 8. Sibiu – Transfagarasan Highway with stops at Balea Lake & Vidraru Dam – Accommodation in Bucharest

 

Transfagarasan Highway – Transfagarasan Road is one of the top highlights of Romanian tourism as it combines nature, charming countryside and historical landmarks.

 

More than 150 kilometers (94 miles) in length the Transfagarasan Highway is Romania’s most spectacular and best known road and, thanks to an appearance on BBC Top Gear in 2009, now one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions. Fully open only from June to October, the road’s highest point is at 2042 meters (6700 ft): the tunnel which links the northern and southern sides at Lake Balea.

 

Drive on the most famous and most windy European road. After passing by beautiful waterfalls, you will go through the longest tunnel in Romania, for almost 1 km, reaching Balea glacier Lake. Stop for photos. On the other side of the mountain the drive will be even more impressive. ​

 

Balea Lake -  is a glacier lake situated at 2,034 meters of altitude in the Fagaras Mountains, in central area of Romania. It is one of the most visited lakes in Romania. The lake is accessible by car on the Transfagarasan road during the summer, and the rest of the year by cable car.

 

Second stop will be at Vidraru Dam, built during the communist period, together with the road. You will have the chance to take photos of this splendid landscape.

 

Vidraru Dam - along Transfagarasan Road, at about 40 kilometers far from Curtea de Arges, Vidraru Dam is considered by specialists a real jewelry of engineering. At the completion date, it ranked 5th in Europe, and 9th in the world. As specialists say, it is a double curved dam, its height is 166 meters and arch length 307 meters. Its outline is electrically lighted by night, so it can be noticed from the plane. Tourists can climb to Belvedere platform to admire the beautiful landscape. 

 

Day 9. Goodbye Romania! Airport transfer.