9-day Time To See Romania (private)

Itinerary

Day 1: Bucharest Arrival

Stop At: Bucharest, Bucharest
A private chauffeur will pick you up at the Bucharest pickup point agreed upon to take you to your downtown hotel (Berthlot Hotel 4*).
Duration: 1 hour

No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Berthlot Hotel 4*

Day 2: Bucharest

Stop At: Palace of Parliament, Strada Izvor 2-4, Bucharest 050711 Romania
Along with your tour guide, you will discover Bucharest's wide squares and avenues, bordered by 19th-century art nouveau French-inspired architecture, which during the age earned the city the nickname "Little Paris". The political struggles of the last century have changed the city landscape, leaving behind a remarkable diversity, ranging from the palaces and concert halls of old to the worker neighborhoods and megalomaniacal projects of the communist decades, whose ultimate expression is the largest parliament building in the world. The colorful pedestrian Old Town offers a variety of choices for a leisurely evening, with its beehive of activity around its restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. As part of the city tour, you will get to visit the main attractions, like The Palace of the Parliament, the second-largest administrative building of the world.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Stop At: Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneul Roman), Str. Franklin 1, Bucharest Romania
Romanian Athenaeum, the most important concert hall of Romania, host of the annual George Enescu Festival, each September.
Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Muzeul National al Satului "Dimitrie Gusti", Kiseleff Road 28-30 In King Michael I Park, Bucharest 011347 Romania
The Village Museum, an impressive and comprehensive open-air collection of traditionally built homes (more than a hundred), churches, and so on. Visitors may enter some of them and admire the items inside.
Duration: 1 hour

Stop At: Bucharest, Bucharest
A short stop in a typical (Communist era) neighborhood. Find details about life in those years.
Duration: 30 minutes

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Berthlot Hotel 4*

Day 3: Time to see Bucharest

Stop At: Bucharest, Bucharest
Free day in Bucharest. Suggestions: National Art Museum hosted in the former Royal Palace; National History Museum; Choral Temple (an exquisite synagogue); taste the ample choices of local street food, very popular among the locals, and increasingly sought after by foreign foodies. Designed, without sparing any expenses, almost two centuries ago by a team of German landscapists, Bucharest's Romantic Central Park, the Cismigiu Garden, invites you to take a stroll through its shaded alleyways or to row on its two interconnected lakes and under the original arched stone footpaths. In the winter, you may test your skills, skating on the joyous ice-ring before or after a cup of hot cinnamon wine served to steam at the edge of the frozen lake.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Berthlot Hotel 4*

Day 4: Flight to and tour of Sibiu

Stop At: Big Square (Piata Mare), Piata Mare 1, Sibiu 550163 Romania
After leisurely packing your bags in the morning, private chauffeured transfer from your hotel to the Bucharest airport, followed by a 40 minutes flight over the Carpathians. The Sibiu guide is going to wait for you at the airport and will use his local knowledge to help you pick from the multitude of restaurant options for lunch. Then she will lead you on a walking tour through the streets of this German-looking town, which lies under the watchful "eyes" of the roof dormers. Despite its day-time tranquil feel, in the evening it becomes the host of numerous cultural events and festivals, especially since 2007 when it was the European capital of culture. As part of the city tour, you will get to see Piata Mare (Big Square).
Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: Lutheran Evangelical Cathedral & Tower, Piata Huet, Sibiu 550182 Romania
The Evangelical Cathedral, built between 1350 and 1520 by the Saxon settlers, who represented the majority population of the city at that time.
Duration: 20 minutes

Stop At: Orthodox Cathedral Holy Trinity, Strada Mitropoliei 33, Sibiu 550179 Romania
The Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, built in the early 20th century, in the style of a Byzantine basilica, inspired by Hagia Sophia, with the main spires influenced by Transylvanian church architecture and Baroque elements.
Duration: 30 minutes

Stop At: Bridge of Lies, Piata Mica 1, Sibiu 550182 Romania
The symbol of the city, the so-called Lier's Bridge.
Duration: 10 minutes

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Art Hotel 4*

Day 5: Time to see Sibiu

Stop At: Sibiu, Sibiu, Sibiu County, Central Romania, Transylvania
Free time in Sibiu. You have the whole day to fall in love with this idyllic city, highly prized by numerous major papers, like Forbes or National Geographic.

Suggestions: Feel like Quasimodo in the attic of the dizzying Evangelical Church tower from where one gets a bird's-eye view over the sprawling medieval center against the background of the surrounding snow-peaked mountain. Mingle with the locals in the ungentrified fresh produce market. Visit the 18-century palace of the Transylvanian governor, Samuel Bruckenthal, who was a passionate art collector and wanted to share his treasures with the world. So, at his bequest, after passing away, his residence was converted into one of Europe's first public art museums. You may also take a 10-minute cab ride to the locals' favorite retreat, Astra open-air museum: a collection of traditional houses, windmills, water operated sawmills, and wooden churches from all over Romania. The 240 acres park displays all this around a central lake.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Art Hotel 4*

Day 6: To Sighisoara and Brasov

Stop At: Sighisoara, Sighisoara, Mures County, Central Romania, Transylvania
Today you meet your next guide either in the hotel lobby or, for railway aficionados, after an experiential two-hour ride through the waiving hills, fields, and villages of the Transylvanian plateau. Take a guided tour of the walled city where Dracula was born. You may still walk the cobbled streets and marvel at the defense towers. Since the citadel is still completely surrounded by its original defenses and the age of most of the buildings inside range from three to six hundred years, UNESCO decided, in 1999, to add the entire Old Town on its list of protected sites.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Brasov, Brasov, Brasov County, Central Romania, Transylvania
Carry on, by private car, to the much larger walled city of Brasov. During the city tour, walk the streets of the Medieval old town and be dwarfed by its majestic 14th-century Gothic cathedral. In the evening, have your pick among the local restaurants whose cuisine reflects the ethnic melting pot of the region.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Casa Cranta 4*

Day 7: To Peles and Bran Castles

Stop At: Peles Castle, Str. Pelesului 2, Sinaia 106100 Romania
The stories left untold will be continued, when yesterday's guide will take you through the ski resorts of the Carpathian Mountains, to visit Peles Castle, one of the most astonishing royal residences of Europe, adorned both inside and out with the best of 19th-century craftsmanship.
Duration: 2 hours

Stop At: Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle), Str. General Traian Mosoiu nr. 24, Bran 507025 Romania
Head back over the mountains, where we will invite you to an exclusive home-cooked meal, representative of local cuisine. Don't shy away from garlic; it may come handy during your next visit: Bran Castle. It's unproven whether it really chases away vampires, but it certainly gives you more personal space in the crowded interior. Within the castle's age-beaten confines find out about its true histories and Dracula legends.
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch: Exclusive home-cooked meal, representative of local cuisine.
Accommodation included: Casa Cranta 4*

Day 8: Time to see Brasov

Stop At: Brasov, Brasov, Brasov County, Central Romania, Transylvania
Free time in Brasov. Suggestions: Climb the nearby Tampa mountain by cable car. Opportunity for a short hike on the summit, on the way to the eagle-nest platform that offers an unimpeded view over the entire Old Town and into the distance. For bibliophiles, we recommend a visit to the First Romanian School, home of the oldest surviving printing press of Romania (16 century), which used a technology - block printing - made obsolete by Guttenberg's mobile letters. Some of the exhibits had been printed on the actual machine. For the more active type, you may get your heart pumping from the beauty of the scenery as viewed from above during a private flight on a four sitter plane that will show you Brasov and its surroundings. Or go with an English speaking wildlife expert to spots where you can safely see wild bears foraging. We will provide a list of contacts for these independent activities, which you may book yourself or with our assistance.
Duration: 8 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
Accommodation included: Casa Cranta 4*

Day 9: Transfer to Bucharest for departure

Stop At: Otopeni, Otopeni, Ilfov County, Southern Romania
Private chauffeured transfer to the Bucharest airport, for your flight home. End of our services.
Duration: 3 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.