Romania Small Group Walking Tour for Seniors

This small group escorted tour explores the magnificent landscapes of Carpathian mountains in Romania, and takes in the vibrant culture and rich heritage of Romanian village life. Travel with like minded people, mature couples or solo travellers.

From A$8,350AUD

Available

Highlights

  1. 1. Take in the magnificent Carpathian Mountains, and experience the majesty of peaks like Pasul Gutai Mountain.
  2. 2. Take tours through several of the region’s oldest monasteries and churches, many of which are wooden and date back to Pre-Modern Europe.
  3. 3. Walk through several picturesque Romanian villages, including Ieud and Sarbi, with local guides explaining historical and cultural landmarks
  4. 4. Visit the Merry Cemetery, a national tourist attraction in Romania, due to its colourful headstones and oddly festive atmosphere.

Departure Dates

Departure Date Price
03 May 2024

Ends 14 May 2024

A$8,350 Twin

A$9,350 Single

Available
Selected
26 August 2024

Ends 06 September 2024

A$8,350 Twin

A$9,350 Single

Available
02 March 2025

Ends 14 March 2025

A$8,765 Twin

A$9,815 Single

Available
25 August 2025

Ends 13 September 2025

A$8,765 Twin

A$9,815 Single

Available

Romania Walking Tour

Odyssey offers easy, convenient, and relaxed escorted small group tours across Western Europe and beyond into Romania. We explore Romania’s fairy-tale natural beauty, its ancient heritage, its World Heritage Sites, and world famous city, all with some truly spectacular scenery along the way. This and more is all waiting to be explored on one of Odyssey’s small group tours of Romania, designed for the senior traveller, and led by experienced, and enthusiastic like minded people.

Our Romania small group walking tour for seniors explores the magnificent landscapes of the Carpathian Mountains and, additionally, takes in the vibrant culture and rich heritage of Romanian village life.

The tour is particular noteworthy for the country's breathtaking natural wonders, and the beautiful architecture and villages we encounter throughout.

Highlights of the Romania Walking Tour

The small group tour begins in Cluj Napoca, a vibrant town in the Transylvania region of Romania. We walk through several picturesque Romanian villages, including Ieud and Sarbi, with local guides explaining historical and cultural landmarks.

Stopping in the city of Sapanta, we visit the Merry Cemetery (a national tourist attraction, due to the colourful paintings on tombstones, which depict the lives of those interred there) and the Peri Monastery Church (the tallest wooden structure in Romania). We also take a coach through the gorgeous Moldovita Valley, where we tour the village and monastery where monks and hermits have lived since the 14th Century.

Our Romania small group walking tour is the perfect way to comprehend the country's natural beauty. During the tour we witness the Cascada Cailor, a stunning 90m waterfall with an altitude of 1300m. Especially memorable is the National Park at Hasmas, where we climb the Hasmaul Pass. The Park incorporates the Harghita and Neamty counties, and covers some 6,800 hectares. Home to a vast number of rare birds and plants, it also contains one of the only barrier lakes in Eastern Europe, towering limestone gorges, as well as flower-laden meadows.

Itinerary

12 days

Day 1: Ocna Șugatag

We meet at Cluj Napoca, where we take a coach tour to Ocna Sugatag, heading towards Northern Transylvania. On the way, we have spectacular views of the Pasul Gutai Mountain, before arriving in Ocna Sugatag for free time and dinner. We stay overnight at the Pensiuna Cristal or a similar hotel.

Day 2: Ocna Șugatag

This morning we take a walk to Breb, exploring the lush countryside, before we board the coach and head for Sapanta. We have lunch at a local restaurant on the way, before exploring Sapanta with a city tour, as well as visiting the Merry Cemetery (a national tourist attraction, due to the colourful paintings on tombstones, which depict the lives of those interred there) and the Peri Monastery Church (the tallest wooden structure in Romania).

Day 3: Ieud

After breakfast, we take a coach to Ieud. First stop is Hoteni, where we have a local guide to show us the main sights of the Iza Valley. We vist a local mill in Sarbi, and take a walk through the religious commune of Barasana. We stop to view the wooden church at Poinile Izei, where we enjoy a picnic lunch. From there, we travel into Ieud, where we tour the main sights, visit the second oldest church in Romania, and enjoy a 3-course dinner at a local guesthouse.

Day 4: Sucevita

Today we take a more in-depth tour of Ieud, taking the chair lift to Borsa and exploring the Rodna Mountain. Along the way, we stop to see the Cascada Cailor, a stunning 90m waterfall that has an altitude of 1300m. We enjoy a picnic lunch on Rodna Mountain, before touring the Golden Bistrita valley and returning to the hotel for dinner.

Day 5: Sucevita

Following breakfast, we take the coach to the breathtaking Moldovita Valley, where we tour the village and monastery, where monks and hermits have lived since the 14th Century. We explore the beautiful wooden church, and view the ruins of the original monastery. We then travel to Runc Village, where we see the main sights, before heading to Sucevita for dinner.

Day 6: Viscri area

After breakfast, we travel to the National Park at Hasmas, where we climb the Hasmaul Pass. The Park incorporates the Harghita and Neamty counties, and covers some 6,800 hectares. Home to a vast number of rare birds and plants, it also contains one of the only barrier lakes in Eastern Europe, towering limestone gorges, as well as flower-laden meadows. In the afternoon, we travel on to Viscri, where we see the main sights via coach, before heading to our hotel for dinner.

Day 7: Gheorgheni

Today we take a morning walking tour around Sucevita, visiting the monastery and the incredible Museum of Mr. Popa, before travelling to Gheorgheni. We enjoy dinner together in the hotel.

Day 8: Viscri area

This morning we tour the city in horse-drawn carriage, before stopping for a two-course lunch. There’s free time to explore the city in the early afternoon, before we regroup to see the beautiful Viscri Monastery.

Day 9: Cluj- Napoca

After breakfast, we travel to Sighisoara, where a local guides gives an in-depth tour of the picturesque medieval village of Cris. Settled by German Craftsman and merchants known as the Transylvanian Saxons during the 12th Century, the village has a rich culture and history. We take a tour of the village, before taking a walking tour of Malancrav. Later on, we head to a hotel in Cluj-Napoca, where we enjoy a three-course dinner.

Day 10: Cluj- Napoca

After breakfast, we say our farewells and the tour comes to a close.

Includes / Excludes

What’s included in our Tour

  • 9 nights hotel accommodation.
  • 10 breakfasts and 9 dinners.
  • Transport in comfortable and modern coach.
  • Gratuities and necessary tips.
  • Services of Tour Leader for the duration of tour.

What’s not included in our Tour

  • International airfares and departure taxes.
  • Comprehensive travel insurance.
  • Items of a personal nature such as telephone calls and laundry.
Level 4 - Challenging

Participants must have a high level of physical fitness and appropriate expertise in the program activities, and should except full days of fast-paced, strenuous physical challenges.

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Departure

03 May 2024

Available

Ends 14 May 2024 • 12 days

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Room Type

Single Traveller
A$9,350
Two Travellers
A$8,350 pp

By booking two travellers sharing a room you save $1000 per person.

Payment Type

You can reserve your spot by paying a A$1,000 pp deposit, for full details please see our Terms & Conditions .

Pay Deposit
A$2,000
Pay Full
A$16,700

Prices are per person and valid until 30th December 2024.

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Make it a private tour

If you have a group of 6 friends or more you can book this tour as a private departure, with all the benefits of our small group tours.
Get in touch to find out more.

Easing your journey

Crossing international borders with restrictions

The list of requirements to travel internationally has changed and will continue to change for several years. Odyssey is here to assist you in managing your way through these requirements:

Pre-departure checklist for travelling across International borders.
Support over email or phone available 24/7 for any questions you have.

For more information see our Crossing international borders with restrictions page.

Book With Confidence

If less than 30 days before your tour starts you are unable to travel as a result of Government travel restrictions, Odyssey Traveller will assist you with a date change, provide you with a credit or process a refund for your booking less any non-recoverable costs.

See Terms and conditions for details.

Peace of Mind Travel

The safety of our travellers, tour leader, local guide and support staff has always been our top priority and with the new guidelines for public health and safety for keeping safe for destinations around the world, we’ve developed our plan to give you peace of mind when travelling with us.

See Peace of Mind Travel for details.

Reading List Download PDF

Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania

Mike Ormsby

'Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania' has been described as one of the best guide books on Romania. If you want to discover Romania with someone who knows it well, Mike Ormsby's travel writing is for you.

Whilst the average Romania travel guide provides details of places to visit, this writer takes a different approach. Ormsby gets up close and personal, blending journalistic objectivity with dry wit to craft true-life stories about the people who live in Romania: from friendly hikers and shepherds in Transylvania, to exasperated taxi drivers and bossy bureaucrats in Bucharest.

Ormsby's bittersweet short stories are a quick and easy read yet offer fascinating glimpses of an enthralling land that Vlad 'The Impaler' Tepes - real life inspiration for gothic legend Dracula - once ruled with an iron fist.

Mike Ormsby's first visited Romania in spring 1994 as a BBC reporter. Touched by the hospitality and wry humour of the local people, he soon returned to teach journalism at BBC World Service School in Bucharest, and remained in that post for several years, writing in his spare time.

Published in 2008, 'Never Mind the Balkans, Here's Romania', was well received by Romania's literary critics, several of whom dubbed Ormsby 'The British Caragiale', in deference to their beloved fin-de-siècle satirist and playwright. Ion Luca Caragiale shone a humorous and affectionate light on Romania in his era, and Mike Ormsby does the same in ours.

Numerous expats and visitors have also welcomed the book as a unique and modern variation on the more conventional Romania travel guide.

Amazon

A Concise History of Romania

Keith Hitchins

Spanning a period of 2000 years from the Roman conquest of Dacia to the present day, A Concise History of Romania traces the development of a unique nation situated on the border between East and West. In this illuminating new history, Keith Hitchins explores Romania's struggle to find its place amidst two diverse societies: one governed by Eastern orthodox tradition, spirituality and agriculture and the other by Western rationalism, experimentation and capitalism. The book charts Romania's advancement through five significant phases of its history: medieval, early modern, modern and finally the nation's 'return to Europe'; evaluating all the while Romania's part in European politics, economic and social change, intellectual and cultural renewals and international entanglements. This is a fascinating history of an East European nation; one which sheds new light on the complex evolution of the Romanians and the identity they have successfully crafted from a unique synthesis of traditions.

Amazon

Romania since the Second World War: A Political, Social and Economic History

Florin Abraham

Romania since the Second World War is the first book about Romania designed to chart the progress of the nation under the communist regime as well as the transition period that followed, providing detailed analysis of the aspects of continuity and change that can be identified over the period as a whole.

The book begins with Romania's involvement in the Second World War, looking at the communist regime in depth. It examines how communism took hold and the elimination of traditional elites took place, before discussing the impact of Gheorghiu-Dej and Nicolae Caeusescu, the two most important leaders of the communist era. The following chapters cover the main social and economic changes during the communist regime. The second part of the book explores the transition period following the end of communism in 1989, with special attention given to international relations and Romania's drive for inclusion in NATO and the EU. Romania since the Second World War assesses socio-demographic trends across the postwar period before concluding with some thoughts on the nation's development during this time.

The book includes a useful appendix covering the key figures in Romania's recent history and a helpful bibliography, making this a key text for anyone interested in the modern history of Eastern Europe.

Amazon

Along the Enchanted Way: A Story of Love and Life in Romania

William Blacker

Change is now coming to rural Romania, and William Blacker's adventures will soon be part of its history. From his early carefree days tramping the hills of Transylvania to the book's poignant ending, 'Along the Enchanted Way' transports us back to a magical world most of us thought had vanished long ago.

Amazon

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