Departure from Cluj-Napoca.
Tailored tour (4 to 7 days) including the must-see places of Bucovina and Maramureș. Visit the most important tourist attractions (including at least 4 UNESCO sites), discover the cultural blend of Romanians with Ukrainians, Hungarians, Poles, Germans, and Jews, go off the beaten track, meet the locals in their homes, at the market, or out in the fields, walk through the best-preserved hay meadows in Europe, and more.
Proposed itinerary for the 5-day tour:
Day 1. Start from Cluj-Napoca. Visit the attractive Bánffy Palace in Răscruci. Stop in Bistrița, a former Saxon city, to see its Main Square and the Evangelical Church, with old furniture, an organ, and the tallest medieval tower in Transylvania. Then climb Tihuța Pass (the Borgo Pass from the novel Dracula, a great viewpoint) and enter Bucovina, a stronghold of Romanian traditional culture. Visit Voroneț Monastery (a UNESCO monument, known as “the Sistine Chapel of the East,” with the famous Last Judgment fresco). Overnight in Gura Humorului.
Day 2. Visit the collection of more than 18,000 painted eggs at the Vama Egg Museum. If it is open, visit a traditional blacksmith workshop. See Moldovița Monastery (UNESCO, one of the best preserved and most colorful). Stop at the scenic Palma Pass (famous for its zip line). Visit Sucevița Monastery (UNESCO), the largest in Bucovina, which looks like a mighty fortress. Stop at the Marginea pottery workshop and see Bogdana, the oldest church in Bucovina and Moldavia, in Rădăuți. Overnight in Gura Humorului.
Day 3. Drive through Ciocănești village with its painted houses, climb Prislop Pass, and enter Maramureș. Along the way, meet farmers and craftspeople. Optionally, see the Museum of the Peasant Woman in Dragomirești or the Ieud-Deal UNESCO church. Walk around the beautiful Bârsana Monastery, then discover a wood-carving workshop (where skilled craftsmen create everything from gates and furniture to churches). Overnight in Breb or Sighetu Marmației.
Day 4. Visit the food market and the Memorial of the Victims of Communism (a political prison under the communist regime and one of the main memorial sites in Europe), both in Sighetu Marmației. Optionally, see the Elie Wiesel Memorial House (the Jewish museum). Head to Săpânța, famous for its unique “Merry Cemetery,” where the painted wooden crosses carry stunning epitaphs about the lives of the deceased. Discover the wood-shingle makers and meet locals in Breb. Overnight in Breb or Sighetu Marmației.
Day 5. In the Cosău Valley, meet a loom weaver and see the Sârbi spirits distillery, the mills, and the whirlpool (still used by local women to wash heavy blankets or to felt wool). Visit Budești Church (UNESCO) and an astonishing optical illusion. Stop in Baia Mare, where you can stroll around the medieval Old Square (including an artist’s workshop) and see St. Stephen’s Tower (from the 14th century, with quite a view from the top). Drive back to Cluj-Napoca.
The tour includes accommodation, the guiding fee, transport, and all entrance tickets.
You can choose another itinerary or tour length (from 4 to 7+ days), pick another starting/ending point, and arrange various accommodation and meal options.
For price, dates, and more information, please contact me.
