Carpathian Walking & Bears

This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. I was not expecting the Carpathian mountains to be so beautiful or there to be such an abundance of wild flowers. The accommodation was very good quality and the hosts Katarina and Herman, very welcoming and helpful. It was particularly good that several of the walks started directly from the Villa Hermanii and we enjoyed being accompanied by the resident dogs. The visit to Castle Bran and Brasov were also very good and well organised as was the evening spent at the bear hide where we were fortunate to see several bears.

We would thoroughly recommend our week in Romania. The walks were really thought out; our leader was excellent and the hosts at the guesthouse really interesting and thoughtful.

Really enjoyed this trip. Many activities, so many that I had to have a day off. Saw bears. Lots.

We had a wonderful holiday! The scenery was beautiful and we were made very welcome by Katerina at the guest house and Cosmin, our guide. 

I absolutely loved this trip. Our guide Tudor was absolutely fantastic, he went above and beyond when organising things. We also met his wife Andra, another tour guide who helped out with some people who were unable to complete all of the walking, saving them from just sitting around the hotel. She also took me to the hospital when I had an allergic reaction to a wasp sting. Honestly the tour guides were amazing. The accommodation was brilliant, Katherina and Herman who ran the guesthouse were friendly and knowledgeable, the other staff couldn't do enough for you. The food was delicious and we were given far too much to actually eat. The beer was nice too as well as the cherry schnapps. Excursions were all good, I enjoyed every one of them. The scenery was beautiful and people friendly. 10/10 go on this trip.

An exciting trip with real bears in beautiful location.

An interesting trip in a beautiful area of natural beauty.

I had not realised before arriving in Magura just how remote, rural and remarkably beautiful Romania could be. The village where we were based is accessibly only via a long, winding unmade road... so get used to leaving modern life behind. In this part of the world people still travel via horse and cart and cut hay with scythes. It was like stepping back into Tudor times. Fortunately, this also means that Europe's largest group of wild brown bears are still able to thrive and going to see them from a hide in the forest was one of the highlights of our trip. There is also plenty of opportunity for hiking, with walks of varying severity on all but one day of the holiday. The views are spectacular - in some parts resembling Switzerland or Austria, in others California and the Rockies. We also took in trips to Bran Castle - to which the Dracula legend has been eagerly attached - and to the delightful city of Brasov.

This was a really interesting trip in rural Romania; we were blessed with amazing weather, so the views and scenery were quite beautiful. The trip was a good mix of sight seeing, exploring and walking. The walking wasn't difficult and very leisurely, plenty of time to soak in the surroundings. Personally, I would have enjoyed more walking , but visiting Bran Castle and Brasov was interesting. The visit to the bear hide was undoubtedly the highlight, we watched 9 females and 5 cubs for over an hour, a very special moment. The guest house was comfortable and the food was delicious, home cooked and plentiful. There were no options, vegetarians and vegans may struggle.

A great week with good company. The hotel is in a beautiful area, surrounded by green hills and pastures. The walks were very good, some quite steep and long, but with plenty of breaks to get your breath back. It was lovely to see the rural life and learn about the history of the area and country.