Stories of Romania. Photo Tour Of Romania
Villages, nature colors, gorgeous landscapes, rural experiences, and beautiful people, plus, plenty off-road adventures! All these for a small group of only three photographers!
This year, Covinnus Travel celebrates ten successful years of activity. On the other hand, I celebrate 20 years as a tour guide. On this occasion, we will organize one special photo tour of Romania for a maximum of three photographers.
As a tour guide, photographer, and owner of a tour company, I learned that I took the best pictures when I led small groups, not larger than 3-4 persons. Another secret for successful photo tours of Romania is to access remote areas. Unfortunately, with a larger group, this is not possible because the van or minibus won’t make it. On the other hand, many of the participants were not in the youngest part of their lives, so hiking was out of the question. So, we invested in a brand new off-road car that can take you to the most remote areas with no problem. The size of your luggage with such a car is not a problem.
More than that, the photographers will be taken to remote villages, far from many other photo groups. They will access high-panoramic views located on difficult roads, thus allowing them to capture stunning landscapes. You’ll often stay away from the main roads, driving slowly through rural areas and mountains. This will allow you to stop many times for many great pictures. To get closer to the main photo sites, you’ll stay in the closest accommodations possible. Expect simple but clean rooms with private bathrooms and tasty meals.
Last, but not least, why would you travel in a group of ten photographers, plus a local tour guide, and one or even two tour leaders, to take the same picture as the whole group? Why would you pay much more for such services when you can pay less, for a longer tour and with way fewer participants?
"All these for a small group of a maxmimum three photographers!
Day 1: Saturday
AIRPORT - BUCHAREST - CARPATHIAN VILLAGE
Bucharest airport pick-up. In the evening, you'll informed about the general aspects of the tour and other details regarding the local customs from Romania. The rest of the day is at your leisure.
Depending on your arrival time you can enjoy a photo session in the Carpathian Mountains where you’ll access a steep road to the most beautiful part of these mountains.
The day ends with a sunset in rural Carpathians accessing a steep road
Overnight in the Carpathian village: superior guesthouse; rooms wit private bathroom
Day 2: Sunday
CARPATHIAN MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES AND VILLAGES
Start the day with a beautiful sunrise in the Carpathian Mountains.
Explore the rural villages from the Carpathian Mountains, far from the noise of the cities. Meet the locals, and admire the beautiful scenery and summer colors. The rural areas in the Carpathian Mountains are a trip back in time. With the help of an off-road vehicle, you’ll reach many areas where people still live like centuries ago and where the landscape is breathtaking.
The day ends with a blue hour shot at Bran Castle. Known by many as the castle of Dracula, this was built by the German colonists and renovated by Queen Mary of Romania in the 1920s. Today it is the most tourist place in Romania. You'll stay away from this part and you'll have a nice view over the castle from a nearby hill.
Overnight in a Carpathian village: superior guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 3: Monday
BRASOV - SIGHISOARA
It’s time to leave behind for a short time the rural area of the Carpathian Mountains and admire the lovely old town of Brasov. Being surrounded by mountains, the old town is wonderful to be photographed from above.
Then, you’ll be transferred to Viscri, a lovely Saxon village famous for its UNESCO fortified church and for the fact that here King Charles bought a simple peasant house.
Sighisoara is another UNESCO site, ready to be discovered in the finest blue hour. Get the best shot from a secret place.
Overnight in Sighisoara: 4-star hotel
Day 4: Tuesday
SIGHISOARA - BIERTAN - SIGHISOARA
Biertan, another village built by the German colonists, is the day's first stop. You’ll take a lovely morning picture of the famous fortified church from one of the hills surrounding the village.
The southern part of Transylvania is known for its lovely Saxon villages and rural life. It is a perfect combination of daily life, off-road adventure, and stunning landscape pictures. More than that, you'll discover outstanding fortified churches, unique to Transylvania. Some of them make perfect landscape pictures, being flanked by the tall Carpathian Mountains.
In the afternoon, you’ll meet the Gypsy families. You’ll be able to admire and photograph their traditional outfits in their daily environment.
In the evening you'll enjoy another great blue hour shot of Sighisoara.
Overnight in Sighisoara: 4-star hotel
Day 5: Wednesday
SIGHISOARA - BICAZ GORGE - BUCOVINA
Today the photo tour of Romania takes you to Bucovian. On the way, you’ll admire the beauty of the Carpathian Mountains. While everybody crams into one place near the lake, with the help of the off-road car, you’ll be able to explore some hidden areas. You'll be able to enjoy some beautiful vistas, rural villages, and stunning panoramic views.
Bicaz Gorge is a wonder of nature, separating Transylvania from Moldova, the Romanian province. While everybody stays on the main road, you’ll be able to explore some off-road rural areas.
You’ll reach Bucovina in time for a sunset admired from the top of a hill where you can go, again, by the off-road car.
Overnight in Bucovina: superior guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 6: Thursday
BUCOVINA DAY TRIP
Bucovina is known for it UNESCO painted churches, gentle slopes of the mountains, and neat architecture
The day starts with the usual sunrise.
For the rest of the day, you’ll climb the highest hills in search of the best views, people, landscapes, and sheepfolds. Don’t worry, the car will do the whole work so you can have enough energy to chase the best pictures.
Of course, although this is a photo tour, you can't miss the famous painted monasteries. You'll visit Sucevita Convent, the best preserved, and Voronet Convent, famous for its blue color.
Overnight in Bucovina: superior guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 7: Friday
BUCOVINA - MARAMURES
After the usual sunrise, it’s time to leave behind the beautiful land of Bucovina, of course, not before stopping along the way for other pictures in remote areas.
On the way to Maramures, you’ll cross again the high Carpathian Mountains. Here you’ll take other beautiful pictures.
Maramures is one of the most rural areas of Romania. Many farmers still use the horse-drawn carts. We will try to find the best locations for such carts. Also, Maramures is known for its tall and slender wooden churches, some part of the world heritage. Then, Maramures is the country of the traditional haystacks. There are thousands, like soldiers ready to defend the country against another Russian invasion. Maramures has beautiful mountains with lots of hidden villages, ready to be discovered by adventurous photographers. But Maramures is known especially for its warm people. There are few places in the world where the locals are so warm and friendly. It’s a heaven of photographers.
Overnight in Maramures: superior 3-star hotel/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 8: Saturday
MARAMURES DAY TRIP
Maramures is known for boasting the last steam train used for logging in Europe. The same line is used by other steam trains to transport tourists into the Maramures Mountains. Among them, many avid photographers try to capture a good picture of the train while they are on the train. When the train stops, then everybody is out trying to get a selfie in front of the train. So, as a photographer, you are stuck with a bunch of people in front of your main subject. But with an off-road car, you’ll be taken along the valley ahead of the train. In this way, you’ll be outside waiting for the steam train to pass while everyone else is inside of it. You have to be quick although, but for sure you’ll get some terrific pictures of the train.
For the rest of the day, you’ll roam the dirt roads of Maramures, the villages, and the mountains. You’ll photograph wooden churches, people, and beautiful landscapes.
The day ends with a homemade dinner, Maramures style: expect lots of meat and the strongest brandy. Of course, the lady of the house will consider your diet if requested.
Overnight in Maramures: superior guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 9: Sunday
MARAMURES DAY TRIP
Sunrise in Maramures.
Maramures is known among others for its Merry Cemetery, the most colorful cemetery in the world. It’s time to discover it and photograph it. In the same village, you’ll admire the tallest wooden church in Romania. The day continues with rural villages and more unique experiences.
In the second part of the day, you'll enjoy a photo walking tour in one of the best-preserved villages from Maramures. You'll have the chance to meet the locals, observe the daily life in a traditional village, and learn more about the local culture and customs.
Overnight in Maramures: superior guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 10: Monday
MARAMURES - HUNEDOARA - TRANSYLVANIA
It’s time to say goodbye to Maramures. But before this, you’ll explore some other parts of this area. Suredesti, a famous UNESCO wooden church.
For the last time, you’ll enjoy the villages of Maramures and the beautiful landscape.
Once in Transylvania, you’ll discover a hidden Hungarian village with interesting architecture and stunning landscapes. By car, you’ll reach inaccessible areas for great panoramic views.
The city of Hunedoara, although it suffered a lot because of the communist area, still preserves the largest Gothic castle in Romania. It is a perfect postcard of Romania.
The day ends in a rural area, close to the Carpathian Mountains.
Overnight in rural Transylvania: guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 11: Tuesday
CARPATHIAN REMOTE VILLAGES - DAY TRIP
Probably, today it’s going to be one of the most remote adventures you’ll enjoy during this photo tour of Romania. Many times Romania looks like two countries in one. On one hand, we have developed cities connected to modern communications, with a vivid social life. On the other hand, we have these remote areas where nothing has changed for centuries, where life follows the same old ritual. It's a story to be photographed.
You’ll be transferred on bad roads all the way to some hidden villages located in sinkholes in the Carpathian Mountains. Here you’ll photograph the villages and the beautiful landscape. It is a wonderful symbiosis between nature and the rural landscape. For the entire day, you’ll explore other parts of this amazing corner of Romania. It will be like a trip back in time.
Overnight rural Transylvania: superior guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 12: Wednesday
TRANSYLVANIA - TRANSALPINA
It’s time to say goodbye to Transylvania. But before that, you’ll explore a few other rural areas from the most famous historical region of Romania.
In the second part of the day, you’ll reach the Parang Mountains, famous for boasting the highest road in Romania.
Used since ancient times by the shepherds, the Transalpina Highway was built during the reign of the Austrian Emperor Carol IV, the road offers great views over the Carpathian Mountains. It was used even by the Natzys in the Second World War. In the communist years, nobody paid attention to this road and nature took back any trace made by the humans. Only in the recent years of the democratic life in Romania, the road was rebuilt, making it another attraction of Romania.
You'll explore much more than the main road, discovering stunning views, and rural life and admiring a beautiful sunset.
Overnight in Parang Mountains: superior guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 13: Thursday
TRANSALPINA - OLT VALLEY
In the early morning, you will be taken by car to one of the highest points in the Parang Mountains for a beautiful sunrise.
Then, after breakfast, the tour will take you back to the high peaks of the Parang Mountains where you’ll enjoy more breathtaking views. Before reaching the Olt Valley you’ll continue with the villages located at the feet of the mountains.
For the sunset, you’ll go high up on Cozia Mountain for a stunning view over the Olt Valley. The valley was, and still is, one of the most important ways to cross the Carpathian Mountains from Wallachia into Transylvania. It was used even by the Romans when they invaded the Kingdom of Dacia. It will be a perfect moment to end the day with a stunning sunset if the weather works with us. In the evening you'll get down to the village for a quiet evening.
Overnight along the Olt Valley: superior guesthouse/rooms with private bathrooms
Day 14: Friday
OLT VALLEY - TRANSYLVANIAN ALPS - BUCHAREST
The day starts very early for a last sunrise in Romania. Drive again up to Cozia Mountain and enjoy the views during the sunrise.
The last off-road adventure will take up in the Transylvanian Alps for some stunning landscapes. Enjoy the alpine views and then drive back to Bucharest after two weeks of traveling around Romania.
If time allows it, you can enjoy a panoramic tour of Bucharest, the largest city in Romania by far. It will be perfect for a few blue hour shots before a last dinner where you'll be able to memorate all your adventures lived for two weeks in Romania. For sure, you'll have lots of amazing pictures and, most likely, you'll come back for other adventures.
Overnight in Bucharest: 4-star hotel
Day 15: Saturday
BUCHAREST - AIRPORT
You'll be transferred to the airport according to your flight schedule.
End of the tour
Included
- Airport pick-up and drop-off
- Transport by off-road vehicle
- Accommodation for 14 nights as per the program
- Breakfast for each day
- Two dinners
- Licensed English-speaking tour guide/tour leader/driver
Not Included
- Flight ticket
- Hotel extras (telephone, mini bar, etc.)
- Meals, other than breakfast and mentioned above
- Drinks
- Photographing or filming fees at the visited sites
- Tips
- Travel Insurance
- Personal expenses
DATE
Period: July 6 - July 20, 2024 (fully booked)
If this period doesn't work for you, this tour or a custom-made tour can be arranged for you.
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Daniel Gheorghita
Managing Partner at Covinnus Travel. I love to travel, to discover new places, to meet new faces and make new friends. I like diversity and to learn new things, to understand the others, their culture, and their history. I'm passionate about photography and you can see my pictures at bydaniel.me
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