Budapest to Sofia Tour - 13 days

Day 2: Saturday
BUDAPEST: Pesta walking tour

Your half-day tour of Pest begins at the Hungarian Parliament, the great riverside palace whose faceted towers and domes seem to converse with the Danube. Built at the height of Hungary’s confidence, the building rises like a stone epic, each arch retelling a different chapter of the nation’s past. As you walk around Kossuth Square, the city opens slowly. From here, we follow elegant streets toward St. István Basilica. Its dome collapsed during construction, but the city rebuilt it, and today the basilica stands as a grand promise fulfilled. Inside, marbles glow in warm hues, gold leaf flickers, and the revered Holy Right Hand of King St. Stephen rests as a symbolic anchor to Hungary’s origins.

You continue toward Váci Street, Pest’s long street of movement, conversation, and commerce. Once the promenade of the Austro-Hungarian elite, it still carries a trace of that elegance. Shop windows sparkle, pastries release soft flavors, and the street feels like a living corridor where architecture, aromas, and languages blend into a single urban melody. The pulse of the city becomes more vibrant as you near the Great Market Hall, a neo-Gothic hall crowned with shimmering Zsolnay tiles. Inside, Budapest reveals itself through color and flavor. There are piles of paprika, cured meats hang with ceremonial pride, and merchants call out with familiar warmth. On the upper level, folk crafts and embroidered fabrics bring another layer to the city’s story, while visitors often pause for a bite of lángos or a sip of tokaji wine, tasting a distilled form of Hungary’s culinary identity.

From the market, you return to the river, stepping onto the Danube Promenade where the city seems to breathe more gently. Across the water, Buda rises with its hills, palaces, and statues, forming a monumental skyline that changes mood with the light. Along the promenade, sculptures, historical plaques, and grand hotels pass by. The river keeps you company as you walk north, its broad surface reflecting fragments of sky and city. Eventually, the Parliament reappears, now touched by the later glow of the day, completing the circle of our exploration. This walk through Pest weaves architecture, spirit, daily life, flavor, and river rhythms into one continuous story, allowing the district to reveal itself not in isolated stops but as a living, breathing whole.

Overnight in Budapest: 4-star hotel

Day 3: Sunday
BUDAPEST – TOKAJ - SAPANTA (Romania) (7h drive)

Today is going to be a long day, as you will leave Hungary and head to the 2nd country, Romania. On the way, stop in Tokaj for an interesting and captivating wine tasting. Tokaj is Hungary’s storied wine region, where volcanic hills cradle vineyards that have produced the world’s first noble-sweet wines for centuries. The famed Tokaji Aszú, shaped by botrytised berries and autumn mists, carries a brightness and depth found nowhere else. The landscape itself feels like a quiet partnership between sun, soil, and tradition, all focused on turning grapes into liquid sunlight.

In the afternoon, cross the border and enter Romania. After the plain scenery from Hungary, now we are changing the register completely as the Carpathian Mountains are welcoming you to the first historical region of Romania, Maramures. Located in the North side of the country, Maramures is a land of old traditions and the reason for the saying “Romania starts where the asphalt ends.” You will be driven along picturesque mountain villages and stop at Sapanta to visit an out-of-the-ordinary cemetery, the Merry Cemetery.  Stan Ioan Patras, a local carver, had the idea of carving wooden crosses that were painted in bright colors. Each cross depicts an image of the buried one and more or less funny epitaphs.

In the evening, head to a charming village where you will enjoy a great traditional home-made dinner prepared by a local family.

Overnight in the Maramures – guesthouse, room with private bathroom

Day 4: Monday
MARAMURES – SURDESTI – CLUJ NAPOCA (3h30min drive)

In the morning, enjoy a traditional breakfast, then prepare to visit the household and learn how the people here live.

Leave the village and head to Surdesti to visit the wooden church, a UNESCO Heritage Monument. The construction boasts the purity of the locals’ faith, the outstanding talent of the locals in building wooden constructions, and a great level of modesty through its traditional simplicity.

Continue the journey and prepare to enter the legendary land of Transylvania, the one about which Prince Charles of Wales used to say: “Transylvania is the last corner of Europe where you see true sustainability and complete resilience. There’s so much we can learn from it before it’s too late.  ”

The last stop of the day will be in Cluj-Napoca, one of the oldest cities in Romania, dating from Roman times. After checking in at the hotel, you will start a short walking tour of the small historic center of Cluj and admire the Matthias statue, the Catholic Cathedral, the main squares, and the beautiful architecture of the buildings located along the streets.

Overnight in Cluj-Napoca: 4-star hotel