Bear watching, wolf watching, wild boars and fortifications in Transylvania
– a trip for all ages
Bear watching, wolf watching, wild boars and fortifications in Transylvania is a trip designed for almost all ages and fitness levels.
5 days of relaxed trips, good food and drinks, focusing on Brown Bear watching, bird watching and visits to castles and fortifications in Brasov area, Transylvania.
Available for groups of minimum 2 persons, from April until November.
difficulty grade: A – click here for explanations
This trip was created based on the feedback of our previous guests, keeping it at a low level of fitness, including as highlights:
- three different bear hides
- Dumbravita fish farm with its Ramsar bird protected area
- cultural visits: Bran Castle, Brasov historical center, Prejmer fortification, Viscri village, Sighisoara medieval town, Rasnov medieval citadel
- the Bear Sanctuary in Zarnesti
- the best restaurants that offer good food made with high quality products
- the best hotel in the historical center of Brasov
Do you have any questions about this trip?
Contact us at book@absolute-nature.ro or
Program Description
A 5-day trip in Brasov area, Transylvania, focusing on bear watching, bird watching and visits to castles and fortifications, with low level of fitness required, which makes it perfect for all ages.
Arrival and pick-up from the airport (available airports in Bucharest, Sibiu and Targu Mures). Transfer to your 3* hotel in Brasov historical medieval center. The hotel is 2 minutes-walk away from the Council Square and the Black Church, at the foothills of Mount Tampa, the rooms are comfortable and breakfasts are tasty and various.
Between breakfast and lunch we pick you up from your hotel and drive app. 40min to Dumbravita Fish Farm. This is a Ramsar protected area for birds, also known as The Danube Delta in the Carpathians due to the high number of wetland species that inhabit it from spring until late fall. Your guide will facilitate the entrance in the farm and introduce you to the various birds that inhabit this place.
After this bird watching activity we’ll drive to Rasnov medieval citadel for an interesting tour of this fortress.
In the afternoon we drive to Sinca Noua Village to a small guesthouse, where we’ll have an early dinner consisting of home grown products cooked on a wooden stove by the best cook of the village (included). After dinner we drive about 20 minutes to a first bear hide on Stramba Valley (the “wildest-looking” hide we use). This is a facility where wild bears are attracted with food for observations. Formerly a hunting hide, bears have been used for a long time to come here for a “snack”, which makes the success rate very high.
After breakfast we pick you up from your hotel and drive you to Viscri, a small Transylvanian village known for its fortified church part of the UNESCO World Heritage list and for the fact that Prince Charles of Wales has bought and restored an 18th century Saxon house to help protect the unique way of life that has existed for hundreds of years and promote sustainable tourism. If available, you’ll visit the church and a local blacksmith to see how horseshoes were made in the old days.
Afterwards we drive a bit more to Sighisoara. Sighisoara is considered by some people to be the most beautiful and well preserved inhabited citadel in Europe, with authentic medieval architecture. In Eastern Europe, Sighisoara is one of the few fortified towns that are still inhabited. We’ll first have lunch in a local restaurant (included), then visit this beautiful fortification.
Early afternoon we drive back towards Brasov, for a visit to a second hide, where we might see entire families of wild boars and brown bears sharing the food. Late in the evening we drive you back to your hotel for dinner (not included) and a well-deserved sleep.
At app. 9am we pick you up from your hotel and drive to the Bear Sanctuary in Zarnesti and have a tour of this great place where rescued bears spend the rest of their lives in large enclosures, with good food and warm people taking care of them. There is also a good chance to see wolves here as well, as the Sanctuary is also home for several grey wolves who found here a great home.
Later we drive to Bran Castle, famous for being Bram Stoker’s character Dracula’s domain. We’ll have first lunch in a local restaurant (included), then visit this interesting castle, formerly customs point between Wallachia and Transylvania.
Late afternoon we drive to Prejmer fortification (another point on the UNESCO World Heritage list), then visit a third bear hide. This hide is the closest to Brasov, so this evening you’ll have enough time to rest before your departure the next day.
Depending on the time of your flight we may take some time in the morning to walk in the medieval center of Brasov, with the Black Church and the Rope Street, then drive to your take-off airport.
Important notes:
a) the food provided at the hide constitutes only a small part of the bears’ diet, and most bears do not even come to the hide as the forest provides more than enough food for them.
b) the bears that do come to the hide are very aware that we are present there, but we still need to keep a low voice and be relatively still for a few hours.
c) there is a short and safe walk from the place where we park the car to the hide itself and back (app. 5 minutes on almost flat terrain); we are always accompanied by a forester who knows how to handle any “unforeseen” situation.
d) we stay at the hide until almost dark, which is quite late especially in summer, when you can get back to your hotel at almost 11pm.
e) the photo fee is included for non-commercial photos, but you will have to avoid using the flash or the red light, as they chase the bears away.
Profile
Profile
LOW level of fitness required: capacity to walk for app. half an hour on almost flat terrain, as well as to stay relatively quiet and still for a few hours.
Accommodation in a 3* hotel in the historical center of Brasov in double room with en suite facilities.
Meal basis: B&B included, as well as other meals mentioned in the itinerary.
Travel is by minibus/car.
Costs
Cost (excluding flights): 1250 euro per person (calculated for a group of minimum 2 persons)
Including 4 nights B&B in the medieval center of Brasov, all activities and entrance fees described above (including lunches or dinners if mentioned), transfers from/to Bucharest airport, local transport, English speaking guide.
Thank you for choosing the trip Bear watching, wolf watching, wild boars and fortifications in Transylvania!
Thank you for choosing us for your trip in Transylvania focused on fortifications, wild boars, wolf watching and bear watching!
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