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Romanian Rural Life Tour: Bran Castle and Bat Cave
5.0
55 Ratings
Brașov
This small group tour takes you straight to the heart of rural life in Romania. See some local houses, visit the Bat Cave, take a trek through the local mountain forests, and learn about a way of life that’s slowly disappearing. Also, we can visit Bran Castle a.k.a Dracula’s Castle.
This small group tour takes you straight to the heart of rural life in Romania. See some local houses, visit the Bat Cave, take a trek through the local mountain forests, and learn about a way of life that’s slowly disappearing. Also, we can visit Bran Castle a.k.a Dracula’s Castle.
Duration:
9 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle) - Admire the high stone walls and red turrets flanked by the Carpathian Mountains. Enter the castle (own expense) and wander through with your guide. Learn about the area’s stories and legends.
- Piatra Craiului National Park - One of the most beautiful mountains of Romania.
- Magura - Nestled in the Piatra…
- Bran Castle (Dracula’s Castle) - Admire the high stone walls and red turrets flanked by the Carpathian Mountains. Enter the castle (own expense) and wander through with your guide. Learn about the area’s stories and legends.
- Piatra Craiului National Park - One of the most beautiful mountains of Romania.
-
Magura - Nestled in the Piatra Craiului National Park Mountains in the Southern Carpathians, the villages of Pestera an Magura offer an authentic glimpse into rural Romanian life. Your immersive, full-day tour begins in central Brașov, where you’ll meet your local guide and board a private vehicle for the 45-minute drive to the village. Along the way, let your guide know if you have any specific interests so he or she can customize the day’s itinerary.
Learn about the history of the villages, where the traditional industries of sheep farming and cheese making are still practice by many of the village’s. Visit the Bat Cave about 10 minutes. Next, set off into the surrounding hills and meadows og Magura village for a moderate guided hike for 2 to 3 hours. Let your guide know if you prefer to hike for longer or shorter, and go at a pace that’s comfortable to you. -
Pestera - Make a stop to the oldest guest house in the National Park. Meet some of the farmers, and sample two-three different kinds of cheese.
After working up an appetite, we have a hearty lunch. Savour simple Romanian cuisine home-made from local farm-fresh ingredients including eggs, vegetables and pork. Purchase beer or wine to top off your meal. From the guest house we have a walk in Pestera Village back to the car, about 1 hour. We can visit also the local church.
What's Included
- Visit the Bat Cave and the National Park’s oldest guest house
- Lunch included
- Personalized experience with a private guide
- Complimentary pick-up service from Brasov city
- Comfortable travel in a private, air-conditioned vehicle
- Delicious cheese tastings
- Visit the Bat Cave and the National Park’s oldest guest house
- Lunch included
- Personalized experience with a private guide
- Complimentary pick-up service from Brasov city
- Comfortable travel in a private, air-conditioned vehicle
- Delicious cheese tastings
What's Not Included
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- Gratuities
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Food and drinks, unless specified
- Gratuities
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
Additional Information
- Dress warmly: Sturdy and waterproof hiking shoes and warm clothes recommended
- Route may be changed without notice due to weather conditions
- Important note about Pestera and Magura Village - in those 2 villages the people never died because of cancer or heart attack - they leave an healthy life: working the land, taking care of animals (sheep and…
- Dress warmly: Sturdy and waterproof hiking shoes and warm clothes recommended
- Route may be changed without notice due to weather conditions
- Important note about Pestera and Magura Village - in those 2 villages the people never died because of cancer or heart attack - they leave an healthy life: working the land, taking care of animals (sheep and cows), preparing and eating home made food from their small farm (meat, eggs, milk), drinking fresh water from the spring and home made alcoholic drink called “tuica” made from different fruits as apples, plums, pears!
- The cheese tasting and lunch are taking place at one of the gueshouses in the area.
- Minimum 2 people. If you are single you pay as for 2.
- Please bring your own mask; we provide hand sanitizer. We are cleaning vehicles after every tour.
- When you book the rate as 1 person, in case we have other clients, we refund the difference you paid as solo traveler, after the tour.
Location
The Council's House
Piața Sfatului
The History Museum entrance.
Complimentary pick-up from Brasov!
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(55 Ratings)
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Priyanka_s
Sep 9, 2024
Mountain village tour review - Our trip started with a visit to the famous Bran Castle. Our guide was Alex, he gave us nice brief history about the castle and everything. The castle and the surrounding areas was beautiful. The history associated with the castle was quite interesting. Then we went to bat cave and after that the beautiful Măgura and Pestera arrived. These two mountain villages are situated at the border of Piatra Craiuli National Park. The wooden fences, the calmness of the village, the sound of the wind, sheep’s munching on their food, horses in the meadows give them a very traditional and scenic vibe. That made us feel that we stepped into another world. I really wish I had more time there. I went with my family and my infant kid, who also enjoyed in the village and in the beautiful guest house where we had our delicious lunch before coming back to Braşov. I highly recommend this tour, and our guide Alex was great.
Review provided by Viator
949ibanb
Sep 2, 2024
Extraordinary tour, excellent guide. - This tour through the stunning nature of these mountains is extraordinary. Highly, highly recommended! And our experienced guide Bogdan has been quite a discovery! He’s a great person with extensive knowledge about mountaineering, adventure sports, survival, and the history of Romania. The journey was very enjoyable, and the day went by so quickly! And that’s despite us having taken over 30,000 steps, haha.
The mealtime was delicious and very rejuvenating.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Chelseagi3067ig
Aug 29, 2024
Incredible Hiking Experience - My friends and I booked a private tour with Active Travel, had the most wonderful experience with Marian, our guide. He was absolutely accommodating in every way and chose two locations that were perfect for us. The scenery was breathtaking, and Marian was so knowledgeable, and shared so many interesting stories and historical facts with us. After our hike we finished up having lunch in a guest house which was arranged by Marian, and everything was perfect. Marian spoke with so much love and passion for the Carpathian’s and Romania, and is an advocate for ecotourism which we found inspiring. We recommend Active Travel and will def be back to Romania to book with them again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
625ombb
Aug 13, 2024
A very nice experience (walking and contact with our Guide) - We chose a hike with with this company! The Dan Guide is very Leader, very pleasant and hasten to answer any questions about this beautiful country. Do not hesitate you will not be disappointed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
M691usnicolaw
Aug 5, 2024
Great experience :) - Had a great time on this trip and loved the charm of Piatra Craiului National Park. We went to see Bran castle and then had a really scenic walk to a bat cave where we got to see horseshoe bats 🦇.
It was great to see rural life and the surrounding mountains. The lunch after the hike was delicious- best tiramisu I’ve ever had!
Dan was our guide and both myself and my Dad thought he was brilliant. He gave us really thorough information about Bran castle and was very patient with my Dad who has a bad knee, stopping whenever he needed to and offering to hold his camera for him to lighten his load.
He was friendly and great company to be guiding us on the hike, thank you Dan for a great day :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Margaret_m
Aug 2, 2024
Wonderful Experience - Our guide, Dan, spoke perfect English, transported us in a very comfortable, spotlessly clean van, and was attentive to our every need. The hike was a bit more strenuous than we anticipated, but Dan was respectful of that and gave us a hand when needed. He even offered to jog back to get the vehicle if we thought we couldn't make it back. Wasn't necessary as going back seemed quicker and easier. Lunch was an abundance of food in a lovely restaurant in the mountains. I can't say enough good things about our experience with Dan. Wish he would've been our guide for our entire trip!!
Review provided by Viator
Alexlanoire
Jun 13, 2024
A wonderful day - Dan is a really friendly and easy going guide. We had a lovely day with him; he is knowledgeable and great to spend time with. He's very thoughtful, and always made sure we felt good and were enjoying our tour.
He took us around some wonderful, unforgettable countryside, and to a charming place for lunch, making sure our dietary needs were respected.
We felt really well looked after and his depth of understanding of the countryside meant we always felt completely safe.
We will certainly join him for more tours next time we visit Brasov, and recommend him for anyone who wants to see and learn about the surrounding area.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Markdu2017
Jun 1, 2024
Beautiful views and plentiful food! - Our guide, Bogdan, was great. He was very knowledgeable of the area, the local food and is an avid outdoorsman. He knows the mountains surrounding Brasov very well. The hike was absolutely beautiful, the cave very interesting and the provided lunch very good! A great way to spend a day.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jacqueline
Apr 16, 2024
Fantastic day in the beautiful landscapes of Transylvania - Nice tour with beautiful landscapes and an excellent guide☀️. Our guide Alina picked us up from our hotel in Braşov and we went straight in to the Königstein ( Piatra Craiulu) national park. After arrival we started our 3 hours hike through the beautiful landscapes of the park. We saw traditional houses on our way. The hike was medium level. After we got back to Hermanns beautiful guest house we had a good lunch with local cheese, bread and a local dish. From there we went to castle Bran known as the Bram Stokers Dracula castle, which for us was on the to do list and we were not disappointed. What a beautiful castle with lots of history. By the time we got back to Braşov it was almost dinner time. We had a fabulous day with Alina our fantastic tour guide , who provided us with so much information about the country and its people . Thank you so much for the great day we had in Transylvania 😍
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Richard_n
May 21, 2024
A great day out! - A fantastic day out in the Romanian countryside… first a visit to the bat cave, where we did see a couple of bats, and the caves were amazing and unspoilt, then for a 10 km hike through beautiful villages with unbelievable views, including a stop for a traditional shepherd’s lunch! If you like the rural areas this is for you! A very knowledgeable and helpful driver Tiberiu!
Review provided by Viator
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