Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive Budapest
Upon arrival to Budapest you will be met and taken to your hotel. Remainder of the day is at leisure to begin your exploration of the Hungarian capital. Overnight in Budapest Hotel Mercure or similar.

Day 2 Budapest
Budapest is truly a cultural European city. Your morning city tour will acquaint you with the city and all of its most famous monuments, including Andrassy Avenue, the magnificent Opera House, St. Stephan Basilica, the Castle District, Matthias Church, the Fisherman’s Bastion, Margaret Island and the Citadel. afternoon is at leisure to visit one of the city’s excellent museums, relax in a cafe or shop for handicrafts. Overnight in Budapest Hotel Mercure or similar.

Day 3 Budapest-Szentendre-Visegrad-Budapest
After breakfast drive to Szentendre, a quaint old market town well loved by painters and sculptures. Then drive to Visegrad, where Vlad the Impaler was imprisoned by Hungarian King Mathias Corvinas. Afternoon return to Budapest. Overnight in Budapest Hotel Mercure or similar.

Day 4 Budapest-Eger-Miskole-Tokaj
After breakfast depart for Tokaj with stops in Eger, a superb Baroque town to see the castle, the cathedral, and the Szechenyi pedestrian street. Your next stop will be in Miskole to visit the Synagogue that has an outstanding main facade with a triple-arched entrance and an equally fine interior. Lunch will be served on the way. Your final stop for the day will be at Tokaj, the famous wine region. Overnight in Tokaj Hotel Degenfeld in Tarcal.

Day 5 Tokaj-Hoteni
After breakfast cross the border and arrive to the beautiful Maramures area. Here, in the small villages you can still see the traditional wooden houses with elaborate carved details and the famous wooden churches. This evening you will enjoy a special treat, spend the night at a farm house of a local family in one of the villages. You will also be served a wonderful home cooked dinner. Overnight in Hoteni.

Day 6 Hoteni-Maramures Area-Hoteni
Full day tour of the Maramures area, land of wooden churches and wooden gates. Your tour will include a visit to the Merry Cemetery of Spanta, created by a local artist in a very colorful, personal and sometimes funny way. The tour will also include visits to some of the most impressive wooden churches of Maramures, listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, such as Calinesti and Desesti. Dinner and overnight at the farmhouse.

Day 7 Hoteni-Cluj-Targu Mures-Sighisoara
After breakfast you will visit Surdesti, the highest wooden church in Europe. Continue to Cluj Napoca, the Cultural Capital of Transylvania. Visit St. Michael Roman-Catholic Cathedral, in front of which stands the equestrian statue of King Mathias Corvinus, the Lutheran Church, and the Orthodox Cathedral. The tour takes you southwards into the heart of legendary Transylvania known as “The Land Beyond the Forests.” Stop in Targu Mures for a visit to the Palace of Culture and the Teleki Library. Later you will arrive in Sighisoara, a Saxon medieval fortress-town which has become part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site as the best preserved and continuously inhabited early medieval citadel in the world. Dinner and overnight at the Hotel Sighisoara.

Day 8 Sighisoara-Biertan-Sighisoara
This morning you will be taken on a tour of Sighisoara. Visit the famous Clock Tower Museum and the Torture Room, the Evangelical Church and the Armor Room. You will also visit the house in which Count Dracula/Vlad the Impaler was born and the Church on the Hill. Continue to Biertan and visit the fortress church another UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site that hosts the largest wing alter in Romania and also was the residence of the Bishop for more than 300 years. Return to Sighisoara for dinner and overnight.

Day 9 Sighisoara-Prejmer-Harman-Brasov
Today you will visit the countryside of Transylvania were you will visit the fortified churches of Prejmer and Harman. Continue to Brasov, a fairy tale town founded in the 12th century by Saxon settlers. Brasov today still preserves its beautiful medieval atmosphere created by many Middle Age buildings. You will be taken on a tour of the old section of the town. Dinner and overnight in Brasov at the Hotel Bella Musica or similar.

Day 10 Brasov-Bran-Brasov
In the morning you will visit Bran Castle, known as Dracula’s Castle, made famous by Bram Stoker’s novel as the residence of the vampire count. The castle was built by the merchants in Brasov in the 14th century to protect the border between Valachia and Transylvania. Drive back to Brasov and visit the Gothic Black Church, the largest Gothic church in South-Eastern Europe. Visit the St. Nicolae Church and the First Romanian School. Dinner and overnight in Brasov.

Day 11 Brasov-Sinaia-Bucharest
In the morning drive to Sinaia for a visit to the Peles Palace, the former summer residence of King Carol I. You will also visit the Sinaia Monastery. Later continue to Bucharest, the capital of Romania, founded in 1459 by the mighty prince Vlad. Dinner and overnight in Bucharest at the Hotel Victoria Tower or similar.

Day 12 Bucharest
After breakfast you will be taken on a tour of Bucharest, known as the “Paris of the Balkans.” You will visit the Village Museum, the Parliament Palace, the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon, Revolution Square, Patriarchal Cathedral and the Triumphal Arch. In the evening you will enjoy dinner with a folklore show. Overnight in Bucharest.

Day 13 Bucharest-End of Tour
After breakfast you will be taken to the airport. You can extend your stay in Bucharest or continue with a tour to Bulgaria.

Additional nights available