Transylvanian Tales & Romanian Romance

Bucharest • Sibiu • Sibiel • Sighisoara • Reghin • Gura Humorului • Painted Monasteries of Bucovina • Bicaz Gorge • Brasov

Breakfast on days 2 - 10 , Lunch on days 3,5,6,8 and 9 & Dinner on days 1 and 4

From the world-famous Painted Monasteries, the dramatic fairytale castles and the legends that accompany them, to the breathtaking views of the Transylvanian countryside and the majestic Carpathian mountains, combined with its rich folkloric heritage, Romania deserves to be explored after so many years hidden in the Eastern bloc. Although it is a country constantly adapting and quickly changing faces, the contrast between its grand Belle Époque past and infamous Ceacescu era is still visible, and in few other European countries will you find horse-drawn carriages still a common mode of transport.DAY 1 LONDON • BUCHAREST
We begin with Titan HiTour’s VIP Home Departure Service™ to London Heathrow for your scheduled British Airways flight to Bucharest. On arrival we board our coach to the JW Marriott Hotel, our base for the next two nights. Dinner is included tonight.

DAY 2 BUCHAREST
After breakfast, a city sightseeing tour will acquaint you with the Romanian capital often still referred to as the ‘Little Paris of the Balkans’, thanks to its Parisian style boulevards, Belle Époque buildings and beautiful manicured gardens. The city tour will also take you past Revolution Square, the Opera House, the Romanian Atheneum and will include a visit to the infamous Parliament Palace. Better known as the House of the People, built by Ceacescu in 1984, this is the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon, comprised of 3,100 rooms and reportedly still ten percent unfinished. This afternoon, there will be time at leisure to explore this fascinating city.

DAY 3 BUCHAREST • SIBIU
On our way to Sibiu today, we stop in Curtea de Arges, location for the Manole Monastery, deemed to be one of Romania’s most beautiful Orthodox churches. The very special location of the Patriarchal Palace is the setting for our included lunch today. We then cross the Carpathians into Transylvania, and the legendary ‘Land Beyond the Forests’. This afternoon we arrive in Sibiu, Cultural Capital of Europe in 2007, a Saxon city and the most important of the seven cities established by the German colonists which flourished as a trade centre and home to a German population for over 800 years. Overnight at our hotel, the Ramada Sibiu.

DAY 4 SIBIU • SIBIEL
This morning we enjoy a guided tour of Sibiu, one of Transylvania’s richest towns. This evening we drive the short distance to Sibiel, a small shepherd’s village renowned for the hospitality of the locals and for the collection of unique glass painted icons started at the beginning of the 20th century by the local priest. We stay in Sibiel to experience a typical dinner in a local farmhouse before returning to our hotel in Sibiu.

DAY 5 SIBIU • SIGHISOARA
We depart Sibiu after breakfast, for an insight into Romanian country life, to discover the Open-Air Folk Museum, which houses a collection of traditional homesteads and mills. After an included lunch in Biertan we make our way through the countryside to Sighisoara, one of the best- preserved medieval towns in Europe and a World Heritage Site, famously known as the birthplace of Prince Vlad Dracula. We walk the cobbled alleys, and absorb the medieval spirit of this town by visiting the Torture Room and the house where Dracula was born in 1431. We stay for one night in Sighisoara at the Sighisoara Hotel.
N.B. Due to the traditional structure of this hotel, please bring an overnight bag for your stay here.

DAY 6 SIGHISOARA • REGHIN • RADAUTI
After an early start and en route to the Bucovina area, our first stop is a visit to the Teleki Library in Targu Mures which houses a collection of over 120,000 rare and antique manuscripts. We continue to Reghin, Romania’s violin-making centre, before driving through Bistrita, in the heart of ‘Dracula Land’ with a lunch stop en-route. We arrive in Bucovina and the Land of the Painted Monasteries, where we stay for the next two nights at the Gerald’s Hotel in Radauti.

DAY 7 PAINTED MONASTERIES OF BUCOVINA
Declared World Cultural Heritage Sites by UNESCO, the Painted Monasteries, hidden in remote valleys and forests, provide an insight through the frescoes that adorn them, of the Romanian people’s religious, cultural and historical outlook over the five centuries of battles that they were involved in. After time for exploration, we return to our hotel.

DAY 8 RADAUTI • BICAZ GORGE • BRASOV
Leaving for Brasov this morning we cross the Eastern Carpathians and, following an included lunch stop at the Prejmer fortified church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we arrive at the Aro Palace Hotel, our base for the next two nights.

DAY DAY 9 BRASOV
A day to discover two of Romania’s most famous castles. After breakfast, we drive to Bran, to visit the castle made famous by Bram Stoker’s novel as the residence of Count Dracula. Despite popular belief, the castle was not built by Vlad Tepes but by the merchants of Brasov in the 14th century. After exploring the castle’s nooks and crannies, we enjoy a lunch and wine tasting at a local vineyard. This afternoon, we visit Peles Castle, with its fairytale turrets, the former residence of King Carol I of Hohenzollern. Intended as a summer palace, it was the first castle in Europe to have central heating and electricity and during Ceausescu’s era was used as a private retreat by leading communists. We return to Brasov this evening. Or extend your stay - please call for details

DAY DAY 10 BRASOV • BUCHAREST • LONDON
We depart for Bucharest airport today for our scheduled British Airways flight to London Heathrow or Gatwick Airport where staff will meet you and transfer you to Titan HiTours transport for your journey home to your own front door.Duration 10 days, 9 nights in hotels: 2 nights Bucharest, 2 nights Sibiu, 1 night Sighisoara, 2 nights Radauti & 2 nights Brasov

Titan HiTours VIP Home Departure Service™

Check-in service by Titan staff.

Services of an experienced Titan HiTours tour manager

Scheduled British Airways direct flights

Air-conditioned coaches with experienced drivers

Accommodation as specified or of a similar standard.

Hotel porterage (one bag per person)

Meals: Breakfast on days 2 - 10 , Lunch on days 3,5,6,8 and 9 &
Dinner on days 1 and 4

Excursions, tours and entrances as detailed in the itinerary

All airport taxes, security charges, UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) and applicable fuel surcharges