Rural Romania – Where Time Stands Still

Holiday Highlights

  • Stunning mountain and forest scenery
  • Remote villages with a traditional way of life
  • Homestay accommodation, full of character yet with all necessary facilities
  • Sighişoara medieval citadel
  • Painted Monasteries of Bucovina
  • Two narrow gauge steam railways
  • Many meals from locally sourced organic produce
  • 12 days from: £3,265pp
BOOK NOWTailor this tour for independent travel

Tour Dates:
Friday 19 September to Tuesday 30 September 2025

UK’s Leading Specialist Operator to Romania

Relive a bygone age when rural life meant working fields with horses, stacking hay in haystacks and preparing meals from home grown produce. Visit remote Saxon villages with their fortified churches in Transylvania, enjoy village life in Maramureș and the painted monasteries of Bucovina. Stay in family run “homestay” accommodation and ride two steam narrow gauge railways.

ITINERARY

Day 1 – Flight to Cluj Napoca

Afternoon flight from London for a late evening arrival in Cluj. Overnight hotel stay.

Day 2 – Mediaş & Veseud

Morning train to Mediaş arriving in time for lunch (included). We stay for 2 nights in homestay accommodation in the village of Veseud. All our homestay accommodation has been specially converted for tourist use and includes en-suite facilities. Dinner at the accommodation.

Day 3 – Saxon Villages

We explore Saxon villages with their fortified churches and have lunch with a village family.

Day 4 – Sighişoara Medieval Fortress

We visit the fortified citadel of Sighișoara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and birthplace of Vlad the Impaler (better known as Count Dracula), then continue into Eastern Transylvania, an area settled by Hungarian peoples. Accommodation with dinner for 2 nights at a homestay in Praid.

Day 5 – Hungarian Villages

Optional visit to the Praid salt mine before driving to Corund, famous for its ceramics. We continue through a remote area with small Hungarian villages, stopping en route for lunch with a village family.

Day 6 – Maramureş

We drive north, pausing en route at the delightful Liliac Winery for wine tasting and a picnic lunch. Cross the Carpathians into Maramureş, a remote region where life has remained almost unchanged for centuries. We stay for 2 nights in Hoteni.

Day 7 – Village Life

Exploring some of the local villages, we find old wooden churches, examples of domestic industry, machines powered by water and fields worked by hand or horses. We will also visit the famous Merry Cemetery where the gravestones have been painted by local artists to depict the lives of those who have passed away.

Day 8 – Vişeu de Sus

Visit more remote villages, have lunch with a village family and continue to Vişeu de Sus, centre of the logging industry, for a 1-night stay.

Day 9 – The Last Forestry Railway in Europe

There is no road access to much of the Vaser Valley and so the timber is removed by train. We take a ride along the 20km route behind steam. BBQ lunch provided at the upper terminus. In the afternoon we drive over the Prislop Pass into Bucovina and our next homestay at Moldovita where we stay for 2 nights. Dinner included.

Day 10 – Painted Monasteries

We visit the Painted Monasteries at Sucevita and Moldovita and take a trip on another former forestry railway. Lunch included and dinner at our accommodation.

Day 11 – Return to Cluj

Today we visit the Voronet Monastery before having lunch in Gura Humorului and catching the early afternoon train across the mountains to Cluj, arriving mid-evening.

Day 12 – Cluj to London

Transfer to airport for flight to London, arriving early afternoon.

Due to the limited number of rooms in “homestay” accommodation, this tour will be limited to 12 persons.

Tour Route

Tour route map

Selected Hotels

Grand Hotel Napoca, Cluj Napoca

Veseud 11, Veseud

Pensiunea Stefania, Praid

Popica Guesthouse, Hoteni

Mirage Resort, Vişeu de Sus

Pensiunea Crizantema, Moldovita

Please note - hotels can be subject to change

Price Includes

  • Flights in Economy Class by scheduled airline
  • Rail travel as specified
  • Other travel by private mini-coach
  • Hotel accommodation in Cluj and Vişeu de Sus
  • Other accommodation in good quality guest house or family “homestay” with en-suite facilities
  • All breakfasts, 8 lunches and 8 evening meals
  • Admissions to monasteries, fortified churches and Merry Cemetery
  • Airport and other transfers
  • Services of a tour leader from London and throughout the tour plus local professional Romanian Guide

Price per person

Escorted holiday: £3,265
Single room supplement: £425
Deposit for this holiday: £300

Booking form

Download your tour booking form here.

Download

Why Choose Ffestiniog Travel?

  • UK's first rail tour operator to run an overseas escorted rail holiday in 1974
  • Created for people who love rail holidays and exploring the world’s heritage railways
  • Dedicated rail holiday specialist - great destinations, sightseeing and unparalleled railway content
  • Train ticket supplier for worldwide rail operators - we can plan and arrange your rail journey to anywhere
  • Knowledge of the world’s rail routes makes us leading specialists in escorted and Tailor Made rail holidays
  • Over 60% of our existing rail tour travellers return to holiday with us year after year
  • Committed to supporting rail travel and heritage railways around the world
  • Our profits support the continued preservation of the famous Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways
  • Small, dedicated rail holiday travel team offering an award-winning personal service

Logos Pharos Response ABTOT AITO Quality Charter

Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr