Transylvania: Brasov, Bran, Sighisoara and Sibiu

1. Jour 1 : Bucharest Airport to Brasov

   Bucharest Henri Coanda Airport through the Prahova valley and Sinaia to Brasov

   • Environ 3.5 h de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : Brasov
   Détail du jour 1

   Your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the arrivals hall at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP) and we leave at 1 pm. Land by about 12:30, or come the day before; if your flight lands later we arrange a private transfer to Brasov. The road runs north across the Wallachian plain, then climbs the Prahova valley into the Carpathians. About two hours in we stop for coffee in Sinaia, the old royal mountain town, and stretch our legs before the last hour over the Predeal pass, at about 1,000 m, and down into Brasov. We check in to a central hotel for two nights, then your guide walks us to the Council Square, the heart of the old Saxon trading town, with the Black Church's tower behind and Mount Tampa rising above the roofs. Dinner is a welcome meal together: sarmale cabbage rolls, grilled mici, polenta with sour cream and cheese, and papanasi doughnuts if you have room, with a briefing on the days ahead.

   Compris

   • Group pick-up at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP) at 1 pm
   • Coffee stop in Sinaia
   • Orientation walk to Brasov's Council Square
   • Welcome dinner and briefing

   Activités en option

   • Private transfer to Brasov for later arrivals (price shown when you book)
   • An extra night in Bucharest before the trip

   Activité : Plan to land at OTP by about 12:30.

   

2. Jour 2 : Bran at opening, Rasnov and a bear hide

   Brasov to Bran and Rasnov, back to Brasov, then a forest hide near Brasov in the evening

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Brasov
   Détail du jour 2

   We leave at 8:15 am to be at Bran Castle when it opens, about 40 minutes away, before the coaches arrive from Bucharest. The castle sits on a rock above the Bran pass, the old road between Transylvania and Wallachia, and was built by the Saxon townspeople of Brasov in the late 14th century as a border and toll fort. The Dracula link is borrowed: there is no firm evidence that Vlad the Impaler stayed here, and Bram Stoker never visited Romania. Its real story is Queen Marie, who made it her home in the 1920s; your guide tells both in about an hour and a half. Fifteen minutes back towards Brasov, Rasnov's fortress crowns a hill above the town, a refuge where villagers sheltered from raids, with a deep well and a view over the plain to the mountains. Lunch is a sit-down meal nearby, and we are back in Brasov by about 2:30 for a free afternoon. In the early evening we drive to a forest hide and sit quietly for two to three hours as brown bears come out to feed.

   Compris

   • Bran Castle at opening, with your guide
   • Rasnov fortress
   • Sit-down lunch near Rasnov or Bran
   • Evening at a licensed bear-watching hide near Brasov, with a ranger

   Activités en option

   • Cable car up Mount Tampa for the view over Brasov

   Option plus facile : Skip the bear hide and have a free evening in Brasov.

   Option plus active : Walk up Mount Tampa on the marked forest path in the free afternoon (about an hour of climbing) and ride the cable car down.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Brasov

   Activité : Bran is all narrow stairs, with an uphill walk from the gate; you can wait in the park below. Rasnov is a steep 15-minute walk up. At the hide you sit in silence; children under the hide's minimum age cannot join. Start Monday to Thursday so day 2 does not fall on Bran's late Monday opening.

   

3. Jour 3 : Brasov old town, Viscri and on to Sighisoara

   Brasov old town on foot, then Viscri and Sighisoara

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Sighisoara
   Détail du jour 3

   At 9 am a licensed local guide walks us through Brasov, founded by Saxon merchants in the 13th century under the slopes of Mount Tampa. We start in the Council Square, step inside the Black Church, Transylvania's largest Gothic church, named for the soot left by the great fire of 1689 and hung with Anatolian carpets brought back by Saxon traders, then squeeze down Rope Street, a lane barely wider than your shoulders, and out through the Catherine's Gate in the old walls. After a sit-down lunch we leave at about 1 pm and drive two hours north through rolling farmland and down a small country road to Viscri, a Saxon village of pastel farmhouses along one street. Its fortified church, begun in the 12th century, is part of the UNESCO listing of the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania; climb the wooden stairs of the tower for the view over roofs and hay meadows. Under an hour more brings us to Sighisoara, where your guide leads a short evening walk in the citadel once the day visitors have gone.

   Compris

   • Brasov old town walk with a licensed local guide: the Council Square, Rope Street and the Catherine's Gate
   • The Black Church (entry included)
   • Sit-down lunch in Brasov
   • Viscri fortified church and tower
   • Evening walk in Sighisoara's citadel with your guide

   Option plus facile : Skip the tower stairs at Viscri and sit in the churchyard inside the walls.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Sighisoara

   Activité : About 2.5 hours on foot in Brasov. The tower stairs at Viscri are steep wooden ladders in places. Start Monday to Thursday so day 3 does not fall on the Black Church's closed day, which we expect to be Monday.

   

4. Jour 4 : Sighisoara early, Biertan and Sibiu

   Sighisoara citadel on foot, then Biertan and Sibiu

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Sibiu
   Détail du jour 4

   Sighisoara's citadel is a lived-in medieval town on a hill, listed by UNESCO in 1999, and at 8:30 am its lanes belong to the people who live there. In about two and a half hours with a licensed local guide we climb the Clock Tower, the 14th-century gate tower that now holds the town museum, for the view over roofs and the old guild towers, pass the house where Vlad the Impaler is said to have been born, and climb the covered wooden Scholars' Stair to the Church on the Hill and the old German cemetery under the trees. Late morning we drive about 40 minutes to Biertan, whose fortified church stands inside three rings of walls above the village, the seat of the Lutheran bishops of Transylvania for about three centuries. Lunch is in Biertan, then about two hours to Sibiu. A local guide walks us through the Large and Small Squares, under the roof windows locals call the city's eyes and over the cast-iron Bridge of Lies, before a farewell dinner together.

   Compris

   • Sighisoara citadel walk with a licensed local guide: the Clock Tower (entry included), the covered Scholars' Stair and the Church on the Hill
   • Biertan fortified church
   • Sit-down lunch in Biertan
   • Sibiu walk with a licensed local guide: the Large and Small Squares and the Bridge of Lies
   • Farewell dinner in Sibiu

   Activités en option

   • The Brukenthal Museum's European art gallery in Sibiu, on its opening days, before dinner

   Option plus facile : Skip the covered stair and the Church on the Hill and wait in a café on the Citadel Square.

   Option plus active : Climb the Council Tower on Sibiu's Large Square for the view over the roofs (open hours permitting).

   Temps libre : Time before dinner free in Sibiu

   Activité : Sighisoara's citadel is steep and cobbled, and the covered stair has about 175 steps.

   

5. Jour 5 : The Olt valley to Bucharest Airport

   Sibiu through the Olt valley to Cozia Monastery, then Bucharest Henri Coanda Airport

   • Environ 5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   Détail du jour 5

   The last drive is the longest, about 290 km and four and a half to five hours of driving, because most flights home leave from Bucharest. We leave Sibiu at 8:30 am and follow the Olt River where it cuts south through the Carpathians in a deep wooded gorge, the old road between Transylvania and Wallachia. After about an hour and a half we stop at Cozia Monastery, founded in 1388 by Prince Mircea the Elder, who is buried in its church; its striped brick and stone walls stand right by the river, and we spend about 45 minutes there. Lunch is a sit-down stop near Pitesti, then the motorway takes us to Bucharest Henri Coanda Airport (OTP) by about 3:30 pm, or to a central Bucharest hotel if you are staying on. Book a flight leaving after about 6:30 pm. If you fly from Sibiu International Airport (SBZ), about 15 minutes from the centre, the vehicle drops you there after breakfast at no extra cost before the group leaves.

   Compris

   • Cozia Monastery
   • Sit-down lunch near Pitesti
   • Drop-off at Bucharest Henri Coanda Airport (OTP), a central Bucharest hotel or Sibiu Airport (SBZ)

   Activité : Book a flight from Bucharest leaving after about 6:30 pm, or fly from Sibiu (SBZ); check SBZ routes for your dates. Cozia is a working monastery: cover shoulders and knees.

Faune et météo : May, June and September are mild and green; July and August are warm and busy at Bran, which is why we go at opening. October is cool, with autumn colour in the Carpathian forests. Brown bears are active from spring to autumn, and evenings at the hide are best from about May to October; sightings are likely in season but never certain, and we do not feed or approach bears.

• Brasov2 nuits
• Sighisoara1 nuit
• Sibiu1 nuit