Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Romania: the Danube Delta, Dobrogea and Bucharest
8 days from Bucharest: three nights inside the Danube Delta with two days of small-boat birding, a Lipovan village and the Letea forest, then Greek Histria and Constanta on the Black Sea.
8 days · Round trip from Bucharest · up to 12 guests
Sunset from a boat in the Danube Delta Photo: ZwecklosHupen, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sunset_in_the_Danube_Delta.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Bucharest
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Mostly sitting in small open boats, two to four hours at a stretch with stops on land, plus short walks: about 3 hours on foot in Bucharest on day 2, about 2 km on a sandy forest track at Letea and about 1.5 km on uneven ground at Histria. Stepping in and out of boats from low jetties is the main physical demand; boatmen help.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 5 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 660 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to June and September
Highlights
Why this trip
- Three nights in a village inside the Danube Delta, with no road to it, so the boats leave from the door
- Two early mornings in small, quiet boats with a local bird guide, among pelicans, herons and cormorants in the narrow channels
- Mila 23, a Lipovan fishing village of reed roofs and blue-painted wooden houses, with fish soup for lunch
- The Letea forest: old oaks hung with climbing vines, sand dunes and free-roaming horses
- Histria, the Greek city founded on the Black Sea coast in the 7th century BC
- Constanta's seafront Casino, its Roman mosaic floor and the minaret of the Carol I Mosque
- Bucharest's Palace of Parliament on a booked tour and the Old Town with a local guide
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 660 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Bucharest
Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport to your hotel in central Bucharest
- Dinner
- Stay in Bucharest
- Drive about 45 min
Fly into Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP) at Otopeni, about 17 km north of the centre. A driver meets you in the arrivals hall whatever your flight time and takes you to our central hotel, 30 to 60 minutes depending on traffic. If you land early, walk down Calea Victoriei, the city's grand avenue, past the domed Romanian Athenaeum concert hall and Revolution Square, where the crowds of December 1989 turned on Ceausescu.
Evening
In the evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: how the boats work in the delta, what to pack for early mornings on the water, and how the free afternoons fit in. Then we walk into the Old Town for a welcome dinner of Romanian food: sarmale cabbage rolls, mici sausages from the grill, polenta with sour cream and cheese, and papanasi doughnuts if you have room. Plan to land by about 5 pm to make the briefing; later arrivals are met and join us at dinner or at breakfast.
Included
- Pick-up at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner in the Old Town
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Bucharest: the Palace of Parliament and the Old Town
The Palace of Parliament, then the Old Town on foot
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bucharest
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
We start at the Palace of Parliament on a booked morning tour, before the later groups arrive. Ceausescu had a whole district cleared in the 1980s to build it, and the guided route through its marble halls, staircases and balcony shows the scale of what he wanted. Bring your passport: it is checked at the door.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch, a licensed local guide walks us through the Old Town for about two hours: the small Stavropoleos Monastery, built in 1724, with its carved stone porch and a courtyard of old gravestones; the ruins of the Old Princely Court, where Vlad the Impaler issued decrees; the courtyard inn of Hanul lui Manuc; and the covered passages off Lipscani street, where merchants once traded.
Evening
We finish by mid-afternoon and the rest of the day is free: a coffee in the passages, the National Museum of Art, the open-air Village Museum with your guide (the active option, entry included), or a rest before dinner wherever you like.
Included
- Palace of Parliament guided tour (entry included)
- Sit-down lunch in central Bucharest
- Old Town walk with a licensed local guide: Stavropoleos Monastery, the Old Princely Court, Hanul lui Manuc and the Lipscani passages
Easier option: Skip the Old Town walk after lunch and rest at the hotel, a short walk from the Old Town.
More active option: In the late afternoon, the open-air Village Museum by Herastrau lake with your guide, entry included: wooden churches, windmills and farmhouses moved from across Romania.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot over the day, on pavements and stairs. Passport needed for the Palace of Parliament.
To Tulcea and by boat into the delta
Bucharest to Tulcea, then by boat down the Sulina branch to Crisan
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Crisan (Danube Delta)
- Drive about 4 h
We leave Bucharest at 8:30 am and drive east across the flat Baragan plain, cross the Danube and enter Dobrogea, the strip of land between the river and the Black Sea. This is the longest drive of the trip, about 275 km and four hours, with a coffee stop near the Danube crossing at about the halfway mark, because the delta has no road in: Tulcea is as far as the vehicle goes.
Afternoon
We arrive for a sit-down lunch by the river, then visit the Danube Delta Eco-Tourism Museum Centre, whose aquarium and displays give a first look at the fish, birds and reed beds we will spend the next days among. In the middle of the afternoon our luggage goes onto a fast boat and we follow the Sulina branch, the straight shipping channel cut through the delta in the 19th century, for about an hour to Crisan. Our base for three nights sits on the water's edge.
Evening
Dinner is at the guesthouse, often fish, and the first herons and cormorants fly over the terrace at dusk.
Included
- Drive from Bucharest to Tulcea with your guide
- Sit-down lunch in Tulcea
- Danube Delta Eco-Tourism Museum Centre, Tulcea (entry included)
- Fast boat from Tulcea to Crisan
- Dinner at the delta base
Free time: Evening free at the delta base
Activity: The longest travel day: about 4 hours of driving with a stop, then about an hour by boat. Keep a warm layer to hand for the boat.
Small boats to the lakes and Mila 23
Crisan through the side channels to the lakes and Mila 23, and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Crisan (Danube Delta)
- By boat
Morning
Breakfast is from 6:30, and at about 7 am we step into small boats with a local bird guide, the best hours of the day for birds and the calmest water. The boats leave the main channel for narrow side canals under willows and through reed beds, cutting the engine where the birds are close. Great white pelicans, pygmy cormorants, squacco and purple herons, glossy ibis and spoonbills are all regulars from April; white-tailed eagles are seen most weeks. We cross open lakes where pelicans fish together, then late in the morning tie up at Mila 23, a Lipovan fishing village. The Lipovans are Old Believers whose ancestors, refusing the church reforms of the 1660s, settled in the delta in waves from the 17th and 18th centuries; their wooden houses are painted blue and white under reed roofs.
Afternoon
Lunch is fish soup and fish from the delta at a village home. We are back at Crisan by about 2 pm, and the afternoon is free to rest, read on the jetty or walk the village path.
Included
- Morning in small boats with a local bird guide through the side channels and lakes
- Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve access permit
- Mila 23 Lipovan village walk
- Lunch in Mila 23
- Dinner at the delta base
Easier option: Stay at the base in the afternoon; nothing else is planned.
More active option: A short sunset paddle or row in the channel near the base, arranged with the boatmen on the day.
Free time: Afternoon free at Crisan
Activity: About 4 to 5 hours in an open boat with stops. Binoculars make the morning; we carry a few spare pairs.
Letea forest and the northern channels
Crisan north through the channels to Letea village and the Letea forest, and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Crisan (Danube Delta)
- By boat
A second early start at about 7 am, this time heading north through different channels and lakes towards Letea, with birding stops on the way. Letea village sits on a sand ridge between the delta's two northern branches; from there a local driver takes us a few kilometres along a sand track to the edge of the Letea forest, protected since 1938 and the oldest nature reserve in Romania. With our guide we walk the permitted path among old oaks, ash and white poplars hung with climbing vines, a forest that looks out of place this far north, with sand dunes between the trees and herds of free-roaming horses grazing at the edges.
Afternoon
Lunch is grilled fish served on the boat in a quiet channel. We take a different route back, past lakes where pelicans rest in the early afternoon heat, and reach Crisan by late afternoon.
Evening
The last delta evening is for the terrace and the sunset over the water.
Included
- Full day in small boats with a local bird guide
- Letea village and a local driver on the sand track
- Guided walk at the edge of the Letea forest
- Lunch on the boat
- Dinner at the delta base
Easier option: Stay with the boat at Letea and watch the channel while the group walks; the forest walk is about 2 km on sand.
Free time: Evening free at Crisan
Activity: The longest day on the water, about 6 to 7 hours with the stop at Letea. About 2 km on foot on a sandy track.
Histria and on to Constanta
Crisan by boat to Tulcea, then by road to Histria and Constanta
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Constanta
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
After breakfast the boat takes us and our luggage back up the Sulina branch to Tulcea, about an hour, where our vehicle is waiting. We drive south through Dobrogea's low hills and lakeside villages, about an hour and a quarter, to Histria on the shore of Lake Sinoe. Greek colonists from Miletus founded the city here in the 7th century BC, when the lake was still an open bay of the Black Sea; it later became Roman and was abandoned when the harbour silted up. With a local guide we walk the walls, the sacred area with its temples, the Roman baths and the Christian basilicas, about an hour and a half on uneven ground, then look at the finds in the site museum.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch nearby we drive about an hour to Constanta, ancient Tomis, where the poet Ovid lived in exile. Late in the afternoon we walk the seafront to the Art Nouveau Casino of 1910 and Ovid Square.
Evening
The evening is yours.
Included
- Boat from Crisan to Tulcea
- Histria with a local guide and the site museum (entry included)
- Sit-down lunch near Histria
- Late-afternoon walk on Constanta's seafront: the Casino and Ovid Square
Easier option: Rest in the shade by the Histria museum while the group walks the far end of the site.
Free time: Evening free in Constanta
Activity: About 1.5 km on uneven ground and grass at Histria; little shade, so bring a hat.
Constanta's Roman town and back to Bucharest
Constanta to Bucharest on the A2 motorway
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Bucharest
- Drive about 3 h
Afternoon
We are at the National History and Archaeology Museum when it opens (Romanian museums often close one day a week, so if ours falls on it we visit on the afternoon of day 6 instead), in the old town hall on Ovid Square, for the finds of Greek and Roman Tomis. Next door is the Roman Mosaic Edifice, a huge floor of coloured stone from a building that stood above the ancient harbour, reopened in 2025 after restoration. A few streets away, the Carol I Mosque, finished in 1913, has a minaret you can climb for a view over the port and the old town. After a sit-down lunch in Constanta we drive about three hours to Bucharest on the A2 motorway, crossing the Danube at Cernavoda, and reach our hotel by late afternoon.
Evening
You have time to rest or walk before we meet for a farewell dinner in the Old Town, the right moment to swap bird lists and photos from the week.
Included
- National History and Archaeology Museum, Constanta (entry included)
- The Roman Mosaic Edifice (entry included)
- Carol I Mosque and its minaret (entry included)
- Sit-down lunch in Constanta
- Drive to Bucharest with your guide
- Farewell dinner in Bucharest's Old Town
Easier option: Skip the minaret's narrow spiral stair and wait in the mosque courtyard.
Free time: Late afternoon free in Bucharest
Activity: The minaret has a long, narrow spiral staircase.
Leave Bucharest
Central Bucharest to Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 45 min
Morning
The trip ends after breakfast. A driver takes you from the hotel to Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP), about 17 km north, timed to your flight; allow 45 to 60 minutes for the drive in weekday traffic and arrive two hours before departure. There are no activities today, so any flight time works.
Evening
If your flight leaves in the evening, the hotel keeps your luggage and you have most of a day in the city: the Village Museum by Herastrau lake, the National Museum of Art in the former royal palace, the Romanian Athenaeum, or a long lunch in the Old Town. Your guide helps you plan it at breakfast and checks your transfer time before saying goodbye. If you want more time in Romania, the Transylvania trip also starts and ends in Bucharest, and we can add nights in the city between the two.
Included
- Drop-off at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP), timed to your flight
Free time: Free until your airport transfer
Activity: Any flight time works; luggage storage at the hotel for late flights.
- Bucharest2 nights
- Crisan (Danube Delta)3 nights
- Constanta1 night
- Bucharest1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Pelicans and most breeding birds are in the delta from April; May and early June are the peak. July and August are hot and mosquito-heavy, so we do not run then. September brings migrating birds and fewer insects; from October bird numbers fall sharply.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Birders and nature lovers who want time on the water, not one speedboat ride
- Travellers who have seen Transylvania, or plan to, and want a different Romania
- Curious travellers who like history: Greek, Roman and Ottoman Dobrogea
- Anyone who prefers three nights in one base to packing every morning
- Solo travellers, with a fair single supplement
Not for you if you want
- Travellers who want castles and Dracula: that is our Transylvania trip
- Nightlife or a beach holiday on the Black Sea
- Anyone uncomfortable in small open boats or who cannot step down onto a low jetty with help
- Travellers who need fast Wi-Fi every night
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Bucharest2 nights
- Crisan (Danube Delta)3 nights
- Constanta1 night
- Bucharest1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 2 in Bucharest, 3 in Crisan inside the Danube Delta, 1 in Constanta, 1 in Bucharest
- Central hotels of at least 3-star-plus standard in Bucharest and Constanta, and a delta hotel or guesthouse with rooms that have their own bathroom, named when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport (OTP) on day 1, whatever your flight time
- Drop-off at the airport on day 8, timed to your flight
- Our own air-conditioned vehicle and driver for the road legs
- Fast boat between Tulcea and Crisan, both ways
- Small boats for two days in the delta
- A local driver on the sand track at Letea
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for all 8 days
- A local bird guide on both delta days
- Licensed local guides in Bucharest and at Histria
Activities
- Bucharest: Palace of Parliament tour and an Old Town walk with a local guide, including Stavropoleos Monastery
- Bucharest: the Village Museum (active option on day 2)
- Tulcea: the Danube Delta Eco-Tourism Museum Centre
- Danube Delta: Biosphere Reserve access permit, two days of small-boat birding, Mila 23 Lipovan village
- Letea: guided walk at the edge of the Letea forest
- Histria: the ancient city and its site museum
- Constanta: the National History and Archaeology Museum, the Roman Mosaic Edifice, the Carol I Mosque and minaret, and a seafront walk
Meals
- 7 breakfasts
- 6 sit-down lunches: Bucharest, Tulcea, Mila 23, on the boat at Letea, near Histria and Constanta
- 5 dinners: welcome and farewell dinners in Bucharest, and three dinners at the delta base
Not included
- International flights to and from Bucharest
- Travel insurance
- Visa or travel authorisation fees, if any apply to you
- Dinners on day 2 in Bucharest and day 6 in Constanta
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional activities
- Personal expenses
- Binoculars and camera gear (we carry a few spare pairs of binoculars)
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 660 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Seven nights in hotels and a delta guesthouse, 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 5 dinners, airport transfers, our own vehicle and driver, the boats to and around the delta with a local bird guide, the reserve permit, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every visit in the day plan, including the Palace of Parliament, Letea, Histria and the Constanta museums.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests, never more. That size fits in two small boats, so everyone sits close to the water and the bird guide, and the whole group fits around one table at lunch.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group for all 8 days. A local bird guide joins both days on the water, and licensed local guides lead the Bucharest Old Town walk and the visit to Histria.
When is the best time to see birds in the Danube Delta?
May and early June are the peak, with pelicans, herons and ibis nesting and feeding. April is good and quieter. September brings migrating birds and fewer mosquitoes. We do not run in July and August, when it is hot and buggy, or from October, when most birds have left.
How fit do I need to be?
Not very. Most of the delta is seen sitting in an open boat; the walks are about 3 hours over a day in Bucharest, about 2 km on sand at Letea and about 1.5 km at Histria. You need to step in and out of boats from low jetties, with a hand from the boatmen.
Why stay three nights inside the delta?
Because the birds are best early and the delta is too big to see in one outing. Three nights in one village give two full early mornings on the water, a free afternoon, and no repacking. Most trips spend one full day there, after a long transfer.
What are the mosquitoes like?
Manageable in April, May and September, worse from mid-June and at dusk. Bring a repellent, long sleeves for the evening and a light hat. Delta rooms have screens on the windows. Our departures avoid July and August, the worst months.
I am travelling solo. How much is a single room?
A room of your own is from CAD 660 more, about 17% of the trip price. We show it up front and do not mark solo travellers as a lesser booking. If you would rather share, ask us and we will try to match you with another solo guest of the same sex.
Do I need a visa for Romania?
Canadian, US, UK and EU citizens do not need a visa for a short stay; Romania is in the Schengen area. The EU's Entry/Exit System registers you at the border. The ETIAS travel authorisation is not yet running and has no announced start date, so we confirm the current rules at booking.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own guide, vehicle and boats. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, boats and local guides.
Can I combine this with Transylvania?
Yes. Our Transylvania trip also starts and ends in Bucharest, so the two join easily, with a night or two in Bucharest between. Both cover the Palace of Parliament and the Old Town, so we drop that day from one of them and quote you the adjusted price.
How does booking work?
Prices are per person sharing a room, with taxes, and differ by style. The small group starts from CAD 3,895. Pick your start date and request to book; we confirm your place within 24 hours. No payment is taken until then.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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