Romania Tours in July 2026

This was a tough but thoroughly enjoyable trip in a very beautiful part of the world. The challenging grade is about right; be prepared for a lot of rocky steep ascent and descent including a fair amount of scrambling and using fixed cables/chains. Some parts (particularly the ascent to La Om on Day 4 and the ridge along the top) are pretty exposed. There is a good mix of tougher and somewhat easier days to break things up with some nice forest and meadow sections. The reward is some amazing scenery in a relatively unspoilt part of the world. The whole trip was very well organised and accommodation at Villa Hermani was very clean and comfortable, with friendly hosts and great food. The mountain huts were a good experience but be prepared for very basic toilet and sanitary facilities.

Been on a number of Explore tours and loved them all. This was one of the best. The itinerary was comprehensive and rewarding. Romania is a beautiful country and the towns were were surprisingly attractive. The tour guide "Tudor" was exemplary and pulled out all the stops so we got the most from the tour. Weather was brilliant. All in all....Fantastic

There are three nights in mountain huts, where the accommodation is basic (no shower, no flush toilet), but that's unavoidable and part of the mountain experience. The ridge walk is amazing, but involves some scrambling and is exposed - not for those unhappy with heights, and the nature of the rock is such that it would not be safe in wet weather. We had warm sunshine. As the brochure indicates, the walking is strenuous, since you will be carrying up to 3 days food and clothing, as well as the usual stuff for a day on the hills. Good for botanists. The final day of the itinerary, in Bucharest, didn't work so well, not helped by unusual 40 deg heat. We didn't really see much of the city and it didn't allow for lunch at a sensible time. If you really want to see the city, you should add an extra day or two to your stay.

Just back from the Transylvanian Alps trek and can easily recommend this trek for anyone looking for a little bit of adventure away from the more frequented mountain destinations. We were fortunate to have two fantastic guides on our trek, with the primary guide being Răzvan, an extremely experienced guide who demonstrated a fascinating knowledge of the mountains and local history, and we were also joined by his wife Lisa, who was part-way through her training as a trekking guide (with a wealth of experience in all kinds of outdoor pursuits including running, climbing, scuba diving etc) - she will definitely be an excellent guide for future Explore treks! Each evening, the following day's activities were laid out, with expectations set and questions answered. The trekking was done at what I would consider a fairly relaxed pace, but always enjoyable, and we were lucky to have a good group. The routes varied from gently short hikes (day 1) to longer hikes (day 2) with a bit more ascent (day 3) and ridge walks with some mild scrambling on day 3 (plus an optional one on day 4). Accomodation varied wildly from comfortable hotels (first and last nights, a lovely little guesthouse in Moieciu (nights 3 & 6), and a pair of mountain huts - one with showers and plumbed toilets (night 2) and another with outside drop toilets, and just a pipe from a local spring supplying the running water. All were fairly comfortable - though while we had gender-specific dorms in the mountain hut on night 2, we (7 fermales, 4 males) were in a single shared dorm those nights. Food was generally good throughout the trip - a few meals out in local restaurants in Bucharest on the first and last evenings, with locally prepared meals during the rest of the trip. Lunches were mostly a mix of whatever the group carried on each hike, with the guides giving us a bag of fruit, vegetables and snacks to carry, plus a selection of bread, meats, cheeses and tins/spreads which we carried as a shared load amongst the group - do try and leave a bit of room spare in your pack so you can help with this! The only part I wasn't so keen on was the final day - a few hours in the bus, then an open air museum (in mid-30-40c temps), then spending a lot of time in traffic in the city with a small tour in part of the old town in the same heat. It was fascinating to hear Răzvan's experiences during the Ceaușescu era, but by the time we got back to the hotel (around 3pm), we had not had any lunch, and any plans for lunch had disappeared, so we just went off and did our own thing - it just seemed a bit messy. I think this trip could be shortened down to just the hiking days, and let people just arrange their own city activities/extensions if desired. The other thing I would mention is the kit list. A lot of the items on that list just were not necessary for this trek - at least certainly not at this time of the year. I ended up leaving my insulated jacket, hat & gloves in my main luggage, and I regretted not taking trail runners or (non-waterproof) hiking shoes instead of boots - it was just too warm for such items, even at altitude. I'd recommend amending the kitlist to note different recommendations based on the time of year.

Very lovely holiday, everything went smoothly, the hotel was very comfy, the food good and the hosts were very helpful. The walks were quite challenging, for the grade and as the weather was hot, but our guide was great at finding shady spots for us! The group got on well together.

For the first—and probably last!—time in my life, I got what felt like VIP service, because the amazing and honorable company that Exodus is, let this trip run even though I ended up being the only guest! From what I could tell, the trip was run almost exactly how it would have had there been a full complement of guests, and I think I even got a few extra perks that I may not have been afforded otherwise. The cycling was fantastic with great routes, and only a handful of stretches that really tested my limits, otherwise it was mostly very manageable. There were a few cultural stops during the rides and in the evenings that were a nice change of pace and provided interesting insight into Romania's past. The guesthouses ran the gamut but always provided nice cozy places to rest each night. Finally, food was perfect for me—breakfasts were pretty consistent, and lunches and dinners had a nice range of soups, sandwiches, salads, main courses, and desserts that hit the spot after a nice day of cycling!