Carpathian Walking & Bears A wonderful holiday based in the beautiful, remote, rural village of Magura. The village is accessed via a long, winding unmade road so get used to a bumpy ride. If you get out of the van immediately after you leave the tarmac it will take approximately 45 - 50 minutes to walk up hill to Villa Hermani through the woods - follow the bright pink paint splodges on rocks or trees. Transylvania is like stepping back in time, where local people still travel via horse and cart and cut hay with scythes, although they will be on their mobiles as mobile signals, 3 & 4G and WiFi are readily available. Romania is home to many European brown bears and seeing them from a hide in the forest was one of the highlights of our trip. In addition to the walking there is a visit to Bran Castle which was given to Queen Maria of Romania in 1918, and to the delightful city of Brasov.
Stunning scenery and bears I had no idea how beautiful Romania is the location of Magura was so green in May, the rolling hills and snow capped mountains was perfect. Lovely hotel, friendly staff and plenty of home cooked food all locally sourced.
A brilliant holiday. The tour guide Raluca Teodor was outstanding. She was passionate about her country with all its history which she conveyed simply so that I remember so much. She was also very kind and always aware of our needs. Her co helper Liviu was also extremely helpful and they both made a good team. In Bucharest at the end of the holiday with the BA flight problems Raluca organised a new hotel for us to cater for our extra stay before our flight home via Turkish Airlines. The whole group gelled very well and this will always be an Exodus holiday to remember.
