
Transylvania Tours
Transylvania Tours are our specialty as we’re based in the region and best positioned to unveil to you its true charm.
“Timeless”
Is the word used to describe Transylvania by its most famous ambassador, HRH Prince Charles of Wales after more than 20 yearly visits.
We agree: Transylvania gives you that feeling of stepping back in time, slowing down, taking it easy. There is so much to see and do in Transylvania that an 8-10-days tour will make you want to return for more.
We organize guided or self-guided private trips, as well as group tours in Transylvania.
For inspiration, please have a look at our suggested Transylvania Tours which can be customized as you please.
Or write us at info@true-romania.tours about your interests and we’ll send you a tailor-made tour proposal.
Guided Tour of Transylvania
Start this guided tour of Transylvania from Cluj-Napoca, a vibrant city set in the heart of Romania.
This trip will take you to some of the most beautiful natural, rural and medieval sights in Transylvania and help you understand the rich and complicated history and multicultural flavors of Transylvania.
Cluj, caves, mountains, fortifications and castles, Sibiu, Viscri, bears and craftsmen are all included.
Tour of Transylvania from Bucharest
One of the best ways to tour Transylvania is from Bucharest, Romania’s capital and connected by flights with countries all over the world.
Transylvania itself is a natural fortress surrounded by mountains from all sides. You’ll discover what’s inside, the charming medieval towns, well-preserved rural life and beautiful nature.
Tour of Transylvania from Budapest or Belgrade
7 Days
Start this tour of Transylvania from Budapest or Belgrade and roam the country in search of the places that made Transylvania the best region to travel in 2016 according to Lonely Planet.
You will open the gates of imposing castles, explore medieval towns with their eye-catching buildings, discover true Romania in quaint villages and enjoy breathtaking views from the top of the Carpathian Mountains.
This Transylvania tour can also begin in Timisoara, Arad, Oradea or other cities in Hungary or Serbia, if it better fits your travel itinerary.
Food and Wine Tour of Transylvania
8 Days
Discover local culinary delicacies and high quality wines during this one-week long Food and Wine Tour of Transylvania, Romania.
Sibiu was the European Region of Gastronomy in 2019 so it is the perfect departing place for a tour that will take you through German-Saxon villages, where you will experiment the rural way of life and ancient recipes, through places of Hungarian heritage and authentic Romanian farms. Craftsmen, wine-tasting sessions, beautiful medieval castles, calming nature and spectacular attractions are also part of this tour.
Food in Romania is quite hearty, typical Eastern European. But in recent years there’s been an effort to adapt to the 21st century, make portions smaller, present the food in a better way and use even more local and seasonal products.
Hiking Tour of Transylvania, Romania
Discover the picturesque hiking trails of the Carpathians
9 Days
Explore the majestic Carpathian Mountains during this 9-day hiking tour of Transylvania. You will climb high peaks, pass by impressive rock formations and admire idyllic panoramas. But you will also get to discover the gentle hilly landscapes where sheep graze in the summer or walk through vegetable-rich gorges.
To make this a Transylvania trip memorable, you’ll also explore the beautiful medieval town of Sibiu and the famous castles of Transylvania: Bran and Peles.
Wildlife tour in Transylvania, Romania
4 Days
This tour neighboring the rural area takes you into the wilderness where the largest wild carnivore animals in Europe live.
During 5 days of visit in Romania, you will learn in a non-intrusive way about bears, wolves, lynx and also about chamois, dear and many species of birds. In this wildlife tour, you have good chances of seeing wild bears but since their habitat are the forests we cannot guarantee that you will see each of the animals. Nevertheless, the experience is thrilling.
Transylvania Trips from Sibiu
Put away your city map and start exploring the fascinating life around Sibiu. Or go searching the UNESCO fortified churches and learn about the traditions and old way of life in remote villages. Or explore the Western Transylvania with its picturesque mountains and villages. If scenic views are your thing, than make sure Transalpina or Transfagarasan road is on your list.
Transylvania day trips from Alba-Iulia or Deva
Deva and Alba-Iulia are well located for day trips to the less-traveled parts of Transylvania: Corvin Castle in Hunedoara, Timisoara, Cluj Napoca, Sarmizegetusa Regia, the wonderful mountainous countryside and more.
Western Transylvania private day trips from Arad
During this day tour from Arad you can visit Timisoara or Oradea, the most beautiful cities in western Romania with charming architecture and fascinating history (Timisoara is where the 1989 anti-communist revolution started).
Near Arad there are also some very nice vineyards, villages and churches which are worth exploring in this short, but interesting Romania cultural tour.
Photo Tour of Transylvania during Harvest Times
This photography tour of Romania takes you to Transylvania region. In late summer farmers work hard in the fields to gather their crops, mow hay and pile it in haystacks while craftsmen carry on their centuries-old occupations.
The rolling hills in the countryside dotted by medieval towns and villages and the nearby mountains all make for great travel, landscape and people photography. So join us for a memorable photo tour of Romania.
What is Transylvania? And where is it?
Transylvania is one of the main historical regions of Romania together with Wallachia and Moldova. It is situated in the central-Western part of the country. What is properly known as Transylvania lies within the Carpathian mountain range but the smaller regions of Banat, Crisana, Satmar and Maramures can also be considered as part of extended Transylvania and they border Hungary, Serbia and Ukraine. Tours of Transylvania can be easily combined with other regions of Romania and neighboring countries.
Transylvania is part of Romania since 1918. For many centuries before that it was part of the Hungarian or Austro-Hungarian empires being at an important crossroad of large empires and also at the border of Christianity.
Transylvania is the name used in English and comes from Latin and it translates as the land across the forest. In Romanian, locals usually call the region Ardeal. Other important versions of the name are the German Siebenbürgen or Transsilvanien and the Hungarian Erdély. Many of the towns you will visit in Transylvania also have names in Romanian, Hungarian and German and often also in Yiddish as these were the main ethnic groups of Transylvania.
It has a population of about 7 million people and the largest cities are Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Brasov, Sibiu, Oradea, Arad.
7 reasons to visit Transylvania
Promoted as “the best region to travel to” a few years ago by Lonely Planet, there are many fascinating places to include in a tour of Transylvania:
1.Fortifications and legends
Transylvania’s rich history is best understood by visiting its majestic medieval castles – Corvin, Bran and Peles, the medieval towns, such as Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara, which are some of Europe’s best-preserved medieval settlements. Any Transylvania tour should also include one of the fortified churches built by the German-Saxons who colonized the region between the 12th-14th century, now UNESCO sites (such as Viscri, Biertan, Prejmer). Alba Iulia is the largest fortress in the country, has a star shape and it is hugely important in Romania’s history. Other emerging destinations are Timisoara, Oradea and Cluj Napoca.
2.Rich culture and centuries-old traditions
Transylvania’s multi-ethnic heritage (Romanian, German, Hungarian, Jewish and Gypsy) is delightfully apparent in the folk costumes, architecture, cuisine, music and festivals. Whenever possible we try to plan our Transylvania tours to include local events and festivals such as the medieval festivals in Sighisoara and Sibiu, the “shooting of the Rooster” in Apata, Fuga Lolelor in Agnita (the run of the Lole), Udatul Ionilor in Talmacel (Sprinkling of Johns), the Sibiu International Theater Festival or Haferland week.
Colorful centuries-old traditions are alive and well in the small villages of Transylvania. People here still make a living at such time-honored occupations as shepherds, weavers, blacksmiths and carpenters.
3.The beauty of nature
Transylvania is surrounded by the Carpathian mountains so travelers can walk through serene alpine meadows covered with scores of wildflowers, trek around glacial lakes, take in the lush-green scenery while horse riding or mountain biking, climb curious rock formations, photograph fossil traces of 15,000-year old cave-bear species, track gold eagles or other rare birds, study endangered flora, wander in the countryside, picnic in the fields or observe wild animals (Romania has the largest population of bears, wolves and lynx in Europe). And some of the UNESCO protected ancient and primeval beech forests of the Carpathians are in Transylvania.
Bicaz and Turda gorges and scenic roads like the Transfagarasan or Transalpina get you really close to some of the most beautiful natural spots in Romania. And there are waterfalls too!
So hiking, biking, horse-back riding and nature observation tours in Transylvania are becoming increasingly popular.
4.Traditional farming
Traditional farming has ensured that for centuries peasants were self-sufficient, trading excess goods for others they didn’t have. Nowadays there are still many peasants who embrace this lifestyle: vegetables come from their own garden, eggs from their chickens, fruits from the orchard, milk from cows, water from the well and heat from the fireplace. During our tours of Transylvania we often include visiting farms or going to local markets which will offer you an insight into this old way of farming still practiced here and a taste of the produce.
5.Charming rural accommodation and boutique hotels
The feeling of stepping back in time is offered also by the accommodation options you have in Transylvania. In the larger medieval towns, some of the centuries-old historic buildings were turned into welcoming boutique hotels. While in rural areas a few typical houses open their doors to discerning guests seeking tranquility. And then there are the castles, manors or fortresses once owned by nobility, some now revived as comfortable, upscale lodging. We include such experiences in our Transylvania tours and we weren’t surprised when the Financial Times wrote an article about “Transylvania’s growing reputation as the new Tuscany”.
6.Winter magic
Now imagine all the above under snow or frost? The castles and medieval towns look like they came out of fairytales. And in the medieval squares of Sibiu, Brasov and Cluj there are delightful Christmas markets. There is an ice hotel up in the mountains, dog or horse sled rides are an option and so is snowshoeing. Tours of Transylvania in winter are truly magical.
7.HRH Prince Charles of Wales about Transylvania
HRH Prince Charles of Wales is Transylvania’s most important ambassador. He fell in love with Transylvania years ago, visits yearly, owns property here, established a branch of his charity and has supported many heritage conservation projects. He calls it “the last corner of Europe where you see true sustainability”. Viscri, the place he often visits is usually included in our tours of Transylvania.
The Wild Carpathia documentaries did some justice in presenting what Transylvania (and more broadly Romania) has to offer. Here you can see the first episode.
How to travel to Transylvania?
From the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore and other far-away countries:
- Bucharest is the largest airport in the country and it is 3-4 hours’ drive by car from Transylvania. There are many airlines that fly to Bucharest and you will have to connect through other major European airports (like Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Munich, Warsaw, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul) or through Doha or Dubai. So getting to Bucharest is a very common way to start a tour of Transylvania.
- The major airlines that have connecting flights through big European airports to one of the main airports in Transylvania (Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara and Sibiu) are Lufthansa, Austrian and Turkish. There are a few direct flights from outside Europe directly to Transylvania with Wizzair from Dubai and Tel Aviv.
How to travel from Europe to Transylvania:
- By plane to airports in Transylvania: Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Timisoara. Airlines like Lufthansa, Austrian, Blue Air, Wizzair, Tarom, and Turkish have direct flights from major European cities to one or all of those airports.
- By land (car or train) you can start your tour of Transylvania from Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia, Kiev, Chisinau or other cities from close nearby countries (Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine or Moldova).
Here are a few testimonials from previous travelers who’ve thoroughly enjoyed our Transylvania tours:
They organised a self-drive tour through Transylvania for us and it couldn’t have been better. Organising the tour was a breeze with easy communication to ensure we got exactly what we wanted to out of our trip. We were provided a comprehensive itinerary and guidebook which was extremely useful and made everything easy. The accommodation was great, a combination of hotels and local Guesthouses that provide a real look at the Romanian culture. I can’t recommend enough their services!
We wanted to visit Romania and Transylvania but it was challenging finding the exact tour we wanted. The team at Via Transylvania tours was able to customize our weeklong tour through Transylvania and it was the best experience of our lives! They were the most efficient tour company I have ever worked with. We corresponded through dozens of emails and they were always quick with a fast and thorough response. Romania is a beautiful country that certainly surpassed our expectations. Truthfully, I have traveled to over 30 different countries but Romania is now my number one favorite- and that is solely because of the fantastic logistics of Via Transylvania.
From the moment I sent the request I was immediately called and we began a back-and-forth conversation about the itinerary. They suggested many wonderful things to do and see. My two pre-teen kids loved every second of this trip through Brasov, Sigishoara, Alba Iulia, Aninosa, Hateg, Hunedoara and Sibiu. From a very discerning mother/traveler, I cannot recommend Via Transylvania Tours enough. Multumesc!
Are you convinced that a tour of Transylvania should be your next adventure?
Please contact us by email at info@true-romania.tours and tell us about your interests and we’ll work on a tailor-made tour of Transylvania for you.
Our Romania tour operator company is licensed as Via Transylvania Tours by the Romanian Tourism Authority. We are featured in the Bradt and Routard travel guides, have exhibited at WTM in London and ITB in Berlin travel fairs and since 2017 we are present on TripAdvisor where you can read reviews from our previous tours of Transylvania and Romania.
We look forward to hosting you in Transylvania!