Dracula tour in Transylvania 2014

Dracula tour in Transylvania 2014

6 days Tour Begins & Ends Bucharest: 2nts Sibiel, 1nt Borgo Pass, 1nt Sighisoara, 1nt Brasov

A private Dracula Tour in Transylvania departing from Bucharest. The tour includes historical and legendary places related with Dracula’s life and death: Vlad Dracula’s birth place in the medieval citadel of Sighisoara, Hunyad’s Castle, Dracula’s Castle in Borgo Pass, built according to Bram Stocker’s imagination, the ruins of the Poienari Fortress – Dracula’s refugee place, Arefu village and Dracula’s tomb in Snagov Monastery. Enjoy a mysterious trip in Dracula’s Realm!
Bran Castle - also known as Dracula’s Castle, a legendary Transylvanian fortress dating back to 1377.
Sighisoara Citadel - the best preserved and still inhabited  citadel in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Vlad the Impaler’s birth place.

Rasnov Citadel – the best preserved rural fortification in Transylvania and the largest one in Eastern Europe.

Snagov Monastery - where, according to the legend, Vlad was buried after his assassination.

The Old City of Brasov – a city with an outstanding  atmosphere which has played a vital role in Romania’s history, both old and new.

Day 1. BUCHAREST – CURTEA DE ARGES –POIENARI CASTLE- VIDRARU DAM-COZIA-SIBIU-SIBIEL. Welcome to the Romania! Our English speaking guide welcomes you at Bucharest Airport. Drive to Curtea de Arges to visit Curtea de Arges Monastery. Close by is the Poienari Castle. Standing on a cliff but now in ruins this is known as the real castle of Dracula (Vlad Tepes). To get to the top you must climb up its almost 1500 steps (takes approx. 1 hour). Once you arrive to the top of the Citadel you will find that the citadel is surprisingly small, one third has collapsed down the mountainside in 1888. Next stop is at Vidraru Dam, one of the largest man-made lakes from Romania. Before arriving in Sibiel we visit the fascinating Cozia Monastery, one of the most beautiful and most beloved monasteries in Romania. Overnight Sibiel Guest House, dinner and breakfast included in the accommdation price.

Day 2. SIBIU – HUNEDOARA – ALBA IULIA-DENSUS- SIBIEL. After brakfast we continue our tour in Transylvania by visiting Hunyad’s Castle in Hunedoara town, the residence of the brave Transylvanian Governor – John Hunyad (Iancu de Hunedoara). The castle built in XV century is the biggest  castle from Romania and it’s also considered one of the most haunted places from Europe. Next stop will be at Alba Iulia. Having its origins back in 2^nd century from Roman time, the city of Alba Iulia offers a journey through the history of Transylvania from ancient times to middle age and modern days. We’ll visit the ruins of the Roman town, the old fortifications, the modern fortifications made in Vauban style, the Cathoilc Cathedral – the oldest from Transylvania and the Reunion Cathedral which commemorates the Union of all Romanian provinces ina single country. Before we return to Sibiel, we drive to Densus to visit a strange and small  church, with its origin back in 4 th century. Overnight in Sibiel Guest house.

Day 3. SIBIU – MEDIAS – BISTRITA – BORGO PASS. Breakfast. Walking tour of the Sibiu’s Old District. Sibiu is one of the most important fortified towns in Transylvania.. The city is reminiscent of old European cities such as Nuremburg and it was founded in 1190 and grew to be the chief city of the Transylvanian Saxons. This amazing town, with the “Old Town” (The Big Square, the Small Square, the Ursuline Church, The Franciscan Church, The staircase Tower, the Tanners Tower, the Lier’s Bridge , the House of the Butcher’s Guild and last but not least with the amazing Bruckenthal Museum) is a gorgeous place to see. Next we’ll pass the city of Medias which host the impressive Margareth Cathedral and its Trompet’s Tower, one of the most slided buildings from the world. Then we’ll go on the route to Bistrita. Optional you have the possibility to serve lunch at the “Golden Crown” Restaurant – Bistrita, The hotel is outstanding in Romania and in the world, as it was described in the well known nouvel “DRACULA” by the Irishman Bram Stoker. One of the main characters in the novel, the lawyer Jonathan Harker, was also a guest of the hotel and he felt here as confortable as at home. Here the tourists can enjoy a blood taste – a unique drink: blood-red liquor, an exclusive beverage of the Golden Crown Restaurant. We pass Bistrita, the setting for much of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, at km 108, followed by Bargau Valley we will find the Hotel Castle Dracula in Piatra Fintinele. Birgau Valley has a very dramatic scenery, with huge hills draped in forests of fir trees and with villages appearing as living monuments to a way of life unchanged for centuries, with the Saxon House Museum from Livezile village, attesting a former Saxon population in this region (established here in the 12 and 13 centuries). The Borgo Pass is the border between Transylvania and Bucovina, with fantastic landscapes. The Hotel situated on a 1116m altitude with a fantastic view of the Carpathian mountains. The Hotel dates from 1983, built in the style of a medieval mansion, it was created to bring alive an authentic Dracula atmosphere.

Day 4. BORGO PASS – TARGU MURES-BIERTAN – SIGHISOARA. After breakfast we’ll go on the route to Sighisoara. On the way stop at Biertan Fortified Church, dating from XVI century and a former evanghelical bishops headquarter. In the afternoon visit the citadel of Sighisoara, . Also called “The Pearl of Transylvania” the old city is include on UNESCO’s Word Heritage. The Old Town or the Citadel is the only one still inhabited in Europe – a lost world and still so at the present! In 1431, the storey house at Museum Square 6, within the shadow of the old town’s Clock Tower, a women whose name is lost to posterity gave birth to a son called Vlad, who in later life earned the title of The Impaler , abroad better known as Dracula, derived from Dracul or the Devil – referring to his father Vlad Dracul, whom the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Hungary made a knight of the order of The Dargon in 1431. The Clock Tower, the Church on the Hill, the Scholar’s Stairs, The Monastery Church, the towers of the citadel (originally fourteen), The Shoemakers Town, the Tailor’s Tower, the Tinsmiths Tower are only a few of the marvels of this place called Sighisoara. Overnight Sighisoara.

Day 5. SIGHISOARA – PREJMER FORTIFIED CHURCH – BRAN CASTLE - RASNOV FORTRESS-BRASOV

Breakfast. Drive to Brasov, once the strongest fortified city in Transylvania. First stop will be at Prejmer Fortified Church, one of the best preserved of its kind in Eastern Europe. The church is modeled after churches of Jerusalem, as well as built in the style of Early Gothic churches from the Rhineland. The concept of a fortified church as it is presented an Prejmer is unique in Europe and can be seen only in Transylvania.

From here you should take a trip to visit the famous Bran Castle, used as the summer residence of the Royal family. Visit Rasnov Fortress which is one of the best preserved peasant fortress of Transylvania and was built in 13-14 centuries by the inhabitants of the settlement with the same name, the principal purpose to defend themselves against Tartars attacks and was conquered only once around the year 1600 by Prince Gabriel Bathory. the main reason to come here is the 360 degrees beautiful view over Brasov Depression and Piatra Craiului Massif. Overnight Brasov.

Day 6. BRASOV – SINAIA – SNAGOV – BUCHAREST

After breakfast we make a short walkin tour in Brasov old center. Visit the Black Church, explore the Old  Saxon city of Brasov with its outstanding atmosphere, one of the best preserved old cities in Europe. Drive to Sinaia, the pearl of mountain resorts in Romania. Explore the main point of attraction, the royal Peles Castle, one of the best preserved and the most beautiful royal residences in Europe.Then will go to Snagov, a small village 40 km north of Bucharest, with its beautiful sixteen kilometer long lake; In the centre of the lake is an island occupied by a monastery, built in 1519. The Snagov monastery is situated on the island of the lake with the same name, we have to reach the monastery by crossing the lake by boat (If time and weather permit). Visitors come here to seek the tomb of Dracula sitting in the front of the church altar. Vlad’s murder is believed to have occurred in the forests nearby, where the monks took his body, since both Vlad and his father had both given money to the monastery. Drop off in Bucharest.