Danube Delta and Dobrudja in 9 days
Plan a tourDiscover the land of windmills and the Danube Delta in 9 days
If you want to reach a place where you feel like in the Jurassic, then choose Dobrudja with its mountains worn down by the winds and water, with stones dating back millions of years, with limestone caves and other wonders from time immemorial.
Discover the oldest mountains in Romania and the unique Danube Delta – the only delta in the world entirely declared as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and a truly unique ecosystem sprawling over more than 3000 km2.
The delta region includes extensive examples of unaltered rivers, lakes, reed beds, dunes, sandbars, coasts, lagoons, salt marshes and climax forests and is home to more than 320 bird species, 45 species of fresh-water fish and around 3.450 animal species.
Highlights
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Bird watching and wild life photography in Danube Delta
Danube Delta is home to hundreds of species of animals and birds. It’s definitely the place to be in Europe if you want to see nature at its wildest. 327 bird species are present Danube Delta of which 141 are water birds – more than 81% of the Europe’s acquatic avian fauna. There is simply no better place in Europe for bird watching.
Enjoy a late evening barbecue on the wild beaches near Sulina to see the most amazing sky
Danube Delta is one of the least light poluted areas in Europe. The night sky here is absolutely amazing. Also, the locals know how to do a barbecue… And if you have a cold beer, great company and somebody playing the guitar… cannot get any better.
Danube Delta birds
Traditional fishing huts
Letea wild horse
Black sea fisherman
Histria - 2700 years old ruins
Braila main street
Itinerary
Itinerary overview
- Day 1 – Bucharest
- Day 2 – Braila
- Day 3 – Sarichioi
- Day 4 – Tulcea
- Day 5 – Crisan
- Day 6 – Crisan
- Day 7 – Crisan
- Day 8 – Constanta
- Day 9 – Bucharest
Bucharest, the Little Paris of the East
We’ll pick you up from the airport and on the way to the centrally located hotel, we’ll do a panoramic city tour.
You’ll have a full day walking tour in the old town area where you’ll explore the intriguing mix of architecture in Bucharest and enjoy some local delicacies in off-the-beaten track places, known only by locals.
We’ll organise a welcome dinner in a famous Romanian restaurant, where you will get acquainted with some local specialties in the company of your tour guide and discuss any details about your travel program.
You’ll spend the night in a 4* hotel, close to the city center.
Braila – the nicest Romanian city on the Danube
Head towards Brăila and explore one of the most picturesque cities on the banks of the Danube,
Enjoy a walking tour with your expert local guide in this cosmopolitan port, which used to provide business opportunities for the Greek, Jewish, Armenian and Italian entrepreneurs and ship owners at the beginning of the XXth century.
Overnight in a beautifully restored old villa – 4* Casa Popeea Boutique Hotel.
Explore Dobrudja – the oldest and newest land in Romania
Drive from Brăila towards Munții Macinului – the oldest mountains in Romania
Go on a short trekking route and admire the beautiful Dobrudja landscape from its highest peak – Culmea Pricopanului.
Relax and enjoy a wine tasting session & lunch in the famous winery Vinuri de Macin – Crama Dobrogeană
Head towards the charming village of Sarichioi; nestled between freshwater lakes and the reed-covered marshes, a few kilometers from the Black Sea, Sarichioi is home to one of the oldest and largest Lipovan communities in Romania. This is Romania, but the language heard on the village streets is very similar to Russian!
Enjoy dinner at the fish tavern ( Le Gafish), right on the shore of the huge lake Razim
Overnight in Sarichioi.
Gura Portitei – the Black Sea unspoiled paradise
Drive towards Jurilovca in the morning, after breakfast;
Short stop en route to admire the medieval citadel Enisala- presumably built by Genovese merchants about 4 centuries ago
Take a boat ride to Gura Portitei, enjoy a delicious lunch and wander by the sea, through the sprawling area of wetland and sandy beaches which forms the boundary between the Danube Delta and the Black Sea.
Short stop en route to buy some fresh fruits from an orchard in Sabangia;
Dinner with fish specialties (> cherhana Fish & Food Tulcea) and overnight in Tulcea in a nice 4* hotel.
1,5 hours on the bus, 1 hour round trip by boat.
Danube Delta – water channels, huts and fishermen – the otherworldy paradise.
Start the day early and take a boat ride from Tulcea towards Crișan
Stop en route to explore the charming isolated fisherman village Mila 23 known for the best fishing spots and the best traditional fish food
Enjoy a hearty lunch here; you will have the chance to see white and yellow water lilies, swans, coots, ducks, geese, spoonbills, godwits, ibises and pelicans on the surrounding channels and lakes.
Nature and bird watching on the lakes Trei Iezere, Bogdaproste, La Amiaza- simply a haven for wildlife lovers, birdwatchers, fishers and anyone wanting to get away from it all
Dinner and overnight in Crisan, 4* Delta Boutique Carmen Sylva resort
3 hours on the boat, round trip
Relax and soak up the sun in Sulina
Take a boat ride and explore Sulina – once the headquarters of the European Danube Commission and the first duty-free zone in Europe in the XIXth century;
Explore the ancient cemetery > a window into Sulina’s multiethnic past, this cemetery includes graves of Romanian and Russian Orthodox, Greek, Turkish and Jewish inhabitants, all buried within close proximity of one another.
A handful of British sailors, who died in the mid-19th century while mapping the delta, and a pirate are also buried here.
Lunch in a small family-owned restaurant
Discover the Danube Delta wilderness in slow motion, by paddling in a kayak. Usually on this trip we see pelicans, swans and other water birds and identify plants like floating fern, edible water chestnut and utricularia vulgaris– a meat eater plant.
Dinner and overnight in Crisan, 4* Delta Boutique Carmen Sylva resort
Explore Letea forest and see the famous wild horses with your own eyes
After breakfast we embark on our discovery journey on the Sulina arm and onto the Madgearu arm and from there we explore Letea natural reserve in a horse-drawn carriage, Letea forest being the northernmost subtropical woodland of Europe. Alternating forest strips and sand dunes, the Letea Forest is peerless. Harboring around 500 species of plants and more than 3,000 species of insects and animals, Letea is the oldest reservation of Romania. Among poplars, beeches, oaks and willows, you can see lianas hanging from the trees or curled around their trunks, more than ten species of orchids, wild horses grazing or wandering around and the only mangrove reservation in Europe.
Lunch with locals/ /Picnic – in Letea forest and cooking class in the village
In the evening you’ll have free time in Crisan – for your group to relax and unwind
Dinner and overnight in Crisan, 4* Delta Boutique Carmen Sylva resort
Hystria – the old greek colony
Leave the Danube Delta and head towards Tulcea and visit the ancient colony Histria, the oldest urban settlement in the country, built over two thousand six hundred years ago by Greek navigators and merchants, who settled in the hospitable gulf, in order to trade with the Geto-Dacian natives.
The settlement, founded in 675 BC, became the most important Greek colony on the Black Sea and continued to be inhabited until the beginning of the century. VII AD, when the port was buried by alluvium, the city was eventually abandoned following the attacks of the Avar and Slavic tribes.
Enjoy a tasty lunch – cherhana Bosoanca – Vadu
Walking tour in Constanta with your specialist local guide – the oldest continuously inhabited city and home to the biggest port of the Black Sea, Constanta is truly a multicultural city. Many and varied communities have thrived alongside each other for decades, and this is best reflected in the density of diverse places of worship. In the Peninsula neighborhood there are no fewer than eight buildings pertaining to different religions within an area smaller than one square kilometer.
Admire the Roman mosaic and the spectacular Casino building, erected in Art Nouveau style;
Farewell dinner with a view and overnight in Constanta – Alnis Boutique Villa
Depending on your departure hour, you might have time to explore more of the beautiful Bucharest. We will organize extra activities to conclude your visit to Dobrudja and Danube Delta and make recommandations for the rest of your stay.
Inclusions and exclusions
This is what you’ll see and get in our Danube Delta and Dobrudja Tour
- Included in the city guided tours in Bucharest, Braila, Constanta, you’ll see the Romanian Atheneum, the Palace of Parliament, Bucharest Old City Center, Bucharest Food Tour, Braila Old City Center, Constanta Old City Center
- You’ll visit UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Danube Delta and Letea Forest, Hystria and Enisala ancient ruins
- You’ll meet the local craftsman and artists.
- Accommodation for 6 nights in 3-4* hotels or countryside mansions, breakfast included
- You’ll have included: 2 dinners (Bucharest, Constanta), 3 lunches (Mila 23, Sulina, Letea), one wine tasting at Crama Dobrogeana, one cooking class
- You’ll get free evenings in Bucharest, Braila, Constanta and Tulcea to enjoy the cities by yourself. We’ll recommend the best locations for dinner.
- Transportation for the whole trip in Romania is included
- This is a private tour so it will include only your group
- 24/7 assistance during the entire trip
Not included
- Food (dinner, lunch, snacks) outside the program
- Personal expenses, shopping, souvenirs
- International transportation (plane tickets to and from Romania)
- Travel Insurance