Carpathian Walking & Bears

This was a wonderful holiday in every respect, one that we will remember for many years.The scenery, location, food, company were all great. The villa and it's hosts were superb - could not have been better. Nothing was too much trouble and they were so friendly and helpful. It was fabulous to meet new people and share the experience with them - great fun and exhilarating.

Carpathian Culture and Wildlife (May 2011) is a wonderful mix of visiting ridgetop villages and farms in the Transylvanian mountains, hikes up into the forests and pastures, nibbling on delicious fresh cheese at a shepherd's hut, and visits to other local highlights such as the lovely medieval architecture of Brasov and the castle known as Dracula's Castle which is surprisingly charming and lovely.

One of the best holidays we've been on, beautiful scenery, lovely walks, good food and company.

An overall excellent trip and most enjoyable holiday, made all the more so by the delightful company of fellow travellers at the hotel.  The hotel was beautifully situated in stunning scenery, and it was always a pleasure to return from a day out with a good appetite to enjoy a steaming bowl of soup and a tasty meal.

This was a great trip with lots of gentle hiking in incredible scenery. The guesthouse is amazing with great food, beautiful views and a wonderful passionate owner who also accompanied us on some excursions. Magura is a beautiful, remote, rural and peaceful village. It is like going back in time. Go now before things change!

This was well led trip to a fascinating area, which made for an excellent week, and left me keen to return to explore the area in more detail.

A most excellent holiday led by Thomas, who was an knowledgeable guide, and who adjusted the walks according to the group ability and the temperature which was in the mid 30s Centigrade. Walking in such temperatures and at such altitudes can be challenging. Thank goodness for fresh water springs on the hillsides! The guesthouse was well appointed and the food was excellent. An honesty bar came in for much use when we returned from our travels! The major criticism arose when we came to settle our bills at the end of the week as the guesthouse did not take credit cards. This MUST be added to the travellers advice as there is no access to cash machines without a long drive. We only just managed to cobble together enough money by adding £ sterling, Lei and a few dollars which we had fortunately carried.

Transylvania was a really beautiful part of the world, it felt as if we had stepped back in time. To a Europe of 40 years ago.

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.

A great mix of walking & sight seeing in a relatively untouched part of Europe with the added bonus of a lovely hotel.