Trips info

About Travel Horizons Trips

The Romanian landscape is a melange formed by geographical, historical and ethnological characteristics, astonishing everyone with its dramatic scenery and nature beauties, which encompasses exquisite meadows, impressive gorges, rolling hills, and fascinating heath lands, upon which each season paints its specific freshness. The enormous variety of its landscape is what makes a journey in Romania an unforgettable place to see.

Travel Horizons promotes tours that are packed with original adventures including walking and trekking, motorcycling tours, wild caving and canyoning.

Some easy trips are generally hotel or chalet-based with a day-walk format and an emphasis on uncovering the area's history, culture and cuisine whilst at the other end of the scale the tougher treks are likely to involve multi-day trekking through wilderness regions, with technical support and tented accommodation.

We've developed a range of itineraries that include classical routes such as the tour of medieval fortresses in Transylvania, making it a priority to seek out for distinctive and unique itineraries in less familiar areas such as Apuseni National Park, Retezat National Park or Banat Mountains with their surrounding beauties. Whichever of our itineraries you choose to undertake, you can be sure you'll break out your day-to-day routine.

Some itineraries require accommodation in the same area for the whole period of the trip whilst others are likely to be in different locations each night. If you would rather wish to explore the everyday local life in Romania then we designed also some flexible and affordable tours that aren’t over-organised but full of fun: on these tours you’ll have all the freedom and independence you want, allowing you to explore the country at your own pace and do your own thing without the hassle of organising your own itinerary, transport and accommodation. On these tours you’ll be staying at simple hotels or family-run guesthouses/B&Bs, usually in twin rooms with private bathrooms, or sometimes in multi-share rooms with shared facilities. You will typically be travelling in air-conditioned vehicles, but may also use other types of transport suited to the terrain. We can help you get in contact with the right people who run these services and assist you with tips and suggestions about accommodation and other available services..

When to travel in Romania:

We advise that the best time to go to trek in Romania is between March and October, but some routes are nice to walk during the winter time when the snow covers the most of the landscape offering breathtaking views. During the winter months you have the option of joining the Romanian ski programmes.

Group sizes:

Thinking that most of our trips are in the nature we had in mind trips for small groups of people with the purpose of minimising the risks posed to nature considering that large numbers of people visiting a sensitive area can cause extensive environmental damage. We also believe that smaller groups benefit of a better experience during a trip being able to built up stronger relationships with others in the group, not the least experiencing a more intimate relationship with the nature which surrounds them.

Family trips:

Travel Horizons is able to suggest a series of gentle family friendly trips or adventure activities. Although the trails will be shorter and easier than the ordinary group trekking, you will still have lots to do and see. Also a one day single rope technique training may be part of a lazy day during the trip. Children enjoy learning new skills nurturing the adventurousness and curiosity that is likely to lead them having a strong risk awareness. Children from 9 years old onwards are physically more capable to challenge their potentials on the trails, however the younger ones can still enjoy loads of other activities.

OUR ACTIVITIES:

• Trekking

• Exploring Wild Caves

• Motorcycling Tours

• Canyoning

• Skiing

In our trekking trips we wanted to combine the pleasure of discovering and understanding:

• the wild life flora and fauna with its rich habitats;
• the earth's past and present, looking at the local environment and different types of geological phenomenon at the simplest level by observing with an amateur eye the local rocks in the Carpathians Mountains;
• the rocks surface outcrop such as cliff face, river banks, or local relief features such as valleys, gushing gills, streams, towering torrents and waterfalls set against a backdrop of stunning scenery;
• the local palaeontology if you are curious about plant traces and animal fossils;
• the beauty of the caves or disused mines at the heart of Transylvania & Banat regions.
• the geology of natural hot mineral waters and mud in a thermal spa resort.

There are parts of the parks or nature reserves that have been declared off-limits to visitors by the government as they have a scientific importance and may be adversely affected by human intrusion.

Prices:

Although Travel Horizons is not selling itineraries or activities, we are happy to suggest Romanian tour operators or local services that we are confident can offer you unforgettable experiences.

Types of accommodation:

Romania offers quite a variety of accommodation options for its visitors. In your trip you can expect accommodation in 4-star standard or above hotels, or in clean and comfortable mid-range hotels with twin/double rooms and en-suite bathrooms, but occasionally we also advise to use guesthouses, chalets in alpine locations or other local accommodation depending on the itinerary.

Hotels and boutique hotels:

You have the option to book accommodation in 4 star or above hotels including some historical hotels i.e. fortified buildings from the medieval period with an elegant classical-style interior or a typical Wallachian mansion built in a defensive architecture-style. This type of accommodation is typically more expensive and luxurious than other sorts of accommodations, but they are worth trying giving you a deeper understanding of the Romanian history.

Bed and Breakfast (B&B):

Quite similar to guesthouse accommodation, the Romanian B&Bs offer accommodation in private houses in an intimate environment with toilet/shower facilities in the room and high standard of personal service. Some B&Bs offer an evening meal in addition to breakfast, and most will pack a lunch for your trip by prior arrangement.

Chalets:

The wooden alpine-style accommodation is commonly found in and around mountain resorts. In addition to the chalets there is a famous ice hotel at about 2000m altitude located in Făgăraş Mountains which is very popular in the winters.

Self-catering in family run guesthouses/self-catering in private houses/flats:

This sort of accommodation applies to travellers who wish to get a sense of the Romanian life-style and tradition in an authentic setting. Usually this type of accommodation is designed for people who prefer the flexibility of travelling independently, in a small group tour, giving you the freedom to choose your own departure date and simply enjoy the adventure with your family, your partner or your friends. Generally cheap and convenient offering private cooking facilities. The visitors choosing the self-catering accommodation in a family run guesthouse will generally have to arrange their own meals and sometimes share the cooking or the shower/toilet facilities with other tourists, but they will get a lot of help from the family who runs the guesthouse. On this type of accommodation you can enjoy going to a local village market to buy food or being taken straight to the local farmers to buy your own necessary goods. The other type of self-catering in a private house/flat gives you even more independence with minimal guidance on your chosen visiting places. On both options transport will be available to get around in the surroundings and visiting touristic attractions.