6 independent reviews for Romania wildlife holiday, bear watching and tracking
Reviews for Romania wildlife holiday, bear watching and tracking
Linda de Zilva review 16 Jul 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
All of it!.. Every aspect was so different. The scenery is stunning and very beautiful and throughout our vacation traveling around, we saw many different aspects of it. The morning and evening field trips to watch for bears took us to some beautiful surroundings where we did see bears and signs of them, as well as signs of lynx and wolves. We learnt a lot from our guide Marsius whose experience and professionalism made the whole experience very interesting and enjoyable. The various lovely villages and towns we visited gave us a good insight into the history of Romania and the culture. Simona (our organiser) is very knowledgeable and together with our other guide Christi, we learnt a great deal about Romania generally.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
We had no problems/issues during our vacation other than currency. Once in Romania if you use cash, you will need to have Romania Lei as very few places accept Euros. You can exchange Euros for Lei once you are in the country.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Definitely the vacation benefited local people. We stayed in a guest house and were made to feel really at home. Mimi cannot do enough for you and the quantity of food was amazing! Our room was comfortable and the whole atmosphere very relaxed, Staying in a guest house definitely helps the local community and a lot of the food is grown/produced locally. We also visited a bear hide and as with the field trips, this is set up sensitively to have minimal impact on the wildlife and environment, whilst at the same time protecting the bears and helping to keep them away from local farms and houses.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
We would rate this vacation 5 star. The itinerary we requested was quite a busy one but Simona organised it in such a way that we had the right amount of time in each place that we visited. We thoroughly enjoyed Romania and are planning to make another trip there next year. Everyone that we met was so kind and friendly and always very helpful.Lee Knight review 19 May 2024
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The last evening out with Alex, a perfect panorama in the scope of 2 roe deer, 2 reds and a bear all interacting together in a close group. Horse riding in the mountains. The drive and magnificent views over the hills from the Zarnesti Gorge. Prejmer fortified church. Mimi's cooking and hospitality.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Make sure you bring lots of warm clothing the early mornings and late evenings can be cold. Zarnesti is not really on the tourist trail compared to say Brasov but if you still have time in between all the activities and bear watching trips there are two bars, a supermarket and bank (with cash point etc) in the town and the people are really friendly. You'll get a more authentic experience staying here and taking the time to wander round the place. Also you can't beat Mimi's place. You can't beat her hospitality,her place is amazing with the chicken houses, greenhouse, etc all built (including the house and much of the furniture inside) by her husband George, who has several "man caves" scattered about the place filled with a host of tools and equipment for machining and various jobs. We had a balcony room overlooking forested hills in the background. Be warned forget "dieting" you will be FED. her food is good hearty, home-cooked fare, with most of the ingredients (jams, chickens eggs, vegetables etc) from the mini farm out back. You are not allowed to be hungry at Mimi's and she will go above and beyond to look after you. Every time we came back after early morning trips she was there as soon as we came in the door ready with food. Tiwice we came back after 10 at night and were not expecting anything, but there she was ready and waiting with food on the table and home made plum brandy to warm us.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, staying at a place like Mimi's supports pensions more off the tourist trail. Alex our bear watching guide was excellent company and good to talk to re his work with nature conservation across Romania in general.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Excellent, had a great time. Simona was really helpful, relaxed and fun company. She was very helpful in organising horse riding for us at a local stable and was a good guide and knowledgeable. We had the opinion that Alex went "above and beyond" to get us good wildlife sightings, staying out much later and meeting us much earlier than we felt he probably needed to.Paul Bambrough review 23 Jun 2023
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
A mum and cubs crossing 5 m in front of us, looking surprised then walking on.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Recommend if you are into wildlife. Bring binoculars!3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes I think we supported workers and scientists trying to help bears and people co exist peacefully ;-)4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Very enjoyable - tiring (4am starts) but worth it.Sally Reeve review 22 Jul 2022
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Seeing bears and birds.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Go for authentic Romanian guest houses and go to Danube delta for 4 days instead of 3.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes - Simona ensured that she used local people which was great.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
Everything was great - highly recommend and Simona was always striving to do the best for us.Richard Denney review 3 Jun 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
Being able to take my 7yo to watch bears in their natural habitat (and in so doing making his dreams come true)2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
Do it! But remember nature doesn't stand on ceremony, you can't predict what will happen (in our case whether the bears would turn up - happily they did!)3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, very much so. Eco-tourism isn't cheap, but it's quite simply the best way to see animals behaving as they normally do. And you can learn from people who have dedicated their lives to conversation, protection and development. And it makes you feel good about yourself too.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
A wonderful experience for me and created memories for my 7yo son that he'll carry with him forever.Jon Holland review 6 Jul 2017
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?
The evening we sat on a hilltop in the sunshine and watched several bears doing their thing.2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?
See below.3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
To some extent.4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?
A bit of a curate's egg. Overall we had a lovely time. The guide (Alex) was great. Very knowledgeable - and good company once we got to know him better. We liked him a lot. Our vacation operators were really helpful - and nothing was too much trouble. And the scenery is spectacular - once you get to it. But that's the rub. We were based in Zarnesti, which is 40 minutes from Brasov - and has nothing going on. The owner of the pensione, is lovely and her cooking is very good - but going out in the evening or eating anywhere else are not viable options without your own transport. That would be ok if the pensione had been in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the forest, but Zarnesti is just a big, anonymous and not very lovely town (a bit like basing yourself in Slough for a visit to London). More importantly, it's at least 40 minutes from all the locations where we went to see the bears etc - which is a big chunk of time when you consider you are spending an hour or so (at least) in the car twice a day. So, if we had known then what we know now, we would have made sure we were either based in a remote location closer to the wildlife (which would have been our preferred option) OR in Brasov itself. It would have been good to have those options explained to us. Last thing - and I realise this is sounding a bit like a moan, but if no-one tells you, how will you know - having now spent some time in Romania, I think the vacation was somewhat overpriced. I absolutely don't mind taking a fair fee for sorting everything out for us (we travel a lot - and I've never mentioned this issue to any agent we've used previously) but I reckon the mark up on this trip was somewhere between 35% and 45%, which feels a bit too much. By all means tell me if I am wrong. I'd like to explain the star rating below: Five stars for the guiding - once we got into the forest. Four stars for the help when we were there. Three stars for the pensione overall - but five stars for our host. Three stars (somewhat generously - but in case my maths is up the spout) for value for money; two if my maths is right. One star for the location. So, three stars overall. I'm very happy to speak to anyone about this if you would like more feedback. I think you could get this trip just right with a few tweaks. But it's not there yet, in my view. JonRead the operator's response here:
Dear Jon
Thank you for joining us on this trip and for your review.
For this particular trip we use only eco-certified accommodation out of a great number of hotels and guesthouses available in the general area where the researchers do their activity, Zarnesti, the town where you were based, being located somehow centrally. Of course it is possible to locate our guests anywhere, but that would lack the “impact on the local community”, or be not very environmental friendly, which are key aspects for a Responsible Travel trip…
Zarnesti is indeed not the most touristic town in the world (although it is the main gateway into Piatra Craiului National Park). Especially because of its poor economic development, any guest's presence there brings real benefits to the local community (not only the guesthouse owner, but many other local people, too). This aspect should be very important to a responsible traveler (we’re not referring here to the "common tourist" interested only in his/her personal comfort). As for “going out in the evening” – when do you have time to do that during this trip? And we always offer some meals out during daytime when we are visiting the local castles and churches...
As you know, the exact places for wildlife watching are chosen every day by the researcher who accompanies the guests, based on the latest movements of the target species and other factors they keep track of. Unfortunately during your trip you had to be in the car much more than we would have liked, but it was just to maximize your chances to see bears (plus the other species you’ve seen). If you had also hiked during daytime as we proposed - all those activities would have taken place close to the guesthouse.
As for the costs - the bases are wrong/incomplete, can't comment on the math itself.
Thanking you again for your input on the local community and environment,
Simona
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