Transylvania tour from Sibiu

On the first day of our Transylvania tour we will get to know better Sibiu and its surroundings.  We will start in the morning with a visit to the local market, to feel the real vibe of the city. We will see Sibiu as it is, with its people, and more than that, we will have the chance to taste some of the goodies the region offers. If it is Friday or Saturday, we will visit the weekly markets, and for the rest of the days, we will go to the daily market.
Bonus: I will show you where to find the best coffee in town.

Then, we will continue our day in Sibiu with the exploration of the old town. We will learn more about its rich history, wander through the romantic squares and hear the stories and the anecdotes hidden behind the old buildings.

In the afternoon, we will explore the surrounding area of the city.   We can go to visit the Astra Museum of Traditional Folk Civilisation, or we can drive in the nearby villages to have the first-hand touch of the Transylvanian countryside. Depending on the season, we may see locals working the field, horse-driven carts, flocks of sheep, haystacks and… storks.

Today we will visit the Corvin Castle, the largest gothic castle in Transylvania. We will leave Sibiu in the morning and after a one-and-a-half hour of driving, we will arrive in Hunedoara, an industrial town laid around the 15th-century castle. We will visit the castle, learning more about the Transylvanian history and the different stages of construction of the Castle. And yes, don’t worry, we know all the anecdotes and little stories that will make this trip much more interesting and funny.

After the Castle visit, we will leave Hunedoara and head to Alba Iulia, where we will visit the huge fortress built in the 18th century by the Austrians. There we will admire the baroque decorations of the monumental gates and learn more about the military architecture of the era. More than that we will complete our knowledge about Romanian history (yes, you will be surprised how many events happened there), and we will also see some Roman ruins (the Romans being the first to raise a fort there).

On the third day of our Transylvania tour from Sibiu we will learn more about the Saxons while visiting areas where they used to live in for more than 800 years.
We will leave Sibiu in the morning to drive to Sighisoara. After one and a half hours drive we will reach the picturesque medieval citadel, UNESCO site, and the presumed birthplace of Vlad The Impaler. We will wander through the narrow cobbled streets, admire the colourful houses and we will learn more about the history of the city, its legends and the symbols hidden in the Clock Tower.
The second stop will be the visit to the quaint village of Biertan, another UNESCO site. The village is dominated by the Fortified Church, the former see of the Lutheran Evangelical Bishop in Transylvania. Inside the church, we will admire the elegant gothic decorations, and we will see the ingenious locking mechanism of the sacristy door. We will learn more about the lifestyle of the Saxons and we will find out their original solution to solve the marriage crises.
The next destination will be Medias, one of the seven Saxon cities in Transylvania, where we will have a guided walk in the old town and visit the fortified church. Inside the church, we will discover an interesting exhibition of Turkish rugs and we can admire the original mural paintings dating from the 14th – 15th centuries.

A trip in Transylvania will not be complete without a visit to the Bran Castle, the castle everyone is thinking of when planning a trip here. We will leave Sibiu in the morning, drive along the Carpathians mountains for about 2 hours, and after reaching the town of Bran will start to explore the castle associated with Dracula. We will learn about the facts and the myths related to the Castle and will discover the fascinating story of Queen Mary of Romania.
Then we will drive to Brasov, where we will have a walking tour in the old town, discovering the main touristic attractions: The Black Church, the Council Tower, The Council Square, the Rope Street or The Schei District. If time allows, and you are interested in it, we can take the cable car up to Tampa Mountain, for an outstanding view of Brasov.
Tour options ( if you don’t really want to see Brasov, we can skip it, and instead, we can visit:
1. The Bear Sanctuary in Zarnesti or
2. Rasnov fortress or
3. Fagaras Castle

Sibiu is the best city to start a tour of Transfagarasan, as it is the closest big town to the famous mountain road.
The tour starts in the morning from Sibiu, and after one hour drive, we will reach the first curves of the road. We will start to drive up the tortuous road and after a few hairpin curves, we will see the Balea Waterfall. After the mandatory stop for pictures, we will continue our ride up to Balea Lake. After another longer stop for pictures and a short walk around the lake, we will cross the tunnel as far the Capra Waterfall, to admire the picturesque mountain views from the south side of the road. We will return back the same way, and after leaving Transfagarsan we will visit the Clay Castle, a fairytale construction inspired by Gaudi works.
Depending on the traffic, and your interest, we can visit also the ruins of Carta Abbey, the easternmost Cistercian Abbey in Europe. Other activities we can add to the program can be horse riding or trout fishing.