Eastern Europe in Depth
Overview
Highlights
- Experience peasant life on a full-day tour through the countryside of Maramures, Romania's most traditional and colourful region. Don't be surprised if you see horse-drawn carts along the road
- Learn spooky stories while travelling through beautiful Transylvania, famous for its medieval fortified churches and as the birthplace of the inspiration for the world's most famous vampire, Dracula
- A home-stay with a local family in the Saxon/Roma town of Viscri will expose you to Romanian hospitality and some finger-licking home-cooked grub
- Discover the incredible biodiversity of Romania’s remote Danube Delta. Take a boat through this unique ecosystem to where the river meets the Black Sea, and observe the traditional daily life of its remote communities
- Moldova is famous for its wine, so sample the local tipple during a guided tour of Mileștii Mici, sitting on top of 200km of underground cellar tunnels, making it the largest quality wine collection in the world
- Become one of the few travellers to visit Transnistria, a breakaway republic in eastern Moldova, where Soviet values are still upheld and locals continue their fight for independence
- Explore Ukraine’s atmospheric abandoned Chernobyl Exclusion Zone on a guided tour, wander the eerie streets and among the buildings of the ghost town of Pripyat. Since the devastating nuclear disaster of 1986, nature has taken over the city, and wolves, foxes and other wildlife have been seen walking down the main streets
What's this trip about?
Details
Travel Themes
Destinations
Attractions
Activities
Trip includes
- Eger - Wine Tasting
- Maramures - Day Tour with Local Guide
- Maramures - Sapanta Merry Cemetery
- Maramures - Barsana Monastery
- Viscri - Fortified Church
- Viscri - Sock Project
- Viscri - Local Home Cooked Dinner
- Bucharest - Walking Tour with Local Guide
- Danube Delta - Full Day Boat Trip
- Danube Delta - Local Village Lunch
- Valeni - Traditional Lunch & Music
- Milestii Mici - Winery Visit & Wine Tasting
- Orhei - Day Trip with Local Guide
- Orhei - Orheiul Vechi Monastery
- Orhei - Local Lunch at Family House
- Bender - Tighina Fortress with Local Guide
- Bender - Half Day Trip by Trolley Bus
- Kyiv - City Walking Tour with Local Guide
- Chernobyl - Full Day Trip to the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone
Itinerary
Szia! Welcome to Hungary. Since the collapse of communism, Budapest has experienced something of a renaissance. The grand architecture and boulevards evoke a time gone by, while glamorous stores and restaurants make this one of the truly great cities of Europe. After ...
Today enjoy a free day to explore Budapest. Hiring a bike is a great way to move between the sights. Perhaps head to Statue Park to see the communist monuments that were removed from the city after the fall of the Iron Curtain. One unmissable activity is a soak in Bud...
Take a two-hour train east to Eger today. This beautifully preserved Baroque town is surrounded by hills and is home to some of the most renowned vineyards in Eastern Europe. Visit the wine cellars of the seductively-named Valley of the Beautiful Women with the group ...
Travel by bus to the pleasant town of Debrecen today (approximately 3 hours). While here, you'll have time to explore Deri Square with its fountains, colourful buildings, museums, and golden Great Church. Continue on by train and private vehicle across the central pla...
Today you’ll discover more about the region of Maramures ('mah-ra-moo-resh') and how it seems frozen in time. Rich in tradition and folklore, the music, costumes, festivals and ancient superstitions of one of the last peasant cultures in Europe continue to thrive here...
Today is a long day of travel (approximately 9 hours) through pastoral fields and untouched Saxon towns to Sighisoara in Transylvania. While the name may conjure up images of haunted castles, gothic churches and vampires, this is only a small part of what makes Transy...
While your next stop is less than an hour away, you'll feel like you've entered a different world. The small Transylvanian village of Viscri was originally inhabited by Saxons from the Luxembourg area, and the whole scene is picture-postcard rural. This idyllic villag...
Today continue to the 13th-century Saxon city of Brasov (approximately 2 hours). Also known by its German name of Kronstadt, the town is flanked by mountains and city walls was once a major medieval trading centre. Enjoy free time to explore, checking out the ornate c...
Head south to Bucharest today (approximately 3 hours). The city is increasingly known for its cosmopolitan vibe and energy, and while not the most beautiful or stylish city, there are some wonderful art nouveau buildings, ancient churches and monasteries, lush parklan...
Buna Ziua! Welcome to Bucharest. If you arrive early (highly recommended) head out to explore Bucharest. Romania's capital is known for its Belle Epoch architecture and communist sites. It also keeps things big – it’s home to one of Europe's biggest squares and its Pa...
This morning there may be some time to explore Bucharest before heading off to the provincial city of Tulcea by local bus (approximately 5 hours) at around noon. Located in Romania's far east on the banks of the mighty Danube River, Tulcea is a typical Romanian workin...
Today, head out on a full-day excursion through the remote Danube Delta. This is a UNESCO protected area of ecologically significant lagoons, channels and marshes – one of the largest wetland areas in the world, and one that’s a paradise for birds. There are around 30...
This morning, travel by private transport to Moldova and on to Valeni, our first stop in Moldova. Here you will be treated to a traditional lunch and some live music by a locally famous grandmother. In the afternoon continue to Comrat, the provincial capital of the Re...
After breakfast, you’ll make your way towards Chisinau (pronounced Kishi-Now), Moldova's bustling capital (approximately 2 hours). But before entering the city you have the opportunity to taste Moldova's famous wine on a tour of Milestii Mici winery. With more than 20...
Head out of town to the little village of Orheiul Vechi (approximately 1 hour), where you'll visit the famous14th-century monastery. This is the country’s most important historical site, a World Heritage contender that’s also a place of remote, stark beauty. Here thro...
An early morning drive (approximately 3 hours) takes you across the border to Tiraspol, the capital of the breakaway republic of Transnistria. This thin strip of land east of the Dniester River, officially known as the Prednistrovie Moldovan Republic (PMR), declared i...
This morning take a trolley bus (a mix between a bus and a tram) a short distance outside the city to the regional town of Bender, in the buffer zone between Transnistria and Moldova. Drop by the 16th-century Ottoman Tighina Fortress, an impressively stout constructio...
A train or bus ride today will take you across the border to Odessa, Ukraine, an underrated gem located on the Black Sea (approximately 2.5 hours). The city was founded at the end of the 18th century by Russian ruler Catherine the Great, who sought to create an archit...
Today is a free day to explore the pretty town of Odessa and it's surroundings. Take your time to stroll around the streets and admire the Neoclassical and Baroque buildings – the National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is grand enough to rival any in Central Europ...
Upon your early morning arrival into Kyiv, drop your luggage at the hotel and embark on a city tour with a local guide around this magnificent city. Many travellers say that Kyiv is a diamond in the raw, just waiting to be discovered. The city boasts a vibrant energy ...
Head out of town on a full-day trip to Chernobyl. At Dytyatky, which sits on the edge of the 30-kilometre exclusion zone (the circle drawn around the town after the 1986 accident) you'll pass the first checkpoint. After a short introductory and safety briefing, embark...
Today your trip comes to an end. As no activities are planned, you are free to depart your accommodation at any time. There is so much to see and do in and around Kyiv, so you may want to consider extending your stay here. We are happy to book additional accommodation for you, subject to availability. Please enquire at the time of booking.
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