Balkan Trails Bewertungen 127

Our tour was extremely well organized and performed. We had the opportunity of seeing and visiting the unexpected beauties of Romania.
Undoubtedly great merit goes to the excellent service provided by Stefan not just for the driving but especially for his ability as a professional guide.
Please, convey our thanks to him.

We discovered a wealth of Information about Romania on this 12 -day journey through the Romanian countryside. The Balkan Trails itinerary, lodgings, and visits to historical sights and festivals exceeded our expectations. A highlight of the trip was a dinner at the home of a gypsy family. They were most hospitable and anxious to share their way of life and traditions with us. The visits to castles, monasteries and walled churches allowed us to trace Romania back in time to BC. We traced Vlad the Impaler's history (Dracula) and learned of his birthplace and the castle setting of the novel depicting his evil. The home stays were also very special with a traditional folk dance group performance at one. Our favorite lodging was at the remote village of Viscri, accessible only by rough road. However, it was worth it. The Viscri B & B was restored to include traditional furnishings with all the modern comforts of home and the food there was the best. We actually saw the cows coming home! They are herded down the street and return to their owner's home. We saw a gypsy blacksmith at work in Viscri as well. We were amazed by the cosmopolitan Bucharest as well as the spectacular countryside and mountains we traversed. We were also educated and saddened when visiting the Communist victims museum. That was offset by our visit to the "Merry Cemetery" where colorful grave markers described each individual and told of his/her life in often amusing tales. We were touched by the welcoming nature of the Romanian people. Our driver/guide Val was very knowledgeable about Romania's history and accommodated our needs very well. We might have shortened the trip to exclude some of the monasteries and churches, but that was just our observation. All in all we totally enjoyed this old world adventure.

We had a very nice time in Transilvanya

Highly recommend Balkan Trails. They took care of everything from airport transfer to planning our days in Bucharest, and travel to Sofia. Very professional, and easy to work with. Thank you Balkan Trails for making our Romania / Bulgaria trip a wonderful adventure!

Great guide!! Very knowledgeable. I had a really great time with him.

My son and I took two different day trips last week with Stefan. The first was Transylvania which included Peles Castle , Sinaia Monastery , Bran Castle and Brasov. The second trip was to Veliko Turnovo in Bulgaria. Both of these trips were excellent not only because of the sights we saw but also to a great extent due to Stefan.He was a wonderful guide who gave us tremendous insight into the history of both Romania and Bulgaria without boring us. As well as that he was always very attentive, caring and courteous to both my son and I. We are looking forward to coming back and taking a longer trip with Balkan Trails. I can highly recommend this company if you want personal service that won't cost an absolute fortune.

I asked Balkan Trails to put together an itinerary for me in Romania and Bulgaria with very little lead time; my departure was roughly 14 days from the time I first contacted Zoe.
She worked her weekend to accommodate my requests, including some off-the-grid places (one to which no Balkan Trails guide had ever been before). She and Vlad did everything with speed and efficiency, including suggestions for bringing down the package price by having me arrange my own first and last nights and airport transfers. My guides (Adrian in Romania and Toma in Bulgaria) both spoke excellent English and were very experienced and knowledgeable. They were also flexible to my wishes for more walking/less riding and no interest at all in lunch stops or shopping sprees. They modified my itinerary based on traffic and weather conditions and had good suggestions for evening restaurants. I would recommend Balkan Trails wholeheartedly.

A few things worth noting:
1. most of the hotels and B & Bs chosen by Balkan Trails were wonderful, but not all.
2. tipping the guides was awkward. I would have preferred that tipping be included in the package so I did not have to deal with it separately. It was especially awkward because I had to tip halfway through the trip and again at the end, in two different currencies.
3. Adrian had some car problems that made one day problematic. It worked out, fortunately, but there should be a Plan B in place for such situations.
4. Toma is a consummate professional, generous with his time and enlightening with his knowledge. But he does smoke a lot. He never smoked in the car but I was always aware that he would be stopping to smoke here and there. Guests who don't smoke should be placed with guides who don't smoke.

It has been a pleasure to travel in Romania with Balkan Trails in autumn.

From the wifi in the car that met our online needs to the varied sights, comfortable hotels, and excellent restaurants, we have found our 12-day Romanian tour a memorable and informative experience. As city folk, we very much enjoyed the quiet respite at Viscri, meeting and talking to Gheorghe, the brick maker, as well as the hospitality of Ileana Teleptean and her family at Vadu Izei at Maramures. The visit to the Museum of Victims of Communism at Sighetu-Marmatiel and a chat with a family of gypsies gave insights into other facets of Romanian life.


Catalin, our tour manager, is knowledgeable and keeps improving himself. He was able to engage us in daily discussions ranging from politics, history, education, and religion to animals, music and how to tell the alcohol content of double-distilled plum brandy.

Catalin is a problem-solver and actively seeks solutions. This tour was paced to suit our needs. It is evident that relationships matter to Catalin and he knows and cares about the people on his circuit. We felt safe in his hands and have experienced Romania from the inside out. Whether it was hunting for communist-era medals and paraphernalia, or getting a lint-remover, Catalin saw to our needs.

We would highly recommend Balkan Trails to the traveller who wants to go the path less travelled.

We had a fantastic trip through Romania. The tour was tailored to our desires and it more than met our expectations. Our guide Val was very knowledgeable and his recommendations for restaurants were excellent. BalkanTrails was easy to work with and willing to make changes as needed. Romania is truly a beautiful country, especially in the fall with the gorgeous fall colors. Stunning scenery, magnificent castles, delicious food, and unique experiences like the Merry Cemetery, and very friendly people -- all this is Romania. We highly recommend Balkan Trails -- they truly gave us a trip to remember!

Great trip, Vlad and Zoe set out a wonderful agenda for a week in Bulgaria. Toma did a great job driving and guiding. Hotels were varied, interesting and very satisfactory.

Romania is a land of contrasts, where the pace of modern progress goes hand in hand with its rich history, and, no where is this more apparent, than in Bucharest, where Gucci stands next door to grey communist era tenements, and embassies next to ruins. The art deco style, and the influence of the french, are everywhere. It's a city that is rich in detail, and each twist and turn of her streets bring new surprises.

I found Balkan Tours quite by accident, they were not my first choice, (or even my second for that matter) however, I was immediately impressed by their professionalism and willingness to customise my tour to suit my needs, interests, and physical capabilities.

I found Valentin, my guide, to be amicable, exceptionally knowledgeable, and easy to engage in conversation. Being something of a history buff, I continually pestered him about obscure, or off kilter subjects. Of the many hundreds of questions which I asked, there were only three to which he could not give me an immediate answer.

Seeing, that I was not the type interested in reading museum placards, he would provide a summaries for me in verbal form, leaving me free to simply enjoy the objects and attractions -- an action, that added greatly to the gratification of my tour.

He was, at all times, acutely aware of my welfare and security as well as ever vigilant for any potential problems. Having lost my footing on uneven ground, he immediately provided me with assistance and first aid.

Valentin consistently went above the call of duty to help me achieve the experience I wanted and his flexibility and understanding of our destinations meant we were able to avoid unnecessarily long lines, and most of the overcrowding common at popular tourist destinations. Even finding time for a few unscheduled stops to just enjoy the countryside.

The tour provided an excellent mix of "must see" attractions, along with other, equally, enjoyable experiences. Particularly rooting around in the gardens of the some of our hosts and sampling a little too much of the local liquor.

This is not a rampantly nationalistic tour, it does it seek to glorify, make light nor take an unnecessarily gloomy view of a country who's past is, at times, as glorious as it is frightening. Each subject was approached sensitivity, and at the same time, an honest matter of factness available only to those having been there.

One gets a sense that both the owners, and the guides are proud of what they do, and proud of the country which they call home, it's not perfect, but it doesn't pretend to be.

Romania is, for all its flaws, and sad history, astonishingly beautiful. Her people possess a fierce pride in a country that stands on the very cusp of the old ways and the modern world, and having seen it for myself, it's not hard to see why.

In the words of Arnie,

I'll be back.

Just had a wonderful 11 day trip through Romania with Balkan Trails. We had a car with just the four of us and our own guide/driver. That alone was so much nicer than going on a regimented tour and huge bus with many other people. The tour could be also be adjusted to something we either did or didn't want to do/see. Romania is a beautiful country and the food was delicious. Balkan Trails provided an excellent tour for an extremely reasonable price. We were truly stunned at the great hotels, where they were located and all the extras that were included. Highly recommend this tour from Balkan Trails for everyone.

We added Moldova to our itinerary and every detail of the ininerary was followed and then some. We had a modern air conditioned car with wifi, a very knowledgeable guide who shared our natural history interests including birding and we enjoyed staying at a very interesting group of carefully selected hotels in historic cities, citadels, bed and breakfasts and centrally located so we could go back and visit on our own many items of interest.

Our guide Stefan picked us up from the airport at 2pm Sunday. We did a whirlwind car tour of Bucharest that afternoon and toured the "Peoples Palace" which was amazing. Over the next 4 days we went to - Targoviste, Curtea de Arges Monastary, Poienari Fortress, Sibiu, Biertan fortified church, Sighisoara, dinner with gypsies, Bran Castle, Brasov, Peles castle, Sinaia Monastery, Snagov Monastary and back to Bucharest. The next morning we had to ourselves to explore Bucharest before flying out that afternoon.
What an amazing tour and an amazing country. It surpassed all our expectations!
Our guide was excellent. Very knowledgeable about Dracula (what the tour was about) but also just about everything else we asked about as well. The car was spotless and comfortable (Stefan an excellent driver), all the hotels were top quality and very comfortable. The traditional restaurants recommended by Stefan were all excellent quality.
The whole tour was great value. The best way to visit an unfamiliar country for the first time. (Stefan smoothed out glitches like a pro, as well as adding in sites that interested us on the go, and we had no dramas for the whole trip)
The only problem was the tour was too short :( We could have easily spent 2 days in each city and still not seen everything!
It has given us a taste of Romania and one day we will be back to do even more. Booking with Balkan Trails again of course.

My wife and I recently finished a two and a half week tour of Romania and Bulgaria that was organized and run by Balkan Trails. We're pretty seasoned travellers and have seen the good, the bad and the worse. I would gladly recomment Vlad and Zoe Trestian ( owners of Balkan Trails ) as a good choice to book your tour of Romania and/or Bulgaria.
Our tour went off without a hitch, everything was as advertised and often exceeded our expectations. The two guides hired by BT were absolutely excellent. We were well cared for the entire time.
Balkan Trails is a family run operation that I hope to see expand in the future.

These guys are brilliant! I travelled through Bulgaria with Balkan Trails in 2011 and so didn't hesitate to book them again for my trip through Romania in 2015.

I spent 12 days travelling around Romania with Val as my guide and he was extremely knowledgeable, courteous, and had a great sense of humour. Even though I'd designed the itinerary based on the most thorough research possible, Val still managed to squeeze in a few surprises and take me to incredible places that aren't in any guidebooks.

The accommodation throughout was excellent and even though my itinerary was incredibly hectic and filled with long days, Vlad's organisational skills and Val's driving prowess ensured I saw everything I hoped to see without feeling too rushed. I normally hire a car and make my own way around a new country but with my limited time there was no way I would've even seen half of what I did without Balkan Trails' expert local knowledge.

Cheers,
Richard (Sydney, Australia).

Personalised BalkanTrails is the way to go when in Romania. It was through Chris' (our guide/ driver) eyes that we discovered the breathtaking countryside and its beauty . And since he has a hip vibe, his youthful take and energy was a joy to be with. We could not believe we travelled for 10 days on a van.

The best decision my husband and I made was to travel through Romania with Balkan Trails. A well organized company totally focused on client satisfaction.
From the initial inquiries to the end of trip the Company managed our schedule in an efficient and professional manner. Our friendly guide met us at Bucuresti airport and proclaimed that he is ours for the next eight days, whatever we need, just to let him know. Passionate about his country, we learned much from him about anything and everything Romanian, as we journeyed along from Bucuresti to Maramures and then were farewelled in Sibiu. This modification to the usual round trip was typical of Balkan Trails flexibility.
A great experience, Thank you Balkan Trails

The 10 day trip of 2300 km. Balkan Trails prepared for us was very well organized and performed in a perfect way. From the beginning till the end of our tour we have been looked after in a special way. The 'highlights' of Rumania shown to us were many and in variety. Our guide Adrian, very professional in his work, an excellent driver of his comfortable car and also a very pleasant person to be with. We would strongly advice anyone who wants to visit Rumania to not hesitate and go with Balkan Trails.
P.S. We are a mature couple of 'globe trotters' and visited over 70 countries.

This was a special journey for Louis whose parents were born and raised in the Transylvania area of Romania. Our guide Valentin Nica was exceptional and his guidance throughout was beyond our expectations.
The ability to tailor the excursions and special visits to areas of interest was appreciated. Of special interest to Louis was a visit to his mother's village and to meet a long lost cousin! Valentin made this possible and shared our joy of reunion. We would recommend the Balkan Tours without reservation..Thank you!