3 Days in Bucovina

In the morning, your tourist guide will pick up you at the hotel and you will start the amazing Bucovina and Transylvania Tour. We will drive almost all day, north to Bucovina passing the vineyards of Vrancea, where we will have lunch in an extraordinary ambience in the middle of a vineyard with a wine tasting from the local wine. After arriving at the 4* hotel in Gura Humorului the evening is at your leisure.
***Optional: Three day Republic of Moldavia Extension with Tiraspol Tour (requires three extra days)

After the breakfast, we will start our fascinating day with a visit to the unique 15th – 16th century Painted Monasteries of Bucovina: “The big four” – the Voronet Painted Monastery, the Moldovita Painted Monastery, the Sucevita Painted Monastery and the Humor Painted Monastery; all of them listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The first is Voronet Painted Monastery, the most famous out of all, known as the “Sistine Chapel of the Orient” and featuring one the best Last Judgment fresco in this part of the world. Here the Voronet Blue is considered by specialists to be unique in the world, and as known as Rubes red or the Veronese green.
Later, we will visit an egg-painter artist and we will learn more about this tradition, this being one of the ancient local traditions of the Bucovina region. You will also have the chance to admire painted eggs from all over the world.
Next is Moldovita Painted Monastery with it’s towers on the both corners of the facade and a powerful tower for the gate. At the lunch, enjoy a traditional Bucovina lunch in the picturesque village of Sucevita. Later continue to the nearby Sucevita Painted Monastery, which is the largest of all, looking more like a mighty fortress than a monastery. Inside, the Virtues Ladder is considered one of the best of the frescoes from Bucovina, being the most impressive by its amplitude and the contrast between angles and hell’s chaos.
The last monastery is Humor Painted Monastery, the only one without a belfry tower.
Next, we will have the chance to taste a home hosted dinner, a true cultural interchange. After arriving at the 4* hotel in Gura Humorului the evening is at your leisure.

We will start your last day after the hotel breakfast with the Folk Traditions Museum of Bucovina, where we will see all the typical Bucovina household arrangements and traditional costumes for different moments of their life and main celebrations throughout the year. These traditions stretch back to pre-Christian times and are unique to the region.
After this incursion in the local history, we will visit the Cacica Salt Mine, which was carved out and constructed by Polish miners with the use of tools such as pickaxes, and shovels. No heavy machinery such as excavators or tractors were used during any phase of its construction. To enter inside the Cacica Salt Mine you must first descend, roughly a few hundred, fir-wood steps which were constructed over 200 years ago. The steps are the same ones that were placed and used by the original Polish miners.
Next, we will visit the workshop of black pottery, the historians date the beginning of pottery here in 1500, they use a technique called “oxygen reduction”, and same technique is use in Mexico only.
After the Black Pottery Workshop, we will visit one of the first and the most important creations of the Stephan the Great Voievode. Putna Monastery, which was built in 1481 have a different style than the other monasteries from Bucovina in an obvious Gothic influences. The walled porch, the burial vault and the chamber of the tombs are considered as elements which appeared for the first time in the history of Moldavian architecture.
The last stop is the 14th-century citadel built in Suceava. It was never conquered by fighting, even that the citadel faced some dreadful sieges and battles with Sobieski’s Polish and with the Turkish led by Mahomet II, Constantinople’s conqueror.
Next, you will be transfer to your 4* hotel located in the city center after the visit to the citadel.

Your 3 Days in Bucovina tour will finish with your flight to Henri Coanda International Airport at 5:20 in the morning. We will make your transport from the airport to your hotel.
***Optional: Two day Black Sea & Danube Delta Extension with Danube Delta Private Cruise accompanied by certified skipper (requires two extra days)
***Optional: You can choose a Bucharest City Tour (requires one extra day)
NOTE: The tour is further customizable.

Begin your extension tour of the Black Sea and Danube Delta with an early morning departure to the Black Sea Coast, to Constanta – the largest seaport on the Black Sea, established in the 4th century BC as a Greek colony. The drive from Bucharest will take approximately three hours, crossing the Danube into the region of Dobrogea and driving along the famous Danube-Black Sea Canal. The city tour of Constanta will take you to the Secession style Casino and the Genoese Lighthouse. In the National Museum of Archaeology, we will see the fabulous Glykon Serpent and the wonderfully restored Roman Mosaic – one of the largest in this part of Europe. In the afternoon drive to Mamaia – Romania’s largest sea resort, established by King Carol I of Romania in the second half of the 19th century and then continue north to the ruins of the ancient town of Histria. In the early evening we will arrive to Tulcea located right at the entrance in the Danube Delta. Hotel check in. Dinner on your own.

After the early breakfast, you will explore, in your private boat the youngest territory in the world, the Danube Delta started to form just 10,000 years ago and is still in the process of formation. On your exclusively cruise you will have the chance to admire the Danube scenic beauty and wildlife – it is known as the birdwatchers paradise, so simply relax while browsing through the narrow channels. A fauna specialist tour guide and skipper, who knows all the channels, will lead your tour. A great opportunity for you to watch birds and to admire nature. The Delta cuisine is certain to provide an interesting lunch experience, the lunch will be served on the ship.
After the tour we will drive back to Henri Coanda International Airport for your afternoon return flight.

We will begin the three-day extension with the tour of Iasi city, the unofficial capital of the Moldavian region of Romania, here we will explore the Palace of Culture, the once gold-plated Church of the Three Hierarchs, Golia Monastery and the Neoclassical National Theatre. After this incursion, we will cross the Prut River in Republic of Moldavia, outside of the European Union. On the route enjoy the countryside to Soroca, the town that hosts the greatest and most impressive fortress in Republic of Moldavia. Before reaching the hotel we will visit a different part of the Soroca town, named the Gypsy Hill, where the Gypsy community built a neighbourhood of palaces. After this hotel check in and dinner on your own.

After the breakfast, we will start the day with a visit to the one of the best well-preserved fortresses of Europe, established by the Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great in 1499.
Next, we travel south, stopping at the outstanding cave monastery of Old Orhei, which is organically combines the natural landscape and vestiges of ancient civilizations. A home-made lunch will be served in the village with the same name.
In the afternoon, you head to Cricova, where you will visit the largest wine cellar in the world and where you will enjoy some of the best Moldavian wines. The winery Cricova was founded in 1952 and it is one of the few wineries which produce sparkling wine using the Champagne Method. Before reaching the hotel, we will visit the capital city of Republic of Moldavia, which is one of the greenest city in Europe. The tour will reveal the Arch of Triumph, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Chisinau with the Belfry Tower and the Parliament of Moldavia. To have a sweet evening we will have a short stop at the famous “Bucuria” shop, which is the greatest enterprise specialized in the production of candies. The rest of the evening is at your leisure.

The last day in Republic of Moldavia will be an incursion in the unrecognized Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (Transnistria). It officially belongs to Moldova and is its second largest city.
First, we will visit Bender Fortress, which was built in one the most powerful of the medieval cities of Moldavia – Tighina, which was an important trade outpost. Later we will cross Dnister in Transnistria, where you will understand why this is the world’s last Soviet republic in fact.
In Tiraspol we will visit Suvorov Plaza & Monument, Memorial of the WW2 and Afghanistan war, Lenin statue and more.
After the walking tour in Tiraspol we will go back to Bucovina, crossing back Prut River in Romania.