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4.8
| 38 reviews

Hiking, Biking and Caving in Romania

Nature, adventure, wilderness, deep valleys, crystal caves and epic biking on a wild weekend in Transylvania

Duration

3 nights

Annual Leave

2 days off work

Group Size

Up to 8 people

Season

Apr—Oct

Location

Romania

Meeting Point

Cluj Napoca Airport, Romania

Accommodation

Hotel · Guesthouse

Customer Reviews

(38)

4.8

Difficulty

Easy

From

From

What's it like?

4.8
| 38 reviews
This trip is in a great location with a gre...
July 2022
Catherine
This trip is in a great location with a gre...
July 2022
Catherine
This trip is in a great location with a gre...
July 2022
Catherine
This trip is in a great location with a gre...
July 2022
Catherine
This trip is in a great location with a gre...
July 2022
Catherine
Everything was great....
October 2019
Danny
When I first had this trip recommended to m...
May 2018
Rachael
Super accommodating, couldn't be more helpf...
May 2018
James
Romania

Descend into a mystical network of subterranean passages, galleries and caverns unlike anything you’ve seen before

Mountain bike through the karst plateaus, deep valleys and remote settlements of the wild Western Carpathians

Hike into the beautiful Cutilor Valley, home to a huge abundance of rare plants and wildlife

Day 1

Into the mountains

From the airport, you'll head straight into the Padurea Craiului Mountains and check into your guesthouse in the lovely village of Rosia. After a briefing from your guide, relax around the campfire and then tuck into a traditional Romanian dinner.

Day 2

Rosia Valley and endless caves

Hiking

3hrs

Caving

2hrs

After breakfast you'll head to a unique cave containing fragile calcium crystals and accessible only through a former mine. You'll next walk along the Rosia Valley route where you'll learn about the fauna, flora and the karst features of the area, with a fantastic viewpoint over the Lazuri Gorge. Next up, the caving experience. You'll run through the equipment and safety, then delve into a mystical network of subterranean passages, galleries and caverns unlike anything you've ever seen. Emerge into the light and return to your guesthouse for dinner and a sip or three of palinka, a strong local plum brandy.

Day 3

Hiking and Biking

Hiking

3hrs

Cycling

2hrs

Today you'll explore the area around Rosia. Start with a gentle 3 hour hike through Cutilor Gorge that emerges into the expansive Cutilor Valley. You'll pass several impressive cave entrances and see very rare species of plants. Return to Rosia for lunch, then take the mountain bikes and enjoy a non-technical ride through wide karst plateaus, deep valleys and remote human settlements. Head back to Rosia for your last night in Romania.

Day 4

More caving and then home

Caving

2 hours

Enjoy a final breakfast at your accommodation, then hop in the car and head to Meziadului cave, your destination for today. Arrive at Meziadului Cave, an impressive cavern with remarkable natural features including a natural bridge, before heading back to Cluj Napoca to catch your flight home.

Included

Guides

Expert, English-speaking guides

Accommodation

3 nights in a local guesthouse

Meals

Munch on tasty food throughout

Transfers

To and from the airport and everything in-between

Equipment

All your caving and mountain biking equipment

Permits

All permits and entry fees

Not Included

Flights to and from the meeting point

Travel insurance

Tips for your guides

Personal expenses

Day 1

Hotel · Single bed

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2

Hotel · Single bed

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 3

Guesthouse · Single bed

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4

Single bed

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

Romanian food is hearty, flavourful and heavily influenced by its neighbouring countries.

Most meals start with a soup of meat, vegetables or fish made sour with lemon or vinegar. Sausages and other meats are popular, as well as meat and vegetable pies, goulash, stuffed cabbage rolls and cheeses.

Vegetarians can be catered for, however, vegan diets are a little more difficult in this part of Romania so it's not possible to guarantee it throughout the adventure.

What is the accommodation like?

The Mountains

You'll stay in a local guesthouse called Casa Florian. This is a traditional Romanian guesthouse with warm and generous hosts and sweeping views of the Apuseni Mountains. This rustic guesthouse offers home made food sourced from local and organic ingredients.

You'll have your own room throughout the trip - please let your host know if you are travelling as a couple or would like a twin room.

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Cluj Napoca Airport, Romania

13:30 on Day 1

Ends

Cluj Napoca Airport, Romania

19:00 on Day 4

Transfers

Your adventure begins at Cluj Napoca Airport, (CLJ) with your airport transfer at 13:30. Please schedule your flight to arrive at least 30 minutes before this. Your host and driver will be waiting for you in the arrivals area. If you’re not able to join this transfer, your host recommends arriving the day before and spending the night in Cluj Napoca city centre as they are not able to organise private transfers. You can book any flight and easily get to/from Cluj Napoca centre via a taxi.

At the end of your adventure, you will be dropped back at Cluj Napoca Airport Airport at 19:00. You’re free to book any flight that departs after 20:00. Alternatively, If you would like to be dropped off in Cluj Napoca city centre, please let your host know when booking.

Travel options

There are regular flights to Cluj Napoca from airports across the UK and Europe.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's included?

  • All your technical and safety equipment

Bags

  • Soft overnight duffel bag or rucksack
  • Daypack
  • Waterproof liner (or dry bags) for kitbag or rucksack

Clothes

  • Waterproof jacket
  • Waterproof trousers
  • Fleece jacket or similar
  • Warm hat
  • Buff or neckscarf
  • Lightweight trousers/shorts/skirts
  • T-shirts, underwear & socks
  • Swimwear
  • Sunglasses
  • Sun hat
  • Something to sleep in
  • Hiking boots (worn-in)
  • Sandals

Other

  • Padlock for left luggage
  • Universal travel adapter
  • Power bank or solar charger
  • Passports (and visas)
  • Travel Insurance documents
  • Earplugs
  • Insect repellent
  • Suncream
  • Personal first-aid kit (inc. blister treatment)
  • Personal items (biodegradable toiletries, sanitary wear etc)
  • Toilet kit (toilet paper, biodegradable bags to carry out)
  • Alcohol hand-gel
  • Headtorch or torch
  • Reusable water bottle x 2 litre
  • Energy bars and snacks
  • Water purification tablets/treatment system
*Requests for optional extras can be made after booking on your “My Bookings” page

Extra night in Rosia (Single, Twin or Double)

Payable Before Departure

Extra night in Rosia (Single, Twin or Double)

James(September 2022)

The trip was absolutely phenomenal, no other words to describe it. A hard mountain climb, but full of history and incredible views. If you enjoy hiking and mountain climbing, this is hands down the trip for you. Litochoro was a beautiful little mountain town for getting acquainted with your tour group, before a beautiful hike. The views from the mountain lodge are simply incredible, you can see through the valley right to the ocean on a clear day.

Catherine(July 2022)

This trip is in a great location with a great host and food. The area is beautiful with its views and lots of peace and quiet. The location is very remote with a few friendly stray dogs for company. Cornelia will really look after you with LOTS of food. Be prepared to eat a lot but low levels of activity.

Amy(November 2020)

This was an amazing trip. Beautiful surroundings, great accommodation and tasty, locally produced food. Our guide Andrei was very knowledgeable, great fun and considerate to our needs, which helped make the trip. I highly recommend.

Hardeep(November 2020)

We were led by Tic who is a highly experienced, enthusiastic and personable guide. We explored the stunning Romanian outdoors and fitted in a lot of activities within a short space of time without feeling rushed. The accommodation at Florian house was fantastic, and eating delicious traditional food every day was an unexpected highlight of the trip! The hosts were friendly, regularly treated us to snacks and were flexible when it came to switching our itinerary to suit local weather conditions. Want to go back again in future...

Shenil(November 2020)

Hosts were really good, knowledgeable and fun loving! They gave us a real taste of Romania. Food was good, especially given that we were vegetarian - particularly the tasty soups. This is all before we even get to the awesome views on the hikes and in the caves 👌

Holly(November 2020)

Wild camping and beautiful countryside were great.

Damian(November 2020)

Our guide was great, really made the whole experience. Food was delicious, rooms were good

Charlotte(November 2020)

Wonderful hospitality with beautiful people who are so keen to show you their part of the world.

Sarah J.(November 2020)

Everything was great! We walked straight out of the airport and was greeted and from then on we were looked after so well. Everything organised, but at the same time always adapted to what we preferred to do. The accommodation was immaculate, and our host always ensured we were fed well, with produce from their farm. And our guide made it the most educational, but also entertaining trip possible. Would highly recommend this trip.

Mary(November 2020)

Tic was a very knowledgeable guide with a great sense of humour and very safety conscious.

Kostas(November 2020)

The tour guide was very experienced in the local area and caves, and the food was delicious.

Sophie(November 2020)

Andrei was a great host - his day job is ecological management and he knows everything about the forests and caves. We saw yellow-bellied frogs, salamanders, wolves (just kidding, but we did find wolf poo), horseshoe bats and much more. The caves are spectacular, particularly the one with the spiky ceiling. Andrei is happy to adapt the trip depending on your energy and what activities you prefer. We also enjoyed having some beers, and wine, and sour cherry brandy, and chat each evening. The accommodation is very clean and comfortable, and the food is good (and served in huge portions). Everything is covered in the cost except for some drinks if you want to bring any. All in all, a great way to spend a weekend and it definitely convinced us to come back to Romania some time. Thank you Andrei!

Matthew(November 2020)

Accommodation, food, guide knowledge and demeanour were great.

George(November 2020)

Nice accommodation, knowledgeable and fun guide, good home-cooked food and fun range of activities.

Stephanie(November 2020)

The entire trip was amazing! Our guide Tic was friendly, knowledgeable and a great laugh. The trip gave you a taster of several different caves, hiking and cycling. The food was delicious, home-cooked, and different every day. I would highly recommend this trip!

Jennifer(November 2020)

The hosts, the food, the accommodation, the scenery and the activities were all amazing.

Liza(November 2020)

This is a fantastic trip! Tic is so wonderful, energetic, kind, and hospitable. We had a nice range of activities that were all flexible to group preferences, and really comfortable accommodation in the beautiful Romanian countryside.

Leo(November 2020)

Tic the guide was fantastic, biking, caves and hiking were all really good.

Andrew(November 2020)

Amazing local food, awesome guide Tic and really fun activities all for a really reasonable price.

Jemma(November 2020)

Everything was great! It exceeded all my expectations.

Kai(November 2020)

The activities, the food and the scenery were great.

Laycken(November 2020)

Ease of transport, the guide was excellent, activities were fun and there was never a boring moment. This trip really made you feel a part of the culture. The best weekend adventure break I have ever been on.

Caroline(October 2019)

The accommodation and the ladies at the guest house, and Axy our host were great.

Danny(October 2019)

Everything was great.

Julia(June 2019)

I had a really great time with a mix of adventure. Caving was very interesting, biking was just great fun with crossing river. All guides were amazing, obviously Tic is awesome, he is so passionate about his job, has a good sense of humor. And his "Hola" for photo pause was just sooo funny!

Rachael(May 2018)

When I first had this trip recommended to me my first thought was "I'm not caving". Over the next few months I returned to the website on numerous occasions to read and re-read the trip notes and user reviews and was left feeling that I had to book it. I was very excited to visit Romania (having never been before), but what I really wanted to know was 'what are the caves like?'. I can tell you that it isn't highly technical (no previous experience necessary) and no submersion in water. Once you have experienced the very large spacious 'tourist' caves there are the locked-gate 'wild' caves. Stunning, exciting, beautiful and unforgettable.

I had read very complimentary reviews on our tour guide, Tic, who radiates a passion for Romania, the natural world and caving, and is a fabulous, thoughtful and kind leader. Our cook Cornelia kept us very well fed and watered and our accommodation was perfectly rustic!

One hundred percent do not miss the opportunity of experiencing this trip. The four days in this beautiful countryside was not very long yet it felt like we had been there for two weeks with an instant state of relaxation on our active break. It was like pressing CTL ALT Delete on our busy lifestyles.

Thank you to MBA for bringing this opportunity to us and to the tour company for putting together a fantastic trip!!

James(May 2018)

Super accommodating, couldn't be more helpful and love the location and activities. The caving and via ferrata were simply mind-blowing.

Chris(November 2017)

Our guide, Tic, made the trip. It was fantastic having someone so passionate about their country and the activities looking after us for the weekend. Nothing was too much trouble for Tic. Cornelia, our cook, was wonderful and helped to give us an authentic Romanian experience. The activities were great fun and everything was very well organised.

Gideon(November 2017)

Everything was great. The itinerary was perfectly paced and always exciting, our guide was fantastic and interesting, our host looked after us well and cooked delicious food.

Arlene(October 2017)

Great trip, excellent host in Tic, the man whose knows everything there is to know about well everything & a beautiful country well worthy of exploration. I was 1 of 5, travelling alone, who fancied something a bit different to the usual weekend of hiking. After a couple of days being fed by Cornelia (the best chef in Romania) & downing a shot of Palinka at almost every opportunity, let me tell you it was definitely different! I would have loved to do more of the caving & in particular technical caving but overall it was worth it. It wasn't too strenuous but I certainly had a sore rear end after cycling amongst the picturesque countryside. I also managed to make friends with every dog we passed, of which there are many (tip: they love a belly rub!). If you don't want something too active but active enough to indulge in Cornelia's feast, this is ideal. Tic, our guide, was astounding. Definitely one of my favourites so far.

We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 123kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

No previous experience is needed, just an average level of fitness and the ability to handle 3-4 hours of activity each day. Your guide will give you full instructions and a safety briefing before you start.

This is an accessible caving experience - mainly horizontal galleries, with your guide on hand to help you through, however, it is not recommended for those with severe claustrophobia.

There are 2 types of cave included in this trip. Show caves like the crystal cave and the Mexiadului Cave are open to the general public but still offer a majestic underground experience.

The technical cave you'll explore is not open to the public and with the help of your guide, you’ll negotiate narrow passages and clamber and descend into small chambers. Although not for those with claustrophobia, it is an accessible experience and one you won't forget!

Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Summer is the best season to explore the area, but spring and autumn are also very pleasant, although there’s a greater chance of rain. The average daily high is around 27°C in summer, but it cools down at night, so pack warm clothes for sitting around the fire.

You'll need to bring all your luggage with you, however on each day of hiking your main luggage can be left in the accommodation in Rosia. You will only need to have a daypack for each day of hiking.

For current advice about travelling in Romania, have a read of the UK Foreign Office pages here.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.

Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

  • 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
  • 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
  • 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.

Interested in a more exclusive experience? Opt for a 'Private Group' through the dates and prices tab to book this adventure for just you and your chosen companions.

Our team of Adventure Hunters create exclusive adventures with highly vetted, specialist hosts. We only work with independent, local in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. See here for more info about the local teams we partner with.

TRIP DEPARTURE DATES

Private trip

Go private and split the bill with ease.

Forget complex logistics, we've taken care of all the details to ensure a hassle-free get together. All of the adventure, none of the faff.

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