Hiking and Bear Watching in Romania
Head into the Carpathian Mountains to hike wild trails, scout for brown bears and explore a legendary castle
What's Included?
Activities & Certified Guides
All itinerary activities with local, English-speaking guidesHotel
3 nights in boutique hotelsMeals
3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinnersTransfers
To and from the airport and everything in betweenPermits
Entrance fees to Bran Castle and the Libearty Bear SanctuarySmall Like-minded Groups
Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 14 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people…
…
What's it like?
Hike to an isolated hide in the Carpathians – home to 60% of Europe’s brown bear population – to see these incredible creatures in the wild
Visit a pioneering sanctuary which rehomes and rehabilitates formerly captive bears in a beautiful and inspiring setting
Bed down in a characterful boutique hotel in the bustling town of Brasov and explore Bran Castle, the medieval stronghold also known as Castle Dracula
The perfect adventurous long weekend combining hikes, history and memorable wildlife encounters
Key Information
Day 1
Arrive in Brasov and head to the bear hide
Wildlife Watching
Check into your boutique hotel in the heart of beautiful Brasov. Brasov is a fantastic base for a trip, a cosmopolitan and lively place with an alluring blend of ancient and modern. Late in the afternoon, you'll drive to a remote trailhead at the edge of a forest and hike in (for around 20 minutes) to reach an elevated bear hide, tucked away on the edge of a clearing. Settle in and keep your fingers crossed for bears entering the clearing. The hide is ethically run by the local wildlife authority and is similar to a treehouse, so you are in the perfect spot to view the bears from the best and safest vantage point, should they show up. If you’re lucky you might even see cubs! Head back to Brasov for a late dinner to toast an epic first day.
Day 2
Visit a pioneering bear sanctuary and hike the Carpathians
Wildlife Watching
Hiking
Grab an early breakfast today before driving to Zarnesti, the site of an inspiring animal welfare project – Europe's largest of any kind. The Libearty Bear Sanctuary has been a beacon for change over the past two decades, as the founders campaigned to end bear captivity across Romania and to re-home and rehabilitate formerly captive bears. Many of these bears had been kept in awful conditions, but are now living with 120 other bears in 70 beautifully forested hectares at the foothills of the Carpathians. You'll take a private guided tour around the sanctuary, walking the trails between enclosures and watching the bears swimming and playing together a short distance from you (the sanctuary is fenced). The sanctuary limits visitor numbers to give the bears space and peace for the majority of the day; your visit offers financial support and helps the sanctuary continue their important work. After lunch, you'll take a short drive through the scenic Transylvanian countryside to the base of the Piatra Craiului mountains. Set off for a hike, spending the rest of the afternoon on trails with wonderful views over the Carpathians.
Day 3
More Carpathian capers, and visit Dracula's Castle
Hiking
Head out for the second hike of the trip as you hop to another part of the Carpathian Mountains, reaching the trailhead after a 30-40 minute drive. Postavaru Mountain is another stunning natural setting to hike through, taking in the lush green valleys, fresh mountain air and sweeping views of the Carpathians. Circling back to the road after a few hours, you'll head straight on to the legendary Bran Castle, better known as Dracula’s Castle, with its blood-red turrets, eerie rooms and creepy reputation. Have lunch here before exploring deeper inside the castle. Back in Brasov in the late afternoon, maybe grab a beer in the square to watch the light fade, or take the Tampa cable car to the top of Tampa Mountain for a sunset panorama over Brasov, before sampling another restaurant for dinner.
Day 4
Last morning in Brasov
You'll have some free time to enjoy a leisurely morning or to soak up a few more sights in Brasov before your adventure ends. Your host will transfer you to Brasov Airport in time for your onward flight.
Please note the above itinerary is valid for trips starting on a Friday. If your adventure begins on a Saturday, your itinerary will run in a slightly different order due to restrictions with opening hours:
Day 1: Arrival in Brasov
Day 2: Hike, plus evening bear hide visit
Day 3: Hike and visit to Bran Castle
Day 4: Bear sanctuary visit and departure
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Brasov Airport
13:30 at the airport, or 15:00 at your hotel
Ends
Brasov Airport
Any time on day 4
Transfers
Your adventure begins at Brasov Airport with your airport transfer at 13:30. Your driver will be waiting for you in the arrivals area. If you’re not able to join the transfer, you can book any flight and easily get to your accommodation via a 15-minute taxi from the airport which costs £7-9. Your host can also organise a private taxi for you, please see the Optional Extras section. You will meet your guide and fellow adventurers at 15:30, after you have checked in, for a stroll around Brasov.
At the end of your adventure, you will be dropped back at Brasov Airport in time for any flight departing on day 4; the final day of the trip. Alternatively If you would like to be dropped off in Brasov city centre, please let your host know when booking. If you wish to extend your stay and leave later, private transfers are available at additional cost on a request basis. Please see the 'Optional Extras' section for details and contact your host in advance if you'd like to request this service.
If you are travelling to Romania and coming in via Bucharest, your host can also arrange private transfers from Bucharest to Brasov to meet up with the trip. Please see Optional Extras for prices. Alternatively, there are regular direct trains between Bucharest and Brasov which take 2.5-3.5 hours and cost RON30-85 (approx. £5-£15).
Travel options
Brasov Airport is a newly opened airport in 2023, and currently has a limited network of routes. There are direct flights to Brasov Airport from Luton Airport in the UK and Munich in Germany, which connects well with various major international hubs in Europe and North America. If you can't find a flight into Brasov which suits you, you will likely find a wider variety of routes and times into Bucharest – you can then request a private transfer from Bucharest Airport to Brasov with your host. See Optional Extras.
Day 1
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2 – Day 3
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
Romanian food is hearty, flavourful and heavily influenced by its neighbouring countries. Most traditional meals start with a soup, often made with meat, vegetables or fish. Sausages are also popular, as well as meat and vegetable pies, goulash, stuffed cabbage rolls and cheeses. Breakfasts are included at your hotel – these are buffet-style offering meats, cheeses, breads, cereals, pastries, juices and hot drinks. You have three dinners included in Brasov at one of your host's favourite restaurants, including chances to sample traditional Romanian food. You have one lunch in Brasov and one at Bran Castle included – these are taken at restaurants selected by your host. Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for – please just request this on your passenger info form.
What is the accommodation like?
Brasov
Your base for the trip is in the beautiful and bustling city of Brasov. You’ll spend three nights in a boutique hotel near the main square – usually this will be Prinz Gregor, Muzica or Casa Wagner, depending on availability. All hotels are housed in historical buildings with modern amenities, excellent service, and lots of character.
Upgrades
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room can be booked for an extra charge – see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).
This trip has been rated as Easy
This trip is suitable for anyone in reasonably good condition and capable of hiking for 3-4 hours a day. The morning hikes are no longer than three hours in duration, and the hike to the bear hide in the late afternoon is roughly 25 minutes in each direction. The elevation gain on the morning hikes is around 250m up and down, so there is nothing too strenuous for anyone with average fitness levels.
This trip is offered from April to October (peak bear-watching season). In Brasov, the temperature usually ranges from 15–25°C during the day and cools off to 3–12°C at night between May and September. Most days are sunny with beautiful blue skies. In April and October, the weather can be more unpredictable and the temperature varies between 10–20°C during the day and 3–10°C at night.
Not a great first trip with MBA
If we hadn’t already booked the Hike, kayak, cycle Kerala trip for October (which was excellent!), think it highly unlikely that we could have done another MBA trip. Hotel was not as described and food was very poor.
My first experience with MBA
My first experience with MBA & what a perfect adventure! From being greeted at Brasov airport by our incredible friendly & knowledgeable guide Drac, bonding over shared memorable bear encounters with a small diverse group, hiking scenic trails in the sunshine with beautiful views across the Carpathians to perfect evenings spent together enjoying traditional Romanian dishes in local restaurants! Would definitely recommend
Very fun 😁
Overall an enjoyable trip ! Had a bit of a close encounter with bears on the first night which was both scary and exhilarating at the same time . Hikes were pleasant and our tour guide Drac was very friendly. Highlight was the bear sanctuary. Would book again with much better adventures .
Wonderful adventure
I can't recommend this trip highly enough. It was a great mix of bears, castles and mountain forests. All expertly guided by the fantastic tour guide, Drac, who brought just the right balance of knowledge and fun to trip. Highlights were definitely bear watching in the forest dusk and the Romanian cuisine - really loved the Sarmale! It helped of course, having a wonderful group of fellow adventurers. It was my first time trying a tour like this and I am sold and would definitely travel with MBA again.
An incredible trip!
Highly recommend this trip. Dragos was an amazing guide and made sure we all had a really enjoyable experience. We were really lucky to see a bear from the bear hide and it was truly magical. The hotel was lovely and Braşov was a great town - recommend the cable car. The walks were great and a chance to see some beautiful Romanian countryside. The itinerary is well planned with a good balance of activities and free time.
Excellent adventure
Incredible scenery, amazing bear encounters and super well organised. Alin was a great guide. Can't recommend this trip enough.
An Unforgettable Adventure
This was my first-ever trip with MBA, and I can honestly say it was beyond amazing! Not only was this my first experience with this company, but it was also my first group tour of any kind, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction.
The tour struck the perfect balance between group activities and solo exploration. There was plenty of time to bond with other travelers, and I was fortunate to be part of a group that got along so well, but I also appreciated having enough free time to explore on my own.
Brașov, the city and its charming old town was absolutely beautiful, with their rich history and stunning architecture.
Dragoș, our guide, was incredibly thoughtful and went above and beyond to ensure that we all had the best experience possible. You could tell he genuinely cared about us having a great time—his sense of humor, kindness, and vast knowledge of Romanian history and the places we visited made every moment enjoyable. I couldn't have asked for a better guide!
The accommodation was comfortable and had everything we needed, including a great breakfast to fuel us before each day's adventures.
The trip exceeded all my expectations. It was an incredible mix of exploration, history, and connection with both the country and the wonderful people on the tour.This trip to Romania was an experience I’ll cherish forever!
I love Brasov ❤️
This trip was was everything and more than I wanted.
It was the first time doing something like this on my own and I was nervous, but much better adventures and the guide based in Romania where happy to answer all my questions and were fast to respond and always professional. They really help put my mind at ease. From the moment I arrived and met Drac our guide I knew I had made the right decision about coming. I was in a group of 7, a mum and daughter, a couple,myself and 2 other females solo travelers. We all soon became firm friends and they were all brilliant. On the Friday we went to the bear hide, I had been dreaming about this since I booked it and tried really hard to keep calm but as soon as we arrived I got overwhelmed with excitement and cried, I would have felt silly but the whole group were so lovely about it. It did put pressure on Alex who runs the bear hide project as he really wanted us to spot them. Unfortunately we didn't, I was gutted but knew this was a possibility but Alex offered to bring us back in the Sunday which I will be forever grateful for!!! As we did see them the second time :) we saw a bug five year old male, and a teenager who acted just how you would imagine a teenage bear to act. It was absolutely amazing and surreal, I still can't believe it!!!! We also did Liberty Bear Sanctuary which was a bitter sweet place. The bears are so happy and healthy but their history is so so sad. As they say "it's a sad story but with a happy ending". Despite how sad the stories are this is something to not miss, you will not regret it and may even have a different way of thinking after. For me my view on zoo's has completely changed! The best moment for me was sitting less then a meter to a big bear who was happily enjoying some bread The noises he made were so happy and he had meat near by but he really enjoyed his bread. It was amazing. We also visited Brans castle, this was brilliant and Drac our guide was really knowledgeable about the history and I was shocked to hear that there was no real evidence that Vlad the Impaler even visited it!!! I did one of the holes due to only having 2 left boots. No idea how I managed this but yes I did the first hike in 2 left boots and decided I would do the second one. But after doing so much in such a short amount of time I really appreciated the nap :) it also meant I could stay at Bran castle a little longer and spend a silly amount of money on souvenires. My hotel was really nice and I was really glad I paid a bit more for my own room just to have that bit of rest bite before going to sleep. Breakfast was really good and they had many options and the coffee was perfect. The food I had was delicious, I asked Drac to pick for me as I wanted to try as much authentic food as I could and I was not disappointed once. Drac also recommended me some really good wine. I would highly recommend this tour and I would definitely check that you have Drac as your guide as he is really funny, smart and knows alot bout the history of Romania and the nature in the area. Drac really made sure we all had the best time! And I will forever be grateful to him and Alex for the best time. I actually plan to go back in April! One tip that I would to give is check your boots before leaving. Make sure you you have a right and left one hahahaha it will make hiking alot easier for you.
Amazing trip
This trip really exceeded my expectations. We saw multiple bears, had very knowledgeable guides, learnt so much about nature and amazing / big portions of food.
Great long weekend in Brasov
MBA are really well organised, the guide Drac, was excellent. Brasov is a lovely old town in Transalvania with lots of good value restaurants. Everyone is amazingly friendly. A great way to spend a long weekend!