This Romania holiday takes you on a two-week cultural circuit, traveling in a small group into the heart of a country that is not only captivating but also, in many ways, a complete revelation. It is also still very much off the tourist trail, despite its cultural gems and splendid Carpathian Mountain landscapes, and so we can travel through large swathes of rural Romania hardly seeing another tourist.

With two weeks, we have time to really immerse ourselves in Romanian culture and take time in each of the places we visit, such as the medieval towns of Sighisoara and Sibiu in Transylvania, the stunning, painted monasteries of Bucovina, or wooden churches of Maramures. However, we also spend time in smaller, lesser-known villages where we have some wonderful homestays. These are, of course, sometimes the most treasured cultural experiences that we can have, simply chatting and learning from our generous and most welcoming hosts.

Romania’s Carpathian Mountains provide a spectacular backdrop to this holiday. A landscape where primeval forests and alpine meadows are still habitats for wolves and bears. Another natural wonder in Romania is the Danube Delta, where we stay in an isolated village in amongst this wonderful wetland of floating reed islands, home to over 300 species of bird, and where Europe’s longest river comes to a fine finish, dispersing into a wonderful wetland.