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Transfăgărășan Top Gear Road, Wild Brown Bears, Small group max 8

Badge of ExcellenceBucharest, Romania

Private tour to the real castle of Dracul Poienari Castle from Bucharest

From $104.29

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

12 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

See the beauty of the Transfagarasan mountain road even if you don’t have your own vehicle on this small-group tour from Bucharest. Before reaching the famous road, stop along the way at Poenari Citadel to learn its history with Vlad the Impaler. In the mountains stop at panoramic viewpoints and visit Vidraru Dam and Vidraru Lake. There is a limit of seven passengers on this small-group tour.

Transfagarasan Road tour from Bucharest with a guide driving
Visit the ruins of Poenari Citadel and learn its history
See the landscape scenery along this iconic mountain road
A small-group tour allows for a more personalized experience

What's Included

Pick-up and drop-off from 'Fântâna de la Universitate'
Professional tour guide in English
Air-conditioned vehicle
Shared tour - Small group up to 8 passengers

Lunch - Cash payment only in Romanian currency
On the mountain it is very cold, dress thickly!

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

The Fountain of Universitate
Piața 21 Decembrie 1989, București 030167, Romania

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Poienari Castle

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Vidraru Dam

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Transfagarasan Highway

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Capra Wasserfall

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Le Lac Balea

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
On the mountain the temperature is 15 degrees Celsius lower than in Bucharest, dress thickly!

The Poienari Fortress is currently under renovation and you cannot visit the interior.
From November to May access to Balea Lake cannot be done due to heavy snow and avalanche risk
It is not allowed to consume food and hot drinks in the vehicle
Wearing seat belts is mandatory throughout the journey
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

222 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 222 reviews

10 of out 10! I recommend 100%. This tour by Sebastian!

Cheryl_M, May 2024

the view is breathtaking! the experience was more than expected! The tour guide was awesome! Sebastian was knowledgeable of all things ref: the tour. He was giving us bonus information by sharing history of Romania! He knows how to deal with the brown bears. He had apples ready to feed them. its 10 of out 10! I recommend 100%. This tour by Sebastian!

Amazing views and bears!

Stefanie_F, Apr 2024

Amazing views and a couple of bears! We couldnt get all the way to the top because of avalanches, but it hardly mattered, and is just a good excuse to come back and do it again in the summer! Our guide Bogdan was friendly and informative. The regular lunch spot was closed, but he found us an excellent alternative. All in all a lovely day, plenty of rest breaks and nice to be in the fresh mountain air.

Best Day With Bogdan!!

Isabel_S, Apr 2024

First I want to thank Bogdan who is an INCREDIBLE guide. He is not only knowledgeable and passionate about Romania and its culture but he is so kind, patient, and understanding. From the beginning to the end of the tour, he made it such an amazing experience, one I will never forget. Even though we didn’t make it to the “top” it didn’t matter because we managed to see 5 bears and 1 fox and got to see where the green turned into snow (a winter wonderland). We were the only people on the road, taking in the nature, and have a shared experience. 10000% recommend this tour if you are in Romania!!!! 🇷🇴

Wonderful road, full of nature and man mande wonders

Fernando_J, Apr 2024

Excellent tour for solo travelers, couples or families. You’ll travel in a fantastic road, very beautiful and surrounded by a pretty forest. You’ll find an interesting dam and probably you’ll have plenty of chances to find and have some close encounters (safe, don’t worry) with brown bears, foxes and with luck some others wild animals. Our guide Sebastian was super kind, helpful and knowledgeable, helping us getting the most of the trip. Totally recommended!

An unforgettable day

Doreen_B, Apr 2024

This was a great tour but it should be emphasised in the description that it is only possible to go to the top of the mountain pass and see Balea lake between July and maybe October due to the road being closed because of snow. We went in April so the road was closed. However we still had a great time and our guide Bogdan was exceptional. He gave us so much information. The scenery, fresh air, snow and bears all made the day unforgettable.

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Thank you!

Amazing tour - highly recommended

Charlotte_G, Apr 2024

Amazing! We went on this tour the day after doing a tour to Peles and Bran Castle, and this blows that tour out of the water. Sebastian is an awesome tour guide - funny, informative and a great communicator. We both learnt so much from him and had a great time. We also saw 7 bears which was incredible - especially seeing a little curious cub!

A must !

MartinaCaruana, Mar 2024

This trip is a must if you’re visiting Romania. Our took guide was amazing and the fact that you’re only a small groups makes it better. We managed to see 7 bears in total and do snow activities in March. He was very knowledgeable about everything and on time in everything. He also got apples to feed the bears so we could take good pictures of them. We stopped at a monastery which was also a beautiful experience as you get to see everything and history of Romania. Highly recommended!!!!

Beautiful Romanian countryside

Matthew_M, Mar 2024

A really enjoyable experience getting to see a lot of the Romanian countryside (which is quite beautiful) with my driver/guide Alin and another couple of people. It is a long day out but most definitely worth it. Also seen a bear along the way 😀

Great fun day

Gertrude_F, Mar 2024

Alin was a great guide, very well organised and fun too, we had some time on a sledge and we saw deer and a bear

Top guide for the top gear road

Paul_T, Feb 2024

The trip ended up just my wife and I so we got our own private tour. We made it up the mountain until the snow blocked the road. Where we then stopped at a restaurant/hotel. Bogdan was a good guide and talked us through each of the stops and let us wonder around until we were ready to move on there was no time pressure at all.

Amazing and enjoyable experience

Colin_B, Jan 2024

Sebastian was our tour guide. He provided us through this tour an amazing and enjoyable experience. His friendly nature had all the history and information provided to us in a way that we listened to every word. The locations were beautiful. I loved every minute. I would recommend this tour to anyone in a heartbeat.

Not a short drive, but it...

Gur_B, Dec 2023

Not a short drive, but it was totally worth it. What a white Christmas! Fantastic snow everywhere, beautiful lake and a great guide. Highly recommended!

Great trip but one bad driver

Ann_k, Dec 2023

This trip and our main guide were fantastic! He had a wealth of knowledge of the area, and we saw 13 bears! The only reason I did not give 5 stars was because of our extra driver. We had too many in the group for just one vehicle so some of us had to ride with another driver. He was very nice but the trip home was a little scary. He seemed to be bored of driving, so was surfing on his phone once we got on the main roads. This seemed to be a pattern with some of my drivers, as some countries are not as strict about using a cell phone while driving. However, at one point, he was actually watching videos while driving!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Viator really needs to put a stop to this!

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thank you for sharing your feedback on the trip and guide. If I am not wrong, I think your guide was Alex. We sincerely apologize. Safety is our top priority, and we take your comments seriously. As a result of several factors, we decided to permanently stop working with this guide.

Amazing experience

Giulia_M, Nov 2023

Wonderful experience! We didn’t get to make to the top of the road due to the snow, but I’d 100% recommend it. Sebastian is an expert and funny guide, able to entertain the group with anecdotes on the more wild part of Romania. The only sour note is that we didn’t see any bear due to hibernation

Thank you, Sebastian!

Jane_L, Nov 2023

Sebastian delivered one of the best tour days I have ever experienced. His information was timely and clear and he picked our group up promptly. A full-day trip seemed much shorter due to his outstanding pacing and breaks, rest stops, knowledge and arrangement of wonderful views of the countryside, mountains and wildlife, and seemingly inexhaustible fund of information. He conducted our tour with generosity, humor and patience, and delivered all to their destinations personally. I cannot recommend this organization and Sebastian too highly. Americans, take note especially: This is a grand tour for you.

Excellent trip

Joanna_Z, Nov 2023

We want to Thank You Sebastian for this fantastic trip, that was amazing ! The scenery was unbelievable, mountains, waterfalls. And the best part of this trip was……. BEARS !!!!!! We met tree of them.

Sebastian is highly exceptional!!!!

Beverly_L, Nov 2023

We had an amazing trip with Sebastian. He was very very nice and has a lot of sense of humor. He worked hard to make it the best trip possible as he knew where the bears would be and gave us good tips about where to go and what to see at all our stops and during the drive. Would highly recommend and go again! He even checked on us on the next day to make sure we are doing ok.

Very good tour

Pilar_C, Nov 2023

A different experience during your trip in Romania. Beatiful landscapes, and the possibility to see bears, we saw five during the day. We enjoyed a lot with our guide Roxana, very good guide, we received from her a lot of information about our destination and she made the day enjoyable.

Awesome trip

Suraya_A, Oct 2023

Really beautiful tour with Rusanah, Sebastian and friend who bring us along transfagarasan route. They shared so many stories, history and myth with us along the way. Rusannah, our guide is an excellent driver and friendly throughout our trip.

Amazing trip!

Nastasia_B, Oct 2023

This is a TOP TIER trip. The day before we did the castle tours with a different company, but this one blows that one away. I'm so happy I booked! From start to finish, everything was beautiful and very smooth. There were only 4 people total on my tour so it felt very personal. Our driver and tour guide Vlad was an exceptional culture guide. He is a wealth of information and answered any questions we had. He was the perfect mix of friendly, chatty, informative, funny, and interesting. There was never a dull moment. He knew when to talk and when to give us time to catch our breath, which as a couple with sensory issues, we very much appreciated and never felt overwhelmed. His car was clean and comfortable. Lots of space plus there was free WiFi onboard which was nice for the long journey home. He communicated well about all the timings, how long between each stop, when we would stop to eat, toilet breaks, etc He explained everything about every stop we visited, both historically and culturally, and even told us more about the various towns we passed and some of their history, even pointing out the big mansions of the Roma people. Every stop we made was BREATHTAKING. There is nothing like the Romanian wilderness in the Autumn months. The dam we stopped at was truly a sight to behold. Then the bears, oh, the bears! We saw 10 in total, including a couple of mamas with their cubs. Vlad made sure to slow and stop momentarily so we could grab some pictures but also showed great respect for the bears. As you'd expect, some very dumb tourists would get out of their cars to take pictures! We all had a good laugh about that. The Transfagarasan road was a fun drive, and it's clear Vlad is a very experienced driver, and we always felt safe. When we reached the top, which is where you also stop for lunch, Vlad pointed out where we could get the best pictures. Thank you, Vlad, for probably the best tour we have ever been on! I will remember this forever!

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