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news flash, JAN.2007 |
Featured Topic:
The Real Dracula Halloween Tour in Romania
(Now Accepting Bookings!!!)
What a perfect and unique way to discover Halloween! In the home of the real life Dracula, Vlad Tepes himself. Only one time a year we offer this tour in Romania and we are now accepting reservations. Your specialist local tour guide, born and raised in Transylvania, will take you on a trip to see the many monuments, castles, and medieval towns relating to Dracula. Some true to the historic figure Vlad "Impaler" Tepes, some fictional according to Bram stoker's novel, and other still uncertain. Take a journey through the mystical and enchanting Transylvania, Dracula's lair!!
Highlights of this Halloween tour include some of Romania's most prized sights. Such as Bran Castle (dubbed Dracula's Castle), Sighisoara (the Birthplace of the Real Dracula), Poenari Castle (Dracula's Real Castle), Borgo Pass (The fictional route to Dracula's Castle), and such medieval towns as Brasov and Sibiu. We have also planned some special dinner's, such as Club Dracula in Bucharest, Dinner in the birthplace of Dracula (Sighisoara), a Dracula show with dinner in Castle Dracula Hotel, and a special dinner by camp fire in Bran; with traditional plum brandy, bacon, home made sausages, all fried on the camp fire with red wine.
Seats are limited and selling fast so secure your place now. Inquire below for more details...The Real Dracula Halloween Tour - Truth and Myth of the Legend of Vlad Tepes
Dates: 29/Oct/2007 - 04/Nov/2007
View Tour Online: http://www.goromaniatours.com/historic-tours/dracula-halloween-tour.html
2 People (Double Occupancy) - €635 Euro per person
1 Person (Single Occupancy) - €835 Euro per person
Now accepting Bookings!!! >>Click here to reserve your seat<<
Day by Day Itinerary:
Day 1: Monday, October 29th
ROUTING: BUCHAREST
- Your English-speaking specialist guide will pick you up from Bucharest Airport or another location in the city
- Start off with a tour of Bucharest to see it most important monuments, such as The old quarter, the Stavropoleos Church, the Revolution Square with the famous balcony, and the Village Museum
- At the end of the tour you will be dropped off at your hotel in city centre
- Dinner at Club Dracula
- Overnight in Bucharest
ACCOMMODATION: Hotel Casa Gabriela****
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Day 2: Tuesday, October 30th
ROUTING: BUCHAREST – PITESTI – CURTEA DE ARGES – POIENARI CITADEL - CURTEA DE ARGES
- Breakfast in Hotel
- In the morning we will depart for Curtea de Arges (Court de Arges): The former second capital of Wallachia. The strongholds rebuilt in the 14th century
- See its Princely Church and its frescoed interior which is one of the first examples of Romanian paintings. The Episcopal Church (the monastery) which is a recreation of the original built in 1512 -1517 by prince Neagoe Basarab (rebuilt in 1875 – 1885) and Olari Church.
- then finally reaching POIENARI CASTLE; standing on a cliff but know in ruins this is known as the real castle of Dracula (Vlad Tepes). To get to the top you must climb up its 1400 steps (takes approx. 45 minutes)
- Once you arrive to the top of the Citadel you will find that the citadel is surprisingly small, one third has collapsed down the mountainside in 1888. Entering through a narrow wooden bridge, you come across the crumbling remains of two towers within; the prism shaped one was Vlad's ( Dracula's) residential quarters, from here, according to the legend , The Impaler's wife flung herself out from the window, declaring that better this way than be captured by the Turks, who were besieging the castle. Legend has it that Vlad himself escaped over the mountains on horseback.
- Evening and Dinner on your own
- Overnight in Curtea de Arges
ACCOMMODATION: Montana Guesthouse***
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Day 3: Wednesday, October 31st
ROUTING: CURTEA DE ARGES – RAMNICU VALCEA – COZIA – SIBIU – SIGHISOARA
- Breakfast in Hotel
- Today we will continue our journey of uncovering the real Dracula's foot steps
- First stop: We visit the Cozia monastery at Olt Valley (the earliest example of Byzantine architecture in Wallachia, it dates from 1388)
- Then moving on to Sibiu, voted the cultural capital of Europe in 2007. Sibiu is one of the most important fortified towns in Transylvania. "I rubbed my eyes in amazement" quoted Professor Walter Starkie of Trinity College Dublin. The city is reminiscent of old European cities such as Nuremburg
- The city was founded in 1190 and grew to be the chief city of the Transylvanian Saxons. This amazing town, with the "Old Town" (The Big Square, the Small Square, the Ursuline Church, The Franciscan Church, The staircase Tower, the Tanners Tower, the Liar’s Bridge , the House of the Butcher’s Guild and last but not least with the amazing Bruckenthal Museum) is a gorgeous place to see.
- Then we arrive by night to Sighisoara "Birth Place of the Real Dracula" (a fitting time for arrival)
- Here you will be staying in the House with Stag which is also an historical monument and one of the oldest houses in the citadel, it dates from the XIII century and is still in its actual form
- Tonight we will have a special dinner in the restaurant of the hotel
- Overnight in Sighisoara
ACCOMMODATION: Claudiu Hotel*** (Note: Rooms in city centre are limited so if there is no availability we will place you in a hotel outside city centre but your driver will transfer you to and from city centre so you will not miss the Halloween Party)
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Day 4: Thursday, November 1st
ROUTING: SIGHISOARA - TARGU-MURES - BISTRITA - PIATRA FANTINELE (BORGO PASS)
- Breakfast in Hotel
- In the morning we visit Sighisoara; on UNESCO's Word Heritage List and makes the perfect introduction to Transylvania.
- The Old Town or the Citadel is the only one still inhabited in Europe - a lost world and still so at the present!
- In 1431, the storey house at Museum Square 6, within the shadow of the old town's Clock Tower, a women whose name is lost to posterity gave birth to a son called Vlad, who in later life earned the title of The Impaler , abroad better known as Dracula, derived from Dracul or the Devil – referring to his father Vlad Dracul, whom the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Hungary made a knight of the order of The Dargon in 1431.
- The Clock Tower, the Church on the Hill, the Scholar’s Stairs, The Monastery Church, the towers of the citadel (originally fourteen), The Shoemakers Town, the Tailor’s Tower, the Tinsmiths Tower are only a few of the marvels of this place called Sighisoara .
- We pass through Targu–Mures, one of the great Magyar cities of Transylvania, with the famous Teleki – Bolyai Library, with 40,000 volumes founded by the Hungarian Count Samule Teleki, containing many ancient medical scientific texts.
- We pass through Bistrita, the setting for much of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, at km 108, followed by Bargau Valley we will find the Hotel Castle Dracula in Piatra Fintinele.
- Birgau Valley has a very dramatic scenery, with huge hills draped in forests of fir trees and with villages appearing as living monuments to a way of life unchanged for centuries, with the Saxon House Museum from Livezile village, attesting a former Saxon population in this region (established here in the 12 and 13 centuries)
- The Borgo Pass is the border between Transylvania and Bucovina, with fantastic landscapes. The Hotel situated on a 1116m altitude with a fantastic view of the Carpathian mountains.
- The Hotel dates from 1983, built in the style of a medieval mansion, it was created to bring alive an authentic Dracula atmosphere.
- Enjoy a special Dinner and Dracula Show in the restaurant of the hotel
ACCOMMODATION: Hotel Castle Dracula***
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Day 5: Friday, November 2nd
ROUTING: PIATRA FANTINELE – BISTRITA – TARGU-MURES - BRAN
- From Piatra Fintinele, we return through Bistrita, Tirgu-Mures and arrive to Bran village, with the famous history and beautiful Bran Castle .
- Why is Bran so famous? It is a rich village, situated 28 km from Brasov, the village commands the entrance to the pass of the same name, once the main route into Wallachia .
- The Saxons from Brasov built a castle here in 1377 – 1382 to safeguard this vital trade artery and although what's now stated on every tourist brochure as Dracula's Castle. It has only few associations with Vlad the Impaler – it is said that he sieged it in 1460 on an attack of the land of Bran.
- One of its famous residents was Queen Marie of Romania, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and married to prince Ferdinand in 1893.
- Today this region is full of beautiful guesthouses, the landscapes are some of the most beautiful in the country
- Visit to the castle
- Enjoy a special dinner tonight by the camp fire, with traditional plum brandy, bacon, home made sausages, all fried on the camp fire with red wine
- Overnight in a Bran
ACCOMMODATION: Ad'Oro Guest House***
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Day 6: Saturday, November 3rd
ROUTING: BRAN - SINAIA - SNAGOV
- In the morning you will have free time for shopping in the amouzing kiosk vendors by the castle's park
- Departure from Bran
- First stop in Rasnov to visit the Peasant Citadel (fort in ruins) founded in 1225 by the Teutonic Knights, with beautiful mountains of the Barsei land
- Then onto Sinaia to see its stunning Palace "The Pearl of the Carpathians. Also you will get a chance to see Pelisor Castle and the Sinaia Monastery .
- Next we depart for Snagov
- Snagov is a small village 40 km north of Bucharest, with its beautiful sixteen kilometer long lake; In the centre of the lake is an island occupied by a monastery, built in 1519
- The Snagov monastery is situated on the island of the lake with the same name, we have to reach the monastery by crossing the lake by boat (If time and weather permit).
- Visitors come here to seek the tomb of Dracula sitting in the front of the church altar.
- Vlad's murder is believed to have occurred in the forests nearby, where the monks took the his body, since both Vlad and his father had both given money to the monastery.
- Overnight in the village Snagov
ACCOMMODATION: Minihotel Snagov***
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Day 7: Sunday, November 4th
ROUTING: SNAGOV - BUCHAREST
- Breakfast in Hotel
- Transfer to Airport and the final good-bye from your Specialist Guide
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End of tour services >>Click here to reserve your seat<<