Day 1 Pick up from Airport Henry Coanda and transfer to Hotel Opera***/; after check-in will be a meeting in the lobby of the hotel with the guide which will describe the entire itinerary. Dinner at Hotel Opera*** Day 2 after breakfast we visit (the of the president, hence the tight security) was built by Carol I in the late 19th century, and became the loveless home of Ferdinand, his nephew and adopted heir, and the young Queen Marie, but has undergone many transformations since the initial designs were executed: During Ceausescu's dictatorship it was used as the "Pioneer's Palace," where young leaders were schooled in the ways of Communism, and -- after the devastating earthquake of 1977 -- restored as a guesthouse, although it never served this function. Departure to Sibiu-city tour and after that accommodation and dinner at Hotel Imparatul Romanilor***

Day 3 breakfast, departure to Hunedoara – West- Central , in . A major industrial center, it has extensive ironworks and steelworks. Iron ore and coal are mined nearby. The city is noted for its historic Hunyadi Castle, built in the 15th cent. on the site of an old citadel.

Hunyad Castle

We will visit Hunyadi Castle The impressive size and architectural beauty sets it among the most precious monuments of medieval art, subsequent developments mixing Gothic style with Renaissance and Baroque. The building lies on a rock around which flows the river Zlasti. It has an impressive draw bridge, countless towers, a number of interior courts, and two large halls, "Knight Hall" and "Diet Hall", as it housed the diet of Transylvania for a very short period. The castle history is mostly related to the Hunyadi family, being the place where Iancu de Hunedoara spent his childhood. Today the castle is being cared for by the municipality, as there are no recorded descendants of the Hunyadi that could pledge for it. Vlad Dracul, the ruler of , father of the notorious Vlad Dracula, was imprisoned here, as he had fallen into disgrace with Hunyadi, not providing the help promised in the battle against the Ottomans. (Dracula, who had once been traded as a hostage to the Ottomans by his own father, later became a protege of Hunyadi and took over Wallachia shortly before his mentor's death of a fever). The castle and surroundings are often used by international film companies for the production of movies about medieval times. Accommodation and dinner at Hotel Best Western Rusca*** Day 4 breakfast and departure to Cluj – city tour; accommodation and dinner at Hotel Tulip Inn Sunny Hill***

Day 5 breakfast, visit at Szeky Palace - is a Gothic Revival building on the shore of Someşul Mic River. It was built in 1893 for the university teacher and pharmacist Szeky by the architect Samu Pecz. It is included in the list of historical monuments of the Romanian Ministry of Culture. Departure to Lapusna, accommodation and dinner at Lapusna Castle - Lapusna Castle was owned by King Carol II. This was the favorite hunting place of the royal family of Romania, the house of Habsburg, and then, even the Ceausescu family. All these used to establish the headquarters during the hunting picturesque Castle Lapusna. After 1989, often came here to hunt Ion Tiriac, Prince Dimitrie Sturdza, who were joined by various American and European hunters. The entire area has become famous after many hunters here they have set world records in trophies Carpathian brown bear, black goats and deer. In total, there were obtained more than 300 gold medals for hunting trophies. Castle Lapusna is composed of 7 building with 35 rooms and a park in the area of 4 hectares.

Day 6 breakfast, departure to Brasov, city tour, accommodation and dinner at Hotel Ambient***

Ziua 7 : breakfast, departure to Bran, visit - "Dracula's Castle" (although it is one among several locations linked to the Dracula legend, including Poienari Castle and Hunyad Castle), it is marketed as the home of the titular character in Bram Stoker's Dracula. There is, however, no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle. Furthermore, there are persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad Ţepeş, ruler of Wallachia. This is not true. The historical person Vlad III never resided there.

Bran Castle

Return to Brasov, accommodation and dinner at Hotel Ambient***

Day 8 : breakfast, departure to Sinaia and visit the last Castel from this tour but the most important because “ is the most beautiful royal palace in Europe” - King (1839-1914), one of the great Romanian kings and conqueror of the National Independence, first visited the region and future site of the castle in 1866, when he fell in love with the rugged but magnificent mountain scenery. So, in 1872, a total of one thousand "pogoane", approx. 1,300 acres (5.3 km2), is purchased by the king and Piatra Arsa region becomes The Royal Domain of Sinaia, destined to be a hunting preserve and summer retreat for the monarch. On August 22, 1875, the foundation for Peleş Castle, the city of Sinaia, and indeed for the country of Romania itself was established. Several other buildings, annexed to the castle, were built simultaneously: The Guard's Chambers, The Economat Building, The Foişor Hunting Chateau, The Royal Stables. The Power Plant was also constructed then, and Peleş became world's first castle fully operated by electric power. The "Sipot" Villa was constructed later. This would serve as the work site of architect Karel Liman; Of the 168 rooms in the castle, only 35 are accessible to the public. While an important area is in the upper levels, this is off limits. Only the museum in the basement and the rooms on the first floor can be visited. Peles Castle

Further visit Pelisor - Pelişor was designed by the Czech architect Karel Liman in the Art Nouveau style; the furniture and the interior decorations were designed mostly by the Viennese Bernhard Ludwig. There are several chambers, working cabinets, a chapel, and "the golden room". Queen Marie herself, an accomplished artist, made many of the artistic decisions about the design of the palace, and participated in its decoration, including as a painter. Queen Marie considered Art Nouveau a weapon against sterile historicism, creating a personal style combining Art-Nouveau elements with Byzantine and Celtic elements. After visiting these wonderful , we will transfer you in present times from Sinaia Resort to Airport International Henry Coanda in Bucharest.

Departure from Romania with a nostalgic picture of Romanian past.

Sharing a double on half board: 863 euro

Single supplement : 209 euro

Rates include: • VAT and city taxes • accommodation 7 nights in 3*** hotels with breakfast buffet and dinner– without alcoholic drinks; hotels are centrally located in each city • Entrance tickets for: in Bucharest; Hunyadi Castel in Hunedoara; Szeky Palace in Cluj; Bran Castle; Peles Castle and Pelisor Castel in Sinaia. • Professional English guide assistance during the whole tour • Transport by modern bus / mini-bus with professional driver for entire tour, including driver’s expenses

Rates do not include: • Tips • Porterage • Photo tax and video tax at the visited sightseeing spots • Extra charges (minibar, phones bill, taxi, extra meals, s.a.) RESERVATIONS • reservations can be made online on www.novatravel.ro or by mail at [email protected] PAYMENT INFORMATIONS: • for payment by credit cards, the payment has to be done immediately • when the reservation is make by mail or if is choose another way of payment – bank transfer , a deposit in amount of 20% from the total value will be made – by bank transfer • the difference of 80% will be paid with minimum 3 weeks before arrival – by bank transfer • in case the difference of 80% will not be paid in due time, the reservation will be cancelled automatically CANCELLATION TERMS: • For cancellations received in writing no later than 28 days prior to arrival - NO CANCELLATION fee and/or charge will be incurred • For cancellations and received 28 days or less days prior to arrival and up until 14 days prior to arrival to the first nigh, the tour operator will be entitled to a CANCELLATION FEE equal the deposit paid (20% from the total value of reservation) • For cancellations received less than 14 days prior to arrival, CANCELLATION FEE will be 100%. GENERAL INFORMATIONS CLIMA - Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and continental with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is 11 °C (52 °F) in the south and 8 °C (46 °F) in the north. The extreme recorded temperatures are 44.5 °C (112.1 °F) in Ion Sion 1951 and −38.5 °C (−37 °F) in Bod 1942. Spring is pleasant with cool mornings and nights and warm days. Summers are generally very warm to hot, with summer (June to August) average maximum temperatures in Bucharest being around 28 °C (82 °F) with temperatures over 35 °C (95 °F) fairly common in the lower-lying areas of the country. Minima in Bucharest and other lower-lying areas are around 16 °C (61 °F), but at higher altitudes both maxima and minima decline considerably. Autumn is dry and cool, with fields and trees producing colorful foliage. Winters can be cold, with average maxima even in lower-lying areas being no more than 2 °C (36 °F) and below −15 °C (5.0 °F) in the highest mountains, where some areas of permafrost occur on the highest peaks

LANGUAGE - The official language of Romania is Romanian, an Eastern Romance language related to Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. Romanian is spoken as a first language by 91% of the population, with Hungarian and Rroma, being the most important minority languages, spoken by 6.7% and 1.1% of the population, respectively

CULTURE - Romania has its unique culture, which is the product of its geography and of its distinct historical evolution. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, but cannot be truly included in any of them

LOCAL TIME: UTC/GMT +2 hours

LOCAL CURRENCY - The leu (Romanian pronunciation: [lew], plural lei [lej]; ISO 4217 code RON; numeric code 946) is the currency of Romania. It is subdivided into 100 bani (singular: ban). The name of the currency means "lion". On 1 July 2005, Romania underwent a currency reform, switching from the previous leu (ROL) to a new leu (RON). 1 RON is equal to 10,000 ROL. Romania joined the European Union on 1 January 2007 and it is expected to adopt the euro in 2014.; Official exchange rates can be found out on the site of National Bank of Romania: http://www.bnro.ro/Cursul-de-schimb-524.aspx

VISAS - General information concerning Romanian visas and general conditions of traveling to Romania can be found on the site of Ministry of Foreign Affairs: www.mae.ro

HAVE A NICE TOUR !

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