Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

The warmness and friendliness in which we were greeted in people's homes. Our hosts could not do enough to help us, it was lovely to experience and feel the welcome of the local people. We often sat out after arriving from a days cycling with cakes and drinks whilst chatting to the hosts in a lovely relaxed environment. Life in the villages was hard but the children always waved and looked happy as we passed through.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Raluca and Liveu worked together superbly to give us a faultless, interesting holiday constantly surprising us with visits along the way. Any problems were dealt with efficiently and promptly. Raluca had a vast knowledge of her country and she passed that on to us during the week with a history lesson most evenings before we had our meal. She was passionate about her country and her enthusiasm was infectious.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you have enough local currency to last the first few days as apart from the airport there is no where to exchange money in the villages . It was day 5 before we entered a large town with exchange facilities. Beware the roads generally are in poor condition so you have to keep an eye out for the numerous potholes, some of which are quite a size and depth.

Most Inspirational Moment

Cycling into the UNESCO sites of Sighisoara and Viscri and learning/understanding the history of the region.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Raluca is energetic, organised, knowledgeable and above all very passionate about her country. It is no surprise she has taken up some form of 'councillor role' in Bucharest. As well as a superb Leader Raluca would make a good history teacher as she was able to retain my interest which can sometimes be limited.

Advice for Potential Travellers

This category has used the correct terminology 'potential travellers' - It is for travellers not tourists because there is a need to be flexible to and appreciate some of the accommodation used and amenities available. Go now because whilst some of the villages/towns are protected it will change as more people find this 'hidden gem' of an area.

Most Inspirational Moment

Visiting the UNESCO world heritage sites of Sighisoara and Viscri - not the cycling, which I saw as the least intrusive way to explore Transylvania. Sighisoara is a well-preserved and still inhabited medieval citadel. Definitely visit the unpretentious museum within the ancient clocktower (it looks like something out of Disney’s “Cinderella”), ascend to the top and enjoy the view of the town over the profusion of roof tiles…. and stay for the old clock to sound the hour. Our hotel was charming and right on the central square. Our night in the village of Viscri was such fun. The road through Viscri was not paved, there were horses and carts everywhere and a horse and cart took us to the beautifully preserved Saxon church and also to see how they make (by hand) the bricks and tiles used to restore the village. Then in the evening after enjoying a sociable beer or two at the local store which doubled up as the pub, we enjoyed dinner in the garden of the cottage where we were staying and witnessed the procession of cows returning to their homes to be milked, only to leave for the pastures at dawn.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Raluca Teodor was an angel. It was she who had planned the trip – we even squeezed in a delicious water mill lunch and a tour of a water powered woollen blanket business - and she looked after 8 of us on her own. Raluca has her own adventure travel business and is passionate about her country. Most nights we had a Romanian history lesson, but night by night the history became more and more confusing, especially as Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia only united to form Romania in 1881 under King Carol 1. She was considerate and sociable, could repair bikes and had planned well, but not for the terrible rain storm on our first full day! But we landed up at a great little hotel in the middle of nowhere, welcomed at the door by Mirella, who seemed to do everything except cook. There was a lady cook though, who was fantastic and the breakfast was the best of many good breakfasts on the holiday.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Some may miss WIFI – it wasn’t always available. So what! If you are particularly concerned about the quality of the accommodation, be sure to read Trip Notes. We stayed in guest houses, most of which were charming. We spent our last night in Bucharest in the beautiful “fin de siècle” Capitol Hotel. Probably not a holiday for very keen cyclists, but personally I would visit Transylvania ASAP before the Idyll is destroyed by “Progress”.

Most Inspirational Moment

It's hard to choose just one. It's impossible to master all of Romania's complex history in just a week, but at the end of the trip I felt as though I had really seen the country. In addition to beautiful scenery, we experienced life in the villages, visited a flour mill and a family-run wool factory, met Saxon priests, and even squeezed in some sightseeing in a couple of cities.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Raluca is an outstanding guide. She is competent, attentive, organized, personable, and passionate and knowledgeable about her country. From the guesthouse stays to the daily history lessons, she did everything to ensure that we experienced the real Romania. The fact that she clearly has strong personal relationships with everyone we encountered testifies to her commitment to her job.

Most Inspirational Moment

I think the thing that inspired me most was the unexpected variety of each day. The visit to the flour mill on the first day (most were destroyed in soviet times) through to the sightseeing at the end in Bucharest and the unbelievable palace of Ceausescu in Bucharest. Every day was exciting but probably my favourite was staying in Viscri which has been beautifully restored with the help of the Prince Charles foundation. I've never seen bricks and tiles being made by hand before. Or woken up to cows going along the Main Street at 06:30 and people wheeling their milk home in the old fashioned milk churns!!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our group leader was brilliant. She was informative, friendly, took care of all our needs (lots of short stops and snacks). Her knowledge of the history was good and answered all our questions intelligently. She directed us to the best sights, great restaurants and was fun to be with.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go. It is a great holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

One of my favourite moments was our last 10 km or so of cycling. The cycling and roads seemed to get better and better each day throughout the week as we travelled to more remote areas. This particular road was not paved, but hardpacked gravel, so normally this wouldn’t be a favourite for me. But the lush, rolling countryside and the quiet road was so beautiful, it made up for it. Being our very last moments on the bikes, I didn’t want it to end. The most frequent traffic encountered on this road was horse drawn carts. Also, just as we always encounter with Exodus tours, our fellow travel mates were fun, interesting people that were a delight to travel with.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Raluca was an excellent guide and was the key to making the trip not just a cycling holiday but an opportunity to learn about Romania, its history, its people and making it a fun adventure that we will never forget. Raluca has such passion and conviction for Romania and to life in general that she is very inspiring. She also put her heart and soul into doing everything possible for us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys cycling. I can’t imagine a better way to visit Romania/Transylvania than a cycling tour with an excellent guide like Raluca.

Most Inspirational Moment

The contrasts of the trip are incredible. From waking up in a guest house with chickens, cats and dogs running around in the yard, and cows wandering down the main street, to the luxury of a modern hotel in beautiful Bucharest all in one day makes you realise what an wonderful diverse country Romania is.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Raluca was our excellent group leader. Always at the back of the group on her bike, carrying supplies and spares, making sure no one got lost or left behind. She was always there to help out and instruct us in our regular briefings and give us snacks at our regroupments. Her knowledge and passion for her country was infectious and I know everyone finished the trip with a greater understanding of the country and its friendly people. She really is a credit to her country.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Leave behind any preconceived ideas about the country and its people. This really is a beautiful place to visit with courteous and friendly people everywhere.

Most Inspirational Moment

Everyone knows the expression 'until the cows come home', but we saw it first hand. Many village homes keep a few cows in their back yard sheds. A local shepherd takes all the cows from the village to nearby hillside fields to graze, and at the end of the day, as they return through the main street, the cows of their own accord leave the herd and return to their respective homes for the night. Remarkable!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our guide, Raluca, is warm, cheerful, competent and very knowledgeable. She has a genuine passion to relate her country's ancient and recent history to the group. For this trip, she was the sole support during the rides (carrying tools and snacks), although we rode independently with set re-groupment points and vehicle support was on-call.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Romania is well worth seeing. The scenery is beautiful, the food is wholesome and fresh and the trip is excellent value. Bucharest is hot in the summer but the weather in Transylvania is pleasant.

Most Inspirational Moment

There were many inspirational moments from climbing my last hill - my legs insisted I start there - to the complete effort by Raluca & Radu to show us 'their Romania' and trying to help us understand the complex 1000 year history of Transylvania and the effects of Communism on the whole of the country from 1947 to 1990.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Radu was our principal leader in that he was 'on the ground' day by day. He was very professional but with a twinkle in his eye, very knowledgeable about the area and his English is very good. Raluca as one of the principle architects of the Cycle Romania experience, was along on this first trip to make certain all the logistics were covered. Her passion for her country, her historical comment & her never shying away from tough questions were most appreciated. For some of our fellow travellers her inability to create - magically - wifi where none existed or a hair dryer - a must it seemed for some - might have been a problem but for me these were non issues. She did a great job.

Advice for Potential Travellers

You will be travelling in rural villages in beautiful countryside. Roll with the punches and look for the positives. You'll be back to the 'necessities' of your world soon.