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A really interesting week’s snowshoeing in beautiful mountians in an unspoilt part of the world
Several - the last day's walking in idyllic mountains, bear sanctuary visit. In fact each day was stunning and different.
Thomas was excellent. Not only was he very knowledgable and enthusiastic but he looked after the group well.
Go on this trip
I’m just back from this trip, and had a great time. The trip was full, with 16 people, and everyone was lovely. Villa Hermani is a great small hotel, and the food is excellent. Katharine and Herman are lovely hosts, and their Romanian cook is excellent. Our walk leader was Leo, their son, and he was good fun and a very capable guide. He had to make some difficult decisions because of the dodgy and changeable weather, and the varying abilities in the group,which he handled very well. It was great to have Rares (Alex) along as a second guide, and we really needed him at times.
Magura – like most of Europe – has had a strange winter, so there was only a dusting of snow when we arrived. But, with that and a couple of further dumps of snow during the week, we managed 2 walks with snowshoes and 1 with yaktrax, as well as ordinary walking in hiking boots.
I liked the mix of walking and cultural visits – bears, Saxon history, Bran Castle. And I stayed for 2 days in Bucharest at the end to see a bit more of Romania. It was so different it seemed like a totally different country!
Lunch at the Curmatura Cabin - it snowed heavily while we were inside, and the whole world had changed when we came out.
Leo was excellent. He was very capable in the outdoors, and very sensible in his approach to problems. He was very aware of our health and safety - helping us up and down difficult bits, cutting side branches off fallen trees etc.
Have at least a modicum of fitness. It's not terribly strenuous, but neither is it leisurely. Most people hadn't snowshoed before, and that was fine. And definitiely bring yaktrax or equivalent - you'd be lost without them if you have ice like we did. And this is not a holiday for people scared of dogs - farm dogs run free everywhere, and are completely unavoidable.
… and I’ve been to Canada, so that says a lot.
Our group was extremely lucky with the weather. You basically walk up and down mountains every day, nothing interesting about that. It is the weather that controls what the views look like. I regret nothing.
When I look back at my pictures, there are two moments that stand out. At the end of our visit to Brasov, we stopped at a viewpoint on our way to the restaurant. That view was epic. It was nightfall, the lights in the city were on and behind it, you could see the mountain, it was breathtaking. The walk to Bran was the most beautiful. I can not put it into words. I enjoyed every second of that walk.
Thomas, the group leader was perfect. He knows the area really well and has a lot of experience guiding groups.
Read the trip notes. For some bizarre reason, I hadn't done that and I didn't have the right gear. Luckily I was able to borrow it, but still. I felt uncomfortable doing that, knowing I could break or lose something.
This was my first snowshoeing holiday and despite being a bit apprehensive beforehand I absolutely loved it. Everything combined to make it a fantastic holiday – a get away location in the middle of the national park, a very homely hotel with superb food and hospitality, stunning scenery on each walk and a very interesting daytrip to some of the local places of interest. Add to that a really friendly group of fellow travellers and it truly was a week to remember.
It was a week full of experiences, but for me the last two walks were the best. The walk to Bran Castle took us through some beautiful countryside, and the castle itself was very interesting (our guide also advised that this was the best time of year to visit as you may have to queue for up to two hours in the summer to get into the castle). Our last walk through the gorge to the Piatra Craiului mountains was also stunning. It was quite a slog up to the mountain hut, but well worth it for the views, as well as the soup and mulled wine we enjoyed inside the hut.
Thomas was a star - I liked his relaxed style and his bad jokes! We had a full group of sixteen people, so he had to work hard to make sure that everyone was coping okay with the terrain. He made sure that we had all the vital information for each day's itinerary and generally went above and beyond to make our holiday as enjoyable as possible.
The hotel is quite isolated in the national park - no other bars or restaurants around. I loved the week away from it all but don't pick this holiday if you want a busier nightlife. Linked to this, take plenty of supplies with you, e.g. toiletries and snacks for the walks, as it is the middle of the holiday before you get a chance to stock up on such items. Be aware that there are a lot of working dogs in the neighbourhood. I was never woken up by them howling, but I know that some of the others in the group did find it a bit of a problem some nights. Also, make sure that you have a good level of fitness. I am a keen hill-walker so did not find it a problem, but on balance I felt that this Grade 3 holiday was more difficult than a Grade 3 summer walking holiday with Exodus.
A great intro to snow-shoeing in a really beautiful place, with ‘warm up days’ to learn how to do it.
The beautiful scenery and lots of snow was definitely a highlight of the trip for me, helped by a nice, friendly group of people, great leader and hospitable, generous hosts at the Vila.
Very good! Thomas is a great leader, he looked after everyone well, and knows a lot about the area and history and has good humour too.
Don't forget your yaktrax, gaiters and lots of layers of clothing! You will be cold at the beginning of the treks but warm up quickly so it's good to have the option of taking layers off. Although the breakfast and evening meal are substantial (plenty for everyone), I advise taking extra snacks for lunch and a thermos flask for hot tea.
A good week in the foothills of the Carpathians. The hotel, the Vila Hermani, was excellent. Even included 3 friendly hounds, one or two of which followed us most days as “free agents.” Not the most challenging snowshoe trip I’ve been on, it’d be good for a newcomer to the sport. Wonderful scenery, good snow, very remote + unspoiled territory. Our guide, Thomas, really knew every path on the mountain!
High points - 1:visiting Bram Castle, a very fine piece of architecture. 2. The final day, up to a mountain hut in the snows. Helping un-ditch the snowmobile a mile down the trail that got stuck carrying the resupply sledge. 3. 2 days up a very major gorge, 400' cliffs on either side! In England that'd be festooned with climbers - there, there's so much of it nobody even notices!
Thomas really does know every trail on the mountain.
Be fit. It's not the most strenuous snowshoe I've done, but deep, soft snow and steep slopes are arduous.
Wonderful snowy scenery in the forests. Expert guide (Thomas Oyntzen) with great historical knowledge of the area. Great historical buildings built to resist invasion from the Turkish empire. Very pretty mountain farming villages built on very steep grazing land, which is very hard to farm. Great wildlife to view. Very comfortable hotel with lovely food.
Seeing the wildlife: bears, chamoix, bats and the steep rocky mountain scenery.
Thomas Oyntzen. Very helpful generally, particularly with snowshoeing and knowledgeable about the local history and local routes to explore. Spoke very good English and gave very detailed explanations of local history and the peoples involved. Had obviously studied history to an academic level. There was a lot to explain in this area, where there was often conflict between the Austrian and Turkish empires and buildings like churches were often fortified to resist invasion. There was a lot of interesting historical facts to learn about a country, which was very different to Britain.
Come prepared for real deep snow and cold weather. A real Winter experience in a completely different landscape to Britain.
We had never snowshoed before so were a bit apprehensive before the trip, but our nerves quickly dissolved when we arrived. Villa Hermani was excellent, with a strong focus on good quality local dishes and a wholesome experience. The owners Hermann and Katharina are very hospitable and welcoming. We had loads of fresh snow so the conditions for this snowshoeing trip couldn’t have been better. The trip was more tiring than regular hiking, though still was very enjoyable, and the mountain scenery was stunning. Snowshoes and poles are provided; you just need to take a day pack for extra layers, yak traks, lunch, snacks and a thermos of herbal tea.
Bran castle was one of the selling points of the trip, and was great to see. We also enjoyed the walks through the forest areas and the peace and tranquility. We took one of the villa's dogs with us on every trip and it was a joy to watch them having so much fun in the snow.
Thomas was a great group leader. He changed the itinerary to suit the weather conditions and was very attune to safety. He let the group spread out during the walks, depending on personal pace, but would stop regularly to regather and check in on everyone. He shared his wealth of local knowledge and experience and was informative and interesting. I’d be very pleased if every tour leader was as engaged as Thomas – he is definitely one of the good ones.
Make sure you keep fit in the lead up to the trip and don’t worry about the distances for the longer walks, they are all achievable and the longer walks tend to be less steep. For people who are not great with heights some of the steep sections are nerve-racking but achievable. Don't bother taking a water bladder the pipe just freezes over no mater how well insulated.
We took part in this group tour in February 2018. It was the first time we had visited Romania and it was fascinating to learn about its history and experience its wild beauty.
Pros:
Very well organised from start to finish; we felt well looked after.
Food at the hotel was delicious, and we were well catered for as veggies.
Good variety of walking with stunning scenery.
The area is very unspoilt and most days we did not see another person once we got into the mountains.
The country has reasonable prices for food and drink.
Our guide, Holger, plus the staff at the hotel made sure we all got where we needed to go safely.
We were lucky to be in a good group of fellow travellers who we got on very well with.
Flights and transfers were very good.
Cons:
Although the food was delicious be prepared that there is no choice for dinner options (as if often the case in chalet accommodation). At breakfast there is no juice, and the buffet choice is not huge.
Be warned that there are lots of dogs living outside of the houses in the village, and sometimes they bark all night. If you’re a light sleeper, take ear plugs. In room 6 we also had a creaky bed and ended up putting the mattresses on the floor to get a good night’s sleep.
The trip is rated as moderate. I am pretty fit and have completed two Moonwalks (walking marathons), and I found the two longer walks quite challenging. Ice under foot plus the elevation gain made these walks tough, so you’ll need to be fairly fit or a regular walker, not a novice. The yak traks recommended in the packing list are really essential when there is ice under foot.
Stunning mountain views in the middle of nowhere.
Holger was very friendly and obviously very knowledgable. He looked after us well. Holger is quite laid back - I don’t think anyone would mind if he was stricter with us about staying together in a group, telling us when and where we need to meet, etc.
Take ear plugs and the best yak traks you can afford.
First time I have done this type of holiday and had never done snowshoeing.
the accommodation was in a stunning area. with views of hills and mountains all round. the hosts/owners were very friendly and helpful. the hotel was very good.
the walks were varied, but because of the weather involved lots of snow. day one was a short walk of about 14km but involved snowshoeing in places which were vital in place.
day 2 was a long walk, it snow most of the time as we walked through Gorges and over hills( the gorge was used in the filming of Movie Cold mountain)
Day 3 and 4 both were both short walk but hard walks
Day 5 was a day of from walking. visit to bear sanctuary, walled church and town of Brasov, were we had free time. and then a meal in a restuarant as a group
day 6 was a long hard walk, which i did not do due a little niggling muscle injury.
the whole holiday was a great time tough but fun with stunning views.
our walking Guide Holger was every you want, he was imformative, helpful, funny at times and above all you felt safe on the walks, he always made sure the group was not strung out to far.
i would recommend the hoilday to anyone who wants a walking work out but also stunning landscapes, although snow cannot be gauranteed , we were lucky.
completing the 22-24km walk and still be laughing at the end of it although tired.
Holger was a first class leader as I said earlier, he was everything you want in a leader.
you need to be relatively fit, and be prepared for tough terrain, depending on weather.
