Hiking and Bear Watching in Romania

If we hadn’t already booked the Hike, kayak, cycle Kerala trip for October (which was excellent!), think it highly unlikely that we could have done another MBA trip. Hotel was not as described and food was very poor.

My first experience with MBA & what a perfect adventure! From being greeted at Brasov airport by our incredible friendly & knowledgeable guide Drac, bonding over shared memorable bear encounters with a small diverse group, hiking scenic trails in the sunshine with beautiful views across the Carpathians to perfect evenings spent together enjoying traditional Romanian dishes in local restaurants! Would definitely recommend

Overall an enjoyable trip ! Had a bit of a close encounter with bears on the first night which was both scary and exhilarating at the same time . Hikes were pleasant and our tour guide Drac was very friendly. Highlight was the bear sanctuary. Would book again with much better adventures .

I can't recommend this trip highly enough.  It was a great mix of bears, castles and mountain forests.  All expertly guided by the fantastic tour guide, Drac, who brought just the right balance of knowledge and fun to trip.  Highlights were definitely bear watching in the forest dusk and the Romanian cuisine - really loved the Sarmale!  It helped of course, having a wonderful group of fellow adventurers.  It was my first time trying a tour like this and I am sold and would definitely travel with MBA again.

Highly recommend this trip. Dragos was an amazing guide and made sure we all had a really enjoyable experience. We were really lucky to see a bear from the bear hide and it was truly magical. The hotel was lovely and Braşov was a great town - recommend the cable car. The walks were great and a chance to see some beautiful Romanian countryside. The itinerary is well planned with a good balance of activities and free time.

Incredible scenery, amazing bear encounters and super well organised. Alin was a great guide. Can't recommend this trip enough.

This was my first-ever trip with MBA, and I can honestly say it was beyond amazing! Not only was this my first experience with this company, but it was also my first group tour of any kind, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction.

The tour struck the perfect balance between group activities and solo exploration. There was plenty of time to bond with other travelers, and I was fortunate to be part of a group that got along so well, but I also appreciated having enough free time to explore on my own.

Brașov, the city and its charming old town was absolutely beautiful, with their rich history and stunning architecture.

Dragoș, our guide, was incredibly thoughtful and went above and beyond to ensure that we all had the best experience possible. You could tell he genuinely cared about us having a great time—his sense of humor, kindness, and vast knowledge of Romanian history and the places we visited made every moment enjoyable. I couldn't have asked for a better guide!

The accommodation was comfortable and had everything we needed, including a great breakfast to fuel us before each day's adventures.

The trip exceeded all my expectations. It was an incredible mix of exploration, history, and connection with both the country and the wonderful people on the tour.This trip to Romania was an experience I’ll cherish forever!

This trip was was everything and more than I wanted.

It was the first time doing something like this on my own and I was nervous, but much better adventures and the guide based in Romania where happy to answer all my questions and were fast to respond and always professional. They really help put my mind at ease. From the moment I arrived and met Drac our guide I knew I had made the right decision about coming. I was in a group of 7, a mum and daughter, a couple,myself and 2 other females solo travelers. We all soon became firm friends and they were all brilliant. On the Friday we went to the bear hide, I had been dreaming about this since I booked it and tried really hard to keep calm but as soon as we arrived I got overwhelmed with excitement and cried, I would have felt silly but the whole group were so lovely about it. It did put pressure on Alex who runs the bear hide project as he really wanted us to spot them. Unfortunately we didn't, I was gutted but knew this was a possibility but Alex offered to bring us back in the Sunday which I will be forever grateful for!!! As we did see them the second time :) we saw a bug five year old male, and a teenager who acted just how you would imagine a teenage bear to act. It was absolutely amazing and surreal, I still can't believe it!!!! We also did Liberty Bear Sanctuary which was a bitter sweet place. The bears are so happy and healthy but their history is so so sad. As they say "it's a sad story but with a happy ending". Despite how sad the stories are this is something to not miss, you will not regret it and may even have a different way of thinking after. For me my view on zoo's has completely changed! The best moment for me was sitting less then a meter to a big bear who was happily enjoying some bread The noises he made were so happy and he had meat near by but he really enjoyed his bread. It was amazing. We also visited Brans castle, this was brilliant and Drac our guide was really knowledgeable about the history and I was shocked to hear that there was no real evidence that Vlad the Impaler even visited it!!! I did one of the holes due to only having 2 left boots. No idea how I managed this but yes I did the first hike in 2 left boots and decided I would do the second one. But after doing so much in such a short amount of time I really appreciated the nap :) it also meant I could stay at Bran castle a little longer and spend a silly amount of money on souvenires. My hotel was really nice and I was really glad I paid a bit more for my own room just to have that bit of rest bite before going to sleep. Breakfast was really good and they had many options and the coffee was perfect. The food I had was delicious, I asked Drac to pick for me as I wanted to try as much authentic food as I could and I was not disappointed once. Drac also recommended me some really good wine. I would highly recommend this tour and I would definitely check that you have Drac as your guide as he is really funny, smart and knows alot bout the history of Romania and the nature in the area. Drac really made sure we all had the best time! And I will forever be grateful to him and Alex for the best time. I actually plan to go back in April! One tip that I would to give is check your boots before leaving. Make sure you you have a right and left one hahahaha it will make hiking alot easier for you.

This trip really exceeded my expectations. We saw multiple bears, had very knowledgeable guides, learnt so much about nature and amazing / big portions of food.

MBA are really well organised, the guide Drac, was excellent. Brasov is a lovely old town in Transalvania with lots of good value restaurants. Everyone is amazingly friendly. A great way to spend a long weekend!

Great trip, busy itinerary and beautiful scenery, good food and drink,

We had such an amazing trip to Romania! Our guide, Dragos, was fantastic- very fun and personable. The hikes were all beautiful, we loved seeing a bear in the wild and were also really impressed with the sanctuary!

The food was also an unexpected highlight! This was much better than expected and Dragos chose some great meals at lovely local restaurants for us

My husband and I loved this experience. Braşov is a lovely town. Drac our guide was really helpful and entertaining! The hikes were beautiful and the bears were just incredible.

I had a great time on this trip, the activities were good fun. I felt like I learnt so much about the bears and Romania which was what I set out to do. Because of all the activities the trip felt longer than three days! Loved it!

First trip with MBA and first time in Romania, I was really impressed. We met a great group of people and it was clear the hosts and guides are really dedicated in the work leading up to and during the trip. The hotel was very good, modern facilities and near brasov center. Our guide Alin was excellent, shared lots of local knowledge, really friendly and tailored hikes to the right levels of difficulty for the group. We were incredibly lucky to see bears in the wild, this is an absolute highlight of the trip. The bear sanctuary is also well worth the visit and very educational. Food was great also, Alin took us to a mixture of restaurants, including traditional local food, and gave us good bar reccomends. I would strongly reccomend this trip for anybody who is interested.

We had never done any kind of group or guided holiday before, but we certainly will going forwards. A wonderful experience in all regards. Our guide Alin was amazing, very knowledgeable and very friendly. The hotel was wonderful and a few minutes walk from the main square. 100% recommend to anyone interested, you will not regret!

I recently joined the hiking and bear watching trip in Romania. It was fantastic! It was second trip with Much Better Adventures and I had high expectations following my great experience with the company last year. My expectations were exceeded in every way and I had a great time from start to finish. Our guide, Alin, was incredibly knowledgeable. He could give you an in depth answer to any question! He was also friendly and accommodating and we could not have asked for a better guide. I learned a lot about bears throughout the trip and I have been educating people back home. The highlight was definitely seeing wild bears in their natural environment and we were lucky enough to see three throughout the evening we were in the hide. The hikes were also fantastic with lovely views. I really recommend this trip and MBA as a company :)

Although it was a pretty short trip, we were able to do a lot of things, saw a lot of gorgeous countryside, had great food, and most importantly, saw a lot of bears. Dragos was a great guide, he really helped make the trip and put a lot of effort into making sure we had a great time!

I've done two tours with a different company and I don't think I could ever go back to them after having done this trip because it was so good. We had a small group of six and the people were lovely, the accommodation was super nice and clean and overall I just had an amazing time. Dragos was such a fantastic guide--you can tell that he genuinely loves his job and he went above and beyond to make our trip amazing every single day by bringing us extra snacks, telling us fun facts, and helping us out with anything while also being super personable and friendly. It's easy to have fun when your guide is also having fun with you. Having food included was an amazing perk as well. I'm a bit nervous when it comes to trying new foods and often don't know what to order, so it was really nice to have most meals already picked for us. There was enough variety in the food that was ordered so that if there was something you couldn't eat, there was plenty of other food you could pick from.

Overall a fantastic experience, I would recommend this trip to anyone looking for an authentic Romanian experience who wants to have fun, learn, and spend time in nature.

Fantastic trip in a lovely clean and gorgeous town! Very underrated and I recon Brasov will be up and coming! Scenery was amazing, being surrounded by mountains and the bears were beautiful! So great to visit the sanctuary too and see mistreated bears now so happy and free! Brasov also does great Aperol Spritz!!

Great trip, Dragos was a fantastic guide, really knowledgeable and made the tours fun. I loved the bear hide, it was good to learn about how the bears lived before the sanctuary, v sad though. Braşov is a nice little town and I much preferred it to Bucharest so it was a lovely experience overall.

This was my first trip with Much Better Adventures and I'll definitely be booking another. Seeing bears in the wild was a humbling experience I certainly won't forget, we were lucky enough to see six different individuals at the hide!

Our guide, Dragoș was great company and a genuinely lovely guy, he really went out of his way to make sure we had a fab time.

We had two wonderful hikes through glorious woodland with Cosmin who was also great company, with an infectious enthusiasm for nature. He skillfully catered for our mixed group, myself and my friend are professional botanists and he showed us some wonderful plant species including some Carpathian endemics, whilst also keeping our companions entertained. It was a real privilege to explore somewhere new with such a knowledgeable guide.

Had an amazing time, with such a unique experience. Alin was a fantastic host/guide, so knowledgeable, friendly and we couldn't speak more highly of him if we tried. Would 100% recommend to anyone who was on the fence, definitely a trip you won't regret

This trip was my second with MBA. I'm so glad I did it. It was organised very well. We got to see bears in the wild, visiting the sanctuary, did amazing hikes and saw bran castle. Well worth the trip. If you're thinking of doing it, I say do it!

Good.

Great trip with amazing guide and a lot to fit in to three days. The castles did have a lot of tourists around but seeing bears in the wild was great!!

Great trip, great group, Cristina was fantastic

Loved it. Our guide Cristina was excellent and extremely knowledgeable. Group meals were traditional which was fab. Highlight was the bears - amazing! Fitted so much in, felt like it was more than two nights.

Excellent, friendly and knowledgeable host Mara made the trip fun. The hotels were comfortable and the restaurants were very traditional. The bear hide needs patience, but we were rewarded with sightings of three bears and a few foxes. Peles castle was beautiful, Bran castle was touristy.

Good for a whistle-stop tour of the castles. Wild bear watching requires patience but so worth it when you get to see them in the wild!