Transylvania Winter Walk & Snowshoe

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.

This trip provides a varied programme of walking/snowshoeing in beautiful scenery, with visits to a bat cave, a bear sanctuary, Bran Castle, a fortified church and the medieval town of Brasov. Physically, two of the longer days were quite demanding, so a reasonable level of fitness is required. We stayed in a very comfortable and remote guesthouse in the mountains; the food was excellent and plentiful, special diets were accommodated and our hosts were friendly and spoke excellent English. We were part of a very sociable and well-travelled group, and came back with plenty of ideas for other trips. Romania has a fascinating if troubled history and our guide, Holger, was very knowledgeable and provided a good insight into both ancient and more recent periods.

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.

A really interesting week's snowshoeing in beautiful mountians in an unspoilt part of the world

A really good, interesting holiday. Rather more moderate than leisurely but very enjoyable. The group had a good age range and we all got along very well. The weather was glorious for all but one day and the guest house was lovely. The food was very good and the staff were all very friendly.

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.

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.

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!

From start to finish the trip was great. Overnighted at a hotel just outside Heathrow. British Airways flight from Terminal 5 couldn't have been better. BA really efficient and comfortable; Terminal 5 speedy, efficient and without hassle. Thomas, the group leader met us in Bucharest airport and the first clue about what was to come came when he announced we transfer from the mini coach to two 4x4 minibuses to ascend to the hotel. Katharine, the owner/manager of the hotel was superb. All staff were very friendly, serving excellent food and the accommodation was nice and cosily comfortable. The snowshoeing was lovely, we were blessed with good weather and in the first part of the week temperatures of about -10C/-15C which meant light fluffy snow. The walking was at times quite demanding and having undertaken the Finland trip previously (moderate) I felt Transylvania was a good moderate. I'd never visited Romania before nor the Carpathian mountains. Romania was unspoiled, "untouristy" and the mountains were beautiful. I'd happily return to the area in the Spring or Autumn to see another season. There were some serious climbers in our group, a number of whom were eager to come back and "do" some of the peaks/ridges. The whole group, which had quite an age range, got on well together with no awkward moments.

Definitely a moderate trip ( in winter ) . Some challenges with packed ice / deep snow so a reasonable level of fitness would be helpful.