I was hoping to do my first RS tour in the fall as part of a 2-month visit to Europe. The ones I would do, however, are booked solid. So I'm looking at other companies. Atlas Obscura has some interesting looking tours, and I have particular interest in its Romania tour: https://www.atlasobscura.com/adventures/trips/romania.
I'm curious if anyone has used the company.
Dave - In case no one else chimes in since it’s a more obscure trip company…I’ve looked at their offerings many times and find them intriguing! There was an Atlas Obscura tour at our Bucharest hotel when we were there. They gathered in the lobby a couple of times at the same time we did for Odysseys Unlimited. I spoke with the guide for a minute - just because I was curious. The group size was small-looking.
I hope someone replies - they’re on my travel list too!
And one other thought - I know a tour guide in Bucharest. I planned an entire 2 weeks with him but COVID did that trip in. When I finally went to Romania in 2023, I took my daughter, not my husband, and it was a last-minute trip in an already-busy trip year - so we did the Odysseys Unlimited tour so I could just show up and enjoy.
However, the trip I planned with Mihai was extremely reasonable and he seems like a great guide. He is truly a great GUY - which I learned over the COVID months, as he stayed in communication and tried to refund our money.
We stayed in good enough communication with him to know that when Bucharest took in a lot of Ukrainian refugees, Mihai’s family took in a group and Mihai and his dad built an apartment area into their house. He started sending us updates and pictures and we stayed in contact.
And when it became clear that we wouldn’t get to Bucharest for quite awhile, we ended up giving Mihai - who because quite involved and passionate about helping lots of the refugees - our deposit money for refugee use. And Mihai used it to rent a bus and take an huge load of refugee children to the zoo and to McDonald’s.
It was really awesome to get the pictures from that!!!!!!
So maybe Mihai - who is an actual certified guide - and an interesting person, might be worth considering.
Here is his site: https://privateguidesofeurope.com/romania-2/
And https://www.itravelinromania.com/
Here are some reviews: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g294458-d10121227-Reviews-I_Travel_in_Romania-Bucharest.html
Bookmarking this for a future trip.
Just an FYI, I do check their website, when planning trips, for interesting things to do and see. And, at the NY travel show in 2024 they had a booth. They were very friendly.
I've been to most of the stops on the trip. It's very well laid out. Some obscure, but mostly a stock tour. But "stock" isn't meant to put it down. Romania is wonderful and this hits the best that can be hot in the timespan.
Still, check out this company too. I know them to be good at Romania as I've used them and recommended them for close to 20 years. https://covinnus.com/
You can also get on a wait list for the RS tour if you are interested.
Valerie -- Thanks for the info on Mihai. He looks great and is typically the kind of guide I try to find. Right now, my two months will be largely solo travel. A friend is going to start the journey with me and depart after a week. I'm interested in doing a small group tour for a bit to be around other people and just to see what a group tour is like after something like 30 independent trips to Europe.
Mr E -- Thanks for your input. Covinnus looks great.
Pam -- Thanks for your thought, too. I would like to get things nailed down soon and not have to have contingency plans for getting or not getting a wait list spot on a trip.
The Retro Hostel in Cluj-Napoca runs tours, some being multi-day; the tours aren't limited to folks staying at the hostel. I was very happy with my two-day tour of Maramures, the NW section of Romania where the wooden churches and Merry Cemetery are located. At the time of my trip to Romania (2015), the longer tours ran on demand, rather than on a fixed schedule, so I needed to allow a few days in Cluj-Napoca and cross my fingers that additional people would express interest in the tour. I realize that is the antithesis of getting things nailed down early, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to mention this option.
