Last night, the local PBS station aired "Rick Steves Europe Awaits" - a nice editing of several previously released segments of Mr. Rick's travels with our host grinning and narrating with enthusiasm from his home in Edmonds, Washington.
I especially liked the last segment - an edited version of the Romania visit, focusing on the rural life of the central and northern residents of that country. Having visited Romania, I was enchanted by the diversity of the region and of the history of the country.
Although new tours are probably off the discussion table in Edmonds, I would sincerely encourage a thought of adding a Romanian Tour to the RS line-up.
Like the Best of Bulgaria tour, I would guess a start-and-finish in the same city (Bucharest) would be a logistical best.
If, by some oddity, this daydream developed into reality, what would be your interest in it?
Posted by
South Carolina, USA
103 posts
Sounds good to me. Including Transylvania is the loop around is an obvious choice for marketing. Also youtube rabbit hole travels have revealed a ton of musical talent in Romania. It would be nice to have a Romania tour available in the future.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
3819 posts
We would be very interested in a Romanian tour. Even though we always travel independently, some of the less popular countries could be more challenging getting around and easier with a reliable tour company. I wouldn’t be worried about safety, especially since I travel with my husband, more the logistics of the trip. BTW, we are signed up for the Bulgarian tour next September, our first. Same reasons. Remember, the Poland tour is new so it could happen down the road.
Posted by
OP
Pacific Northwest
882 posts
Barbara - I predict you will love the RS Bulgarian Tour - a country as diverse as Romania sharing almost no similarities.
Posted by
Almost Heaven
2942 posts
I am still hoping for a guided tour of Russia, maybe just Moscow-St. Petersburg. Poland also interests me. I'm sure they're relieved to know that.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
64 posts
Romania our last big trip before the pandemic. We did a tour with Compass Travel Romania Inc. If you want to visit Romania before a RS trip is created, I would recommend the company again. They tailored our tour to what we wanted to see with our own guide/driver. We traveled all over the country, and I fell in love with diversity from region to region. I would go back to this country in a heartbeat.
Posted by
OP
Pacific Northwest
882 posts
Thanks, Mollie. I have a tour guide friend in Bucharest who would be a perfect host for a RS Tour of Romania - in fact, she is recommended by Mr. Rick in the "Romania" section of his "Eastern Europe" travel guide.
Posted by
Narberth, PA
1225 posts
I like the description of Sarah Murdoch's Romania tour - and it already exists.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7514 posts
Preface: I am not a Tour person, though I might consider some of the fringe areas (Egypt, some of Eastern Europe, Turkey)
I think right now, suggestions are good, though in rebuilding the tour industry, bandwidth will be a problem, meaning a "new" tour will likely be out a couple years. Though the strong response to tours restarting helps.
Posted by
alameda, ca, usa
2602 posts
I am not a tour person, but I think there's certainly interest in Romania and was surprised Rick didn't have a tour for it already. I had my trip to Romania all planned out for last spring--was going to start in Cluj-Napoca, then to Sibiu, then Brasov and finally Bucharest as it was easier to fly from there to Budapest to finish my trip. I had a couple of day trips to other towns added in and was just in the process of really fine-tuning the itinerary when everything shut down--some towns were best connected by bus, others by train.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4573 posts
There are lesser visited places. For me, I need the Danube Delta....for birding, but there is also history of the Black Sea on its shores. Travel is by boat, and some of the hotels are only accessible by boat. Towns are small and often still not paved. Quite a different pace of life, but parts can be done as day, or short trips from Bucharest.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
3819 posts
Blue439 - we are looking forward to our tour. FYI, we spent 2 wonderful weeks traveling around Poland and would go again. There is so much history in Poland I don’t know how anyone could remember it all. Add in the Pope John Paul connection and we were in Catholic heaven. Don’t forget the beautiful music. And the food, and friendly people. A very underrated country.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
64 posts
Maria F - We did a Danube Delta cruise with a small boat operator. We were able to see a lot of the delta and meet a family that lives on the river. The bird watching was fantastic. We also went to Constanta on the Black Sea. Really great to see the Roman ruins and the old Casino that is waiting to be restored.