Good morning,
After a great river cruise last fall through several Eastern European countries, my wife and I have decided to dive a little deeper into Romania. We are planning on hiring a private guide for two weeks, who will also guide my wife for 4 days alone while I am engaged elsewhere. We have been talking to Teofil Ivanciuc, who has put together a seemingly great itinerary and if I am correct, was Rick's guide on his Romania show. Does anyone else have experience with Teo, and would you care to give us your impressions and thoughts about his guiding style and if you were happy with your tour? Also, Teo has suggested that since I will be engaged in the far west of Romania for the four days, that my wife might like to take advantage of the time and location to see some of Eastern Hungary. We enjoyed Budapest very much, so I am sure Hungary would be great, but I am wondering the change in leadership might mean a change for tourists in that country. I would appreciate any thoughts or opinions about this as well. Lastly, Teo seems to be very flexible, so any thoughts on outstanding towns or villages to see, artisans, craftspeople, or anything else that might give us a better insight into what it means to be Romanian, and what life is like for the locals, we would appreciate. Thanks to all!
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26067 posts
The major cities in the west are Debrecen,
Nyíregyháza, Miskolc/Lillafüred, Eger and the wine country. Of the group Miskolc/Lillafüred and Eger are really worth the time.
And of course you should fly into Bucharest and out of Budapest.
The new government will have no impact on tourists or tourism; but hopefully a positive impact on life here. Time will tell.
Posted by
Duluth, MN🌲
11817 posts
Hi Jeff, two other forum members (TexasTravelMom and CWSocial) and I spent two weeks using Teo as our guide last September in Romania and had an absolutely wonderful time with him. Each of us wrote a trip report of our time spent in Romania and especially our time with Teo, so if you'd like to read them, I've listed the thread below that contains links to the three reports.
Teo really was a wonderful guide and knew so much about the country. We went to places that I never thought we would be able to get to and certainly not on our own. He is incredibly flexible, even changing plans at the last minute. There were several times where we mentioned something that one of us wanted to see, and next thing you know we were on our way there.
Read the reports, and I think that they will give you a good idea of how we spent our time with him and what went on. It should also give you a good idea of the towns and villages that we saw, and especially the artisans and craftspeople. I think that was probably the best part of the trip, at least for me. I loved seeing how these people work with their hands to create such beautiful things. We were invited into their homes and even spent three nights on a farm in Maramures where the owners made all of their own food and other household goods, and were so incredibly hospitable and friendly. I would highly recommend Teo. Romania was such a joy to visit.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/trip-reports-on-romania-sept-2025
Posted by
near San Francisco
6333 posts
Does anyone else have experience with Teo, and would you care to give us your impressions and thoughts about his guiding style and if you were happy with your tour?
As Mardee commented, we spent 2 fabulous weeks with Teo. We started with one of the tours from his website and modified it to suit our timeframe, his availability, and some specific interests.
And, as Mardee said, when I expressed how much I liked the ceramics from one town, suddenly (and with our approval) there we were! Teo takes great pride in customizing the tour to suit you, whether that's locations, interests or chance encounters.
I can't say enough good things about him!
Posted by
TX, USA
6027 posts
So, Mr. É will be a good source for eastern Hungary. I have yet to get east of Budapest.
I personally think you would do well with engaging Teo. I will also say that for insights into what it has historically meant to be Romanian, you won’t have to say more since that is something very important to him - as long as he know that is what you are looking for. He will not skip the Maramures region. Sibiu is another town we enjoyed. But there are several more towns and cities that we did not visit that are on my list for a “next time”.
Guiding style - thoughtful, intelligent, knowledgeable, direct. We were able to ask anything we wanted without worry. We had about 8 hours of his time daily. He planned for lunch (since we wanted lunch each day), bathroom stops, or whatever, gave us dinner suggestions for each place we stayed, in addition to whatever we were seeing each day. I was absolutely happy.
You may have a hint of a question about your wife’s 4 days. I would not hesitate at all to travel solo with Teo as my guide.
There are a few other forum members who have trips scheduled with Teo but haven’t taken them yet.