Wolf & Bear Tracking – Danube Delta Program (April - October)

Day 1:

Transfer (3 hours) from the airport over the Carpathians to Zarnesti, at the border of King Stone Mountain National Park well known for it’s richness in big carnivores like wolves, bears and lynx. Welcome dinner and accommodation at Guesthouse Elena 3*.

Day 2:

In the morning we’ll take a walk in Zarnesti Gorges where it is possible to see birds like Wallcreepers, Alpine Swifts, Nutcrackers, Three-toed Woodpecker and Honey Buzzards. After lunch we will begin our wolf and bear tracking in Kingstone Mountain National Park and we will observe the bears (bear watching) from a special made hide, at their feeding place in the forest.

Day 3:

After breakfast we will go for tracking bears and wolves in the woods and after a packed lunch we will reach the bear hide of the feeding aria. Here we can also observe other species of mammals (deer, wild bore and lynx) and birds (owls, wood peckers, raptors). Dinner and accommodation at Guesthouse Elena where you have the chance to taste our traditional dishes.

Day 4:

In the morning we will visit one of our medieval castles from Transylvania: Bran Castle known as Dracula Castle or Rasnov Castle built by the Teutonic knights. Afterwards we leave the mountains and head for lower land, our final destination Danube Delta. On our way we will visit a very interesting and unique location from geographic and geologic point of view, the muddy volcanoes. Here is also a botanical reserve. In the evening we’ll have a welcome dinner in Tulcea, on the floating hotel 4*.

Day 5 - 7:

For the next three days we shall be aboard the floating hotel exploring the delta. The Delta is incredibly rich in breeding birds, the best place for birdwatching, and the outline given below is merely a sampler; no doubt we will encounter additional surprises. Romania hosts the world's largest population of the "Globally Threatened" Pygmy Cormorant with over 7000 pairs, and most are here in the Delta. There’s also Europe's largest population of Eurasian White Pelican (3500 pairs), crucial numbers of Dalmatian Pelican and the core European population of Ferruginous Duck. Many Locustella and Acrocephalus warblers (Savi's, Sedge, Paddyfield, Moustached, Marsh, Reed, Great Reed) have their largest European breeding populations in Romania. The Danube Delta comprises a vast complex of reed beds, willow forest, and wetland, crossed by an intricate network of channels. We shall explore as wide a variety as possible of these habitats, both on foot and using a combination of the floating hotel and a small motorboat.

Day 8:

Transfer to Bucharest airport by bus, a 4 hours drive but we’ll stop on the way in some nice places for coffee beak or to stretch our legs.