Railtrail A4 STEAM Brochure 2018

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Romania, Dracula, Narrow-

Gauge Steam Spectacular!

DAY 1

Meet your Tour Manager at London Heathrow

for our late morning flight with British Airways

to Bucharest, from where we transfer to the 4*

Mercure Unirii Hotel, Bucharest. (D)

DAY 2

We begin our visit to Romania with a city tour

of Bucharest in the morning, with an inside visit

to the Parliament Palace, the second largest

administrative building in the world after the

Pentagon. Afterwards, we transfer to Brasov

in Transylvania by train, checking into the 4*

Ramada Hotel.(B,D)

DAY 3

A city tour of Brasov. Afterwards we travel to

Bran, where you visit the famous Dracula Castle.

Your journey continues north towards Sighisoara

by train, the only inhabited medieval citadel of

Romania and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

During a walking tour in the picturesque little

town you’ll see the the famous Clock Tower, the

Church on the Hill or the Birth House of Dracula.

Our hotel tonight is the 3* Hotel Sighisoara. (B,D)

DAY 4

After breakfast we drive to Sovata to

experience a the narrow-gauge railway, known

as “Mocanita” on a railway line built at the

beginning of the 20th century and with a steam

locomotive manufactured in 1949, covering

14 km of track. After enjoying a two hours

roundtrip we drive to Piatra Neamt, a small

town of Moldavia, one of the historical regions

of Romania. After a short panoramic tour of the

DEPARTS

Wednesday 18 July 2018

We have been asked many times for a tour to Romania and we hate

to disappoint. This compact adventure to one of Europe’s most

untouched nations combines the major cities and sights with no

less than six narrow-gauge steam excursions, plus Sibiu’s Steam

Locomotive Museum and a sprinkle of Count Dracula.

Vaser Valley Forestry Railway

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

★

Flights in BA Euro Traveller Class

from Heathrow to Bucharest & return

★

Half board throughout

★

Included journey on the Sovata

Steam Railway

★

Steam excursion on the Moldovita

including a traditional lunch with the

locals

★

‘Vaser’ Steam Train excursion in

Viseul de Sus

★

Steam excursion on the Brad–Criscior

route

★

Steam excursion on the Abrud-

Campeni route

★

Final short steam excursion on the

Cornatelu-Hosman route

★

Traditional dinner at the locals in Sibiel

including wine and brandy

★

Bucharest City Tour including

Parliament Palace

★

Brasov City Tour including the Black

Church

★

Included visit Bran Castle

★

Sighisoara walking tour including the

Birth House of Dracula

★

Entrance to Voronet Monastery

★

Visit to the Turda Salt Mine

★

Entrance to the Steam Locomotive

Museum at Sibiu

★

English speaking guide throughout

the entire staying in Romania

★

Transportation by rail and modern

coach throughout

Fares

From

£1795

DAYS

city, we check into the 4* Hotel Central Plaza

with dinner. (B,D)

DAY 5

We drive towards Bucovina, the region famous

due to its wonderful monasteries. We visit

first the Voronet Monastery, also known as

the “Sistine Chapel of the East” due to its

magnificent fresco. Continuing our journey to

Moldovita, we enjoy a traditional lunch with

the locals. Afterwards, we continue by the

“Mocanita” train Moldovita. The 760 mm narrow-

gauge railway was built by a frame saw owner

from Munich and put into operation in 1888

for the transportation of wood alongside the

Moldovita river. After our 3 hours heritage train

journey, your next visit will be at the Moldovita

Monastery, continuing by road to Viseul de Sus

for two nights at the 3* Hotel Gabriela. (B,L,D)

DAY 6

After breakfast experience an adventurous

ride by narrow-gauge steam train in the Vaser

Valley. (”Vaser” originates from the local German

word for water from the time when the region

was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire).

It is said that CFF Viseu (“CFF” being the

Romanian abbreviation for Forestry railways)

is the last remaining forestry railway in Europe.

The 760 mm gauge line leads through curves,

bridges and tunnels, along the river in a forest

wilderness. Our 40 km round trip enjoys a wild

and scenic forest landscape, without villages or

streets, but where bears and wolves are native.

(B,D)

DAY 7

Today’s tour of Transylvania begins with

Cluj-Napoca, the biggest city of the region.

Afterwards we drive to the nearby town of

Turda, where you will visit the Turda Salt Mine.

Now defunct, the site has been transformed

into an amazing underground theme park with

a ferris wheel, mini golf course and boating lake.

We end the day in Alba Iulia with a walking tour

through the beautiful Vauban Citadel. (B,D)

DAY 8

In the nearby Apuseni Mountains there are

two steam railways. The first route from Brad

to Criscior was built in 1907 for the purpose

of transporting coal, operating until 1998 and

since 2001 as a tourist heritage railway. Today’s

second steam excursion is on the Abrud-

FARE

From London Heathrow Airport

Bucharest & return £1995

Join at & Leave from

Bucharest hotel £1795

(Land Only) **

Single Traveller Supplement £250

10 nights’ bed, breakfast & evening meal, plus 1 lunch

All excursions and admissions as detailed

Services of experienced Railtrail Tour Manager

** Please note that this tour will operate subject to a

minimum number of passengers being reached. Please

do not book your own flights until the tour has been

guaranteed as Railtrail cannot be held responsible for

extra expense incurred in the unlikely event that the

tour does not operate.

Campeni route dating from 1912. After today’s

steam adventure we transfer to Sibiu for two

nights at the 4* Continental Forum. (B,D)

DAY 9

Enjoy a walking tour through the Old Town of

Sibiu before visiting the Steam Locomotive

Museum, where you can see more than 20

steam locomotives from across Europe. In the

evening we drive to Sibiel to enjoy a traditional

dinner with the locals, including wine and brandy.

(B,D)

DAY 10

Before leaving Transylvania we enjoy one last

steam excursion, this time on the Cornatelu-

Hosman route along the Hartibaciu Valley near

Sibiu. The locals have put a lot of effort in recent

years to reopen this track and they succesfully

inaugurated the first part of it in 2016. The rest

of the route will hopefully follow and is being

funded by tourist excursions such as ours. We

then return to Bucharest and a final night at the

Mercure Unirii, with dinner at a local restaurant in

the Old Town. (B,D)

DAY 11

We depart Bucharest, flying back to Heathrow.

(B)