For those who love the outdoors, hiking in the Romanian mountains near Brasov tops the list of the best things to do in Romania. With thousands of square kilometers dominated by the Carpathian Mountains, there’s enough hiking in Romania to keep even the most die-hard hiker happy for years. Our experience hiking in the Carpathian Mountains was certainly a highlight of our time in Romania, but we were only able to experience it with the help of a local Romanian guide.
With so many Romania hikes to choose from, how do you know you’re choosing the best one?
Luckily, choosing to go hiking on a Romania escorted tour will take care of the heavy lifting and planning for you. Recently, we got to enjoy hiking in the Romania mountains with Outdoor Activities in Romania — read on to learn about our experience traversing the hiking trails in Romania!
You can also watch our experience hiking in Romania in our travel vlog:
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Our Experience Hiking in the Romania Mountains
Over the past few years, I’ve reconnected to my passion for the outdoors, so I was really excited to head out hiking in Transylvania.
If you love the outdoors, hiking in Romania can take you to some of the best things to see in the country.
We hit the trail on a two-day hiking in the Carpathian Mountains excursion with Dan, our new favorite hiking guide and owner of Outdoor Activities in Romania.
Outdoor Activities in Romania
Dan, the founder of Outdoor Activities in Romania, is an experienced Romania tour operator who has welcomed guests from around the world since 2015.
He’s passionate about the outdoors — and founded his Romania tour company to show the world the best places to visit in Romania. Dan (the man!) plans custom trips to allow anyone to experience the country’s natural wonders, and is one of the best Romanian tour companies for families, couples, and just about anyone else.
Dan’s an expert on hiking trails in Romania, but he can also organize all kinds of other cultural Romania activities.
He’s also an incredible Romanian guide, very knowledgeable and friendly, and we bonded with him as we experienced the beautiful Romanian scenery and learned all about Romanian culture while hiking in the Carpathian Mountains.
Exploring the Bucegi Mountains
Our tour with Outdoor Activities in Romania was in and around one of Romania’s national parks, in the Bucegi Mountains — part of the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, home of the famous Bran Castle.
This area is a fantastic place to see beautiful Romanian scenery, both natural and cultural. It’s super photogenic, so be sure to bring along a good camera for hiking.
The Bucegi Mountains are one of the best areas to go hiking from Brasov, the largest city in this part of Transylvania.
Seeing the Romanian Countryside
Our first day hiking in the Carpathian Mountains took us through steep hills dotted with traditional shepherd’s huts, uniquely Transylvanian haystacks, and stunning views of autumn scenery.
We were thankful that we came just in time to see autumn while hiking in Romania (the end of October)— it was so picturesque!
It was a perfect introduction to hill-walking in Romania. The beautiful autumn sky, views of distant mountains, and intimate portrait of rural life when hiking in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania made for an unforgettable day.
The best moment of the day was when we stopped at the cabin of Dan’s friend. We bonded over our glamping businesses, and listened to stories about the crazy amount of hard work involved in renovating a cabin in the mountains — just trekking the windows up the mountain (on the friend’s back) took over a week.
Connecting to Romanian Culture with a Local Guide
Interacting with Romanian locals is one of my favorite parts of traveling in the country because of the insights we are able to learn about life in the Transylvanian mountains.
One of the perks of traveling with a guide is that you’re given windows into the local culture that you wouldn’t get otherwise, and it certainly enhanced our time hiking in the Carpathian Mountains.
The best things to do in Romania aren’t just ticking boxes on a list — it’s more about connecting to the local culture.
Hiking in the Carpathian Mountains with our own private Romania travel guide helped us understand so much more about the local ways of life in Transylvania than we would have on our own.
Experiencing the Natural Wonder of Romania
We spent the night in the beautiful mountain town of Moieciu de Sus, ready to take on our next day of hiking in Romania. The day’s adventure would take us higher into the Bucegi Mountains, satisfying our “Transylvanian Hunger” through dark “Carpathian Forests” (metal fans, anyone?), rushing streams, and up to the base of the 2500 meter summit ridge of the range.
Hiking in the Carpathian Mountains
Reaching the high point of the trail and looking out over the countryside, I felt in my gut that visiting this area was one of the best things to do in the Brasov, Romania area. If you’re deciding between visiting Brasov or Bucharest, we’d recommend Brasov for its proximity to nature. I would love to go hiking in the Carpathian Mountains again someday.
I love hiking —especially in mountains. Needless to say, I really enjoyed my time in Romania hiking. It was a blast to be hiking in the Carpathian Mountains — it’s so rewarding to put a face to a place that for so many years was an evocative name on a map of a faraway place.
We feel this way also about visiting Romania as a whole. It’s not just ticking off a name on some list — these are living, breathing places that aren’t just exotic names on a map. And for us, some of the most rewarding experiences in Romania hiking came from our time with our Romanian tour guide.
Our Romania Travel Guide for Hiking
While you could do hikes in Romania on your own, there are many reasons you should consider getting out on the trail with a pro Romania tour operator like Outdoor Activities in Romania. Here are some reasons why we chose Outdoor Activities in Romania for our Romania hiking experience.
Learning so much from Dan, our local Romania travel guide and founder of Outdoor Activities in Romania
Knowledge of the Best Hiking Trails in Romania
With over a third of the country covered by mountains, there are hundreds of miles of trails in Romania. And let’s not forget to mention the 14 beautiful Romanian national parks, too.
With so many Romanian hiking trails to choose from, it could be difficult to pick where to go hiking in Transylvania, just one of the many regions of the country. If you go on a Romania escorted hiking tour, you can be confident that you’ll be taken to some of the best places to visit in Romania, not just the ones that are easiest to find.
A Romanian hiking guide will share with you valuable knowledge while out on the trail. One of the coolest pieces of knowledge that Dan shared with us while hiking in Transylvania was which springs were safe to drink from — one of my favorite things to do when in the mountains. Also, the hiking itinerary was well thought out to ensure that we went up and down the mountain in the most efficient way.
Dan, our private tour guide in Romania, showing us safe places to drink from
Hidden Gems on Romanian Escorted Tours
While planning our trip, we knew we didn’t just want to see the biggest Romania tourist attractions. That’s not our game at all (though we did enjoy a cheeky Halloween visit to Dracula’s castle).
A quick Google search can show you the biggest Brasov attractions, but delve a little deeper and you’ll truly find the best things to see in Romania. With years spent gathering the country’s hidden gems, Outdoor Activities in Romania will share with you the knowledge of some of the best hidden places to visit in Romania.
Passion for the Outdoors
The passion for hikes in Romania that Dan and his company has really shines through. Spending a couple days on the trail with Dan, it was really lovely to share with him the zest for the outdoors and the beautiful Romanian scenery we were passing through.
Commitment to Quality
Outdoor Activities in Romania isn’t a two-bit Romania tour operator hacked together for a quick buck. They are truly committed to providing their guests with the highest-quality Romania hiking experience possible.
From beginning to end, whether it’s thoughtful route planning, ensuring that the food on the tours is high quality, or the friendly professionalism of its guides, Outdoor Activities in Romania goes above and beyond to ensure you’ll have some of the best hikes in Romania.
Private, Custom Romania Escorted Tours
From multi-day backpacking in the Romanian mountains to slower-paced tours to experience traditional Romanian culture, you can do it all with Outdoor Activities in Romania. Want to get away from it all on some of the best multi-day backpacking hikes in Romania? Outdoor Activities has you covered.
One unique aspect that Outdoor Activities in Romania prides itself on is that they offer custom Romania hiking tours all across the country. They won’t just take you to the most famous Romania tourist attractions — no day trips to Dracula’s castle here.
If there’s a certain tour or hike in the Carpathians or beyond that’s on your bucket list that’s not listed on Outdoor Activities in Romania, they can craft a custom Romania backpacking or trekking itinerary for you.
Special Tours and Activities with Outdoor Activities in Romania
Outdoor Activities in Romania also offers special winter tours, so you can experience the best hikes in Romania even in the snow. This quality Romanian travel guide also offers family-oriented tours, and recently has started to organized summer camps for Romanian kids to experience the wonderful Romanian scenery from a young age.
Hiking in Transylvania on a Romania Escorted Tour
It was such a rewarding and enjoyable experience hiking in the Carpathian Mountains with Dan. I really appreciated Dan’s passion for hiking and the outdoors, and it was awesome to meet someone as passionate about these things as I am.
Dan’s skills and professionalism as a guide, as well as the quality of the tours that his business, Outdoor Activities in Romania, offers also impressed us. I love that they offer different kinds of tours all around Romania, and that they offer custom itineraries.
I am definitely happy to recommend Outdoor Activities in Romania as the best hiking in Romania tour operator — I’d love to go on a tour with them again!
Have you been hiking in Transylvania on a Romania escorted tour? Let us know your experience!
Disclosure: This post is a collaboration with Outdoor Activities in Romania, but as always, all opinions are very much our own!
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What do you think are the best places to go hiking in Romania?
Tell us about your experience in a comment below!