Cox & Kings Europe 2013 Brochure - Travel Club Elite

omania TOUR
DISCOVERY TOUR
TIMElESS
ROMaNIa
Escorted Group Tour or Private Journey • 9 Days / 8 Nights from £1,095
THE COX & KINGS DIFFERENCE
Stay in centrally located hotels throughout
Discover the painted monasteries of northern Romania
Explore Transylvania & Dracula’s castle
HUNGARY
Gura Humorului
Targu Mures
Sibiu
UKRAINE
ROMANIA
Sighisoara
Brasov
Sinaia
Bucharest
✈
BULGARIA
MOLDOVA
BLACK
SEA
With its rich folkloric heritage, picturesque
villages and wonderful scenery, Romania is
fascinating to explore. This tour discovers the
country’s highlights, including Transylvania’s
fortified Saxon churches, Bucovina’s exquisite
painted monasteries, dramatic castles and
palaces, medieval towns and the beautiful
Carpathian mountains.
Brukenthal Art Museum. Afternoon visit to the
picturesque village of Sibiel and its glass icon
museum. (B, D)
Day 8 – To Bucharest: Morning departure for
Bucharest, travelling through the scenic Olt
valley. Afternoon at leisure. Stay overnight at
the Hotel Athenee Palace Hilton. (B, D)
THE JOURNEY
Day 1 – To Bucharest: Fly from London
Heathrow to Bucharest with British Airways
and transfer to Brasov. Stay at the Hotel Aro
Palace (renovated rooms) for 2 nights. (D)
Day 2 – Sinia, Brasov & Bran: Morning
visit to the Palaces of Peles and Pelisor, the
former royal residences of King Carol I. These
magnificent German Renaissance-style palaces
are an assemblage of turrets rising above
swathes of green meadows. Afternoon tour
of the medieval town of Brasov and view the
Piata Sfatului, one of the finest baroque squares
in the country with its 15th-century town hall.
Visit the Black Church – the largest gothic
church between Vienna and Istanbul, which has
a collection of more than 300 Ottoman rugs; St
Nicholas Church and the first Romanian school.
Continue to ‘Dracula’s castle’ at Bran. (B, D)
Day 3 – To Gura Humorului: This morning,
travel north from Transylvania to southern
Bucovina, now part of Moldavia, via the Red
Lake, the Bicaz gorges and the spectacular
scenery of the eastern Carpathians. En route,
visit Neamt monastery, the oldest in Romania,
dating from the 14th century. Stay at the Best
Western Bucovina Hotel in Gura Humorului
for 2 nights. (B, D)
Day 4 – Gura Humorului: Today will be
spent visiting the area’s remarkable painted
monasteries. Considered to be among
Europe’s greatest artistic monuments, the
monasteries include Sucevita, Voronet and
Humor. These churches were painted in the
15th and 16th centuries, when Turkish invaders
threatened Moldavia, and feature vivid mural
Painted monastery
frescoes, created to educate and entertain
the illiterate soldiers and peasants. These
monasteries have been awarded Unesco world
heritage status. (B, D)
Day 5 – To Sighisoara: Drive back into
Transylvania to Sighisoara, travelling through
stunning mountain scenery and the Borgo Pass.
Visit Bistrita en route, a small market town
in the Bârgau valley in the heart of ‘Dracula
land’, and Târgu Mures, a Hungarian stronghold
where sights include the Orthodox cathedral,
the citadel church and fortress, and the Culture
Palace. Stay overnight at the Binderbubi
Hotel. (B)
Day 6 – To Sibiu: Morning tour of the Unesco
world heritage town of Sighisoara, a beautifully
preserved medieval settlement. The city walls
encircle cobbled streets lined with 16thcentury
colourful burgher houses. Visits include
the citadel, the monastery, the Church on the
Hill and the Clock Tower. This afternoon, visit
one of the best-preserved gothic fortified
churches at Biertan, and continue to Sibiu. Stay
2 nights at the Continental Forum. (B)
Day 7 – Sibiu: Morning tour of Sibiu, a
Saxon town that combines late Renaissance,
early gothic, classical and Transylvanian
baroque architecture. The tour includes the
evangelic and orthodox cathedrals and the
Day 9 – To London: Morning tour of Bucharest.
Known as the ‘Paris of the east’ due to its
Parisian-style boulevards and belle époque
buildings, see the Old Princely Court, the Royal
Palace and the Palace of Parliament, which is
the second largest building in the world. Early
afternoon transfer to the airport and fly to
London. (B)
EXTENSIONS
Tour + Bucharest
11 Days / 10 Nights from £1,260
This extension provides an opportunity to
extend your stay in Bucharest and explore
this beautiful tree-lined city at a leisurely
pace.
Day 9 – Bucharest: Stay an extra 2 nights at
the Hotel Athenee Palace Hilton. (B)
Day 10 – Bucharest: Day at leisure. (B)
Day 11 – To London: Morning at leisure. Early
afternoon transfer to the airport and fly to
London. (B)
Tour + Danube Delta
11 Days / 10 Nights from £1,605
The Unesco world heritage site of the
protected Danube delta biosphere is
one of the world’s largest wetlands and
is a migration hub for thousands of birds
travelling to and from Mongolia, Siberia, India,
Africa and China. This extension allows you
to explore the many waterways of the delta
and take in an amazing array of birdlife and
scenery.
Day 9 – To the Danube delta: Travel to
Bestepe and stay at the Hotel Wels, situated