About us

We organize walking and hiking, cycling and mountain biking, multi activity, motorcycling and professional tours from April to November, ski touring and ski courses in January and February, in most of Romanian mountain areas and provinces, all enriched with a cultural touch, from the museums and churches of Bucharest, our capital, to the Dacian fortresses and the ancient Greek towns lying on the Black Sea coast, from Bucovina’s painted monasteries and the wooden churches of Maramures to the Transylvanian fortified towns and churches, fortresses and castles.

The tours can be done as they are presented or can be modified according to your request, with the following customizable features: number of days, itinerary, accommodation level wherever possible, meals included and cultural highlights, the final quotation being calculated in accordance to the tour’s features and the number of persons in the group.

During the last decade we enrich our experience by leading cultural and active tours throughout Romania, guiding small to medium size groups, from U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but also from European countries, like U.K., Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland or France.

All of us graduated tourism, history, geography or sports universities, also following guiding and tourism management courses, as well as first aid or mountain rescue courses, receiving licenses from the National Tourism Authority. We all speak English fluently, a couple of us also knowing French and German.

You’ll receive information about the guide available to lead your tour, via e-mail, before your arrival.

Company: I. I. Soroceanu I. Costin Mihai, F33/1890/2010, CUI 27729070
Travel Agency: Carpat Adventures, registration number: 6648, from 28.09.2012
Address: Str. Caprioarei, 27, 725100, Campulung Moldovenesc, Suceava, ROMANIA,
Telephone: (004) 0740.031.191, (004) 0724.290.869
Email: office@carpat-adventures.ro, costin_soroceanu@yahoo.co.uk

• Registration Certificate
• Tourism Licence
• Insurance

How to get to Romania ?

You can get to Romania from any place in the world by plane.

The main international airport is Henri Coanda Airport, situated 20 km north from Bucharest, the capital of Romania. There are smaller international airports in Cluj, Sibiu, Iasi or Constanta, important city of Transylvania, Moldavia or Dobrudja.

Here are some of the internet addresses of the major airlines which have regular flights to Bucharest, Cluj, Sibiu or Iasi:

• AIR FRANCE – www.airfrance.com
• ALITALIA – www.alitalia.com
• AUSTRIAN AIRLINES – www.austrianairlines.com
• BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC. – www.british-airways.com
• CZECH AIRLINES – www.csa.cz/en
• KLM – ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES – www.klm.com
• LUFTHANSA GERMAN AIRLINES – www.lufthansa.com
• OLYMPIC AIRWAYS – www.olympic-airways.it
• SWISS Air Lines – www.swiss.com
• TAROM – ROMANIAN AIR TRANSPORT – www.tarom.ro/english/

Accomodation and Food

We can provide two-bedded rooms (twins or matrimonial beds) in hotels, private pensions and some of the mountain huts. Single persons will be assigned a roommate of the same sex.

Single occupancy is available for an additional charge, in most of these places. Most of the mountain huts only have dormitory style rooms, with more then 2 beds. Having no other choices, we’ll have to share the same room, sometimes with people from other groups. Some of these places have basic toilets, with no running water at all.

You’ll know in advance, when booking, details about every place we’ll use in the tour.

Breakfasts are continental, served as Swedish buffets in most of hotels and pensions, with coffee, tea, cereals, yoghurt, milk, cold meats, cheeses, eggs, jam, honey, butter and bread.

Picnic lunches consist in a selection of meat products and cheeses, fish, vegetables and bread, suitable to be carried on backpacks or on bicycles. Fruits, fresh or dried, nuts, chocolate and other sweets will complete the menu. Everyone will have to carry something!

Dinners will be as rich as possible, according to each place, based on local dishes, with a variety of soups and main courses, mostly cooked using different meats (chicken, pork, beef or fish) with or without sauce, and side dishes (potatoes, polenta, rice or pasta), plus salads and bread. Deserts are usually pancakes, cakes, or cookies plus coffee or tea. We must keep in mind that some of the mountain huts are quite isolated, everything being carried up by donkeys, so food and drinks are on a shorter range and variety!

We try to cater for vegetarians but we cannot provide the same range as expected in the west, because of the meat-based specific Romanian food. In most of restaurants and in the mountain huts vegetarian meals are not a problem, but we suggest that’s better to bring some of your own protein supplement if this is likely to cause a problem.

Transportation, Luggage Transfer

Transport, inside Romania, for the entire lengths of each and every tour, starting / ending in Bucharest, is included in the price and is chosen according to the group size. We use cars, minibuses or medium size, with professional drivers. On certain tours, when possible, for long distances, we prefer to use domestic flights.

Due to the fact that the hiking and mountain biking tours will necessitate off road vehicles, or at least ones able to be driven on gravel roads, will try to use suitable cars or minibuses, even the ones without A/C.

On our hiking tours the driver will also take us to the starting place of each hike and he will wait for us at the ending place. Our entire luggage, but the daily backpack, will be carried and guarded by our driver during the hikes. Will meet him every afternoon / evening, excepting the hiking days on Fagaras ridge, Bucegi and Piatra Craiului, where will meet the driver every second day, some extra weight (clothes and food) being carried along by us.

On our cycling tours the car or minibus will have a roof rack or a trailer for bicycles, and the driver will take us to the starting point of each ride, following us while cycling along. Our entire luggage, but the daily backpack, will be carried and guarded by our driver. We’ll use the vehicle instead of cycling only in extreme situations (bed weather, injures, mechanical problems) and, of course, when the programme requires it, for evening drives to our accommodation.

On our mountain biking tours the same principles as in the cycling tours will apply, the vehicle following us wherever the roads allow it.

Necessary Equipment

Equipment and clothing

Romania has a continental temperate climate and mountain weather is variable and unpredictable. During summer the conditions are generally pleasant and warm at low altitudes and light clothing is adequate. However warmer, windproof and waterproof clothing are needed for higher altitudes, where it is possible to encounter wet and cold conditions, or even snow. Early and late season (May and October) requires warmer clothing as well.

Hiking equipment

Your main luggage should be a large backpack. For most of the hikes you’ll need a small daily backpack, for carrying some food and water and your rain and cold items. When hiking on certain mountain areas, like Fagaras or Bucegi, from hut to hut, a 25 – 35l backpack will do, some extra items being necessary. There we’ll meet the driver with our vehicle every second day, so spare cloth and more food we’ll be carried along the ridge. It is not necessary for you to bring a sleeping bag; blankets are provided in the mountain huts. However, if you consider that you might feel better and warmer in your own summer sleeping bag, do not hesitate to bring it over.
Good, 3 seasons, waterproof boots with ankle support, warm clothing and a waterproof jacket are essentials. We’ll help you with a list of needed items, if necessary, when booking!

Cycling equipment

For those who wish to bring their own bike, it should be a hybrid or a mountain bike with heavy duty tires. We tried to avoid the main roads as much as possible, for safety reasons. Unfortunately, the side roads are not in the best condition, potholes being quite common. So bring a strong bike! We recommend using a bike rack to carry your daily items (rain coat, food, repair kit), if not, a small backpack will work just fine. We’ll have the vehicle support along the way, so we’ll have some extra help if necessary.

The cycling equipment needed is basic, and very personal. A rain coat and a cap, for sunny days, plus a helmet, if you use one, are quite important. We’ll help you with a list of needed items, if necessary, when booking!

Mountain biking equipment

The same general rules as for on-road cycling apply here, too. We’ll mainly use mountain roads, unpaved or paved, and very few sections with dirt single tracks. We’ll try to have the vehicle support for most of the way, for safety.

Due to higher altitudes reached in most of the days, additional warmer clothing is necessary. The use of protecting items, starting with a helmet, is strongly suggested!

If you want to bring your own bike, it must be a mountain bike!

Health and fitness, Insurance

We prefer not to give you specific health advice, but our active trips necessitate a very good health status, combined with an adequate fitness level, in accordance to the difficulty of the chosen trip.

Training for a tough tour, no matter if it’s a hiking, mountain biking or ski touring needs a serious approach, during months of pretty hard work, general and specific training paying off during the trip.
You must never underestimate the difficulty of a tour, especially a 15 days one, so common sense and a decent level of self respect are important in making the right choice!

For the active trips, your tour guide will be first aid trained, and will carry an adequate first aid kit. However, we recommend you carry a small first aid kit for personal use. The following list is intended as a guide only:

Plasters (including blister plasters for walking trips); sterile dressings and bandages; simple pain killers (e.g. ibuprofen; antiseptic cream); antihistamine cream (for insect bites); sunscreen cream; anti-diarrhea pills (e.g. Imodium).

We do not provide health or accident insurance for your holiday, so we highly recommend you have a good health and specific accident insurance for the period of time spend here.

Difficulty rating

Terms and conditions

1. We exclude liability for death, bodily injury or property damage as a result of (but not limited to): physical effort for which a guest is not prepared; forces of nature; travel by plane, train, auto, boat, or other conveyance, or by bicycle, ski, foot, or other form of active or adventure travel; consumption of alcoholic drinks; civil unrest; terrorism; breakdown of equipment; high altitude; lack of or limited access to medical attention in remote locations; and the adequacy of medical attention once provided. Cycling, hiking and especially mountain biking are potentially dangerous activities, done entirely at the customer’s risk. Nevertheless we try to take all reasonable precautions to ensure customer safety and comfort.

2. We strongly recommend that you make your holiday insurance before departure, to cover you against injury or any type of loss. The insurance is not included in the cost of your holiday.

3. We reserve the right to cancel any scheduled trip for whatever reason, but, in this unlikely event, you will be refunded with all the money already paid.

4. We reserve the right to change the itineraries of the trips, because of certain logistic problems that may occur. In this case, we will let you know in time about the changes we made, and we will provide services of a similar quality.

5. The customer will be liable for the cost of damage to any of the accommodation facilities on the way, or to any other equipment belonging to us that was used in an improper way.

6. We reserve the right to refuse a booking for a child or an elderly person, where we have reason to believe that the holiday is not appropriate for them for whatever reason.

7. Booking is only confirmed by paying a deposit representing 10% of the total cost of the trip. This initial payment will be followed by another one, done at least 30 days before the day of departure, representing another 40% of the cost. The rest of 50% will be paid in the moment of your arrival. In case of payment delay, we reserve the right to reject the booking and we shall refund you with any money already paid.

8. There shall be no money refund in case of leaving the trip earlier, for personal or external reasons of any kind.

9. Our customers will provide a signed “Release of Liability and Assumption of All Risks”, otherwise they will not be allowed to join the trip. A full money refund will be given in this situation.

10. Guests are responsible for: choosing a trip that suits their abilities, level of fitness, and state of health; respecting the laws and customs of countries visited; following environmental guidelines and regulations while on the trip, in accordance with the guide’s advice; respecting the rights and privacy of other trip members.

11. We are also not liable for expenses (e.g., meals, transport, or hotel costs) that are not specified as included in the trip cost.

12. Our customers will grant us permission to take photographs or film records of our trips for promotional and commercial use, without remuneration.