Highlights of Transylvania

Welcome to Romania! You will be collected from Cluj Napoca Airport at 13:00 and taken to Turda, a small town with an intimate atmosphere founded by the Romans under the name Potaissa. Prepare to descend to the heart of one of the biggest salt mines in the country – Turda Salt Mines, with impressive halls named after kings and queens.

Start the day with a ride to Alba Iulia Citadel, a fortress with seven bulwarks and a star shaped citadel, common to Vauban fortresses.

Then it’s one of the highlights of the trip with an incredible ride along the Transalpina Road. The Transalpina Road is one of the most spectacular roads of the Carpathian Mountains and the highest mountain road in Romania, with its highest point at Urdele Pass – 2145m above sea level. The road is also called the ‘King’s Road’ by the locals, as it was built under the rule of King Carol II of Romania and rebuilt during World War II by German troops. Accommodation in a 3* Country Inn in Ranca.

Curtea de Arges is the next destination on your self-guided motorcycle tour of Transylvania, with its beautiful Monastery built in Byzantine style, featuring Moorish arabesques. Learn about the legend of the monastery before continuing your journey riding up to the mountains.

Heading into the mountains of Transylvania, you will take on the spectacular Transfagarasan Highway, the most crooked and challenging of Europe’s roads for motorcyclists. Built between 1970 and 1974 as a military route, by communist dictator Ceausescu (after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968) it snakes up into the Carpathians. Finishing up your day you will ride into the medieval city of Brasov. Accommodation in a 3* Hotel.

Leaving Brasov you will continue your journey riding through the Bogatii Forest to reach Transylvania’s symbol, Bran Castle. Unrightfully called ‘Dracula’s Castle’, Bran owes its fame both to its unique charm and to the myth Bram Stoker created around Dracula. A former fortress guarding a strategic trading route, Bran dates back to 1377. In 1920, Queen Mary, the niece of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, turned the castle into a beautiful summer residence. Continuing on in the afternoon you will make your way to the medieval citadel of Sighisoara, the place where Vlad Dracula was born, and where you will spend the evening.

On the final day of your self-guided motorcycle tour in Transylvania you will first make your way to Biertan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of the finest Saxon fortified churches in Transylvania. Continuing on you will ride through the natural reservation of Aiudului Gorges and the beautiful white village of Rimetea to drop the bikes off back in Turda, before transferring to Cluj Napoca for your onward journey.