Authentic & beautiful, for you ...
Private tours of Transylvania & Romania, tailor-made
Private tours of Transylvania & Romania, tailor-made
A good source of reviews is our TripAdvisor page where we are listed since February 2017 under a new name, True Romania Tours.
So if you want to know what previous travelers think about us, here are some sources, other than our website, for greater reliability:
Reviews sent to us by email
Sonia & Giles from Essex, UK: What a very successful visit to Romania. We both loved it even if Giles felt a bit poorly. The flowers were so wonderful and it was such a good combination - some sight-seeing and then a lot od flowers The hotels were so charming and each had great qualities. The porcini were a high-light at Bucovina, but it was very comfortable and good food. Viscri was the most charming hotel and Viscri itself was so lovely. I really loved the cart ride. and the flowery roads were amazing. You were very good at finding flowery meadows for us too. The view from the last hotel and the very nice owner made up for any food shortcomings, which we didn't mind anyway. So thank you very much for organising it all. it was an excellent holiday.
Ken, Matt & Jeremy from Canada, father and sons: Please allow me to say what an amazing time I had on (my portion of) our Romania trip - and thank you sincerely for arranging everything for us.
It was ALL... informative... enjoyable... relaxing... fascinating... stimulating... fun.
Moreover, it was very rewarding, for me, to gain some additional insight into this rich, warm, intricate culture that I interact with every working day. Until now I have lacked even a most basic sense of the geography, history, people and places of Romania outside of Timisoara; I am very happy to have expanded that horizon a little bit.
2 couples from Sydney, Australia: We had a great time and found Daniel to be a very knowledgeable and pleasant travelling companion. We stayed at Sibiu, Bran, and Sighishoara. The hotels he organised were boutique and excellent, centrally located and of high quality. Daniel's English is excellent and he is very keen to share perspectives of travelling, history etc. he took us to many places of historical interest and through picturesque back roads.
Aviram & Zahava (and 3 more couples) from Israel: We are a group of four couples of friends that greatly enjoyed Daniel's ample knowledge of Romania, its people, history, life and sites. The itinerary of 10 days tour started in Cluj and covered main beautiful and interesting sites of Transylvania's land of Mures, Alba, Sibiu, Brasov and toward Bucharest, cities, colorful villages, exuberant nature, magic castles and fortresses. Our guide Daniel suggested and coordinated with us in advance the itinerary and diligently and gently dealt with all logisitcs matters. Summarizing, we have enjoyed very much our tour and Daniel deserves our highest esteem.
Carol and Michael from Calgary, Canada + Tim and Philippa from Suffolk, UK: Daniel arranged a wonderful and most memorable custom seven day road trip for us and another couple around the German Saxon towns and villages of Transylvania, driven by Daniel, and exclusively guided by Daniel. We had told Daniel that we wanted to see the historic German Saxon towns and villages with their fortified churches, do some walking in the countryside, see the traditional farming and village life, see some wild flowers and have a relaxing time. He delivered all this and much, much more. The highlight of the trip was a horse drawn cart ride from Viscri up into the hills to visit the shepherds, watch them milking their sheep, eat their sheep milk cheese, and have a fabulous picnic provided by our restored farmhouse hotel, overlooking a magnificent view of the medieval Saxon village below. Also in Viscri we were thrilled to see all the farm animals coming in from the pastures at the same time in the evening, all walking together up the main street of the village and each animal finding its own farmyard with little human supervision.
Daniel is really a superb guide, completely comfortable guiding a hike in the countryside or giving a detailed tour of one of the magnificent fortified churches. He is very well educated, speaks perfect English (having worked for Microsoft) and is also engaging, personable and extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of Romania and Romanian history. He knows all the very best boutique hotels, and the best restaurants, and we were most comfortable and dined extremely well on delicious Romanian traditional fare, with good local wine from local grape varieties.
Silvia and Maria from Italy: The service was really good and professional, me and my mom we didn't have lots of time to travel to Romania, just 4 nights and Daniel choose for us the best historical and best places to see. The 2 guides used for day trips were really prepared to answer every question. Thank you for the amazing expirience!
Paul and Nancy from Kansas, USA: We are a married couple of Americans who just returned from 10 days in Romania. We totally enjoyed our tour.
We contracted with Via Transylvania owned by Daniel Rosca. He had another tour guide take us on the first part of our tour in Maramures and Bucovina. Daniel took us on the part of our tour in Transylvania.
If you need help arranging a tour if you are driving yourself or need a good English speaking guide and driver I would highly recommend Via Transylvania to help you with bookings.
Mike from Australia: Daniel worked with me to design a itinerary for about two weeks, he provided excellent advice and information in regards to what was worth seeing and some background. When I arrived he travelled with me, and due to his contacts and experience, he was able to introduce me to many skilled artisans and craftsmen. He also provided excellent context and information about where we were without simply reciting a guidebook.
Daniel also proved to be quite adept and changing the itinerary on the fly in response to both changes in weather and what I wanted to achieve. This flexibility ensured that there were no wasted days and that I got the most out of my time.
I would strongly recommend engaging with Daniel to develop your holiday to Romania, he will provide you with fair and honest advice that is unbiased.
Jayant and Ranjana from Mumbai, India: "We had the good fortune of being guided by Daniel Rosca (founder Via Transylvania) on an excellent five day road tour of Transylvania. He planned the tour with a right blend of historical and cultural perspective of Romania. He also took us to some of the heritage sites recognized by UNESCO. He booked us in charming and good value for money hotels/inns in picturesque locations. He also introduced us to some excellent Romanian cuisine.
We also saw examples of rural life, the old but fast fading practice of charcoal making, gypsy villages. If you are looking for a meaningful and enjoyable tour of the real Romania you should seriously consider Daniel." 
Sunny from Ottawa, Canada: I joined my wife who was on a photography tour, and was really impressed by the tour organizer, Daniel. He made a real effort to meet and introduce us to the community, and made my part of the tour enjoyable even though I wasn't taking photos. I would recommend tours with Daniel without hesitation to those interested in authentic community experience.
Aurelie from France: “Discovering Transylvania with Via Transylvania was and would remain a memorable experience. Not only I had the opportunity to discover the wonderful scenery and the beautiful mountains of the region but I have also been able to get in touch with local people, proud and happy to show
us the wonders of their land. Tasting the milk that we had directly milked from the cow, celebrating Easter following the Orthodox tradition, climbing steep mountains, finding out traditional techniques of making coal from a genuine woman, following the paths taken by the gold miners under the Roman Empire, discovering the history that has shaped the region over centuries, these are some of the memories I would keep from my journey in Transylvania. I have also enjoyed the people I traveled with and the bonds we have created, which have added a sense of community and belonging throughout the whole trip. For sure, I would not change the experience I had in Transylvania for any other journey”.
Mike and Shoshy from Israel: "We feel obliged to express our deep appreciation for the wonderful service that Daniel gave us, relentlessly all along the 12 days, from Sept. 16th thru Sept. 27th 2012.
Daniel was both a terrific tour guide as well as a very pleasant companion, presenting an exciting as well as interesting picture of Romania, which really created a taste of more. He is an excellent driver, which always gave us a strong feeling of a fully trustworthy individual.
Daniel made us fall in love with Romania, through introducing us to Romanian history, old sites, history, meeting Romanian families and craftsmen, exciting sites and landscapes, and more."
Natalya from Opole, Poland: “I spent wonderful five days on a tour of Transylvania. Everything was great but there were some things that were the highlights! Firstly a visit to a real traditional farm placed just on the top of the mountain. It was an amazing experience to milk 
a cow for the first time in my life. I loved the fact that we saw all the household animals and had an opportunity to taste fresh milk, homemade cheese and cream. The other remarkable experience was to see the “ceremony” of baking bread in an old, traditional furnace. The owner of the pension we were staying at, explained us how they are baking it and invited us to see. I should also mention climbing on Szekler’s Rock, a beautiful mountain in Rimetea. A pretty hard exercise to get on top but the view justified that effort. The atmosphere in Viscri was also something not-to-be-forgotten. Visiting beautiful old fortified church and then going on a “căruța” ride (horse-drawn carriage) to the coal makers, meeting a really pleasant lady that is producing it and listening to her story. The last but not the least, I appreciated the “Rosia Montana case” tour. It was great to see and hear all the sides of the conflict: gold miners, company that want to take advantage of gold from the mountain and an association that wants to preserve it. All in all, the trip was remarkable and crazy, definitely worth it. I fell in love in Romania!”
Chris from Belgium: "I had a wonderful time in Romania and enjoyed the beauty of the country but especially the people with whom I had amazing meetings, which I won't forget.
The services of Via Transylvanian Tours were excellent, from the welcoming at the airport, to the drop off at the bus station. I loved the pension, the hospitality of the host and the food.
I hope to come back one day."
Chris from Berlin, Germany: "Great workshop, well organized, delicious food and good accommodation. I really enjoyed meeting the locals, and all the great photo opportunities. I learned a lot and had a very good time."
Gianni from Italy: "Everything was simply amazing! A fantastic experience in a beautiful country with perfect organization and truly fantastic people.
Sorin is an experienced photographer, he knows the right photographic spots and the most interesting people and villages. His great skills and the passion that he puts in his work with 
photography are just contagious.
Daniel is a great organizer, everything he does is curated in every detail. From the accommodation, to his cultural knowledge of the country, from the delicious food provided to the transports everywhere.
This is a workshop that will teach you a lot, and you will visit a magic country, you will make so many new friends, and will come back home... with amazing photographs and with the wish to come back again and again. Thank you guys!!! I am sure we will meet soon again... definitely! :)"
Enis from Istanbul, Turkey: "Being interested in photography, this trip definitely had an impact on my experience and I learned a lot being there with Sorin Onisor and Daniel from Via Transylvania Tours. In no moment I felt like a tourist or a guest, it was like being with friends that I know for a long time.
Thanks for this amazing experience; I hope to see you again in Transylvania again in the future.”
Sarah and Max from Berlin, Germany: "The tour and photography 
workshop was just great!!! We enjoyed it a lot, met kind people, made great photos and saw interesting spots! Exciting country! Great tour, from the beginning to the end! Thanks a lot and see you next time maybe in Danube Delta!” PS: Sarah even celebrated her birthday with us :)"
Dimitar from Bulgaria: "The workshop was amazing. I visited beautiful places, I met amazing people, I learned a lot about photography and most important I had fun all the time!
Transylvania is a region definitely worth more than one visit to be able to see all its beauty: the fortified churches, the medieval towns and the breath-taking nature.
However, the greatest treasure is its people. No matter, if they are blacksmiths, coal makers, shepherds or brick-makers. They are all amazing personalities - hard-working, hospitable and full of life. I am thankful to Daniel and Sorin for letting me know these people!
The workshop itself was very well organized. The choice of the pensions was excellent - small family guesthouses with home-cooked food. The schedule was focused on improving our photography skills. We were always on the right time at the right location for making beautiful photos.
At the end of the workshop Sorin gave us feedback on our photos and hints how to improve them. His comments covered the most important aspects - the composition, the technique and the post-processing. I personally learn a lot from him!
Many thanks to Daniel and Sorin for the great time in Romania!
I highly recommend the workshop!”
If you are also interested to tour Romania or Transylvania region alone we can help you create a tailor-made itinerary, with or without a guide.
If you are passionate about photography please take a look at the photography workshops we have planned next in Transylania, Danube Delta, Bucovina and Maramureș.
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