2-Day Trip in Maramures: UNESCO Wooden Churches & Village Life
With: Florin 37
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What you need to know about this guided tour of Maramures:
- This is a private 2 day trip starting from Cluj-Napoca showing you the best of Maramures region!
- All-inclusive: all transport, 1 night stay in local guesthouse, half board, entrance fees to 3 sights and special tasting event
- We will visit 2-3 UNESCO Wooden Churches, the Victims of Communism Memorial in Sighetu Marmatiei and the Merry Cemetary of Sapanta, the most important sights in Maramures
- Enjoy traditional and delicious Romanian dishes made with locally sourced or home-grown products from locals. Enjoy a tasting of the traditional regional drink 'palinca' at a local producer
- Accommodation at a local guesthouse where owners make their own cheese, wine and cured meats! Depending on season, you could see the making-of process live!
- Responsible tourism at its best: you will meet lots of locals, learn about their lives and see local crafts such as woodcarving or knitting
- Tour extension possible on booking page: 1 extra day+night for the Mocanita Steam train ride (ticket included). The itinerary will be more relaxed in 3 days
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Additional information
The schedule of this trip is very busy but it will give you a unique and complete insight into the region of Maramures, Romanian culture and our old way of life. If possible, we recommend you extend the trip to 3 days / 2 nights (extra price of 100 Euro/person).
30% deposit required when making a booking request; you need to cancel with 7 full days before the booking date to get a refund - moderate cancelation policy applies
Moments to expect during the Maramures Wooden Churches tour:
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See the 300 years old UNESCO Wooden Churches
These wooden churches are unique in Romania and for Christianity. We will learn about their history, building-of and architecture, religious celebrations and superstitions surrounding these churches. There's a reason why wood has been used to build these churches and we're going to find out!
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Taste 'palinca' - if you can handle it!
The traditional Romanian drink is 'tuica' or 'palinca' - a clear distilled spirit made out of plums or other fruits, all natural! We visit a villager to learn and see how he makes it and taste different flavors. Beware - only for the brave!
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Hearty, delicious Romanian food!
Maramures is well known for its delicious, traditional and belly-filling dishes, and people here are very hospitable, which means you can't leave the table without finishing your plate! On our first day we'll visit a family of local producers to taste products from their own farm (matured cheese, cured meats, home-grown vegetables).
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The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta
Have you ever been to a happy cemetery? The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta is such a place where colourful wood-carved tombstones colorfully depict the lives of those resting there with anecdotes and funny jokes about their lives. You quickly forget you're in a cemetery and it's a unique place in the world!
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Victims of Communism Memorial
This former prison in Sighetu Marmatiei has a terrifying reputation. The communist regime sent many political opponents here, most of which never came out. Turned into a museum, visiting this prison will give you an insight into Romanian history and the difficult times our society endured for almost 45 years.
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![[Tour extension] Ride the Mocanita Steam](https://www.romanianfriend.com/uploads/media/mocanita-steam-train-2-frontend-thumbnail.jpeg)
[Tour extension] Ride the Mocanita Steam
Spend an extra day & night in Maramures region to make your itinerary more relaxed and enjoy the peaceful countryside! On the 3rd day we go on the famous Mocanita Steam Train - a ride that will take you through the mountains and a picturesque valley, where you can just relax and enjoy the ride!
Location details
- Starting point: Cluj-Napoca
- Nearest airport: Cluj Napoca International
- Nearest train station: Cluj-Napoca Train Station
- Landscape: Countryside
Reviews from travellers
We loved this tour. Florin wasn't available but he connected us with his colleague Alex who made the trip into a great combination of seeing "The Sites" (wooden churches, the Merry Cemetery), which we loved, and low-key road-trip exploration (stopping at some small farmer's markets, staying in a rural pension where the only other tourists were domestic, marveling over a walnut tree and stopping right in the middle of parking lot to eat the fresh nuts), which we also loved. There was an off-itinerary museum that we really wanted to see along the way, and Alex was happy to comply and suggest the necessary changes in our itinerary to fit it in. Alex was really knowledgable and easy to talk to. We took the two-day tour, but would recommend extending it if you can; we wished we could have spent longer exploring Maramures. There's plenty of driving time in this tour, but lots to look at and talk about (and naps to take in the back seat). We were stitching this trip together with time in Bucharest and time in Transylvania, and emailed with Marius (of Romanian Friend) in advance to get his advice about how to order our trip. That was really helpful. What we did is fly into Cluj-Napoca from Bucharest and have Alex meet us at the airport, which worked well!
Florin was just fantastic: his love for Romania was shown from the very first minute we met. Two wonderful days in the Maramures region where in spite of the winter season we manage to see the wonders of this lovely part of Romania. We highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to see the wooden churches and everything else Maramures has to offer!
Our tour with Florin was great. Thanks to Florin we saw not only the most famous sites in Maramures region, but also a few of the rare, off-the-beaten-path places on the tour. Florin is very knowledgeable about many subjects, including history, architecture, linguistics and so he proved to be a great source of information on the tour. He also is a very good and thoughtful organizer and he made sure we were exposed to various aspects of life in Romania. We met wonderful people and ate great local food. We stayed at a village guest house in an old wooden house which featured many traditional elements, yet was very comfortable. The car ride, despite being relatively long, was pleasant and safe. Thanks for everything and to Romanian Friend for recommending this trip!
The trip in Maramures was highly enjoyable and Florin was a great guide! He was very helpful and always went a step further for us, which we are grateful of. He was also very knowledgeable, not just about Romania but also the region and other worldly affairs. We loved conversing with him. I also appreciate the quick responses from Romanian Friend and help with linking us up. Thanks for everything!
My recent 2-day tour visiting Maramures region with Florin was spectacular. Florin's knowledge is boundless, his enthusiasm contagious and his well-planned itinerary excellent. The Maramures region is packed with wonderful scenery, wondrous wooden churches and a center for maintaining century's old traditional lifestyles. The staff at Romanian Friend couldn't have been more helpful or courteous. The entire experience was A+ and I can highly recommend joining Florin for a trip through Maramures.
Other tours nearby
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Complete tour of Maramures & Bucovina
Start from: Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara or Bucharest
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Colibita Lake 2-Day Trip
Start from: Cluj-Napoca
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