🏨 Private Day Trip True Castles of Vlad Dracula and Transfagarasan Road Activity

Private Day Trip True Castles of Vlad Dracula and Transfagarasan Road

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From $120.05

3 reviews (5.00)

Price varies by group size

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Pricing Info: Per Person

Duration: 12 hours

Departs: Bucharest, Bucharest

Ticket Type: Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

Learn more

Overview

Take a day tour from Bucharest to Poenari, the true castle of the famous Vlad the Impaler and one of the most popular sights in Romania. Built on the top of a cliff, the castle had a great strategic position and nowadays offers a great view over the Arges Valley. You will visit also the Targoviste, the real residence of Vlad the Implaer, known as Dracula and also Vidraru Dam and the best road in Romania: Transfagarasan.

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle

Hotel/meeting point pick-up and drop-off

Private Tour

Professional guide

What's Not Included

Entrance fees

Tips for the tour guide / driver

Traveler Information

INFANT: Age: 0 - 2
CHILD: Age: 3 - 13
YOUTH: Age: 14 - 25
ADULT: Age: 26 - 54
SENIOR: Age: 55 - 90

Additional Info

Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
From 1st July to 30th October, we will skip Targoviste and vsee the Transfagarasan road From 30th October to 30th June Transfagarasan Road is closed and you will visit Targoviste Princely Court (open from Tuesday to Sunday)
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Regular temperature checks for staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
From 1st July to 30th October, we will skip Targoviste and vsee the Transfagarasan road From 30th October to 30th June Transfagarasan Road is closed and you will visit Targoviste Princely Court (open from Tuesday to Sunday)
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Regular temperature checks for staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

What To Expect

Princely Church

In the morning meet with your guide at your hotel in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The tour will leave Bucharest going west and visit the Royal Court in Targoviste first.

In 1436, Vlad Dracul, the father of Vlad Dracula Tepes (the Impaler), became the ruler of Wallachia and moved to the Royal Court in Targoviste. It is in Targoviste that Vlad Dracula became famous for his cruelty. In 1459, during Easter Sunday, he impaled the all old noble men and enslaved the young ones to build his Poenari Fortress. He accused them of murdering his father.

In 1459, from his royal court in Targoviste, Vlad The Impaler refused to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire. He won one memorable victory against the Ottomans in which he disguised himself as a Janissary and attacked the Ottoman army camped near Targoviste.

Vlad Dracula also built Chindia Tower, the landmark of the city, for surveillance and defense purposes. It is partly built from a church and is 27 meters high and 9 meters in diameter. The legend says that once you climb all 122 stairs, you will never forget Targoviste and he will come back.

The oldest written document about Targoviste Royal Court dates back to 1396. In the 17th century, the Royal Court was set on fire at the orders of the Ottoman Empire and the capital of Wallachia was moved to Bucharest.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Curtea de Arges Monastery

Curtea de Arges was the former second capital of Wallachia, in the southern region of Romania, and the strongholds that were rebuilt in the 14th century. See its Princely Church and its fresco ed interior which is one of the first examples of Romanian paintings. The Episcopal Church (the monastery) is a recreation of the original, which was built in 1512 -1517 by prince Neagoe Basarab (rebuilt in 1875 – 1885) and Olari Church.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Poienari Castle

Standing on a cliff but now in ruins; it is known as the real castle of Dracula (Vlad Tepes). To get to the top you must climb up its 1400 steps (takes approx. 1 hour). Once you arrive at the top of the Citadel you will find that the citadel is surprisingly small, one third of it collapsed down the mountainside in 1888. Entering through a narrow wooden bridge, you come across the crumbling remains of two towers within; the prism shaped one was Vlad’s (Dracula’s) residential quarters, from here, according to the legend, the Impaler’s wife flung herself out of the window, declaring that it was better this way than to be captured by the Turks, who were besieging the castle. Legend has it that Vlad himself escaped over the mountains on horseback.

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Vidraru Dam

The Vidraru Dam was completed in 1966 with the primary purpose of serving a hydroelectrical power plant. One of the largest hydroelectric dams in Europe it stands 166 metres tall and can produce as much as 400 GWh of power per year. The Transfagarasan Highway passes over the top of the dam, which is 305 metres in length. The dam - which took more than five years to build - created the artificial Vidraru Lake on the Arges river in 1965.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Transfagarasan Highway

More than 150 kilometres in length the Transfagarasan Highway is Romania’s most spectacular and best known road and, thanks to an appearance on BBC Top Gear in 2009, now one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions. Fully open only from June to October, the road’s highest point is at 2042 metres: the tunnel which links the northern and southern sides at Lake Balea (Balea Lac).

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Bucharest

Finally, return to Bucharest where we’ll arrive in the evening. Drop-off at your hotel in Bucharest.

• Admission Ticket Free

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Private Day Trip True Castles of Vlad Dracula and Transfagarasan Road Activity - Bucharest Travel Guide

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