27 / 7 / 2010
www.beyondtheforest.com provides everything you need to plan your holiday - unbiased travel information based on extensive, personal travel and an unparallelled network of local specialists.
A selection of flexible, tailormade holidays suggestions
including the 'Jonathan Harker Trail' up to the Borgo Pass
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This tour can be arranged for groups or societies on request, or it can be adapted as a tailormade holiday. Contact your travel agent or tour operator to put togethe a quote for your group, or for a tailormade option.
HALLOWEEN 2010: please email for details of special Halloween Dracula themed breaks with Count Kalnoky near Brasov, and also inclusive holidays nased near Sighisoara.
"Just returned from the Ultimate Halloween tour and would just like to thank you for a wonderful experience. Special mention must go to the guide Ramona, one could have not wished for a better, more professional, well informed FUN guide, She is a truly wonderful person and a joy to be around!" D.&J.K. (Derbyshire)
Click here for further testimonials
To book your perfect holiday
we recommend:
0800 074 7800
www.travelcounsellors.co.uk
A quaity, personal service by
travel experts in your local area
'Count Dracula had directed me to go to the Golden Krone Hotel ... I dined on what they call 'robber steak' - bits of bacon, onion and beef, seasoned with red pepper and strung on sticks and roasted over the fire in the simple style of the London cat's-meat! The wine was Golden Mediasch, which produces a queer sting on the tongue ..."
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
The suggested tour starts in the city of Cluj, the cultural capital of Imperial Transylvania. The Hungarians called it 'Kolozsvar', the Saxons 'Klausenburg'. However, you have no time to explore its treasures just yet since you have a train to catch, to take you to the old Saxon town of Bistritz (Bistrita) where you dine, and spend the night at the 'Golden Krone'. There is barely time to pray for forgiveness since, in the morning, you must push on further and deeper into the remote Carpathians to seek out the Vampire Count in his homeland. A century earlier the unsuspecting solicitor, Jonathan Harker was also warned against travelling up the 'Borgo' Pass to Castle Dracula. "Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?" the landlord's wife begged of him. As a precaution garlic should be hung over your bed. This would also be an appropriate time to wear the little crucifix you may have bought along with you.
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Dracula Collection |
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ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN 5-6 Days / 4-5 Nights HIGHLIGHTS Cluj (Klausenburg) Train to Bistritz Jonathan Harker Trail Horse & Cart journey "Borgo" Pass Hotel Castle Dracula Bistrita (Bistritz) (Golden Krone) Târgu Mures (Halloween Ball in Citadel) Biertan UNESCO fortress church Sighisoara Dracula's Birthplace, This tour is recommended for clubs, societies or groups A similar itinerary can be arranged for individuals |
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The Dracula Trail - FICTION - |
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"Borgo" (Bargau ) Pass Hotel Castel Dracula Jonathan Harker's Journey (Carriage ride to Castel Dracula) Bistrita ("Bistritz") "Golden Krone Inn" (Hotel Coroana de Aur) Cluj ("Klausenburg") Bran Castle |
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The Dracula Trail - FACT - |
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Bucharest (Curtea Veche) Targoviste (Princely Court / Chindia Tower) Curtea de Arges Arefu Poienari Castle Ruins Sighisoara (Schässburg) Brasov (Tampa Hill) Fagaras Snagov |
To book your perfect holiday
we recommend:
0800 074 7800
www.travelcounsellors.co.uk
A quaity, personal service by
travel experts in your local area
'There was everywhere a bewildering mass of fruit blossom - apple, pear, cherry;
and as we drove by I could see the green grass under the trees spangled with the fallen petals'
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
After breakfast, you ride through the infamous orchards of the Mitteland (the fruit has been picked, the petals have gone - winter is approaching) and ascend into the Bargau Mountains. When the road becomes impassable you transfer to horses and carts to ascend the 'Borgo Pass' by tracks in the forest. The journey through the silent, dark forests and over the plateau is lengthy and the hours of daylight are short. Note the red tassels worn by the horse pulling your cart to ward off the evil eye, for this is a land of myths, superstitions and the omnipresent feeling of danger. A picnic lunch will be taken in the forest, perhaps in the safety of a woodcutters hut if you can find one. The Count’s Castle, Hotel Castle Dracula, appears as you cross the summit, standing out on the hillside guarding over the password. It has a crypt and a cemetery for good measure. Evening meal and overnight at Hotel Castle Dracula. A drink in the moon tower bar may calm the nerves.
"Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road - a long, agonized wailing as if from fear. The sound was taken up by another dog, then another and another, till, borne on the wind which now sighed softly through the Pass, a wild howling began which seemed to come from all over the country, as far as the imagination could grasp it through the gloom of the night. ... Then, far off in the distance, from the mountains on each side of us began a louder and sharper howling - that of wolves!"
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
I could only see the gleam of a pair of very bright eyes, which seemed red in the lamplight, as he turned towards us."
... The night is chill mein Herr, and my master the Count bade me take care of you.
There is a flask of Slivowitz (the plum brandy of the country) underneath the seat, if you should require it."'
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
''By the road there were many crosses, and as we swept by, my companions all crossed themselves'
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
The survivors will descend the Borgo Pass to Bistrita then continue past the spooky church of Herina and through the beautiful, but mysterious, Transylvanian Highlands. Notice the abundance of roadside crosses. You continue to the Hungarian-speaking stronghold of Târgu Mures. Here you will be treated to a 5-6 hour Halloween Vampire Ball in the historic fortified bastion of the town, the place where the last witches were burned in Europe in 1784. There will be wine, song, feasting and dance, live mediaeval music, actors, minstrels, strange rituals and games ... and an appearance by the Count himself! Overnight in the 3-star Hotel Continental.
You now enter Saxon Transylvania, where you visit the romantic, mediaeval walled-town of Sighisoara (Schässburg), the place where the real Dracula, Vlad the Impaler was born in 1431.. Explore the cobbled alleyways, pretty squares and ramparts of this fascinating citadel.
OPTION 1. 5 DAY/ 4 NIGHT TOUR
Transfer to the station for your local express train to Cluj. Depart 12:36 - arrive 15:54. The journey takes you along the Tarnave Valley and over the Transylvanian Heath. Ttransfer to the centrally located Hotel Fullton for dinner and overnight. Your hotel is situated in the city centre, close to the house where the famous Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, one of Dracula's key adversaries, was born in 1440.
Whether it is Kolozsvár, the Imperial capital of Austro-Hungarian Transylvania, Klausenburg, one of the Saxon Siebenbürgen, or present day Cluj-Napoca, the cultural centre of northern Romania, this city is a lively, melting pot, an intellectual centre with an active cafe society, renowned university, museums, theatres and eye-catching architecture.
OPTION 2. 6 DAY/ 5 NIGHT TOUR
Time to explore the mediaeval town of Sighisoara, including a visit to the museum in the old clocktower, the church on the hill with its ancient cemetery. The view from the clocktower over the red roofs is memorable. Lunch at Casa Vlad Dracula, the house where Dracula was allegedly born. Afternoon visit to the traditional Transylvanian village of Saschiz. Evening meal and overnight in one of the historic hotels in the romantic citadel.
OPTION 1. 5 DAY/ 4 NIGHT TOUR
Transfer to the airport for your early morning flight home.
OPTION 2. 6 DAY/ 5 NIGHT TOUR
Breakfast, then travel through the Tarnave Valley of Transylvania to the picturesque Saxon village of Biertan to visit the fortress church, listed as a World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Learn about the culture and history of the Saxon Transylvanians with their churches and villages fortified against Tatar Marauders then, after lunch in the village, continue over the Transylvanian Heath ro Cluj. Sightseeing then onwards to Hotel Fullton for dinner and overnight.
DAY 6
Transfer to the airport for your early morning flight home.
OPTIONAL:
Additional nights can be added in Cluj, or your holiday may be extended to include other regions.
Please note that Halloween tours are popular and early booking is recommended to secure a place.
- Travel throughout by air-conditioned minibus or coach plus rail travel as indicated
- Accommodation in comfortable 3 star hotels
- Full-board throughout
- Sightseeing tours and special events as outlined above including the 'Jonathan Harker Trail' horse & cart ride, and the Halloween Vampire Ball
- Professional English-speaking Guides
- All applicable entrance fees and local taxes
We recommend WIZZ flights from Luton to Cluj:
Luton 08:10 - Cluj 13:00; Cluj 06:20 - Luton 07:25
Times local and subject to change
2 hour time difference - UK & Romania
Group Rates available
Other airlines serving Cluj include Malev via Budapest, Tarom via Bucharest and Austrian via Vienna
Rail connections available from Sibiu, Timiusoara and Bucharest
Please call a specialist agent for a group quotation.
Additional services can also be included, including Witch Trials, Wine-tasting or City Tours
WARNING ABOUT BOOKING DRACULA TOURS ON THE INTERNET
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is! We strongly recommend that you book your travel arrangements through a reliable, fully licensed travel agent or tour operator. You should always check ATOL licenses and bonding arrangements or travel trust schemes before booking, and you should take out adequate travel insurance. We recommend TRAVEL COUNSELLORS in the UK, Netherlands, USA, and Australia because they have unparalleled financial protection, work with a wide range of quality, fully licensed tour operators such as Cox & Kings and Sunvil, in addition to local ground operators. Their consultants also provide a superb personal service. However, there are, of course, plenty of reliable alternatives.
Please take care if booking directly with hotels or operators in Romania advertising on the web. Some of them are unlicensed or uninsured. Travel is a unique commodity because you part with your money before you receive the service. This is why it is strictly regulated and legitimate agents and operators invest heavily in licenses, bonding schemes and trust accounts where monies are held back from suppliers until you have completed your holiday. Therefore, you as a traveller are protected. It is also important to note that ATOL licenses, unlike travel trust schemes, will only cover full packages booked under one licence. For example, if you book your flights direct on the internet, then book your accommodation through a travel agency, you would not be covered under their ATOL license.
By booking direct over the internet you are always taking a risk unless you have a personal recommendation or are able to check out the operator or hotel in question. Check for a registered address, evidence of licenses and financial protection, bank account details (not only PayPal), and a fixed, rather than mobile telephone number, and for independent reviews or recommendations. We have highlighted specific problems where we have come across them. Common complaints are hotels (especially on the Black Sea) which take reservations but cancel them if a higher paying client or group comes along. Other complaints include surcharges levied on arrival, hotels that have been overbooked, transfers in unroadworthy vehicles or with dangerous drivers, and tours that so not turn out to be as advertised. Remember, Romania is a huge country. One Romanian internet company is currently advertising a Dracula Tour which finishes with a day driving from Bucovina to Bucharest via the Danube Delta and the Black Sea ... impossible, even with the fastest, most dangerous driver! So please take time to research before booking to avoid disappointment. If you are concerned about a particuar tour or operator, you can check with the Romanian Embassy or Tourist Office to find out if they are genuine.
To book your perfect holiday
we recommend:
0800 074 7800
www.travelcounsellors.co.uk
A quaity, personal service by
travel experts in your local area
www.beyondtheforest.com provides everything you need to plan your holiday - unbiased travel information based on extensive, personal travel and an unparallelled network of local specialists.
1 Atkinson Court, Fell Foot, Newby Bridge, Cumbria, United Kingdom LA12 8NW - Tel. +44 (0)1539 531258; Email. info@lakelandbeyond.com