+40 722 568 720 | office@outdooractivities.ro

Outdoor Activities in Romania
  • About Us
  • Plan your tour
  • All tours
    • Family
    • Country break
    • Walking & Rural & Cultural
    • Adventure
  • Romania
    • About Romania
    • Main attractions in Romania
    • Useful information about Romania
  • Review us
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Plan your tour
  • All tours
    • Family
    • Country break
    • Walking & Rural & Cultural
    • Adventure
  • Romania
    • About Romania
    • Main attractions in Romania
    • Useful information about Romania
  • Review us
  • Blog
  • Contact
February 5, 2019  |  By Dan Chitila In Photography, Travel

Hiking in Romania: rules, peaks, tips

Retezat Mountains

Hiking in Romania is a beautiful experience. Actually, we love it so much that most of our private guided tours in Romania include at least a short guided hike in the mountains. Before coming to Romania for a hiking trip, here’s some information about peaks, rules, tips and tricks:

Safety first

If you are a passionate hiker, you probably already know these things. If not, maybe you will find this helpful. First of all, it’s always safe and useful to have with you: personal medicine and first aid kit (our guides also have it for our guests), the right gear for the season and something extra, head lamp, space blanket, emergency whistle. Secondly, you should always check the forecast, make sure you are fit for the trail and that there is enough time for it.

Check out more hiking tips here: Backpacking Essentials: 41 Hiking Tips For Beginners

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania

Hiking in Romania is not that easy

You might think that the Carpathians are not the highest mountains in the world so they are accessible. Actually, it’s not that easy and it is safe to be prepared for the planned hike. Talk to your guide beforehand or do some research to make sure you will be able to do the trail you have in mind.

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania

Do not drink water from the lakes

Most of the glacial lakes in Romania are so clear and clean that it seems like it is good drinking water. But it is not. So never drink water from the lakes and not from any river. Try to find small springs or make sure that at least 50 meters uphill of a river is clean. Otherwise, carry a bottle of drinking water with you. Anyway, our guides will always advise accordingly.

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania
Glacial lakes

You cannot camp in Romania unless…

Camping in Romania is only permitted in special areas. If you want to camp in the wilderness or wherever you want, it is not permitted. Unless… the night has come and you have no other option than camp right there where you are and you leave in the morning. So in the end camping is permitted anywhere only as a survival thing.

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania

You cannot start a campfire in Romania unless…

The same rule above applies to campfire. But you always have to be very careful with that in order not to start a bigger fire than you want. Safety first!

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania

“Lovely” shepherd dogs

After Easter and until the end of October, you will see many sheep herds up in the mountains in Romania while hiking. And where there’s a sheep herd, there’s a shepherd dog. Actually, there are up to 12 dogs and they are doing a great job protecting their sheep. They will run to you, they will bark and they will show their sharp and big teeth. They will look very dangerous and they really are but they will not actually bite unless you provoke them. So keep your calm and keep going. If you see the shepherd, ask him to call his dogs. Also, most of the shepherds are not very talkative.

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania

The bears

There are plenty of bears in Romania, in the mountain areas. To clarify, the biggest population of bears in Europe is in Romania. Therefore, if you feel that you are hiking in a wild area where bears might roam, try talking loudly or singing a song. If a bear will hear you, they would go on their way. If camping, NEVER keep food or anything smelly in your tent, put them at least 50 meters away from you during the night. Also, a campfire will let the animals know you are there and they will avoid you.

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania

Do not leave anything behind

Take a garbage bag with you and use it for your own litter. Do not leave any trash behind. Keep the mountains clean.

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania

Did you know?

  • The Carpathian Mountains go through 6 countries: Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland but most of the range is in Romania where it occupies more than half of the country’s surface.
  • The highest peak in the whole Carpathian range is in Slovakia (2600meters) but all the second highest ones are in Romania: Moldoveanu Peak (2544 meters), Negoiu (2535 meters) and Vistea (2527 meters)

hiking in romania - private guided tours romania

See more photos from Romania on our Instagram page.

hiking mountains private tour romania
Previous StoryWhy choose Outdoor Activities in Romania
Next StoryWhy book a shared guided tour in Romania

Related Articles

  • Cerna Valley in Romania
    An active tour in Romania: outdoor activities in Cerna Valley
  • Hiking in Transylvania
    A day hike in Transylvania

Leave your comment Cancel Reply

(will not be shared)

Categories

Hidden gems horse back riding Multi day tours ideas Photography Travel

Are you looking for?

activities with children romania autumn biking brasov cities Ciucas countryside culture family activities romania family tours family tours romania Family travel romania glacial lakes guided hiking tour romania guided tour in transylvania guided tour romania Guided tours romania guide hiking romania guide romania hiking hiking fagaras Hiking guide hiking romania Iezer Papusa LANDSCAPES Maramures mountains national park nature october photography Piatra Craiului Private guided tour romania private guide romania private tour romania Retezat romania rural sightseeing tours Transylvania travel travel romania village winter tours romania
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions

© Copyright Outdoor Activities Romania | Icons made by Freepik.

Dan

 

My name is Dan, full-time tour and mountain guide and owner of Outdoor Activities in Romania.
A long time ago I heard that if you really want something and you strongly believe in this, the whole Universe starts to conspire in your favour. My dream was to become a guide and have the privilege of showing other people the beautiful places that I’ve seen in Romania.
Now, I do what I like and I like what I do. For me, this is as good as it gets.
The plan for Outdoor Activities in Romania started in 2012, as an idea meant to bring memorable travel experiences to the people who want to discover the authentic Romania. The idea turned into a spark, and the spark turned into a flame.
I started my story with an old backpack, too small for the dreams and plans I wanted to fulfill, and with a pair of mountain boots too tired for the trips I had in mind.
Over the next three years, my backpack changed a few times and my mountain boots took different sizes. Some things though, remained the same, and those are my passion for hiking, climbing, photography, visiting and discovering the traditional Romanian villages, meeting new people and having a drink at the local pub.
In 2015, I founded Outdoor Activities in Romania, a company that offers guided tours in Romania….with an active twist! Before that, I guided groups around the country, advocating for the varied and stunning landscapes my country has to offer.
I met and served tourists from the UK, USA, Thailand, Japan, Australia, Israel, Belgium, Holland, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Jordan, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia.

I am Cristina and I own a degree in French and German Philology. I consider myself a good communicator, so I quickly realized that languages are a means of exchanging ideas and knowledge with people visiting Romania. I love my country so that’s why I invested time and energy in studying art, history and geography. Ever since I was little, I would interact with foreign visitors in my hometown or just friends who came from other places, and I took a lot of pleasure in showing them around and telling them stories and legends about the region.
Later on, I understood I had to put all these passions in practice and building something more valuable so I completed two courses – one four a tour guide and one for a mountain guide. I have always believed that travelling around the world helps you understand life and people better and become more empathetic. During my studies and previous work, I had a lot of contact with foreigners so whenever I accompany them to visit my country, it fills me up with joy to see how much they enjoy it and the fact that they discover us from a new perspective. Romania is beautiful in many ways, and I am not saying you should visit it just because it’s my country; I strongly believe that whatever your interests and curiosities are, – mountains, birds, waters, fish, wine, monasteries, villages off the beaten track, craft art – you will find it here.
I can’t wait to meet you and show all that!

Jessica

 

I’m an adventurer at heart. It doesn’t matter if you drop me in a forest, jungle, mountain or at the beach. When I’m surrounded by nature I’m the best version of myself. Originally I’m from the Netherlands, but I feel more like a world citizen since I lived in a lot of other countries as well. I studied journalism and since 2014 I work as a content creator, mainly in the travel and leisure industry. I’m capturing stories with interviews, writing, photography and video – or a combination of that all!

 

 

Alexandra

 

Passionate about beautifulness, the internet and communities. I have been on-line for 20 years. We will do beautiful things together, and everything will run like clock-work!

Carmina

 

With an experience of over 14 years in tourism field, Carmina worked in different travel agencies and in the last 7 years she has dedicated her time to work with various travel companies(travel agencies, accommodation units, equitation centres and tour companies) on developing business and marketing strategies as well as organizing different events for them. 

Besides her work as a consultant for travel companies, Carmina is a travel writer, has a travel blog – TravelwithaSmile.net – and works on marketing campaigns for promoting different countries like Romania, Austria and Thailand. Also you may find some of her work in National Geographic Traveler (Romania) magazine.

Manu

 

When I’m not in the mountains with the tourists you can find me teaching yoga, running marathons, doing fitness and basically…living healthy. Till the age of 27, I have traveled over 50 countries and visited more than 250 cities/places all over the world. It is part of my professional culture to be very close to the tourist and pay attention to details. I am always looking forward to adapt the tours for an unforgettable experience.  

Romania is a very beautiful country. By working in collaboration with Outdoor Activities, I have the chance to discover and promote the hidden treasures.  

Looking forward to meeting you on our tours!