Travel information

Travel informations

For every trip booked on www.carpathian-hiking.com every guest can choose the way of getting there. This is the reason why we don’t offer flight bookings or booking of train tickets. Should you choose to arrive by plane or by train, we assume that you are familiar with the online booking of flights or train tickets, and recommend you the direct booking channel. If you prefer personal advice but a lower price for transportation, please contact a travel agency of your confidence in this regard. Please note that you should book your flight or train ticket only after having received the booking confirmation, otherwise, under certain circumstances, you may incur cancellation charges (if the booked trip cannot be confirmed at the desired date or at all). If you arrive by personal car, please obtain by yourself all necessary and most recent information about the Romanian traffic regulations as well as about entry from abroad.

Tour level of difficulty

In our description, each field day is described with level of difficulty and includes specifications about the differences of heights and lengths of hiking trails. Generally, all our hiking tours are of medium degree of difficulty. This means that our hiking tours are easy to manage by healthy people in normal physical condition. Experience in this area of activity is of course an advantage.

Particularities & Wishes (specify when booking)

Basically we offer you the possibility to pass on any special wishes in advance of your holiday. Frequent wishes are for example “vegetarian diet” or “separated beds” for persons travelling alone but want to share a room. Please remember that passing on your wishes is only possible if you let us know about them in time. You should therefore ideally specify all your wishes directly when booking, or at the latest one month before departure! Unfortunately, later incoming requests can not always be considered and may need to be resolved on site.

Equipment list

  • Valid Identification Card or Passport;
  • Travel documents;
  • Means of payment (cash, cash-card or credit card);
  • Photocopies of the most important documents (keep separated);
  • Daypack (approx. 30 l);
  • Hiking boots (ankle-high, worn in well);
  • Photographic equipment, battery-charger, eventually memory card;
  • Hooded anorak, rainwear;
  • Long pants and shorts;
  • lang- und kurzärmelige Hemden/Blusen;
  • Long and short-sleeved shirts/blouses;
  • Pullover or fleece;
  • Sun protection, sunglasses;
  • Headpiece;
  • Hiking socks;
  • Drinking bottle (approx. 1 l volume);
  • First-aid kit, if necessary: drugs, insect repellents;
  • Optionally telescopic hiking pole (preferably sliding, because long/rigid poles must often be ceded as bulky luggage and additional fees may apply at the airport);
  • Food storage containers (for picnics), possibly penknife (not in your hand luggage when flying);
  • Experience has shown that after 5-6 years, the adhesive keeping together the sole and the shoe of hiking boots can detach. For this reason, please check the state of your hiking boots before departure, because purchasing a new pair during the travel is difficult or not at all possible.

Instructions

Wishes for your travel must be in a reasonable range. Unfortunately not all requests can be considered for groups in general and particularly for travels to Eastern Europe. This applies especially for example for very particular catering wishes and/or food intolerances. Everyone who travels should be clearly aware of the fact that the usual standards from home cannot be expected here. The travel to some European countries is not only a trip to an unknown and mostly untouched country, but there are also some differences in the service orientation and attention to comfort. Please remember this and let hospitality convince you.

Money and credit cards

The currency unit is LEI (= 100 Bani), plural LEI (RON), EUR 1,- is approx. 4.45 LEI, 1 LEI approx. EUR 0,22 (as at February 2016). Credit cards are accepted in important hotels, restaurants and stores. In the larger cities like Bucharest, Brasov, Sighisoara and Sibiu you can use the EC Card that you use (with V Pay or Maestro symbols) to withdraw cash from ATM machines. Please check with your bank about possible fees. We recommend you to carry sufficient cash, because it is less complicated to exchange it in banks or exchange offices. Please don’t exchange any money immediately after arrival, because the exchange rate is relatively poor. Your tour guide will inform you in this matter.

If credit or EC cards are lost or stolen

Should you realize your credit card was lost or stolen, immediately inform your bank/credit institute so that they can block your credit card, or use the following central telephone number to block your card (fee-based). The common credit card companies offer own, partly free of charge numbers, which are especially designated for each country:

  • Visa: 0808-03-4288 after the beep, please enter 888-557-4416;
  • MasterCard:1-636-722-7111;
  • American Express: 1-800-333-AMEX (toll-free) or 1-715-343-7977 (direct-dial collect);
  • Costs might be generated also for calls from the hotel or mobile phone, depending on the provider.

Health regulations

There are diseases transmitted by ticks in the forests of the Carpathians.
Further information may be obtained from your general practitioner.

Climate

Romania has continental climate with hot summer and cold winter temperatures.

Additional costs

Your travel includes all catering services specified in the description of each travel (see paragraph services). All other additional costs for food, drinks, tips, souvenirs as well as optional trips and sightseeing shall be borne directly by the customer.