"It was an absolutely fantastic experience. I am sincerely grateful to you and to Catalin for the adventure in Bulgaria and Romania.
The route we took was full and intense but that is exactly how we prefer it. It seems to me now that we have learnt more about the two countries that you have managed to squeeze almost every notable highlight into the time we had available (with the exception of Sighisoara and Biertan) – but of course we knew that from the beginning. We even saw Pliska which was an interesting addition. I am very glad that we were able to include Varna and the surrounding area – especially Nesebar. My wife was ecstatic about that little town. We particularly loved Maramures – that was a highlight of our entire visit. Out hotels were great – thank you. For us it was a perfect tour.
Catalin was a wonderful guide. We pestered him with so many questions and so much history – and he patiently answered all he could or came back with more information when he was not able to answer immediately. He stopped for all the photos I wanted to take. He was very caring and attentive. We had good laughs together and a good time. Thank you.
All I can say at the end of it all is that we got what we had hoped for and more. Thank you very much. We shall certainly recommend your services to our friends and hope that you get more business from our part of the world. I trust you will have a good season and that your business will grow."
"Stefan and Catalin were fantastic guides, with a great passion for Romania's history, culture and people. The first two days with Stefan were long, but he did not rush us at all. Similarly Catalin was happy to stop and spend time at places that interested us, even if it meant that we did not keep to the schedule. Both guides' intimate knowledge of the areas that we visited allowed us to gain a great understanding of the country and people. In our longer time with Catalin we were able to see his close connection with the people of Vadu Izei, the wood carver Teoader Barsan, and the gypsy family, which made our experience even better.
We feel that we have seen a lot of the real Romania, off the main tourist trail with our time in Viscri.
The itinerary was very good, and although there were some long days there was also time to relax. The hotels were good and the stay in Vadu Izei was a highlight. Stefan and Catalin recommended some excellent restaurants and Romanian dishes, and we very much enjoyed the food and plum brandy. Having wi fi in Catalin's car was very useful and an unexpected bonus.
We will recommend Romania and Balkan Trails to our friends."
We were very happy with all aspects of the tour. I've just posted about it on Trustpilot. We were especially happy with Catalin and Stoyan and how helpful and friendly they were throughout. We would definitely recommend the trip to others.
The only change I might suggest are to incorporate a visit to see the Buzludzha site into the Bulgaria itinerary, because it is a striking place and not a big detour. Otherwise it is a great tour!
"Vlad and Zoe certainly deserve five stars for organizing our adventure. Our guides, Dilyan in Bulgaria and Catalin in Romania, were amazing in their depth of knowledge and, more important, with their kindness and help. We became friends and will keep in contact. Bulgaria and Romania are two fascinating countries with rich and varied histories that most Americans know little about. Our adventure educated us for which we are grateful. And we love the yogurt. We give them the highest recommendation without reservations."
"I want to thank you for arranging a wonderful trip for Jerry and I and selecting Val as our guide. It was a fabulous itinerary enhanced by many fun and interesting suggestions from Val. It just couldn't have been any better!
One day we were stuck without a place for lunch in a small community, however resourceful Val managed to pull one out of his hat. We enjoyed a spontaneous meal served by a lovely woman who then decided we needed to try on the native costume."
"What an unforgettable experience! Our 3 weeks in Bulgaria and Romania was fabulous, from your outstanding tour guides (Toma and Catalin), fantastic choices of central, beautiful and comfortable hotels, and outstanding professional service both before and during the tour. We could not be more pleased and plan to spread the word about your tour company and the hidden gems of Bulgaria and Romania.
We wish you both continued success with your company and we thank you again for an absolutely amazing experience."
"Your tour company took us to six countries from Bulgaria to Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Republic of Moldova and Serbia. This required lots of planning on your part and it worked out very well. Going through immigration and customs, driving through roads and providing hotels and guide facilities, all were perfect. Only an experienced tour company could plan so well. We must have seen countless beautiful churches, museums, Unesco sights, gardens and cities. Indeed these countries are like heaven. Cultural shows and visit to Gypsy family was great.
We are back from long Balkan tour of 28 days, treasuring memories of Balkan people, customs, way of living and nature. These countries have unique culture and very long history of war and peace. Now that all things are politically stable, it is fascinating to visit and discover Balkan. We think it is very opportune time to visit for anyone.
Among all, I like to thank you for having great team of guides and drivers. They were not only excellent and defensive drivers but with great knowledge of each location visited and they provided us with in depth history. Having access to internet in the cars was very useful. Stoyan , Catalin as well as Zlatan were very helpful and accommodative on all aspect of the trip. For such a long trip, they became like our family friends.
It was also indeed nice of you and your wife to stop by and meet us and take us out for lunch. Wine and chocolates, you left in the hotel shows your generosity and it represents how much you care for each and every client. This only happens when you love what you do and indeed you both do.
Now that we are spoiled by your services, we will only take private tours of the other countries. With tour company like yours it is so easy."
"This was a tour I booked at the last minute. What I liked about the process was that I had immediate feedback from your company on any questions
I had. You were also very prompt in letting me know about what was going on such as a Best Western Hotel you booked to replace
Hotel Casa Humor in Gura Humorului because of our late booking. The one small negative on the tour was our 2 night stay in Gura Humorului,
as there wasn't a lot to do. I would have preferred to be somewhere with a few more shops. However it was no big deal and perhaps with the logistics
Gura Humorului was the best option.
Also, you were prompt in informing me who my guide, Valentin, would be along with his phone number. I felt that you kept up-to-date on meeting me at the bus
station and picking my wife and I up at the hotel in Bucharest the first morning. One of the best things about the tour was the fact that I knew what to expect and the flexibility was also nice. From my viewpoint it is important to keep people informed and you did an excellent job of this.
Concerning Val, our tour guide:
He was waiting at the bus station in Bucharest to pick us up when we arrived from Sofia and each morning always met us at our hotel at the appointed time.
Val went out of his was to accommodate us anyway he could. I needed to drop a package in Bucharest which he helped us do on our way out of Bucharest
the first morning and made sure the package got to the right people and made a follow up phone call. Val was very knowledgeable about everything and
was a good driver, not taking unnecessary chances. He gave suggestions about changing money at banks and each day he selected excellent restaurants
and had dinner with us, which we enjoyed. We were sorry to have the gypsy dinner cancelled but Val, in lieu of that, did buy our dinner that day.
He was very honest in any dealings I had with him. I also like the fact that he kept the car cleaned, gassed each evening and ready to go. Val was a very
knowledgeable person and helped us in and out of the car. (We are an older couple) Val did everything he could for us to have an excellent tour.
Thanks to Val and your company for making this a great experience.
Romania is a beautiful country."
"Our trip was really great in every way. Catalin could not have been more accommodating - he added little gems that all five of us really enjoyed. He even tried to work in the salt mines for us and did take us to the airport on Saturday! He's a keeper for your company. Would have enjoyed meeting you or your wife but he was an outstanding substitute. Please check out our remarks on Trip Advisor. Thanks again for your help in facilitating this."
"We were very satisfied, thank you for your friendly and professional services. We loved Romania and hope to return someday!"
"The tour is well planned, not only it covers most of the tourist must visit places, Balkan Trails even planned out the itineraries to visit more places other than those written on tour books. The tour covers the important cities, the country sides, the sea and the mountains.
I find visiting the local craftsmith on the horse wagon is most interesting. We have a chance to speak to the locals and see how they lives, giving us a more indepth of the beautiful countries. Not forgetting to mention Day 14, we have a chance to visit a Gypsy family and have a chat with them too.
I find both the guides (Toma & Catalin)are both very professional:
On time
Not only follow the itinerary but willing to bring us to couple of places upon our request.
Especially Catalin, he even did the city walk at Bucharest with us. Much appreciated. And Toma show us more of the country sites.
Very informative, esp. on where to eat, when we were on our own.
The hotels are well located. We enjoyed the Guesthouse and the B&B stays at Vadu Izei and Viscri.
Well, I have enjoyed the tour and so is my husband -we like both the countries so much, and in future, we do not mind visiting again during the winter months."
"I am totally satisfied with everything we did, I think you put such a lot of thought into it all that you did not leave much to improve upon.
The two guides were excellent, we very much enjoyed their company as well as being able to rely on them for good translations and communication with locals. I appreciated having a Bulgarian guide in Bulgaria and a Romanian guide in Romania.
We did enjoy having the flexibility of going off the route slightly to check out the village of Breb which I mentioned to Catalin that I had read about and was curious to see. It was a most enjoyable experience and it was especially nice just to walk around a village that was not on a particular tourist route and be greeted by the locals. One man even invited us into his yard to show off his animals and cane woven products.
Meeting the Gypsies was also of great interest to me, as I did not know much about them apart from what I have read. It would be good to enlarge upon that part of the tour maybe for those who are interested.
Di and I both had a wonderful experience and we thank you so much for arranging it all for us. We will certainly contact you in the future when we wish to return to this part of the world."
"We really had a super trip through Romania. Adi is a very personable, friendly, and knowledgable guide. He was eager to please and happy to accomodate photo and bathroom stops and other similar requests. Of the sights we visited, Peles was for me the most impressive. It is easily the most beautiful castle I have ever visited. All of the hotels were very nice; the locations were superb. It doesn't get any better than staying in the Piata Mica in Sibiu or inside the walls of Sighisoara!"
"We learned so many things during this trip : religion, politics, history, art, beautiful scenery, people, economics, which gave us a comprehensive picture of the two countries. Thanks to your two guides which are able to discuss so many subjects.
All these enrich our knowledge and understanding. We took 1940 pictures which speaks for itself.
The car in Romania was a Mercedes which allowed us to enjoy longs hours ride through the country side with an excelent driver. The hotels were well chosen and we always had a good rest. We are satisfied with this tour and will have many good memories in our life.
Hope that your agency will serve more tourists from many countries and satisfy them as we you did us."
"We enjoyed the European style hotels we were booked in. They were quaint and very charming. We particularly enjoyed our visit and meal at the home of Lucia, the egg designer. Our visit with the gypsy family was an eye-opening experience. Adrian made every effort to satisfy our interests and stopped several times to ask the peasants questions for us along the way.
We are so glad we chose to see Romania with a personal guide rather than on a tour with a larger group of people. This gave us a lot of more flexibility and a more intimate experience with the people of Romania."
"We think our tour with Stoyan has been one of the best we have done. Stoyan was an excellent driver/guide, very considerate, and full of knowledge about Bulgaria and it's history. We rate your company highly, and would certainly recommend it to friends. Thank you for being so organised and informative, it was all made very easy for us."
"Can't begin to express my thanks to you, your firm and both my guides. Stoyan and I happened upon a Festival of St. Marko Day in Momina Kliabura with the women attired in their village culture. Truly this was a highlight of the trip and totally out of the blue (a large group would have never done this, but Stoyan did). It was a pleasure to have traveled under your auspices. It was a treat and one I shall never forget."
"The tour far surpassed my expectations. I chose to work with Balkan Trails because of the flexibility in creating an itinerary to fit my schedule. Also, Vlad was quick to respond to any question or concern. Catalin was a wonderful guide with just enough facts without sounding like the encyclopaedia. Stoyan was also very accomodating even going so far as to arrive 30 mins early for our departure from the hotel just to be sure he got there on time!! The food and accomodations were all good. I would definitely recommend Balkan Trails for future travellers."
