FAQ

The questions below are in most cases extracted from our correspondence with our clients. Have a look, maybe the question forming in your mind right now has been answered already, and you haven’t even had a chance to ask it!

What is included with your tours?

All our tours include:

  • The possibility of having your itinerary customized before the tour starts at no extra charge. The itinerary customization can include pacing changes, selection of hotels, sights we include (or skip), etc.
  • Great flexibility regarding changes to the daily itinerary even after the start of the tour
  • The services of a private licensed English-speaking guide (also driving)
  • All guide's expenses (meals, accommodation, etc.)
  • Private transportation in an air-conditioned car (or minivan, depending on your group's size)
  • All vehicle-related expenses, such as gasoline, parking, and road tolls
  • Complimentary wireless internet access in the vehicle so that you can stay in touch with your loved ones even while traveling
  • Entrance fees and guided visits. If you wish to add any sight on the go, the guide will always be available with information during the visit
  • Accommodation in locally-owned, centrally located 3, 4, and 5-star hotels or B&Bs, with breakfast included
  • Airport transfers

Not included:

  • Airfare to and from Romania or Bulgaria
  • Meals or beverages other than the included ones
  • Photo fees (some sights require the payment of a fee for allowing you to take pictures - they are mostly inexpensive, around 2 or 3 euro/sight)
  • Credit card fees (3.25%). We offer you the possibility of paying for the tour in your home currency via a domestic bank transfer
  • Gratuities for your guide (entirely up to your discretion)

Do I have to pay for the guide's meals?

No. The guide will have a meal allowance, which will cover his meals. Furthermore, the guide will only join you for meals if you ask him to - if you'd rather be on your own for lunch and/or dinner, that is perfectly fine.

I would like to change some of the hotels that come with the tour. Can I do that?

Yes. Let us know which hotels you'd like changed, and we'll handle it. You can request to have certain hotels changed, or you can request an overall accommodation level (4-star only, for example).

I see that in most cases, only breakfast is included. Why is that?

Having meals included means that you would have to be at a certain restaurant at a certain time just so that you don’t miss a pre-booked meal. This takes away from one of the great advantages of a private tour: flexibility. Not having a restaurant pre-booked gives you great freedom to set your own pace each day, add or skip some sights as you go, etc.

To ensure maximum flexibility throughout your trip, meals are usually planned as you go. Your guide knows the best restaurants in each area you travel through and will make suggestions based on the kind of meal you'd like to have.

The meals we include are the ones that come with an important cultural element: home-cooked meals where you can interact with locals, lunches at homes of artists where you learn more about a specific form of art, or refreshments such as the ones offered during the home visit with the Gypsy family.

How about changes of itinerary on the fly? Can we do that?

Changes on the fly can be done to a certain extent. You can always choose to skip a meal or a sight, or swap for a totally different sight altogether. Alterations of itinerary that imply hotel changes are subject to rooms availability. Also, please note that in the case of last minute hotel cancellations, sometimes the hotel may charge late-cancellation penalties which can be up to 100% of the reservation cost. Additional costs generated by on-the-fly changes will be billed separately.

I like one of the tours, but I’d like to make some changes to the itinerary. Is it possible?

Of course. All our tours are customizable. We can change one itinerary, join two itineraries together, or just tell us about the places you want to see, and we’ll make a whole new itinerary just for you! Customizing a tour comes at no extra charge.

What are the departure dates?

We do not have set departure dates. All our tours are private and organised on request. The dates when you start and end the tour are entirely up to you.

Where do the tours start?

Our tours start in either Sofia (Bulgaria) or Bucharest (Romania). Both cities have well-connected international airports. However, we can also customize the tours to start in a different city, if that better suits your flight arrangements. Alternative airports include Varna or Burgas (in Bulgaria) or Sibiu, Brasov, Cluj Napoca, Iasi, and Targu Mures (in Romania).

ABOUT BALKAN TRAILS

We offer fully customizable private tours in Romania and Bulgaria. We build the whole tour around you and your travel companions.

Enjoy the personable service of a knowledgeable private guide and private air conditioned transportation.

Pick the tour's start and end dates, visit only the sights you are interested in, spend as much time as you want to visit them, and enjoy the flexibility only a private tour can offer you.