Christmas Photo Tour in Romania, Maramures
Capture the magic of a traditional, rural Christmas
5 days
This Christmas Photo Tour in Romania, Maramures takes you to the best place to uncover the magic of this holy celebration – a place where people still dress in traditional clothes to go to church, where groups of carolers gather on Christmas Eve and where you are warmly invited to immerse yourself into the local culture.
You’ll have opportunities to photograph the calming winter landscape. Capture one of the last fully-functional narrow-gauge steam trains making its way through the mountains. Learn about wooden churches and their importance to the local communities and attend a local festival.
Dates: 23-27 December
Highlights of the Christmas Photo Tour in Maramures
- Mingle with the locals and capture their customs and traditions
- Soak in the festive atmosphere at the Christmas Market in Cluj-Napoca
- Visit the Wooden Churches of Maramures, UNESCO World Heritage sites
- Attend the Christmas Mass in a traditional village
- Marvel at a narrow gauge steam train as it travels through the mountains
- Photograph intriguing costumes and performances when taking part in a local festival
Suggested Itinerary
Day 1 23rd of December
Cluj-Napoca, a well-connected city bustling with life is the starting point for our Christmas Photo Tour in Romania, Maramures.
Following your arrival, you will be picked up from the airport and transferred to the hotel in the heart of the city. In the afternoon you will have time to explore the Christmas Market of Cluj. Moreover you will photograph the thousands of lights adorning the square and the majestic church of Saint Michael in the background. Also capture the rows of houses where vendors sell their treats and the crowds of people ice skating, caroling or simply enjoying the Christmas spirit.
Accommodation in Cluj.
Day 2 24th of December
We will travel to Maramures, the region where traditions are best kept. First we will visit the Merry Cemetery of Sapanta to see the colorful crosses decorated with paintings and poems that make the cemetery a unique place.
Next, in the afternoon the youth start caroling and we will meet the groups preparing for the Viflaim religious theater (about the birth of Jesus). Part of the group there are several characters including Mary, Joseph, the soldiers but also the devils, for instanace. We will get to know them and photograph them in the only village where this tradition is kept with these characters on the Christmas Eve. Furthermore in the evening we will meet more carolers visiting the villages and towns.
Accommodation in Maramures.
Drive time: 4h30
Day 3 25th of December
It’s time for one of the highlights of your Christmas Photo Tour in Romania, Maramures – going to church for the mass that takes place on the first day of Christmas. For such a religious community as the one in Maramures, it is a celebration that no person in the village misses and the reason why everyone is wearing their best traditional clothes.
Next, in the afternoon you will discover another tradition, specific to also only one village. They are called the “Brondosii”, young men who dress in weight, wear a mask and carry big bells around their waist.
Accommodation in Maramures.
Drive time: 2h30
Day 4 26th of December
You will start the day by shooting Mocanita, one of the only narrow-gauge steam trains in Europe still functional today, as it travels through the forest, through mountains and valleys covered in sparkly snow.
Next, at mid-day we will make sure we’ll be again at a church where almost everyone dresses in traditional clothes for the mass. After coming out of the church the youth may gather for a party and we can observe that as well.
Furthermore, in the afternoon we will be visiting some of the Wooden Churches which are UNESCO sites. They are built using traditional building techniques and local raw materials. The monuments certainly stand tall against a hopefully white mountainous background, allowing for some interesting compositions in your photography.
Accommodation in Maramures.
Drive time: 2h30
Day 5 27h of December
During the last day of your Christmas Photo Tour in Maramures you’ll get to enjoy one of the most captivating festivals held around the winter holidays in the town of Sighetu-Marmatiei. Get ready for some intense practice of people and event photography. That is because locals from the surrounding villages wear costumes and masks and put on incredible performances. They sing or dance in order to display their unique Christmas traditions.
In the afternoon you will drive back to Cluj, where the tour will end.
Drive time: 4h
Why travel with us
- Get a real taste of the country
- Experience only what truly interests you
Upcoming Tours
Extend your tour with the “Bear Dance Festival in Romania” photo tour (Dec 27-Jan 3)
Our interview for B&H Photo Video
In 2024 we contributed to a podcast hosted by the American company B&H Photo Video about picturing world cultures. We discussed what is interesting to photograph in Romania and you can listen to this podcast on the B&H site.
Suggested Itinerary Viewed On Map – Christmas Photo Tour in Romania, Maramures
Included Services – Christmas Photo Tour in Romania, Maramures
- Trip planning and assistance before and during the tour
- English speaking tour guide services throughout the program (accommodation and meals are included)
- Accommodation for 4 nights in standard double rooms with private bathroom, breakfast (B) included
- Transfer by four wheel drive car (Mitsubishi Outlander, Dacia Duster, or similar). Fuel, road taxes and insurance are included. For up to 3 people we will use one car, for 4 to 6 people we will use 2 cars and for 7 to 9 people we will use 3 cars. Accommodation, meals and service fee for driver/s are included if using more than one car.
- Meals: 3 dinners (in Maramures) and 1 lunch on Christmas day
- Private transfers between the airport and the hotel on arrival and departure
Services which are not included in the tour price
- Entrance tickets to tourist sites. Per person you are likely to spend up to 20 EUR
- Meals, except those included above. On average you can pay for a meal 10-20 EUR
Prices – Christmas Photo Tour in Romania, Maramures
- Please contact us for prices
- Payment is expected to be made by bank transfer. Payment is also possible by credit card or PayPal, in this case an additional 5.5% will be added to cover the transaction fees.
About The Tour
The tour is meant for travelers who have photography as their hobby and who are genuinely interested in other cultures and take pictures in a respectful way towards the culture and the people they photograph. So culture comes first and photography comes second. Sometimes that means putting down the camera and enjoying meeting the people or the event you are attending.
So this is a cultural tour which focuses on photography by putting you in contact with interesting events, locals and also planning visits around interesting events and the good times of the day to take pictures. This means that on some days you might wake up early for sunrise or stay up late for sunsets and the blue hour, it is up to each participant though.
It also means that the tour plan is flexible and can be changed depending on weather conditions and photography opportunities found on the way.
Besides the planned visits at places of interest and people we’ve also planned time for 2-3 stops/day as we drive around the countryside. That is because there are always unplanned very interesting photo opportunities, especially focused on people. It will be the tour guide who will make the call where and when to make those additional stops.
Photography during the tour
This tour is not meant to be an intense photography workshop with non-stop shooting, editing and image reviewing. The pace will be moderate so you can actually enjoy it as a holiday and learn about the culture you are visiting.
The tour guide leading this photo tour has good knowledge of photography but he is not a professional photographer or teacher. So you will be able to have interesting discussions about composition and some technical aspects but you will not be able to have very in-depth technical discussions.
Pictures from previous Christmas photo tours in Romania and the region
