Bird watching in the Danube Delta photo tour

Discover Europe’s bird paradise

Book this Danube Delta Photo Tour if bird photography is your passion. It takes you to the best place in Europe for bird-watching where you can spot and photograph over 300 bird species.

The best time for observation is in May-June when most birds are in the mating, nesting and hatching period. So you will see not only the adult birds but also many chicks.

2025 dates: May 31-June 8

2026 dates: May 24-31

Suggested Itinerary of this Danube Delta Photo Tour

Day 1

Welcome to Romania! After your arrival in Bucharest, you will be transferred to the hotel located in the old town and have a guided of the city which will introduce you into the culture and history of Romania.

Accommodation in Bucharest.

Day 2 of your Danube Delta Photo tour – wildlife introduction

In the morning you will travel from Bucharest to the Danube Delta where you will meet the local guide specialized in bird photography, get to know each other over lunch and discuss how the next days will unfold. This is where the birding fun starts for this Danube Delta photo tour.

As it gets close to the Black Sea, the Danube river splits into 3 main branches: Saint George (south), Sulina (middle) and Chilia (north) and the Danube Delta is formed together with hundreds of lakes and thousands of miles of channels where the birds live. It is the largest Delta and wetland in Europe and one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, being a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

You will start your exploration with 2 days near the Saint George branch. In various parts of the Delta, different types of birds can be seen so it makes sense to cover various parts of it. In your first afternoon shoot you are likely to spot squacco, grey, great white and night herons, European roller, white-tailed eagle, glossy ibis, great crested grebe and many more. And don’t worry if you don’t see them right away or shot them well, there is a lot more time; the wildlife awaits!

Overnight in a village near Saint George branch

Day 3 – first full day of this Danube Delta Photo Tour

The next 5 full days will offer you plenty of opportunities to see and photograph as many birds as possible. You will usually have 2 trips a day, 3-4h each. During mid-day you will have a lunch break when you can rest, look through pictures and edit them. Transportation in the Delta will be done by boat and this gives a lot of flexibility but it also exposes you to the weather elements. So the daily schedule will be adapted to the weather conditions and also to the guide’s knowledge of the birds location and behavior.

Your guide will take you to Isac and Isaccel lakes where you will spot the white pelicans and terns (whiskered, black and common), red crested pochard, wild geese, swans, Ferruginous and shell ducks and many pygmy and common cormorants.

Overnight in a village near Saint George branch

Day 4- 7 – bird watching in the heart of the Danube Delta

You will then move to the heart of the Delta on the Sulina branch of the Danube. From here you will explore more of the lakes and channels in search of the kingfisher, hoopoe, spoonbill, dalmatian pelican, purple heron, red-footed falcon, marsh harrier, little owl, kestrel and many more.

You will also have a day trip to Letea, the best-preserved traditional village in the Danube Delta where the streets are sandy. Nearby there is a sub-tropical forest and wild horses roaming free in a savannah-looking kind of setting. Letea and Caraorman offer a different bird habitat so there you will likely spot and photograph bee eaters, falcons, black winged stilt, pied avocet and other waders’ species and more.

You will also travel to the town of Sulina to see where the Danube flows into the Black Sea and a town with a rich multi-cultural past where tens of ethnicities used to live. And here you can see how new land was formed by the sediments of the Danube, the old lighthouse now being 2 km from the sea.

The Danube Delta is a region of Romania rich in wildlife and besides birds and with luck you can observe wild cats, jackals, wild hogs and other mammals.

Add to this the flowering lilies and a culturally diverse local population and this Danube Delta photo tour becomes interesting beyond bird watching and photography.

In one of the evenings you will have a sunset shoot on a lake, hopefully with some silhouetted pelicans in the foreground. You will remember that for a long time.

white tail eagle danube delta romania photo tour

Overnight near the Sulina branch

Day 8 – saying farewell to the Danube Delta and its amazing wildlife

After 6 days of exploring the Danube Delta, its diverse habitats, birds, landscape, animals and having many fish-based meals, time will come to leave the region and head back to Bucharest.

In the evening we will have one more group dinner and say farewell to the group before next day’s departure.

pelican at sunset Danube Delta Romania photo tour

Day 9 – traveling home

You will be transferred to the airport from where you will take the flight back home. We hope this Danube Delta Photo Tour enriched you as a bird lover, traveler and photographer.

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

About the Danube Delta Photo Tour

This Danube Delta photo tour focuses on photography and the natural heritage by bringing you to interesting places for birdwatching and also planning visits around the good times of the days 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, where birds are located and photography opportunities found on the way.

After booking you will receive a list of the recommended equipment.

Services included in this Danube Delta Photo Tour

Accommodation for 8 nights in double rooms, breakfast included:
- 2 nights in Bucharest at 4* Hotel
- 6 nights in the Danube Delta at rural guesthouses, 2 nights near Saint George branch and 4 nights near Sulina branch
- We chose to stay in rural guesthouses as they offer a more traditional experience than large hotels and they are closer to where the good photo opportunities are. The rooms are comfortable and clean and have en-suite bathroom. The difference between a rural guesthouse and a hotel is that at a rural guesthouse usually there is no 24h reception, meals are served as a set menu (not a a la carte), there is no bar, in some places internet works only in the dining area, towels are not changed daily or the room is not done daily, there is no AC (not needed since they are in mountainous areas), no elevators. By staying in those places you will feel like you are in Romania, not in any standard hotel in the world
- Hotels and rooms will be pre-booked and confirmed once the tour is confirmed by signing a contract and making an advance payment.
Meals
- Breakfast – daily
- 2 lunches in the Danube Delta
- 4 dinners in the Danube Delta
- Meals would normally include a main dish, a desert, water and coffee and a drink (a glass of juice, beer, wine).
Transfers from Bucharest to Danube Delta and back at the beginning and at the end of this wildlife photo tour of Romania
Rented car so you can travel from Bucharest to the Danube Delta and back to Bucharest for 7 days, from evening of day 1 to the evening of day 8, SCWD insurance included. You will also use the car for short transfers from the guesthouse while staying near Saint George branch
Boat transfers in Danube Delta from the afternoon of day 2 until morning or day 8
English speaking local guide specialized the Danube Delta photo tours, from the afternoon of day 2 until morning of day 8. He will be the one driving the boat as well