​Easter Photo Tour of Romania

Easter in Romania is one-of-a-kind celebration which blends in hundred-year-old traditions with delicious authentic food. During this Easter Photo Tour of Romania, you’ll capture the intriguing customs that come alive at this time of the year while also visiting Romania’s most beautiful places in Transylvania, Bucovina and Maramures.

Over 80% of Romanians are Romanian Orthodox so you will experience an Eastern Orthodox Easter which is much more about old traditions and less about kinder eggs 🙂

This Easter Photo Tour of Romania is planned for the following dates:

• 2024: 26th of April – 7th of May
• 2025: 11th – 22nd of April

• Experience Orthodox Easter, the preparations before, the midnight mass, people going to church in traditional clothes and an agrarian festival 
• Capture the most famous castles in Transylvania: Peles Castle and Bran Castle and the charming towns of Viscri, Sighisoara and Brasov 
• Photograph the specific architecture of the churches from Bucovina and Maramures
• Shoot a narrow-gauge steam train

Your Easter Photo Tour of Romania will start in Bucharest, the capital of the country. You will be transferred from the airport to the hotel in the center of the city.

Depending on the time of your arrival, you can go on a walk in the vibrant old town of Bucharest.

Accommodation in Bucharest.

Drive time: 30’

In the morning, you will travel to Brasov area, where you will be able to capture two of the most beautiful castles of Romania: Peles Castle, royal legacy and the finest castle in the country, and Bran Castle, one of the world’s most famous attractions due to its association with Dracula.

In the afternoon, you will catch the beautiful landscapes near Bran during the golden hour. In the area there are many traditional houses scattered around the hills and country roads bordered by wooden fences, a very good setting for practicing your composition skills.

Accommodation in Brasov.

Drive time: 3h

Explore the medieval town of Brasov with its old square, centuries old cathedral, synagogue and viewpoints. 

Then you will travel to Viscri, a well preserved medieval village and a favorite of HRH King Charles who visits the town almost yearly since 1999. It is a UNESCO site and a good example for the small scale farming still being practiced in rural Romania.

Accommodation in Viscri.

Drive time: 2h

Next on your day is Sighisoara, a medieval town with cobbled streets, colorful buildings and a pedestrian-friendly Old Town, with lots of architectural photography opportunities.

On this day you’re going to discover the underground salt mine in Praid, a place where you can relax for a few hours and enjoy the benefits of the salty air.

Accommodation in Praid.

Drive time: 2h

Then, you will travel to Bucovina passing through the Bicaz gorges, a breathtaking 8-kilometers-long route through the mountains, with a lot of landscape photography opportunities. You can also stop for a short visit at the Neamt Citadel, a fortress filled with history, located on the top of the mountains.

Accommodation in Bucovina.

Drive time: 5h

Next on your itinerary will be Bucovina, the holy land of painted monasteries. Eight of them are part of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites and will offer you unique photo opportunities of well-preserved paintings of more than 500 years.

You first stop will be at Moldovita Monastery, one of the tallest churches in the region, known for its rare frescoes from the Medieval Ages.

A highlight amongst your Easter Photo Tour of Romania will be the visit to the Egg Museum. The museum features over 5000 eggs painted in beautiful styles using different techniques, all great to capture on camera.

In the afternoon you will be able to photograph other two of the painted monasteries of Bucovina: Sucevita, with the largest painted wall, and Voronet, widely known as “the Sistine Chapel of the East” due to its interior and exterior wall paintings.

Accommodation in Bucovina.

Drive time: 3h

You will start your morning with a special egg-painting workshop, where you will be able to learn more about this craft while trying your hand at different decorating techniques, and you will have the opportunity to capture the making off of the famous painted eggs.

Later on this day you will cross the mountains towards Maramures, one of the last truly rural places in Europe, also known as the land of the wood.

Accommodation in Vadu Izei (Maramures region).

Drive time: 4h 30’

As the Orthodox Easter approaches, people start getting ready for the holiday’s celebration. You will have the opportunity to visit a typical market in Sighet and see people buying everything they need for the holiday, such as lamb meat, eggs or sweet cheese.

Capture how the locals are getting ready for Easter: they prepare the food, dye the eggs, bake “pasca” – a traditional cake with sweet cheese, and sacrifice the lamb in order to prepare traditional dishes.

Accommodation in Vadu Izei.

Drive time: 1h

Today you will travel to Viseu to see Mocanita, one of the last fully functional narrow-gauge steam trains in Europe. You will capture some picturesque landscapes that will take your breath away, with the Mocanita in the foreground!

Next on this day, you will travel to probably the most colorful cemetery in the world, the Merry Cemetery from Sapanta. Here the crosses are painted in lively colors with scenes from the lives of the deceased and also with some funny poems. Another fascinating place to visit and capture is the Museum of the Victims of Communism, the former prison from Sighetu Marmatiei, the best place in Romania to learn about the impact the communist regime had on the country for over 40 years.

Accommodation in Vadu Izei.

Drive time: 2h 30’

You will go to church in the morning to witness the Easter Sunday mass. Locals dress up in traditional costumes and bring baskets full of homemade food to be blessed.  After the mass, you will have the chance to eat a traditional homecooked Easter meal.

You are in the land of wood so, in the afternoon you will visit two of the most famous wooden churches: Desesti and Budesti. The one in Desesti has some of the best preserved interior paintings, while the wooden church of Budesti is worth-admiring for its unique architectural style, giving you a great shoot opportunity.

Accommodation in Vadu Izei.

Drive time: 1h

On the last day of your Easter holidays in Romania you will have the chance to attend a festival known as “Udatoriu”, in Surdesti. This old agrarian tradition celebrates the most hard-working villager and it is full of the local people cheerfulness.

Then, you will travel to Cluj-Napoca from where you will spend the last night of the trip. From here you can fly the next day back to Bucharest (if needed) or take flights to other European airports which connect with North American or other parts of the world. 

As an alternative you can extend the trip by a day, travel this evening to Sibiu (a charming medieval town) and then the next day back to Bucharest. 

Drive time: 3h 30’