An afternoon transfer from Bucharest airport brings us to the edge of the ancient Macin “Mountains”, a group of forested hills to the west of the delta, where, time permitting, we will enjoy an introduction to the great variety of local wines. This will be followed by delicious dinner of local food, wine and homemade brandy. We stay overnight at a family-owned guest house in Greci village. Located in the middle of an epic landscape, at the foot of Tutuiatu peak, the guest house enjoys lovely views from the garden, hammocks and pool.

After breakfast, we set out on a wonderful walk in ancient eroded mountains. Their origin offers a story on the area’s geology and tectonics and it’s a good location for spotting birds of prey, turtles and butterflies. We will enjoy lunch back at the guest house before a short transfer to the Babadag forest (a botanical protected area) to see various types of vegetation. Then we take a short transfer to the village of Murighiol, on the southern edge of the delta, where we will dine and stay at a charming blue and white painted guest house in the village.

Early risers can enjoy a pre-breakfast bird watching walk in the salt marshes. The early morning light is excellent for photography and some shyer species can be observed at this time. Then from the mooring dock at Murighiol we embark on our first boat ride through the lakes and channels of the delta with bird watching stops along the way, taking all morning to reach the central delta town of Crisan. In the afternoon, there will be an option to either jump in the boat again, or canoe through the channels for a quieter afternoon of bird watching. Dinner will be at our guest house, home for the next three nights.

Today we travel by boat to Letea with bird watching along the way. After walking through the remote old village we will arrive at the virgin forest of Letea with its 800-year-old oak trees and 10-metre high sand dunes, not to mention wild horses and many interesting species of plants and insects. A local fisherman will host us for lunch at his home before we make our return by boat to Crisan for dinner with a local family.

Today is all about history and swimming. This morning, you may choose to take an early morning boat trip to Iacub Lake to catch the sunrise over the water. After breakfast we take to our boat for a fast two hour journey to Sulina on the main branch of the delta. Today we reach kilometer zero of the Danube: the point at which the river flows into the Black Sea. We’ll walk first through the only town in the delta that still preserves some of the 19th century small harbour town feel. After a local restaurant lunch, a 30 minute walk to the beach takes us to a natural sand beach where we can swim. Then it’s back on the fast boat to Crisan for our dinner.

After breakfast at the guest house we spend the morning on a different slow boat route back to Murighiol for a delicious lunch back at the guesthouse we stayed in previously. In the afternoon we will visit an archaeological site with Roman ruins either by foot or by bike. We will spend our last dinner together at our wonderful guesthouse.

After breakfast we will say our goodbyes and transfer you back to Bucharest airport.