Dracula’s Original Haunts Day Tour
CT Tours offers many different guided tour packages throughout culturally rich Romania. I should begin by saying I’m not one who usually goes for guided tours. I love exploring places on my own, make my own discoveries. I usually relish the challenge. However, my friend and I traveled to Romania specifically to follow in the footsteps of Vlad Tepes Dracul. We knew getting around Transylvania on our own would not be a problem, but the places we wanted to see around Bucharest were very difficult to get to without a car. I checked out CT Tours after reading about them in “Lonely Planet”. I decided to book a full day guided tour for Vlad Tepes’ Princely Court in Bucharest, Snagov Island where he is buried, Curtea de Arges, and Poenari Castle (the real Dracula castle). It was not cheap, but not nearly what you would spend in the West.
Claudio met us at our hotel and drove us to the various sights. He was very knowledgeable and warm. We felt like we were traveling with a friend. He took care of any entrance fees and gas. He was our voice to the caretakers of the sights which got us a nice welcome. Claudio drove us all over Wallachia and even gamely did the arduous 1500 step climb to Poenari Castle with us. He also told us really good local places to eat in Bucharest. Bucharest was very chaotic and a bit intimidating, but he made the area more accessible. He also arranged for us to get a ride to the airport for a very reasonable price, which was very convenient, especially after we got swindled by a “legitimate” taxi driver from the airport. I know CT Tours has many different packages, and I highly recommend them for a visit to Romania, even if hunting Vlad the Impaler is not your thing. (For more on his tour read the blog entry “Prince of Wallachia”)
