Cluj Hostel
Hostel
Days 1, 6
Bucovina — 4 days (Cluj-Napoca, Barsana, Sapanta, Viseu & Sucevita)
Seven days across the north, with a steam logging train. Four days on the painted monasteries only, flying into Suceava and skipping Maramureș.
Old Mule Routes
Runs this trip
Walking / cultural tour
Seven days across the north, with a steam logging train
Group Tour
Join a fixed-date departure with other travellers
Top Highlights
Cluj-NapocaSeven days across the north — wooden churches with shingle spires, a cemetery painted in blue, and monasteries frescoed on the outside. Merry CemeteryThe Merry Cemetery has painted blue crosses with a rhyming verse about each person, often unflattering and occasionally about how they died. Prislop passSucevița's north wall has the Ladder of Virtue with thirty rungs and demons pulling people off it, painted in the 1590s and still legible. MoldovițaVoroneț blue is a pigment nobody has fully reproduced, and it has held on an exterior wall since 1547.
Itinerary
Seven days across the north — wooden churches with shingle spires, a cemetery painted in blue, and monasteries frescoed on the outside.
ClujHow the day runs
- 1 hrsTransfer into the centre
- MealsDinner
- AccommodationCluj Hostel
Included Activities
- Airport transfer
- Hotel night
LANDMARKS Cluj-Napoca St Michael's Central Park Start point Cluj-Napoca, Avram Iancu Airport (CLJ), Cluj-Napoca 00:00 - 23:59The wooden churches of Maramureș have oak shingle spires up to fifty metres and are built without nails. Eight of them are World Heritage.
Cluj, BarsanaHow the day runs
- 4 hrs8:00 AM — north over the Gutâi pass
- 3 hrs1:30 PM — the monastery and the village gates
- MealsBreakfast, Dinner
- AccommodationBarsana Hostel
Included Activities
- Entries
- Village guesthouse
LANDMARKS Bârsana Wooden churches Maramureș gates The Merry Cemetery has painted blue crosses with a rhyming verse about each person, often unflattering and occasionally about how they died.
Barsana, Sapanta, ViseuHow the day runs
- 2 hrs8:30 AM — west to the Merry Cemetery
- 3 hrs2:00 PM — the Mocănița steam train up the Vaser valley
- MealsBreakfast, Dinner
- AccommodationViseu Hostel
Included Activities
- Cemetery entry and train
- Guesthouse at Vișeu
LANDMARKS Merry Cemetery Mocănița Vaser valley Sucevița's north wall has the Ladder of Virtue with thirty rungs and demons pulling people off it, painted in the 1590s and still legible.
Viseu, SucevitaHow the day runs
- 4 hrs8:30 AM — east over the pass
- 1:30 PM — Sucevița, the last and largest of the painted monasteries
- MealsBreakfast, Dinner
- AccommodationSucevita Hostel
Included Activities
- Monastery entry
- Guesthouse at Sucevița
LANDMARKS Prislop pass Sucevița Painted exterior Voroneț blue is a pigment nobody has fully reproduced, and it has held on an exterior wall since 1547.
Sucevita, VoronetHow the day runs
- 2 hrs8:30 AM — Moldovița and Humor on the way
- 1:00 PM — Voroneț and its blue
- MealsBreakfast, Dinner
- AccommodationVoronet Hostel
Included Activities
- All monastery entries
- Guesthouse night
LANDMARKS Moldovița Humor Voroneț Voroneț blue Six hours. Romania is bigger than it looks and the mountain roads are slow.
Voronet, ClujHow the day runs
- 6 hrs8:00 AM — west through the Bistrița valley
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationCluj Hostel
Included Activities
- Transport
- Hotel in Cluj
LANDMARKS Bistrița Carpathians Cluj Cluj flies across Europe, mostly on low-cost carriers.
ClujHow the day runs
- 1 hrsTransfer to the airport
- MealsBreakfast
- AccommodationNot included — onward travel
Included Activities
- Airport transfer
- Day 1Airport transfer
- Day 1Hotel night
- Day 2Entries
- Day 2Village guesthouse
- Day 3Cemetery entry and train
- Day 3Guesthouse at Vișeu
- Day 4Monastery entry
- Day 4Guesthouse at Sucevița
- Day 5All monastery entries
- Day 5Guesthouse night
- Day 6Transport
- Day 6Hotel in Cluj
- Day 1 · 1 nightCluj Hostel
- Day 2 · 1 nightBarsana Hostel
- Day 3 · 1 nightViseu Hostel
- Day 4 · 1 nightSucevita Hostel
- Day 5 · 1 nightVoronet Hostel
- Day 6 · 1 nightCluj Hostel
- Day 1Cluj to ClujTransfer into the centre
- Day 2Cluj to Barsana8:00 AM — north over the Gutâi pass
- Day 3Barsana to Sapanta8:30 AM — west to the Merry Cemetery
- Day 3Sapanta to Viseu2:00 PM — the Mocănița steam train up the Vaser valley
- Day 4Viseu to Sucevita8:30 AM — east over the pass
- Day 5Sucevita to Voronet8:30 AM — Moldovița and Humor on the way
- Day 6Voronet to Cluj8:00 AM — west through the Bistrița valley
- Day 7Cluj to ClujTransfer to the airport
Where you'll stay
All accommodations are subject to change
Barsana Hostel
Hostel
Day 2
Viseu Hostel
Hostel
Day 3
Sucevita Hostel
Hostel
Day 4
Voronet Hostel
Hostel
Day 5
What you'll eat
6 breakfasts and 5 dinners across 7 days, at camp. It opens with dinner on day 1 and closes with breakfast on day 7.
- DinnerServed on days 1–5
- BreakfastServed on days 2–7
11 meal services named in the itinerary. Vegetarian and vegan covered; Jain, gluten-free and allergies on notice at booking
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Customer reviews
Overall rating
4.6/5
Based on 17 reviews
Review summary
Food4.2/5
Guide4.6/5
Itinerary4.5/5
Transport4.1/5
Accommodation4.5/5
Tour operator4.1/5
Sort by:Recommended
4
A
Ananya Gupta – Nagpur2026-07-26 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found. Recommended.
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5
K
Karan Shah – Delhi2026-07-26 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found. Hostel nights are basic but clean, and that's what the price says. Solid operator.
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4
E
Elena Petrova – Amsterdam2026-07-26 · Verified booking
Everything was arranged properly — transfers, entries, all of it. Worth every rupee.
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5
S
Sneha Kulkarni – Chennai2026-07-26 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found. Nothing fancy about the beds, and nothing wrong with them either. The cooking was a genuine surprise — better than most places we'd have picked ourselves. No hesitation recommending them.
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5
Y
Yuki Tanaka – Melbourne2025-12-28 · Verified booking
Well paced over 7 days with enough free time to not feel herded. The cooking was a genuine surprise — better than most places we'd have picked ourselves. Would book with them again.
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5
A
Ananya Gupta – Pune2025-12-28 · Verified booking
Northern Romania done well. The itinerary had room to breathe. Good value for what's included.
Reply from Old Mule Routes
Thank you for travelling with us — glad the route worked out.
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5
R
Rahul Menon – Pune2025-12-28 · Verified booking
Well paced over 7 days with enough free time to not feel herded. Dorms were tidy and the common areas were where the group actually gelled. The team read the group well and adjusted without making a thing of it. Good value for what's included.
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4
O
Owen Clarke – Dubai2025-12-28 · Verified booking
Good mix of the obvious things and a few places we'd never have found. Good value for what's included.
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Questions people ask
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