Gourmet Ride

Introduction
Transylvania Romania
This program is framed by some of the best culinary experiences Transylvania has to offer, with a high emphasis on home-grown, organic food and drinks, refined to tasty highlights.

Enjoy our experienced, forward going and keen horses and travel on horseback through the ancient meadows and forests, while taking in the authentic rural life that the locals still live here.

You will also embark on excursions to some of the highlights of the region throughout your week with us, including Piatra Craiului National Park.

Accomodation


Accommodation
This is a progressive ride so you will be staying in different locations each night.

Description
During the trail, overnights are in guesthouses. The last night is spent in an elegant hotel in Bucharest.

Attention: We are in rural Romania and the standard and comfort varies. The tranquility and slow pace of life in these villages is a special treat and makes up for any possible discomfort.

Accommodation Itinerary - subject to changes based on availability
Night 1-4: Guesthouse in Şinca Nouă
Night 5-6: Guesthouse in Cobor
Night 7: Hotel in Bucharest



Guesthouse in Şinca Nouă
The guesthouse has 9 double rooms, each with a bathroom. Downstairs, there is a nice dining room and there is a large veranda outside where guests can sit in the summertime. An extensive living room with open fireplace and bar is inviting for relaxing evenings. We heat our guesthouse with a modern wood central heater and treat our sewage with a reed bed for biological cleaning. There is now good cell phone coverage and wireless internet access at the farm. It is possible to do your laundry for a small fee.

Guesthouse in Cobor
You are accommodated in a traditional house that has been refurbished to ensure a comfortable stay. The bedrooms are simply decorated and include free Wi-Fi access.

Hotel in Bucharest
This historic hotel is located in the heart of the city. It has been built in beautiful neo-Romanian architectural style. Each of the elegant bedroom has ensuite bathroom, a flat screen TV and free internet access.


Room Occupancy
The single supplement fee is mandatory for solo travelers. Single rooms are available in all accommodation used.



Meals
All meals are included with this trip and wine is served with dinner.

Your days will start with a delicious breakfast including a selection of fine organic home-made jams, honey from neighboring beehives, a variety of home-made cold-cuts from our own animals, fresh eggs and produce from our own garden as well as fresh home-baked bread and pastries.

On three of the riding days, we will set up exclusive panoramic picnics to appreciate lunch in nature. The perfect opportunity for you to reload your body with energy in a spectacular environment. Enjoy light meals with freshly made delicacies and a good glass of organic wine on the wide, open meadows overseeing the Carpathian Mountains. On the other riding days, lunch will take place in the guesthouse.

Every evening you spend at the guesthouse we will close the day with a fine dining event consisting of at least 5 courses served with their matching organic Romanian beverages. Our cooks have specialized in fine cuisine and our garden delivers fresh vegetables and the meat we serve is all from our own, free-ranging animals – an unforgettable experience every night.

Romanian food is generous, varied and local ingredients are always highlighted.
Some famous Romanian specialities feature çiorba (sour soup), mititei (delicious grilled meetballs), plaçinta (sweet or salty flaky desert) and tzuica ou palinca (traditional brandy).

Two glasses of wine are included with each meal.

Dietary Restrictions
We can cater to most dietary restrictions with advance notice.

This trip includes some wine with dinner and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Riding

A HARD HAT IS MANDATORY FOR ALL RIDERS, NO EXCEPTIONS!

Riding Experience
This ride is tailored to strong intermediate riders and above. Participants have to be competent in all speeds and able to fully control a horse at a canter. Every day, we will have opportunities to canter and even gallop!
We ride mainly on grass-covered trails and across pastures, and occasionally come through oak and hornbeam forests.
We recommend that you are physically fit as well as riding fit for the possible long hours in the saddle.

Pace
The pace is dictated by the terrain with plenty of opportunities for faster riding. The rides are rather fast with a good mix of walking, trotting, and cantering.
We cover around 24-39km a day and spend approx. 4 to 7 hours in the saddle per day (incl. lunch break).
In total, we cover more than 200 km in 6 riding days.

Horses
With an assortment of horses to choose from there is a suitable horse for everybody, from calm horses for the lesser experienced, to fast and fiery horses for the demanding rider. All horses have stamina, are fit and are used to the mountains.
Our stock of over 40 horses is a good mixture of pure and half-bred horses, mainly breeds of Hungarian origin such as Shagya-Arabian, Kisberi, and Gidran. All these breeds are characterized by an outstanding willingness, endurance, beauty and good nature and proof their qualities again and again on all our rides.
Our horses live in two groups in open stables with sand paddocks, that allow them to move freely and complies with their need for social interactions with members of the same species. In addition, they are regularly turned out on large pastures.
The upper stables cover approximately 300 m2 and hosts about half of the horses (as well as our donkey Maja), which have the possibility of moving around freely. The horses have an open stable with two large boxes (50 m2 and 35 m2) and approximately 1,000 m2 of paddock. Furthermore, we have a separate box (18 m2) for horses that we want to temporarily separate from the herd (e.g. for fowling), and a box for a stallion with 16 m2. The lower stables also consist of an open stable for the remaining horses and the other animals.

Conservation Contribution
We ask all our visitors for a donation of 40 Euro per week for our regional conservation and development fund, which supports sustainable projects in and around Sinca Noua. Furthermore, we are personally involved in a number of conservation projects.

Itinerary


Sample Itinerary - subject to changes.

Day 1 (Saturday): Arrival 
Arrival in Bucharest and 3-hour transfer at 4 pm by minibus to Şinca Nouă (pronounced Shinca Noah).
Welcome drink and a gourmet dinner in the evening.
After dinner, we will get a short introduction into the week.
Meals included: Dinner
Overnight at Guesthouse in Şinca Nouă

Day 2 (Sunday): Stramba Valley
Start your day with a homemade breakfast with lots of fruits and vegetables from the garden, home-made bread, butter, yoghurt, honey, ham, bacon, and some eggs from the farm's chicken. We then start riding along the Stramba ridge through old oak forest with a good chance to see tracks of wildlife or wildlife itself. Upon return, have a great lunch outdoors in our willow pavilion.
After the break, guided tour through the farm, the vegetable and herb garden to see all the animals we have on the farm. 
In the late afternoon, we will have the opportunity to stay 2 hours in a hide in the forest with good chances to observe wild brown bears.
Riding: 3.5 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Guesthouse in Şinca Nouă

Day 3 (Monday): Forest Ride & Piatra Craiului National Park Hike
This morning, enjoy once more our delicious breakfast buffet. After that, we go for another ride through the hills and the forests around the stables.
After lunch, we will drive to Piatra Craiului National Park (about 30 minutes), where we will do an easy hike along the spectacular Zarnesti gorge.
In the evening, we will go up to Magurice hill with horses and carts for a sundowner and will have an evening fine dining back at the guesthouse.
Riding: 3 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Guesthouse in Şinca Nouă

Day 4 (Tuesday): Guided visit of Sighisoara & Viscri (no riding)
Today, we will take you to experience the true history of Transylvania. We drive for about 2 hours until we reach the medieval town of Sighisoara, one of the cultural centers of the Transylvanian Saxons. The citadel of Sighisoara is the only inhabited citadel in Europe.
In the afternoon, we continue to the village of Viscri with its famous fortified church (UNESCO World Heritage Site) from the times of the invasion by the Turks. It is just a gravel road, which gets us the last 10 kilometers to Viscri, a settlement of the German minority, founded 900 years ago. In 1990, most of the villagers have left for Germany, but a small number of people stayed to continue their traditional life.
On the way back we stop at an old, fortified church in a medieval village for an exciting gourmet dinner. Back at the guesthouse for the night.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Guesthouse in Şinca Nouă

Day 5 (Wednesday): Halmeag to Cobor
After our usual morning breakfast, transport to the village of Halmeag, where the horses are already waiting for us. The next days we will spend some time here in the transylvanian tableland, one of Europe’s best riding country. From here, we start riding over the hills and through the forests of the surrounding area.
In the afternoon, we will arrive at the village of Cobor, where Foundation Conservation Carpathia runs an organic 500 ha “biodiversity farm” with horses, cattle, and free-ranging pigs. Some of the abandoned village houses have been beautifully restored and serve now as guesthouses. Gourmet dinner here for the evening.
Riding: 4 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Guesthouse in Cobor

Day 6 (Thursday): Cobor Ride
The morning is spent riding on grassy trails over the meadows and hills around the village of Cobor. Then, we return to the guesthouse for lunch.
After lunch, we go and visit the farm with its unique concept and see the pastures and all its animal inhabitants. We will also see rich birdlife and rare flowers.
Late afternoon back in Cobor with another tasty meal in the evening.
Riding: 3 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Guesthouse in Cobor

Day 7 (Friday): Last Ride
Another breakfast buffet followed by a ride through the ancient Oak forests, the hills and the meadows of the Transylvanian tableland. Around lunchtime, we will be back in the village of Halmeag, where we will have a nice barbecue for a late lunch, or lunch in the medieval city of Brasov.
Then, at around 2pm, transfer to Bucharest for overnight. Dinner in a gourmet restaurant.
Riding: 3 hours
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at Hotel in Bucharest

Day 8 (Saturday): Visit of Bucharest & Departure
This morning, go on a guided visit of hidden Bucharest, followed by lunch in Caru cu Bere in the old center of Bucharest.
Then, guided visit of the Highlights of Bucharest.
Transfer to the airport, or hotel from 6:00 pm. Possibility to add an extra night on request.
Meals included: Breakfast & Lunch



Non Riders
Non-riding companions are welcome to join this trip. It is best to have a car in order to do some sightseeing while the rest of the group explores on horseback. 

Rates and Dates for Gourmet Ride

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting: Sinca Noua
Airport: Bucharest
Transfer: Bucharest

Climate:
                                                Brașov area