2 or 3 Days in Maramures: Wooden Churches, Traditions & Village Life
What you need to know about this guided tour of Maramures:
- This is a 2-day trip (can be extended to 3 days) from Cluj-Napoca with a flexible itinerary so you see the best of Maramures region!
- All-inclusive: all transport, 1 night stay in local guesthouse, half board, entrance fees to 3 sights and special tasting event
- We will visit 2-3 UNESCO Wooden Churches, the Victims of Communism Memorial in Sighetu Marmatiei and the Merry Cemetary of Sapanta, the most important sights in Maramures
- Enjoy traditional and delicious Romanian dishes made with locally sourced or home-grown products from locals. Enjoy a tasting of the traditional regional drink 'palinca'
- Accommodation at a local guesthouse where owners make their own cheese and cured meats! Depending on season, you could see the making-of process live!
- Responsible tourism at its best: you will meet lots of locals, learn about their lives and see local crafts such as woodcarving or knitting
- 1 day tour extension: we can ride the Mocanita Steam Train (ticket included) and the itinerary will be more relaxed so we can visit more, go hiking through the villages and slow down!
Additional information
The schedule of this trip is rather busy, but it will give you a unique and complete insight into the region of Maramures, Romanian culture and our old way of life. If possible, we recommend you extend the trip to 3 days / 2 nights (extra price of 150 Euro/person).
30% deposit required when making a booking request; you need to cancel with 7 full days before the booking date to get a refund - medium cancelation policy applies
Moments to expect during the Maramures Wooden Churches tour:
See the 300 years old UNESCO Wooden Churches
These wooden churches are unique in Romania and for Christianity. We will learn about their 400 year-old history, architecture, religious celebrations and superstitions surrounding these churches. There's a reason why wood has been used to build these churches and we're going to find out! They're representative for culture in the region and beautifully decorated on the inside. And if you book your tour on a Sunday then you'll have the chance to see locals going to church wearing their best folk costumes!
Taste 'palinca' and visit craftsmen
The traditional Romanian drink is 'tuica' or 'palinca' - a clear distilled spirit made out of plums or other fruits, all natural! Beware - only for the brave! Depending on availability and your interests, we can also visit a traditional wood craftsman who makes the huge gates you'll see everywhere to see him in action. Or local ladies who make by hand the beautiful and detailed rugs with a waiting list of 2 years!
Hearty, delicious Romanian food!
Maramures is well known for its delicious, traditional and belly-filling dishes, and people here are very hospitable, which means you can't leave the table without finishing your plate! On our first day we'll visit a family of local producers to taste products from their own farm (matured cheese, cured meats, home-grown vegetables).
The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta
Have you ever been to a happy cemetery? The Merry Cemetery of Sapanta is such a place where colourful wood-carved tombstones colorfully depict the lives of those resting there with anecdotes and funny jokes about their lives. You quickly forget you're in a cemetery and it's a unique place in the world!
Victims of Communism Memorial
This former prison in Sighetu Marmatiei has a terrifying reputation. The communist regime sent many political opponents here, most of which never came out. Turned into a museum, visiting this prison will give you an insight into Romanian history and the difficult times our society endured for almost 45 years.
The slow life in Maramures will make you want more!
As you'll see, locals here take it slow. They enjoy the simple things and spending time together. In 2 days you'll see many attractions, yes - but the real spirit of this region is experienced by SLOWING DOWN, disconnecting from our busy lives in the big city. Many people choose to extend this trip with 1 day to meet more locals, go on short hikes and relax in nature. But that's not always possible on short notice... So my advice - we're always in a rush, so give yourself this experience, you'll thank me later!
[extra 150 Euro/person for overnight with meals]
[3-day tour extension] Ride the Mocanita Steam
Spend another day in Maramures to make your itinerary more relaxed and enjoy the peaceful countryside! On the 3rd day we go on the famous Mocanita Steam Train [ticket included] a slow ride that will take you through the mountains and a picturesque valley, where you can just relax and enjoy the ride. And then we can explore more of the region, or even go on a short hike.
[Extra 150 Euro/person]
![[3-day tour extension] Ride the Mocanita Steam](https://www.romanianfriend.com/uploads/media/mocanita-steam-train-2-frontend-thumbnail.jpeg)
Cancelation & refund policy
MediumSends us or the guide an email 3 days before the tour informing us you can't make it and you'll get a full refund of your payment, no questions asked.
Location details
- Starting point: Cluj-Napoca
- Nearest airport: Cluj Napoca International
- Nearest train station: Cluj-Napoca Train Station
- Landscape: Countryside
Reviews from travellers
Our tour guide, Ioana, was great! She lives in the area and knows all the best places to go. We hiked to a shepherds’ hut to see cheese making, then we hiked down picking porcini mushrooms on the way. Tasted the local moonshine - tuica - at a local producer while munching on hot potatoes baked in the hot fire under copper stils. We met local weavers, visited a must see museum and she got us special access to wooden churches in the countryside. We were both impressed with our guide and Romanian Friend because they were responsive and made every effort to tailor the trip to our interests and our schedule. Highly recommended!
Our guide was great, working with us (a diverse group ages 7 to over 70) to plan activities and keeping us informed of what was happening next.
Very fun 2 day tour of Maramures with Mihai. We saw so much, ate delicious food and also found some time to relax as Mihai did not rush us and adjusted the itinerary based on what we wanted. Highly recommend.
Great tour that gave us lots of interesting experiences from Maramures! Florin was a very friendly and knowledgable guide.
Excellent time. Florin was a fantastic guide and we really enjoyed our trip!
My friend and I booked a private tour to Maramures through Romanian Friend and it was fantastic! The booking was easy to arrange throught the website and the responses and information leading up to the tour was quick and helpful. The actual tour was so fun! Our guide Florin was very knowledgeable and so friendly that all the locals seemed to love him enough to invite us into their homes and share their lives with us. I definitely recommend!
I cannot recommend this tour enough. Florin is an amazing and incredibly skilled tour guide; he has an incredible knowledge of the communities you visit, the history of the region, and the religious symbolism you come across visiting the various churches and distinct regional architecture of the Maramures region. Florin is very personable and it often felt like he knew virtually everyone within the villages we visited. I don't know exactly how many languages Florin speaks and can read (it's a lot), but I do know he was very fluent in English and was able to not only read many of the very old Romanian and Greek church texts but also had a wealth of information about each site we visited, including the beautiful murals in the churches. I was able to meet many of the locals, who were incredibly kind and welcoming. I extended to a third day and did the steam train ride, which I also really enjoyed--It was incredibly beautiful and worth the additional day if you can swing it. The Pension we stayed at was amazing. The host was incredibly kind and the meals were fresh. She not only makes the meals (dinner was three courses each night) but also makes many of the foods you eat as well, including the cured meats/sausages, cheese, and fresh vegetables. Everything was fresh and sourced from her land or the local community. It was one of the coolest Bed and Breakfasts that I've stayed at. I had originally just planned on a more standard Transylvania tour but am very glad I decided to travel to the Maramures region and experience this tour. While I loved visiting Transylvania, I deeply loved visiting the Maramures region, and in retrospect, I feel that had I not visited this region and done this tour, I would have missed out on an incredibly beautiful and culturally rich and distinct region of Romania that you just cannot get if you don't visit the region. If you are looking for a fuller, richer, experience within Romania that goes beyond the typical Transylvania tours, I highly recommend this tour. It will be well worth your time and money.
Marius from Romanian Friend matched me with another solo traveler so I pay less. Mihai was our guide and he took into account our suggestions and also made great choices himself for our 3 days tour in the region of Maramures. We visited many wooden churches, monasteries, villages, the merry cemetery in Sapanta and made a great journey in a Mocanita steam train. We had a great time. Come and visit this lush green region so full of little stories, nice wood architecture and sculpture..those Maramures doors and arches!!!
Florin was a super interesting guy and a wealth of knowledge. The sites, food, and stay were all top notch. It was an excellent tour that I would not hesitate to book again. A great way to explore the region on limited time.
Florian brought a personal touch to our tour, driving us around UNESCO world heritage sites while recounting the history of a people as beautiful as their region, Maramures, albeit without overloading us with information. Although we were surprised by the expensive restaurants, we enjoyed delicious traditional Romanian food with lush green views of rural Romania. In addition to engaging in intellectual interesting conversations, Florian's kind, clam and pondered personality shines through, so you will have no difficulties connecting with him as you tour Maramures. The highlight of our trip was undoubtedly the Memorial to the Victims of Communism and of the Resistance. Mulțumesc, Florian!
Our two day trip in Maramures with Florin was fantastic. Florin is such a nice and smart guide. As a history major, there was hardly a question he could not answer. We learned about historical and current Transylvania along with religious observations and customs of those who worshipped in the World Heritage wooden churches. The drive through Transylvania during the fall was spectacular! The stops for coffee and delicious traditional lunches were especially tasty! We spent the night at a guest house on a farm with mostly farm grown and all homemade food and drinks for dinner and breakfast. The next morning we explored the farm and neighborhood after breakfast. The stops at the Merry Cemetery and the Communism Prison Museum were memorable. We looked at other tours for Maramures but this one was definitely the best!
Wonderful! Florin is the best tour guide and we recognized without reservation. Maramureş was beautiful and we loved our tour. ♥️
We loved this tour. Florin wasn't available but he connected us with his colleague Alex who made the trip into a great combination of seeing "The Sites" (wooden churches, the Merry Cemetery), which we loved, and low-key road-trip exploration (stopping at some small farmer's markets, staying in a rural pension where the only other tourists were domestic, marveling over a walnut tree and stopping right in the middle of parking lot to eat the fresh nuts), which we also loved. There was an off-itinerary museum that we really wanted to see along the way, and Alex was happy to comply and suggest the necessary changes in our itinerary to fit it in. Alex was really knowledgable and easy to talk to. We took the two-day tour, but would recommend extending it if you can; we wished we could have spent longer exploring Maramures. There's plenty of driving time in this tour, but lots to look at and talk about (and naps to take in the back seat). We were stitching this trip together with time in Bucharest and time in Transylvania, and emailed with Marius (of Romanian Friend) in advance to get his advice about how to order our trip. That was really helpful. What we did is fly into Cluj-Napoca from Bucharest and have Alex meet us at the airport, which worked well!
Florin was just fantastic: his love for Romania was shown from the very first minute we met. Two wonderful days in the Maramures region where in spite of the winter season we manage to see the wonders of this lovely part of Romania. We highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to see the wooden churches and everything else Maramures has to offer!
Our tour with Florin was great. Thanks to Florin we saw not only the most famous sites in Maramures region, but also a few of the rare, off-the-beaten-path places on the tour. Florin is very knowledgeable about many subjects, including history, architecture, linguistics and so he proved to be a great source of information on the tour. He also is a very good and thoughtful organizer and he made sure we were exposed to various aspects of life in Romania. We met wonderful people and ate great local food. We stayed at a village guest house in an old wooden house which featured many traditional elements, yet was very comfortable. The car ride, despite being relatively long, was pleasant and safe. Thanks for everything and to Romanian Friend for recommending this trip!
The trip in Maramures was highly enjoyable and Florin was a great guide! He was very helpful and always went a step further for us, which we are grateful of. He was also very knowledgeable, not just about Romania but also the region and other worldly affairs. We loved conversing with him. I also appreciate the quick responses from Romanian Friend and help with linking us up. Thanks for everything!
My recent 2-day tour visiting Maramures region with Florin was spectacular. Florin's knowledge is boundless, his enthusiasm contagious and his well-planned itinerary excellent. The Maramures region is packed with wonderful scenery, wondrous wooden churches and a center for maintaining century's old traditional lifestyles. The staff at Romanian Friend couldn't have been more helpful or courteous. The entire experience was A+ and I can highly recommend joining Florin for a trip through Maramures.
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