Full Day Tour of Dracula's, LiBEARty Brown Bear Sanctuary, Brasov town and Rasnov Fortress

Excellent day tour with a knowledgable, experienced guide speaking excellent English. Intriguing programme combining nature-- as we climbed to the beautiful site of the bear sanctuary and were given a full walking tour by the local guide--and urban as we explored the cobblestone streets and learned the history of 'Saxon' Brasov. My only suggestion is to ensure drivers use hands free cell phones when speeding on that very busy road from Bucharest to Brasov and back.

The Bear Sanctuary, though a noble cause dedicated to saving the bears, was IMHO not worth the long trip to get there although I did not mind supporting the mission of the sanctuary. Overall , however, the all-day tour was quite enjoyable mainly because our driver/guide (Michael) was a fountain of historical information, the scenery in the Carpathian Mountains was spectacular, and the weather was wonderful.

This tour is well worth doing although it is a long day. We had to eliminate visiting Brasov town because we could not justify a 14 hour day with early morning flights scheduled for the following morning. Our guide, Mihaii, was knowledgeable. professional, and very helpful. We especially enjoyed the visit to the brown bear sanctuary. There was a lot more walking involved than we were told, but our efforts were well worth it. We were four adults (two couples) traveling together on this tour. The car provided was a small sub compact, and we were definitely cramped. I would suggest that you provide vans for groups larger than two adults. I will make sure to request vans for future Viator tours.

Very good trip our tour guide/driver was amazing and very professional and really knew his stuff. Bear sanctuary was brilliant. The bran castle was great too very busy so had to rush around wish had a bit more time. The town was excellent too. Also stopped at the Palace on way back too. A fun filled day

This was the only tour we could find that included the Libearty Bear Sanctuary. We had been following their Facebook page from the U.S. and really wanted to visit it. The fact that it included Bran Castle and some other attractions made this tour even more enticing. The Libearty Bear Sanctuary did not disappoint. If you are an animal lover, you will appreciate the efforts that this group has done to rescue bears from cruel confinement behind gas stations, hotels, etc. Our tour was at feeding time so we got to see bears (probably a dozen, although they have almost 100 on site). There are also some native deer and wolves that have been rescued by this group. A couple of tips - be prepared to walk on a dirt road that will be in full sun at times. The whole tour takes about 1 hour. The guide provides a good history of the efforts to build the sanctuary and details the grim reality of bears held in for public amusement with little concern for their well being. Note that this is NOT a petting zoo and all the enclosures have electric fencing. However, you will be able to get within 15 feet of some of the bears. There is a small gift shop at the end of the tour. Bran (Dracula's castle) is much more of a tourist attraction, but will not disappoint. Expect standard tourist trinkets for sale at rows of stalls at the foot of the castle and lots of crowds. The town of Brasov is enjoyable, but not as memorable as the bear sanctuary or Bran Castle. We did not see the Rasnov Fortress due to time constraints. Something Viator should definitely mention is that on 3-day holiday weekends the single lane roads going to this area will be a solid line of traffic. We had no idea that our Saturday tour would be affected by a Monday holiday. As a result, we ere literally in traffic for over 4 hours and barely made it to the last bear sanctuary tour of the day. Our driver "Rasin" (sp?) was either a little bit crazy or should be a race car driver or both as he literally got us to the sanctuary with only minutes to spare. He grew up in the area and did an incredible job of getting around the traffic jams as best anyone could. He was very good at providing options as our time at each destination was reduced due to the traffic and was friendly and personable. Due to the holiday traffic we didn't get back to our hotel in Bucharest until after 8pm. Again, Viator should flag holiday weekends and warn folks about traffic delays. Luckily, no one on our tour had plans for the night.

When I booked this tour, I told my friends that this had the possibility of being the best day of my life. Vampires and bears in the same tour! Could it be real? Somehow, despite the highest of expectations, this tour actually lived up to those. What an amazing day! The LiBEARty bear sanctuary is a very special place doing some great work. There are over 100 bears living there right now and we saw about 25 of them in our time there. Bran Castle is a stunning sight. As you will learn, it is much more than just Dracula's Castle. It is a wonderful site filled with such history, which you will learn from your guide. Even with all of the drive time and all of the elements in the tour, there is still plenty of time to wander around the fabulous old town of Brasov, which might be the best part of the trip. My guide was phenomenal, so full of knowledge and willing to share stories and insights. This, to me, is what made this trip even more phenomenal. Do yourself a favor and book this trip!!!

Great tour! We especially loved the bears and Brasov and our lovely guide was relaxed, knowledgeable and flexible throughout

Absolutely brilliant. Loved every minute of the tour. If I could give more than 5 stars I would. My reasons - Friendly, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, professional tour guide. Plenty of time to see the scheduled sites and great value for money. Thank you!