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0845 3000 247 +44 (0)1539 531258 |
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DATES |
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ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN 29.10.2008 - 2.11. 2008 & 3.11.2008 5-6 Days / 4-5 Nights |
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HIGHLIGHTS |
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Cluj (Klausenburg) Train to Bistritz Jonathan Harker Trail Horse & Cart journey "Borgo" Pass Hotel Castle Dracula Bistrita (Bistritz) (Golden Krone) Târgu Mures (Halloween Ball in Citadel) Biertan UNESCO fortress church Sighisoara Dracula's Birthplace, |
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FLIGHTS |
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We recommend WIZZ Luton - Cluj Luton 08:10 - Cluj 13:00 Cluj 06:20 - Luton 07:25 BOOK WIZZ NOW Times local and subject to change 2 hour time difference - UK & Romania Other airlines serving Cluj include Malev via Budapest, Tarom via Bucharest and Austrian via Vienna Rail connections available from Sibiu, Timiusoara and Bucharest  Hotel Castle Dracula - inside the crypt |
Ultimate Halloween 2008
However, additional nights can be added or even connections from Bucharest if required
Tour prices from £ 559.00 per person (5 days) or £ 644.00 (6 days); plus flights from £ 50.00
29.10.2008 Wizz W6 772 Luton 08:10 - Cluj Napoca 13:00
02.11.2008 Wizz W6 771 Cluj Napoca 06:20 - Luton 07:25
or
03.11.2008 Wizz W6 771 Cluj Napoca 06:20 - Luton 07:25
Book direct with WIZZ
Prices from £ 50.00 per person incl. taxes (24.06.2008)
Normal average prices are £ 120.00 - £ 180.00
DAY 1 - 29 October 2008
'Count Dracula had directed me to go to the Golden Krone Hotel ... I dined on what they call 'robber steak' - bits of bacon, onion and beef, seasoned with red pepper and strung on sticks and roasted over the fire in the simple style of the London cat's-meat! The wine was Golden Mediasch, which produces a queer sting on the tongue ..."
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
Our tour starts in the city of Cluj, the cultural capital of Imperial Transylvania. The Hungarians called it 'Kolozsvar', the Saxons 'Klausenburg'. However, we have no time to explore its treasures just yet since we have a train to catch, to take us to the old Saxon town of Bistritz (Bistrita) where we dine, and spend the night at the 'Golden Krone'. There is barely time to pray for forgivemness since, in the morning, we must push on further and deeper into the remote Carpathians to seek out the Vampire Count in his homeland. A century earlier the unsuspecting solicitor, Jonathan Harker was also warned against travelling up the 'Borgo' Pass to Castle Dracula. "Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?" the landlord's wife begged of him. As a precaution garlic should be hung over your bed. This would also be an appropriate time to wear the little crucifix you may have bought along with you.
Sighisoara
0845 3000 247
+44 (0)1539 531258
Vlad the Impaler
"Just returned from the Ultimate Halloween Tour and would like to thank you for a wonderful experience. Special mention must go to the tour guide Ramona, one could not have wished for a better, more professional, well-informed, FUN guide. She is a joy to be a round." [D&J.K., Derbyshire]
Click here for further testimonials
from our GUEST BOOK
'There was everywhere a bewildering mass of fruit blossom - apple, pear, cherry;
and as we drove by I could see the green grass under the trees spangled with the fallen petals'
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
After breakfast, we ride through the infamous orchards of the Mitteland (the fruit has been picked, the petals have gone - winter is approaching) and ascend into the Bargau Mountains. When the road becomes impassable we transfer to horses and carts to ascend the 'Borgo Pass' by tracks in the forest. The journey through the silent, dark forests and over the plateau is lengthy and the hours of daylight are short. Note the red tassels worn by the horse pulling your cart to ward off the evil eye, for this is a land of myths, superstitions and the omnipresent feeling of danger. A picnic lunch will be taken in the forest, perhaps in the safety of a woodcutters hut if we can find one. The Count’s Castle, Hotel Castle Dracula, appears as you cross the summit, standing out on the hillside guarding over the password. It has a crypt and a cemetery for good measure. Evening meal and overnight at Hotel Castle Dracula. A drink in the moon tower bar may calm the nerves.
"Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road - a long, agonized wailing as if from fear. The sound was taken up by another dog, then another and another, till, borne on the wind which now sighed softly through the Pass, a wild howling began which seemed to come from all over the country, as far as the imagination could grasp it through the gloom of the night. ... Then, far off in the distance, from the mountains on each side of us began a louder and sharper howling - that of wolves!"
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
I could only see the gleam of a pair of very bright eyes, which seemed red in the lamplight, as he turned towards us."
... The night is chill mein Herr, and my master the Count bade me take care of you.
There is a flask of Slivowitz (the plum brandy of the country) underneath the seat, if you should require it."'
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
''By the road there were many crosses, and as we swept by, my companions all crossed themselves'
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
The survivors will descend the Borgo Pass to Bistrita then continue past the spooky church of Herina and through the beautiful, but mysterious, Transylvanian Highlands. Notice the abundance of roadside crosses. We continue to the Hungarian-speaking stronghold of Târgu Mures. Here you will be treated to a 5-6 hour Halloween Vampire Ball in the historic fortified bastion of the town, the place where the last witches were burned in Europe in 1784. There will be wine, song, feasting and dance, live mediaeval music, actors, minstrels, strange rituals and games ... and an appearance by the Count himself! Overnight in the 3-star Hotel Continental.
We now enter Saxon Transylvania, where we visit the romantic, mediaeval walled-town of Sighisoara (Schässburg), the place where the real Dracula, Vlad the Impaler was born in 1431.. Explore the cobbled alleyways, pretty squares and ramparts of this fascinating citadel.
OPTION 1. 5 DAY/ 4 NIGHT TOUR
Transfer to the station for your local express train to Cluj. Depart 12:36 - arrive 15:54. The journey takes you along the Tarnave Valley and over the Transylvanian Heath. Ttransfer to the centrally located Hotel Fullton for dinner and overnight. Your hotel is situated in the city centre, close to the house where the famous Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, one of Dracula's key adversaries, was born in 1440.
Whether it is Kolozsvár, the Imperial capital of Austro-Hungarian Transylvania, Klausenburg, one of the Saxon Siebenbürgen, or present day Cluj-Napoca, the cultural centre of northern Romania, this city is a lively, melting pot, an intellectual centre with an active cafe society, renowned university, museums, theatres and eye-catching architecture.
OPTION 2. 6 DAY/ 5 NIGHT TOUR
Time to explore the mediaeval town of Sighisoara, including a visit to the museum in the old clocktower, the church on the hill with its ancient cemetery. The view from the clocktower over the red roofs is memorable. Lunch at Casa Vlad Dracula, the house where Dracula was allegedly born. Afternoon visit to the traditional Transylvanian village of Saschiz. Evening meal and overnight in one of the historic hotels in the romantic citadel.
OPTION 1. 5 DAY/ 4 NIGHT TOUR
Transfer to the airport for your early morning flight home.
OPTION 2. 6 DAY/ 5 NIGHT TOUR
Breakfast, then travel through the Tarnave Valley of Transylvania to the picturesque Saxon village of Biertan to visit the fortress church, listed as a World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Learn about the culture and history of the Saxon Transylvanians with their churches and villages fortified against Tatar Marauders then, after lunch in the village, continue over the Transylvanian Heath ro Cluj. Sightseeing then onwards to Hotel Fullton for dinner and overnight.
DAY 6 - 3 November 2008
Transfer to the airport for your early morning flight home.
OPTIONAL:
Additional nights can be added in Cluj, or your holiday may be extended to include other regions.
Please note that Halloween tours are popular and early booking is recommended to secure a place.
- Travel throughout by air-conditioned minibus or coach plus rail travel as indicated
- Accommodation in comfortable 3 star hotels
- Full-board throughout
- Sightseeing tours and special events as outlined above including the 'Jonathan Harker Trail' horse & cart ride, and the Halloween Vampire Ball
- Professional English-speaking Guides
- All applicable entrance fees and local taxes
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>TOUR
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| >5 DAY ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN - excludes flights |
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579.00
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69.00
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| >SPECIAL OFFER - BOOK BY 15 JULY 2008 |
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ONLY 559.00
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69.00
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| >6 DAY ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN - excludes flights |
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669.00
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89.00
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| >SPECIAL OFFER - BOOK BY 15 JULY 2008 |
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ONLY 644.00
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89.00
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- All prices are in £ Sterling (GBP) per person sharing a twin or double room and are subject to availability
- Prices are subject to currency fluctuation and may be amended from time to time (prices cannot be changed once a booking deposit has been received)
- Prices shown are for land arrangements only. Return flights to Cluj start at £ 50.00 return and may be booked direct with WIZZ AIR
is a Division of BCD Meetings & Incentives
1 Atkinson Court, Fell Foot, Newby Bridge, Cumbria, United Kingdom LA12 8NW
Tel. +44 (0)1539 531258 or UK local rate: 0845 3000 247; Email. travel@beyondtheforest.com
ATOL 3319 - IATA 91267691
The air holidays and flights shown are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL nrmber is ATOL 3319.
ATOL protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom.
Click on the ATOL logo if you want to know more.
