The wine hills of Dealu Mare

Posted in Dealu Mare, Long tours, Medium Level | 1 comment

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Some of our friends’ reviews: 

 

  • IMG_3181I didn’t expect much before the trip but it resulted that it was one of the highlights in my European trip! Mircea is an excellent guide and has great love and passion for his country Romania. He showed us a lot of great places with stunning views in the area nearby Ploiești. We cycled in the forest, visited vineyards and some monasteries, tasted some very good wine, tried the best Romanian traditional cuisine and we stayed in a pension which is very clean and tidy and has amazing views overlooking the vineyards. – Katcsy, Beijing. See full review here.

 

  • IMG_7349-2One of the most authentic experiences you will ever have! Cycling through the Ploiești and Urlați regions with Mircea was an awesome experience. You find yourself at very close quarters with real Romanian country life and as you cycle along you can observe people going on about their daily business. – Jadid, London. See full review here.

 

  • IMG_3242I’ve been twice on a Cycling Romania tour. First Prahova, than Macin (Dobrogea area). It becomes addictive 🙂. It was fun and relaxing at the same time. I got to meet really nice people, to see some breathtaking places, to experience new sensations (like biking on a road with weeping willows) and most of all, to disconnect from the stressful city life. So, I will definitely repeat the experience and I recommend Cycling Romania to anybody that wants to ‘taste’ the deep country side. – Flavia, Bucharest. See full review here.

‘A land of great wines – Urlați, Ceptura, Valea Calugarească – the Northern Wallachia gathers an abundant and flavored cuisine, within the monasteries and the villages spread over the valleys, after a long bustling next to the oven, excelling in fruit sweets and fine marmalade, delicious soups and stews, unique corn bread and various sorts of cheese.’

Join Cycling Romania through the sunny vineyards of Dealu Mare, in Prahova County! This will be a lovely 6-days bike trip over the hills covered with wonderful forests and vine. The route is addressed to all nature and beauty lovers, requiring medium physical fitness.

What do we do:

Dealu Mare is an area with lot of good surprises for any visitor. There are so many things to see, and the landscape is so nicely revealing step by step to any cyclist! Here we ride on top of the hills, through young and old vineyards and deep green forests. We taste the best wines from the region (the local Feteasca Neagră red wine is a must!) and visit beautiful wine cellars, we dine in  houses surrounded by orchards, we visit 500 years old monasteries, we check the local architecture, we see how the rich landlords used to live centuries ago and, nevertheless, we leave the urban dusty gray of cities and hide into the symphony of colors in Dealu Mare landscape. We smile and enjoy the ride. We take back good memories and new friendships.

Technical details:

  • Length: 7 days 
  • On the bike: 6 days
  • Overnights: 6 nights
  • Distance: 45km <day1> + 43km <day2> + 58km <day3> + 54km <day4> + 54km <day5> + 65km <day6>
  • Total distance: 319km
  • Average distance/day: 54km
  • Difficulty level: medium
  • Ascent ↑/Descent↓: 470m↑/470m↓ <day1> + 437m↑/437m↓ <day2> + 312m↑/330m↓ <day3> + 860m↑/820m↓ <day4> + 750m↑/770m↓ <day5> + 160m↑/160m↓ <day6>
  • Highest / lowest point: 582m / 102m
  • Terrain type: asphalt (80%), dirt road (20%) dirt

Organizing details:

  • Best time of year: June – October
  • Start and end point: Urlați, 90 km away from Bucharest
  • Start time: 10am, Day 1
  • End time: 4pm, Day 6
  • Group size: 4-10 persons
  • Accommodation type: 3-star pensions
  • Suggested overnight before the tour: Bucharest / Urlați

Tour itinerary: 

  • Day 1: Urlați – Vărbila – Urlați
  • Day 2: Urlați – Plavia – Malu Roșu – Ceptura – Valea Crângului – Urlați
  • Day 3: Urlați – Apostolache – Mierea
  • Day 4: Mierea – Ciolanu – Sărata Monteoru – Pietroasele
  • Day 5: Pietroasele – Năeni – Jugureni – Vadu Săpat – Ceptura – Urlați
  • Day 6: Urlați – Dârvari – Ploiești – Plopu – Urlați

Highlights: 

  • Wine tasting and visiting some of the best wine cellars from Dealu Mare
  • Visiting ethnography museums 
  • Visiting local wine producers
  • Traditional dinners in the courtyard, prepared by the locals
  • Fruit picking in the orchard (cherries, sour cherries, peaches, apples, plums, red currants, raspberries – depending on season)
  • Visiting old monasteries & churches:
  • Bike ride through beautiful green forests 

Meet point:

View Valea Crangului Settlement in a larger map

Directions:

By car: After 55 km of driving from Bucharest to Ploieşti on E60 road, before reaching the gas station Lukoil in Bărcăneşti, turn right and follow the signs towards Buzău. After 30 km you will reach Albeşti, turn left and arrive in Urlaţi in 5 km.

By train: You can get to Tomșani (10 km away from the meet point) by taking the services of TFC – private railway company. More information about the train schedule you will find here. Bikes are allowed at 50% from the full ticket price. Check the train schedule of CFR, the national railway company here. If you choose to come by train please contact us.

The tour package includes: 

  • bike and helmet rental, guiding, technical assistance, activities and visits (wine tasting sessions at traditional wine cellars, visit local wine producers, visit monasteries & churches, visit ethnography museums), 6 breakfasts & dinners, 6 accommodation at 3-star pensions, 6 fresh homemade sandwiches for lunch, energy bars,  fruits. We can arrange car transfer upon request. 

* Please be aware that a contribution to supporting the visited traditional and national heritage buildings is included in the fee

Check here the dates

 

 

Our philosophy implies protecting the environment. Therefore we use the car as less as possible. We drive the car only until the base point (start/end place) and from there we do round-out bike trips. We take with us on bikes the gear needed for 1-3 days. At every return to the base camp we can change our clothes. We don’t want to carry our luggage by car. The main luggage can safely be stored at the base camp.

We have some beautiful photos from our tours to share with you. Hope you enjoy them!

Check here the photos More Facebook photo albums
For more information about this tour or for personalized inquiries please get in touch with us!

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1 Comment

  1. janice eastman
    May 27, 2015

    Please send prices and whether any tours are guaranteed. Even ubder dates and prices, there are no prices!

    reply

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