Compare Cruising in West Bengal by Audley Travel vs On the high peaks of Transfagarasan by Eastern European Experience

Day 1 : International outbound flight

Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Calcutta.

Day 2 : Calcutta

Arrive into Calcutta and spend the remainder of the day exploring or relaxing. Your hotel is right in the heart of the city so you might like to visit some of the nearby markets or local restaurants.

Day 3 : Calcutta

Choose either a traditional or more unusual route for your walking tour through Calcutta today - your guide will advise and recommend ideas. Calcutta has a fascinating Colonial history as well as a vibrant Chinatown and flower market.

Day 4 : Calcutta

Board your cruise boat this morning and start sailing north on the River Hugli, visiting Serampore and Barackpore en route.

Day 5 : Calcutta

Sail onwards to Chandernagore, a French possession until 1950, before continuing to a mooring near Kalna. You will begin to see the scenery becoming more rural and rugged.

Day 6 : Calcutta

Explore Kalna by cycle rickshaw this morning to see some of Bengalâs most attractive terracotta temples. On-board the boat you can enjoy time on the open-top deck, watching the scenery pass by.

Day 7 : Calcutta

Visit Matiari and the battlefield of Plassey today as you travel further north into West Bengal.After the day's explorations, you might like to try the boat's small spa.

Day 8 : Calcutta

Wander around the great Hazarduari Palace today in Murshidabad. The Katra mosque is also fascinating and usually very peaceful.

Day 9 : Calcutta

Moor at sleepy Baranagar to see temples as well as the Indian countryside littered with mustard fields and mango orchards.

Day 10 : Calcutta

Cruise to Farakka and spend the day visiting Gaur, once one of India's greatest cities before spending your last night on board.

Day 11 : Calcutta

Disembark your boat after breakfast and transfer to the railway station to travel by train back to Calcutta.On arrival you will be met and driven to a nearby hotel before flying onwards tomorrow.

Day 12 : International return flight

Transfer to the airport for your international flight. Your return flight will arrive the same day.

1st day-Bucharest, Poienari, Peles Castle, Bran Castle and Brasov

Departure from Bucharest and drive towards the Poienari Castle, a legend and to many, a confusing mixture of truth, history and fiction due to the convolution between the novel “Dracula” and the factual history of Vlad III Dracula “The Impaler”, whose name inspired the book. Drive towards Sinaia, where you will visit Peles Castle, used as a summer residence by the kings of Romania. It was built at the wish of the first Romanian king, Carol I, after the plans of architects Johannes Schultz and Karel Liman and decorated by JD Heymann from Hamburg, August Bembe from Mainz and Berhard Ludwig from Vienna, hence the similarity to German castles. Peles Castle is a unique construction, one of the most important monuments of its kind in 19th century Europe. Discover one of the most famous legend in Romania, Bran Castle, commonly known as Dracula`s Castle and source of inspiration for Bram Stocker. First built in 1377 for safeguarding the trading route between Transylvania and the Ottoman Empire. It was restored later to finally become a gorgeous summer royal residence in 1920. For many years now, it has been an interesting medieval art museum. Fringed by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania. Founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1211 on an ancient Dacian site and settled by the Saxons as one of the seven citadels, it has been used as a backdrop in many recent period films. The city is surrounded by legends of vampires and medieval stories. We will have a walking tour so you can discover the old town center, the Black Church, the Council Square and the Hirsche House.

Afternoon at leisure in Brasov and overnight in one of the hotels from the Old Town Square.

2nd day-Sighisoara, Biertan and Sibiu

Departure from Brasov and move drive towards Sighisoara. One of the best preserved medieval citadel in Europe remains one of the most beautiful medieval city in Europe. It is a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is as well the birthplace of Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes, ruler of the province of Walachia from 1456 to 1462. He is the one who inspired the Bram Stoker`s fictional creation, Count Dracula. After this, we will be heading to Sibiu with a short detour to visit Biertan, a fortified church built in the 15th century by the Saxons. It is part of the Unesco Heritage since 1993 and it boasts beside religious objects also a matrimonial prison. Next on our „to see list” is Sibiu, one of the oldest town in Transylvania. In 2007 was awarded with the title of European Capital of Culture. The main attractions are the Evangelical Church, the Orthodox Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Church, the Stairs tower and the Council Tower.

Overnight in Sibiu.

3rd day- Avrig, Transfagarasan, Vidraru, and Bucharest

After you have enjoyed your breakfast, we will depart towards Avrig and we will visit the summer residence of Baron Samuel von Bruckenthal. Built on Vienese model (the Schonbrun Palace), keeps the collection of 212 paintings and 129 engravings of the baron. Moving forward on our way to Transfagarasan, we will be having Fagaras Mountains on the West to East border of Romania with peaks from Moldoveanu(2544m) and Negoiu(2535m). A little bit more on the west, Olt river has managed to make a passage across the mountains, from Sibiu to Rimnicu Valcea. As this was the only road crossing the country from north to south ,it born the idea of having a road that went over the Balea lake on the north side that came all the way to south in Arges County. Before 2011, this road was the highest in Romania with its length to over 92 km. That being said, Transfagarasan is one of the most beautiful and spectacular. Next on our way is the Vidraru arch dam on the bank of the Argeş River in Romania, an engineering jewel. Built in 1966 to create hydroelectricity, it was the fifth largest dam in Europe at the time. It required 42 kilometers of tunnels, over a million hard rocks extracted from underground and nearly a million cubic meters of concrete to build, plus the loss of about 80 builders’ lives. Catch a glimpse of a statue of Prometheus watching over the dam from the top of Plesa Mountain, holding a flash of lightning in his hand to symbolize electricity. The ancient Titan—who in Greek mythology stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to humans—looks like a modern-day superhero back dropped by the Frunţii Mountains and Ghiţu mountains that surround Lake Vidraru.

Drive back to Bucharest and drop off at your hotel.