Compare The Philippines: Trekking the Terraces and Beyond by Remote Lands vs On the high peaks of Transfagarasan by Eastern European Experience

Day:1 Manila

After checking into your five-star luxury Shangri-La Makati hotel, you might want want to take a rest a prepare yourself for your full schedule of travel over the coming week. However, if your energy levels are quickly replenished, you’ll be itching to see exactly what this vibrant colonial city has to offer. To make the most of the evening, head to Manila Bay, where you’ll be able to catch the stunning sunset and sample some of the local Philippine cuisine.

Day:2 Banaue

A drive from Manila to Banaue awaits you in the early morning. Although the journey is long, the developing landscape along the way is truly spectacular, and once you reach Banaue, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, you’ll realize it was all worth the effort. This mountain capital of northern Luzon is famed for its amazing, emerald-green, mud-walled rice terraces – some 49,000 acres of them - and you’ll have ample opportunity to explore (with your own personal tour guide) once you’ve arrived.

Day: 3 Sagada

This morning, you’re off to visit a local family of Ifugao villagers - a great opportunity to learn about the local agricultural practises and traditional way of life. After this stop-off, your guide will take you back up above the terraces to reveal some breathtaking views. A short afternoon drive takes you to Sagada, where you’ll have the chance to explore the majestic Bomod-ok and Bokong Waterfalls, with the highest point at over 200 feet!

Day: 4 Sagada

Don’t feel guilty about going for second helpings at your breakfast buffet this morning - today you’re going to need all the energy you can get! Your first stop of the day is the Hanging Coffins of Sagada; famous not only for its beauty, but also its 2,000-year-old ritual of hanging homemade coffins from the limestone cliffs high above the ground (corpses and all). You’ll have the chance to hike up the cliffs for a birds’-eye view. Afternoon activities include an incredible white-water rafting trip on the Upper Chico River.

Day: 5 Baguio

A morning car journey will take you from Sagada the official summer capital of the Philippines - Baguio. After checking in to your luxury hotel, the Manor at Camp John Hay, it’s time to check out the local scenery and lush tropical landscape of the surrounding Kabadjo Forest, all from atop a horse! There is also the famous Baguio Flower Festival and several interesting museums, which are worth a visit in the afternoon.

Day: 6 Vigan

On this penultimate day, focus switches to the beautiful, well-preserved trading city of Vigan. After your private tour through the quaint cobbled streets of this 16th century colonial city, you'll soon realize how

it earned its place on UNESCO’s prestigious list of World Heritage Sites. The many sites you’ll visit reflect the area’s diverse background, with obvious architectural, culinary and linguistic influences stemming from the Filipino, Spanish and Chinese occupations.

Day: 7 Departure

After you’ve enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and checked-out of the charming Sitio Remedios Hotel in Vigan City, you will - perhaps a little reluctantly - start your journey home. A quick 40-minute drive takes you to Laoag International airport. From there, it’s onto another commercial flight back to Manila, you’ll connect to your international flight home or to your next exciting destination. Bon voyage!

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.