Holiday in the Danube Delta

A look at the tourist offer in the Danube Delta.

Daniel Onea, 21.07.2016, 12:00

Today we invite you to have a stopover in the Danube Delta. Most of the tourists who once chose to spend their vacation there, came back to the Danube Delta. The tourist offer in the region is varied and generous. It targets active people, who are also lovers of nature. The holiday offer in the Delta includes trips by bike, by boat, speedboat, sailing trips by the local longboat along waterways and lakes, looking for wild horses and bird colonies. It even includes trips by helicopter.

Doru Vladescu is the manager of a four-star floating hotel. He is very familiar with the area he promotes for tourists, and is also in love with it. No wonder about that, as the Danube Delta is one of the world’s largest wetlands, home to water birds. It is also the largest compact reed area on earth.

More on that, from Doru Vladescu himself.

“The Danube Delta can be viewed as a living core of biodiversity, with 30 types of ecosystems. It has a priceless value for the world’s natural heritage. The Danube Delta is bordered by the Dobrogea Plateau in the south-west, in the north it makes the border with Ukraine, while in the east its waters flow into the Black Sea. Also, the Danube Delta is part of an area with a semi-arid, temperate climate, typical of the Pontic steppes. Flat and vast water expanses, covered with vegetation in various degrees, are interrupted by the sandy islands of the marine fields, forming an active surface area, specific to the delta and the lagoons. It is totally different from that of the Pontic steppes. What is also very important is that the Danube Delta is the world’s only delta which in 1990 was declared a biosphere reserve, being included in the international network of biosphere reserves, under the UNESCO ‘Man and Biosphere’ programme”.

The Danube Delta is a destination with a rather special kind of tourism, precisely because it is a special area. Doru Vladescu once again.

“There are more than 30 species of birds in the Delta. There is a lot of vegetation. The air is very fresh, apparently the freshest in the country. Measurements have been made and it appears the air is even fresher than in the mountains. Tourists can meet Delta’s local people, they can get acquainted with what they do, and with their customs. They can also have the chance to see traditional fishing methods, that are hundreds of years old. They can get to know a little bit about our great rower Ivan Patzaichin. There is also a museum of the local longboat. They can visit the town of Sulina, a cosmopolitan and very special town, boasting several important tourist landmarks such as: the Turkish Lighthouse, the old Lighthouse, old, period buildings. There is also a very beautiful beach, on the Black Sea shore. They can also visit Sfintul Gheorghe, a locality about which you get the impression it lies at the end of the world. They can also taste the local food, which is not only fish-based, as the Dobrudjan cuisine is very rich”.

Moments you’ll never forget, in a place beyond what you would expect. That’s how the slogan goes, promoting the floating hotel whose manager is Doru Vladescu. But what, in fact, does a ‘floating hotel’ mean? Doru Vladescu once again.

“A floating hotel is a different accommodation concept. Just like the snail, you walk about with your little house on your back. You can have a one-week or a three-day cruise, you can get to see a lot of things: you don’t have to hire a boat, the local longboat or the speedboat. You can have a sip from a soft drink, you can taste a glass of champaigne or a glass of good wine and you can also look all around you, as floating hotels have access to waterways. Actually, you go to bed in one place and wake up somewhere else. Or you can have lunch while admiring nature. It’s a different type of tourism and leisure. The only difference is that this is organized for groups of 14 to 18 people. Most floating hotels have maximum nine rooms. It is true, the offer includes 2 to 5- star boats. For instance, our boat is a four-star hotel. We did not get 5 stars because at that time, a few years ago, we did not have an elevator and a parking lot. We did have jacuzzi, but that was not enough. For 18 people, our all-inclusive offer covers food, beverages, including alcoholic drinks, boat rides, a specialized guide and costs up to 65 Euro per day. We also have Wi-Fi and satellite TV, with some 150 channels”.

On the first floor, the hotel has double furnished rooms, with a unique design, which are both sound proof and thermally insulated, and which also have air conditioning. On the second floor we have a restaurant, a bar, a library, a conference room equipped with audio-video equipment, a satellite antenna, flat TVs, a karaoke system and wireless internet. Also on the second floor there is a sun proof terrace, for observation and relaxation. On the top floor there is a sunbathing deck, with 20 lounge chairs and a spa-jacuzzi. The place is also good for bird watching, landscape watching, parties, disco, and parlour games. Upon departure, all guests are invited to write in the guest book, as Doru Vladescu told us:

“We have a book in which lots of guests have written their impressions along these four years of activity. We’ve had American, French, English and Swiss guests, and nobody has ever had anything negative to say. Everybody’s been very happy about the food, and don’t imagine we have famed chefs to cook for our guests. It’s just traditional, tasty food, with ingredients from the Danube Delta area, such as goat and sheep cheese, turkey, chicken, pork, fresh eggs, pickles.”

If you are into a more conventional type of accommodation, here is the offer of a four star hotel, presented by its manager, Mihaela Andrei:

“We can provide a broad range of services, from accommodation to leisure and trips to the Danube Delta. We have a big outdoor pool, a warm indoor pool, a sauna, a fitness room, jacuzzi, sports grounds. Our compound covers an area of 10 hectares. We can organize trips along the Danube Delta’s channels, to Sfantu Gheorghe, where tourists can see how the Danube flows into the Black Sea, to the monasteries in the area. We have many activities, enough to cover a seven day stay for an entire family.”

A double room in this hotel costs 83 Euro per night, for two adults, and an apartment costs 104 Euro. The price covers accommodation, breakfast, the hotel fee, towels and lounge chars by the outdoor pool, wireless internet, parking, free access to the leisure and fishing area on Lake Murighiol.

(Translated by E. Nasta & M. Ignatescu)