15 Bear Watching Tours in Bucharest, Compared

1.Top Gear Road and Wild Brown Bears Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 782 reviews · from $58Our pick

Bucharest to Transfagarasan Road for mountain views, Vidraru Dam, Balea Lake at 2,034 m, Capra Waterfall, plus wild brown bear sightings.

“It was a long drive to the top and it was worth it. Saw 3 bears along the way. The views on top and at the hydro dam were beautiful. Nickolas was a good driver, knows how to avoid the crowd so we were not stuck in traffic jam. Bring warm clothes as the wind was cold and blustery. I would recommend it. If I knew better I would have taken a 2-day trip with a night in Sibiu. That would be less tiring”

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2.Small group max 7 – Bears Safari on Top Gear -Transfăgărășan

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 208 reviews · from $140

Small-group Transfăgărășan bear safari with Poenari Citadel, Vidraru Dam, Capra Waterfall, and Bâlea Lake.

“Sebastian is a great guide, not only is he a great storyteller but he also has a great sense of humor! The trip exceeded our expectations, we spent a wonderful day in a small group, thank you for creating wonderful moments and memories for us!”

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3.Day Trip to Bear Sanctuary, Bran Castle & Brasov

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 123 reviews · 12 hours · from $152

Bucharest day trip to Zărnești Bear Sanctuary, Bran Castle and Brasov, with a small-group English guide and time for Sforii Street.

“The day trip was very informative. My fellow could only speak French. It would have been good to consider them more.”

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4.Libearty Bear Sanctuary and Dracula’s Castle – Day Tour from Bucharest

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 85 reviews · 8 to 10 hours (approx.) · from $187Top rated

A full day from Bucharest to Libearty Bear Sanctuary and Bran Castle, with pickup, live guide commentary, and time for real Transylvania views.

“Fantastic trip to the bear sanctuary and Bran castle. The scenery on the drive there and back was just beautiful and Florin was the perfect guide- friendly yet professional and so knowledgeable about Romanias history and all of places we visited. He even took us to eat at his friends place where we had the most amazing local food cooked fresh for us! Would highly recommend this trip, worth every penny!”

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5.Libearty Bear Sanctuary and Dracula’s Castle

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 59 reviews · 10 hours · from $159

Bear recovery in Zarnesti forests and Bran Castle Dracula lore, all in one long small-group day from Bucharest.

“Great day out - firstly seeing the bears was an amazing experience, especially up close. Bran Castle was interesting, for the history of the place as well as the showcasing of the mythology built up around it. The guide was good, very knowledgeable with places to recommend where to go and where to eat, even showed us Brasov as well, which was a lovely place for lunch. It was a bit expensive the cost of the journey, which is my only complaint, since I was by myself, but that was offset with the experiences in Brasov. All in all a fun and long day out.”

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6.Bran Castle and Bear Sanctuary Small-Group Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 46 reviews · 10 hours · from $145

Small-group trip from Bucharest to Bran Castle and Liberty Bear Sanctuary in Transylvania, with hotel pickup, scenic stops, and guided visits.

“Florin was great. Very knowledgeable and was happy to answer any questions. The bear sanctuary was interesting but a lot of the bears have sad stories. Really enjoyed our time at Bran Castle.”

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7.Bears Sanctuary, Dracula’s Castle, Brasov Day Trip Private Tour from Bucharest

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 33 reviews · 10 to 12 hours (approx.) · from $307

Private Transylvania day trip from Bucharest: bears at Zarnesti, Bran Castle, and Brasov Old Town, with hotel pickup and English guide.

“😞 par le sanctuaire car pas assez de liberté mais enchantée par les autres endroits,Bran,Peles et Brasov”

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8.Bear Sanctuary and Dracula’s Castle, 1-day Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · 11 to 13 hours (approx.) · from $276

Private 1-day Transylvania trip from Bucharest with Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Bran Castle history, and hotel pickup, in English.

“We went to the bear sanctuary (would definitely recommend to visit this place!), the bran castle and brasov in a day trip from Bucharest. Daniel was very kind and polite and told us a lot about Romania. He even waited in the morning when we wanted to have a little breakfast in the hotel first. It is a great place to visit and I wouldn’t miss this trip. Would definitely do it again.”

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9.Transylvania with Dracula Castle, Bear Sanctuary and Brasov

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · 12 to 13 hours (approx.) · from $155

A long day from Bucharest to the Liberty Bear Sanctuary, Bran Castle, and Brașov, with hotel pickup, English guidance, and photo stops.

“First of all we have no issue with Andre our guide!!! He was very knowlegable and helpful !!!! Since we only did part of bear tour and did not go into or upto bran castle , we felt ! That we should have had more time in Bran and Brasov !! It was a very rushed tour ! Only really time for lunch in Brasov !! Which was a shame!! A bit of a disappointing experience !! It would havebtaken longer , had we we done all of the bear tour and gone into bran castle !! We shoul therefore had more time in the other places !”

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10.Bears Sanctuary, Dracula’s Castle and Brașov City – Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · from $206

Private day trip from Bucharest to Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Bran Castle, and Brasov, with an English guide and hotel pickup.

“Our tour guide Serban was fantastic, great knowledge, very friendly, so very enthusiastic and most helpful. Would thoroughly recommend him.' It was a terrific tour, we loved the Bear sanctuary even adopted a Bear.”

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11.2-Day Small-Group Tour to Dracula’s Castle, Rasnov Fortress, Peles Castle, Sighisoara and Libearty Brown Bear Sanctuary with Overnight in Brasov

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 9 reviews · 2 days (approx.) · from $583

Two days in Transylvania from Bucharest with Bran, Rasnov, Peles, Sighisoara, Libearty bears, plus an overnight in Brasov.

“We loved loved loved our tour with Mihai. He gave us a fascinating insight into all of the places we visited included the Libearty sanctuary, Bran castle, Sigishoare, Peles Castle and lots more as well as sharing his fascinating experiences of growing up and living in Romania. We stayed overnight in a comfortable hotel in Brasov arranged by Mihai and explored the beautiful city in the evening. Mihal was always there to help with luggage, suggest places to eat, provide water and lead us to some lovely lunch spots. He even kept his calm demeanour and sense of humour through a fairly awful traffic jam. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend…”

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12.Bears Sanctuary, Dracula Castle and Brasov City – Full Day Trip from Bucharest

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 10 to 12 hours (approx.) · from $343

Bears at Liberty Sanctuary, Bran Castle, and Brasov old town in one full day trip from Bucharest with pickup and an English guide.

“Watching bears for the first time was an amazing experience,listening to the sad stories about how these bears were rescued from captivity and torture really touched the heart.”

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13.Legends&Wildlife Awaits: Dracula’s Castle & Bear Sanctuary

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 7 to 8 hours (approx.) · from $224

Half-day trip from Bucharest to Liberty Bear Sanctuary and Bran Castle, with small-group pickup, live commentary, and included transport.

“Booked on the Tuesday night for brans castle and bear sanctuary trip, Radu contracted us the same night with regards to picking us up the following day, he was on time, got us there and back in good time and safely, kept us informed all the way though the trip with some knowledgeable information about the history of the country and places we paced though. Top guide, cheers Radu.”

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14.Bear Sanctuary & Rasnov Fortress – Private day tour from Bucharest

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · 10 hours (approx.) · from $184

Private Bucharest day trip to Liberty Bear Sanctuary and Rasnov Citadel, with hotel pickup, English guide, and scenic Transylvania views.

“Although a lengthy drive to get to the bear sanctuary from Bucharest it was definitely worth it. A wonderful experience to see the bears finally in a safe and caring environment. Great photo opportunities too. The drive was comfortable and my tour guide was very knowledgeable, courteous and good company. All due consideration was given for comfort stops and to break up the journey. Going to Snagov to see the resting place of Vlad the Impaler was an added bonus.”

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15.LiBEARty Brown Bear Sanctuary and the most important castles from Romania

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4 reviews · 11 hours (approx.) · from $260

Hotel pickup, bear sanctuary nature time, plus Bran and Peles castles on a long but satisfying day from Bucharest.

“This trip was amazing from start to finish. The guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and professional. He stopped for photo opportunities and took us to the Bear Sanctuary and the castles in Transylvania. I loved this trip. It was 2 years ago but I remember every detail. I’d love to go again.”

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