One of our most bird-filled European itineraries, Romania is a fabulous country for birding and there is no better way to see the amazing Danube Delta than by boat. For a part of this tour, we are based on board a floating hotel, with our own crew and chef, and a small boat for daytime excursions. Each evening we meet the hotel boat in a new, stunning location, surrounded by the sights and sounds of the delta and vast numbers of waterbirds. Imagine cruising among Lily-filled lagoons, with Whiskered Terns flying around us and flocks of White Pelicans fishing in the shallows, watched by hundreds of herons of all the European species. We’ll also explore the salt-lakes, dry steppes and farmlands, lagoons, marshes and woodlands of Dobrogea, based at a charming small hotel in the port town of Tulcea. The open country that borders the Black Sea is bristling with great birds, from Pallas’s Gull and Paddyfield Warbler to breeding rookeries of Red-footed Falcon and woodlands resounding to singing Icterine Warblers and Red-breasted Flycatchers. We visit in a period when most of the summer migrants are into breeding routines and there should also be late movement of passage shorebirds too – exceptional birding you can’t afford to miss! Your tour leader will be Marcus Nash, assisted throughout by a local guide and driver. You can expect to see approximately 150 species.
DAY ONE
Fly London/Bucharest.
Fly London/Bucharest.
*Please note the itinerary can run in reverse order*
Upon arrival we will be met by our guide and transfer to your floating hotel in Tulcea. Our journey lasts between four to five hours, as we head northeastwards through the Dobrugean Plain. We make comfort stops and bird from the roadside. We will encounter our first Rollers, European Bee-eaters, White Storks and hopefully Golden Orioles, amongst others. We arrive in time for a late dinner.
Overnight Tulcea
Overnight Tulcea
DAYS TWO, THREE & FOUR
Besides being the port of entry to the Delta, Tulcea is also an ideal base for exploring the northern Dobrugea Plain. Our journeys take in easily viewed marshes and saline lakes where wildfowl, gulls, terns and passage waders reside. The flava wagtails here include the Black-headed race. The area around Babadag, a historic Turkish settlement, is good for raptors such as Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Red-footed Falcon, Saker and Levant Sparrowhawk, though we’ll need good luck to see them all! We’ll also visit one of Europe’s great bird areas, the marshes and saltpans by the ancient Greco-Roman ruins at Histria. Possible terns are Whiskered, Black, White-winged Black, Little and Gull-billed, as well as Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Gulls, Black Stork and in some years good numbers of Collared Pratincole, with occasional records of Black-winged Pratincole. Shorebirds should include Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Kentish Plover and many species which breed further east pass this way including Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stints in smart breeding dress. Though rare, a few Ruddy Shelduck are regular here, and we’ll also look for Stone Curlew, Little Owl, Spanish Sparrow and Syrian Woodpecker. In the oak woods, we can expect Sombre Tit, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Paddyfield Warbler is a regular breeding species in this area, one or two pairs of Pallas’s Gulls have begun to breed on the Black Sea and White-tailed Plover has bred in the past. Calandra and Crested Larks can be found in adjacent farmland and there have been a couple of recent records of Bimaculated Lark and Black-headed Bunting too, while Isabelline Wheatear and Tawny Pipit are common. Scree slopes hold Pied and Black-eared Wheatears, Rock Thrush, Barred Warbler and with good fortune Saker and Eurasian Eagle Owl.
Besides being the port of entry to the Delta, Tulcea is also an ideal base for exploring the northern Dobrugea Plain. Our journeys take in easily viewed marshes and saline lakes where wildfowl, gulls, terns and passage waders reside. The flava wagtails here include the Black-headed race. The area around Babadag, a historic Turkish settlement, is good for raptors such as Long-legged Buzzard, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Booted Eagle, Short-toed Eagle, Red-footed Falcon, Saker and Levant Sparrowhawk, though we’ll need good luck to see them all! We’ll also visit one of Europe’s great bird areas, the marshes and saltpans by the ancient Greco-Roman ruins at Histria. Possible terns are Whiskered, Black, White-winged Black, Little and Gull-billed, as well as Mediterranean and Yellow-legged Gulls, Black Stork and in some years good numbers of Collared Pratincole, with occasional records of Black-winged Pratincole. Shorebirds should include Marsh Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Kentish Plover and many species which breed further east pass this way including Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stints in smart breeding dress. Though rare, a few Ruddy Shelduck are regular here, and we’ll also look for Stone Curlew, Little Owl, Spanish Sparrow and Syrian Woodpecker. In the oak woods, we can expect Sombre Tit, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Middle Spotted Woodpecker. Paddyfield Warbler is a regular breeding species in this area, one or two pairs of Pallas’s Gulls have begun to breed on the Black Sea and White-tailed Plover has bred in the past. Calandra and Crested Larks can be found in adjacent farmland and there have been a couple of recent records of Bimaculated Lark and Black-headed Bunting too, while Isabelline Wheatear and Tawny Pipit are common. Scree slopes hold Pied and Black-eared Wheatears, Rock Thrush, Barred Warbler and with good fortune Saker and Eurasian Eagle Owl.
Overnights Tulcea
*NOTE, we have increased the length of the tour by one day for 2026, in order to give more time to fully explore the Dobrugea area and give us chances to return for any missed key species.
DAYS FIVE – EIGHT
Our next four nights will be spent in the very heart of this incredible wetland aboard our hotel-boat, which will take us to those areas that are otherwise inaccessible. We’ll pass along narrow channels lined with water lilies, where the Lipovan people fish from rowing boats for Pike. Besides birding from the upper deck, which will enable us to see over the high reeds, we’ll disembark to explore wooded islets, sand dunes, reedbeds and isolated villages before docking each night in a tranquil spot. We’ll also have the use of a smaller boat, and our local guide’s knowledge, will enable us to enter the many small channels, secluded lakes and backwaters without getting lost! We will be exploring the Danube Delta the way it should be, without being tied to a land-locked hotel. Huge numbers of birds include Great Crested, Black-necked and Red-necked Grebes, thousands of Pygmy Cormorant, Little Bittern, Black-crowned Night, Squacco and Purple Herons, Little and Great White Egrets, Glossy Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, Red Crested Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, White-tailed Eagle, Hoopoe, Common Kingfisher, Grey-headed and Black Woodpeckers, Penduline and Bearded Tits. Thrush Nightingale, Reed, Great Reed, Savi’s and Olivaceous Warblers are also possible. You can expect to see large numbers of European Rollers, Red-footed Falcons and squadrons of both White and Dalmatian Pelicans during this fantastic birding experience.
Our next four nights will be spent in the very heart of this incredible wetland aboard our hotel-boat, which will take us to those areas that are otherwise inaccessible. We’ll pass along narrow channels lined with water lilies, where the Lipovan people fish from rowing boats for Pike. Besides birding from the upper deck, which will enable us to see over the high reeds, we’ll disembark to explore wooded islets, sand dunes, reedbeds and isolated villages before docking each night in a tranquil spot. We’ll also have the use of a smaller boat, and our local guide’s knowledge, will enable us to enter the many small channels, secluded lakes and backwaters without getting lost! We will be exploring the Danube Delta the way it should be, without being tied to a land-locked hotel. Huge numbers of birds include Great Crested, Black-necked and Red-necked Grebes, thousands of Pygmy Cormorant, Little Bittern, Black-crowned Night, Squacco and Purple Herons, Little and Great White Egrets, Glossy Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, Red Crested Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, White-tailed Eagle, Hoopoe, Common Kingfisher, Grey-headed and Black Woodpeckers, Penduline and Bearded Tits. Thrush Nightingale, Reed, Great Reed, Savi’s and Olivaceous Warblers are also possible. You can expect to see large numbers of European Rollers, Red-footed Falcons and squadrons of both White and Dalmatian Pelicans during this fantastic birding experience.
Overnights on board Ibis Houseboat
DAY NINE
Today we return to terra firma and transfer to Bucharest for our onward flight home. If time permits, we stop at various sites and for a picnic lunch before taking an early evening flight back to London.
Today we return to terra firma and transfer to Bucharest for our onward flight home. If time permits, we stop at various sites and for a picnic lunch before taking an early evening flight back to London.
**PLEASE NOTE – we may run the itinerary in reverse order and may also spend one additional night on board the houseboat rather than the land based hotel (which then becomes three nights).
WHATS INCLUDED
Return flights London/Bucharest, eight nights en suite accommodation on the houseboat and hotel, all meals, services of leaders, all transport in Romania, Danube Delta permits.
Return flights London/Bucharest, eight nights en suite accommodation on the houseboat and hotel, all meals, services of leaders, all transport in Romania, Danube Delta permits.
NOT INCLUDED
Transport to/from London airport and any overnight stay that might be involved, travel insurance, drinks other than those mentioned, tips to boat crews and any items of a purely personal nature.
Transport to/from London airport and any overnight stay that might be involved, travel insurance, drinks other than those mentioned, tips to boat crews and any items of a purely personal nature.
PASSPORT, VISA & HEALTH
Visas are not required by UK nationals. Passports must have 3 months validity beyond the return travel date. Standard health and inoculation requirements apply for UK nationals, visit www.masta-travel-health.com to check these and if necessary, download a free health brief to take to a travel appointment at your local medical practice.
“We have been planning to go to the Danube for several years and had high hopes of it but it’s fair to say it was even better than we’d hoped it would be. We were especially attracted by the chance to explore the delta on a small boat and this proved to be an idyllic holiday with so many memorable close views of some wonderful birds. We are keen but not expert birders and were really grateful for Marcus and Christian’s expertise in helping us make the most of the trip”
S & B. Potts, 2024 tour to Romania
“A wonderful seven days. The vastness of the area and the quantity of birds was amazing. The relaxed and informal attitude was enjoyable too”
G.J, Glamorgan.
“Thanks again for organizing such a fantastic tour. It easily exceeded my expectations on the birding front and the company and was great too. You’d be a fool to miss out on this tour!”
W.S, Glamorgan
“I hadn’t had an opportunity until now, but just wanted to say that the trip to Danube Delta/Dobrogea was great. From my perspective it couldn’t have been any better – you need 2 days at the very least in Dobrogea to see the range of birds there, and the 4 days on the Delta was fantastic – I thought it would be good but it more than exceeded my expectations – my camera hardly stopped clicking all the time we were there, and pleased with the results, although don’t quite compare with what I saw of Peter’s pics..”
A.D, Edinburgh
“We both really enjoyed our holiday to this fascinating part of the world, as well as the spectacular collection of birds seen, many so close up. The guides were a great combination and in addition to taking us to great birding spots, we were able to learn a lot about Romania as a country. Finally, the definitive record of our holiday was captured in an excellent tour report”
T.J & M.S, London
“Your holidays are excellent value for money. The guides are highly skilled and always make great efforts to ensure everyone sees all the birds and in my opinion you are simply the best!! On this tour the guides were a formidable team, the meals on the floating hotel were very impressive and I enjoyed the trip very much”
J.F, St Albans
“A very enjoyable trip, knowledgeable leaders, great food and birding. I especially enjoyed the floating hotel and the surrounding herons, egrets and amphibian chorus – the whole experience surpassed my expectations. Thank you!!”
A.M, Watford
“This was a fantastic holiday with experienced guides. So many special experiences, special places and special birds! It was even better than we expected”
S & C.C, Darlington
“I would thoroughly recommend this holiday”
S.B, Isle of Man
“Oriole Birding was recommended to me and I have to say that the attention to detail on this holiday was excellent. The guides were extremely knowledgeable on a variety of subjects and the variety of habitats was particularly enjoyable”
K.M, Staffs
“I really enjoyed all aspects of the holiday including the opportunity to swim in the Danube and the Black Sea. Laurentiu was a very interesting and informative local guide”
D.R, Outer Hebrides.
Well organised bird watching holiday. A large variety of bird species I had not seen before
particularly on the days we spent touring the Danube Delta on a smaller boat. The experience of seeing the numerous pelicans so near to the boat was an unforgettable experience.
particularly on the days we spent touring the Danube Delta on a smaller boat. The experience of seeing the numerous pelicans so near to the boat was an unforgettable experience.
J.RN, Bucks.
“We thoroughly enjoyed the holiday”
A & A.T, Leicester
Tour at a glance
Tour at a glance
27th May 2027 - 4th Jun 2027
AVAILABLE
