Fascinating nature on the way to kilometer 0
It is not so easy to describe the landscape that you get to know on boat and bike trips in the Romanian Danube Delta. Why ? Because this largely untouched landscape is so incredibly diverse. Bike and boat will take you to gentle hills, to rustic forests, to marshes and steppes. The entire Danube Delta is about 5,800 square kilometers in size. Before the Danube flows into the Black Sea in Romania, it divides into three interconnected branches near the Romanian city of Tulcea: Sfintu Gheorghe is located to the south, the Chilia arm of the Danube to the north and Sulina in the middle.
There are almost 5,000 animal species and about 900 plant species in the Danube Delta of Romania. On a bike and boat trip through the Romanian Danube Delta organised by Rückenwind, you will have plenty of opportunity to get to know this fascinating nature. They fly individually to Bucharest and are taken from there to the city of Tulcea.
This is where your boat trip on the hotel boat starts. The bikes (rental bike or individual bike of the travellers) are of course on board. By bike and boat, you can go for example to the fascinating nature reserve of the Bestepe Hills, the bird paradise of Musura Bay and to the primeval forests of the region with their creeping plants and lianas. Along the way, you will encounter animals such as cormorants, herons, pelicans and turtles in the Romanian Danube Delta. The silence of the countryside, the peaceful atmosphere that knows no hustle and bustle, always impresses.
Culturally, the Danube Delta shows modesty and greatness
There is no question: Antique and fascinating nature characterises the Danube Delta in Romania, which you will cross on this trip by bike and boat. The people here are well aware of the dominance of nature. There are only about 15,000 people who live permanently in the Danube Delta. Sulina on the Black Sea is the only city in the region if one sees Tulcea as a gateway to the Danube delta, which lies outside the region. Sulina has about 4,600 inhabitants.
Sulina
In Sulina, the Danube arm of the same name flows into the Black Sea. That’s why km 0 of the river is located here. In the city area you can still find testimonies from times when the city was much bigger and more important. Here once lived well over 10,000 people from different parts of Europe. It’s become much quieter here today. Sulina has remained charming. Impressive buildings in the small town are the St. Nicholas and Alexander Cathedral as well as the Old and New Lighthouses. Sulina also has one of the longest beaches in Europe: Some say it is also one of the most beautiful on the continent.
Tulcea
As the gateway to the Romanian Danube Delta, Tulcea is the first place on this trip that the bus will take you to after your arrival in Bucharest. At the same time, Tulcea is the final destination of the trip by bike and boat through the Danube Delta before returning to Bucharest and home. Tulcea was already an important port city in ancient times. Like Rome, it was built on seven hills. Worth seeing buildings are, for example, the Azzizie-Mosque and the Nikolaikirche (1865).
It’s not just cities that are beautiful Beautiful are the villages
Most of the inhabitants of the Danube Delta are spread over many small picturesque villages.
Taken as a whole, the Danube Delta is not a region with too many large buildings. However, this does not mean that a trip by bike and boat through the Danube Delta in Romania does not offer you cultural highlights. Such highlights are embedded in the powerful nature and show greatness in a modest way. Among the buildings worth seeing are the already mentioned Cathedral of St. Nicholas and Alexander in Sulina, for example the orthodox wooden monastery of Stipoc and the monastery of Saon, which is idyllically located in vineyards with its striking windmill.
Fish, honey and game: the Danube Delta is a culinary feast
Fishing in the Danube Delta is no longer playing the same role as in former times. However, it still has a tradition in the Romanian Danube Delta. And he continues to ensure that fish plays a major role in the cuisine of the Danube Delta in Romania. On your bike tours, you may have one or another opportunity to taste dishes such as spicy pike or carp fritters or the fish goulash of the region. Take advantage of this opportunity.
As an alternative to fish, game is suitable. Try delicious dishes with rabbit or wild boar. Peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes are examples of the vegetables in the Danube Delta. Another delicious speciality of the region is the honey of bees, which is produced here. On the back wind trip with bike and boat you will receive a typical local food. At lunchtime on the tours there are picnics or packed lunches.
Bike and boat offer perfect travel pleasure
On your boat and bicycle trip through the Danube Delta, stay overnight in a modern four-star raft hotel. With a draught of only one metre, the raft hotel is ideally suited for a trip to the Danube Delta. The cabins are about nine square meters in size and equipped with shower and toilet. There is a generous sundeck from which you can enjoy wonderful views of the beautiful countryside. Food is served in the ship’s restaurant.
