The wild Romania: the Danube Delta
By Sorana Burtila
One way or another, we have all heard about the Danube Delta. It is part of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reservation; the only Delta in the world declared a Reservation of the Biosphere; the most widespread compact reed area on the planet; one of the largest humid areas in the world as a habitat of water birds; a paradise full of pelicans, water lilies, fish etc.
As on any initiation trip, this one, too, begins with a thorough documentation using the internet. In this respect, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve website provides essential information in international languages such as English, French, Italian, and German: on its location, structure, genesis, diversity, touristic itineraries etc. www.ddbra.ro
But what is actually hiding behind this simple painting we have created? What are the subtle hues if we look a little closer? What are the local flavours impossible to find by means of an internet search?
Discovering the Danube Delta at first hand should start in the city of Tulcea, the Delta’s entrance gate. Up to this point you can travel by car or by public transportation. From Bucharest there are daily trips organised by Augustina Trans company.
The trip takes approximately 4.5 hours with a twenty-minute break at a service station. The landscape will surely capture your attention and you may often feel the need to take your camera and capture the sunflower and rapeseed fields.
Augustina Trans
Address: 242A Plevnei Rd. (across the street from Carrefour Orhideea).
Phone: +40 743 334 840;
Schedule: 06:30 – 19:00
If you travel by car, you should follow the Bucuresti – Slobozia – Tandarei – Harsova – Tulcea route.
Tulcea, also called the city at the Danube’s gates, befuddles you, particularly in the summer months, with the bustle of tourists, the ships’ sirens, the turmoil which sets the scene for your water adventure! Nevertheless, do not be hasty; regardless of how drawn you are to the Danube, it is worth making a stop here, be it just for a couple of hours or a night’s stay at one of the many hotels on the waterfront.
In Tulcea you can visit a research institute comprising:
The Danube Delta Museum (do not miss the aquarium!)
Address: 32 Progresului Str.
Phone: +40 240 515 866; +40 240 515 866
E-mail: muzeu@danubedelta.org
The Art Museum
Address: 2 Grigore Antipa St.
Phone: +40 240 513 249
The Ethnography and Folk Art Museum
Address: 2, 9 Mai St.
Phone: +40 240 516 204
(This is the author’s favourite museum in the city)
The History and Archaeology Museum
Address: Independence Monument Park
Phone: +40 240 513 626
The Independence Monument
Monument Hill, Monument Park
You can also find out more at the Tulcea Tourist Information Centre, located on the waterfront. Here you can find a map of the Delta which will help you decide where to visit! Amongst the Delta’s hundreds of square kilometres, which is the one to unravel the mysteries you have read about?
It all depends on how many days we have available for this journey, on your budget and what you like: adventure, relaxation, exploration, sports, family, cultural tourism. The Delta has a story for every type of adventurer.
If you can only spare a day or one and a half days, the recommended option would be to sleep at a hotel in Tulcea, and from there to go on a 4-5-hour trip on the waterways.
If you can spare more than one or two days, then I would suggest starting on the right-hand side, on the Saint George (Sfantul Gheorghe) branch, the oldest of all the Danube’s branches. If you so choose, you can go by car to the first tourist towns, Mahmudia and Murighiol, thus saving time and money. The trip by water, however, is a better option since we are, after all, in the Danube Delta! Authentic landscapes reveal themselves on the narrow and hidden waterways. So do not hesitate to ask for the locals’ help. Nearly every Bed & Breakfast also provides boat trips on the adjacent lakes and canals.
Still, as far as lodging is concerned, we would recommend the Cormoran Complex: recommended for tourists “in a hurry” who wish to capture a glimpse of the Delta’s soul.
Cormoran complex
Phone: +40 744 656 372
Web: www.cormoran.ro
E-mail: office@cormoran.ro
On Sfantul Gheorghe branch, we hear people often talking about the town by the same name, a town far from the madding crowd, where the Danube merges into the Black Sea.
Sfantul Gheorghe, with its sandy beach, is also home to the Anonimul Film festival in August every year. During the daytime, films are screened in the halls of the Green Village Cinema Complex.
Complex Green Village
Phone: +40 21 230 05 07, +40 21 230 05 08
Web: www.greenvillage.ro
E-mail:info@deltasfantugheorghe.ro
At night all the films within the Festival are screened at the campsite, onto a giant screen, in the open air.
Dolphin Campsite
Phone: +40 21 230 05 07, +40 21 230 05 08
Web: www.dolphincamping.ro
E-mail: info@deltasfantugheorghe.ro
Access to the town is only possible by boat, which can be taken from Tulcea (Tulcea – Sfantul Gheorghe, 4 hour trip), Mahmudia (Mahmudia – Sfantul Gheorghe, 2 and a half hour trip) or Murighiol (Murighiol – Sfantul Gheorghe, 2 hour trip). The trips are organised by the Navrom Delta SA Tulcea company:
Navrom Delta Tulcea
Phone: +40240511553
Web: www.navrom.x3m.ro
E-mail: navdelta@x3m.ro
The middle branch of the Danube, Sulina, is the most easily accessible from a tourist point of view. Daily trips leave for Sulina, run either by the Navrom Delta Company or by private companies such as:
Nave Rapide
Phone: +40 749.909.472, +40 732 630 356
Web: www.nave-rapide.ro
Next on our route is the Mila 23 fishermen’s village, situated on the Old Danube at the heart of an amalgam of waterways, pools and swamps. Mila 23 is one of the most important and best known departure points on tourist itineraries in the Delta.
Crişan fishermen’s village completes the picture. This is the starting point for other tourist itineraries, towards the Caraorman bank (renowned for its sand dunes) or towards the Red and Puiu lakes.
Finally, at the end of the journey on this branch we discover the second largest town in the Danube Delta – Sulina. About Sulina one can talk in many ways and from different angles, be it as the easternmost town in Romania, or as the headquarters of the European Danube Commission, or its unique maritime graveyard, or the wild, local beach. The town situated at the Danube’s entry into the Black Sea provides numerous lodging possibilities. Here is one most often talked about amongst tourists.
Pensiunea Perla
Address: 155 1st Street
Phone: +40 754 200 300
E-mail: contact@perla-sulina.ro
Finally, the westernmost and probably the wildest branch of the Danube, Chilia branch. We should say that Chilia branch is a place for those with a passion for nature and fishing. Tourism here is less developed and perhaps this is why the place has maintained so much authenticity. The journey starts again from Tulcea, either by public transportation or with private barges which are impossible to miss during a stroll on the Tulcea waterfront. In fact, you will be overwhelmed by people asking you whether you wish to take a trip to the Delta!
We recommend public transportation to anyone coming to the Delta, despite the protests this might stir. If your sojourn lasts at least 4 days and you are not pressed for time, then public transportation is the best option to take the pulse of the Delta. Do not expect extraordinary transport conditions! But you can expect to see and meet the Delta’s fascinating people, to discover their life stories, hardships, challenges and joys.
At the end of the public transportation journey on the Chilia branch, at the border between Romania and Ukraine, we discover the Periprava Lipovan village.
Far away from the noisy turmoil of the town, in the middle of nature, where the sky, earth and water meet, at the end of the world.
This area represents a true cultural mosaic: Periprava – a Lipovan village, Sfistofca and Letea – Ukrainian villages, and C.A. Rosetti – mainly Romanian population.
In Periprava, on the spot of the former forced labour camp of the Communist regime, you will find a 1,000 m2 tourist estate, Ultima Frontiera (The Final Frontier). Placed against a fantastically wild landscape, it offers sport fishing (pike in particular) and a well-developed infrastructure (electric cars, kayaks, row boats, motor boats, sport fishing equipment).
The Final Frontier
Phone: +40 769 030 616, +40 755 080 337
Web: www.hotelultimafrontiera.com
E-mail: reservations@hotelultimafrontiera.com
This is the starting point for some of the most important tourist itineraries from the Danube Delta: to Letea Forest with its sand dunes and tropical lianas, to Merheiul Mare and Merheiul Mic lakes, to the temporary fishing shelters on Suez canal, to the traditional villages or to the cormorant colonies.
The Delta is a mosaic of history, people, eras, places, landscapes, and fishing. It offers an invitation to all nature lovers of all ages: ornithologists, biologists, photographers, and fishermen.
We must, however, add a few useful pieces of advice:
- Remember to always carry cash with you, in the local currency; you will not find any ATMs, currency exchange points or POSs for payments by card.
- Document yourself on the destination you wish to reach and the specific route. In Tulcea, English and some other languages are spoken, but once the journey to the heart of the Delta has started, it will be increasingly difficult to find foreign language speakers. Nevertheless, larger B&Bs provide foreign language-speaking personnel
- Do not forget to bring anto-mosquito spray! An entire myth has been built around mosquitoes, but it must be said that mosquitoes appear mainly when night sets in and, truth be told, it is best to go indoors. In the daytime, however, they let you enjoy the Delta landscape! Nonetheless, should you bring along your children, who have more sensitive skin, it is recommended to carry your spray with you at all times.
- If you travel during summer please bring along some thicker clothes, for cooler nights, and your cagouls and wind-cheaters – especially when taking trips on the waterways.
- Your mobile phones might not always work as reception varies from place to place. This means that you should plan as many details of the journey as possible prior to your departure and book what you need to on the phone beforehand.
- Finally, we would recommend travelling to the Delta during the spring if you are ornithologists (the months of April, May), the summer if it is your first time visiting the Delta and you want to see water lilies and pelicans (June, July, August), the autumn if you are fishermen (pike in particular) or the winter if you are hunters.
