I visited Romania on a family trip, but I decided to go on this bear-watching excursion solo, as our 5-year-old was a bit too young to remain quiet (children under a certain age aren’t allowed). As an amateur photographer with a deep love for wildlife, I was really excited for the opportunity. The hide used for the excursion was developed by a professional photographer, and it’s clear that a lot of thought went into its design. It’s positioned very close to where the bears come to feed, offering an exceptional vantage point. The setting itself was absolutely stunning, especially in autumn with the golden, amber, and yellow leaves filling the trees around us. While it’s a bit of a long drive from Brașov, the journey is well worth it. Our guide, Andra, was incredibly knowledgeable. She shared fascinating insights about bear biology, as well as the efforts being made by both the government and local communities to protect these magnificent creatures while ensuring public safety.

It was an excellent experience. Our guide picked us up from our hotel in Brasov and we went to a beautiful forest to meet the ranger and the rest of the guests from other companies. We hiked for almost 400 meters to find the hide, which was designed by a wildlife photographer, so as someone can take photos from the bear level. We are wildlife photographers and this hide was the best choice for us. We stayed there almost 2 hours and two bears showed up, staying there for a long, in fact until we left the place. Because we ended up late it was very risky to go to the city searching for a restaurant that would still serve food, so our guide found for us one in the old city of Brasov that was open until late and took us there. This hide is very busy but when anyone stays quiet, everything is ok. On the other hand it is worth to say that we communicated with Irina a couple of weeks before so as to be sure that the tour was what we were looking for, and she was always available, providing us any info we needed.

This activity was just amazing! A great way to explore the city, the old town, especially with an experienced guide who will tell you amazing information about what you’re seeing! After the city, we went inside the forest and it was just breathtaking and beautiful! The EBikes give a great advantage for those looking to enjoy the views and exploration more than a workout; especially with a family. Very easy to ride, high quality bikes were provided with full suspension to offer a comfortable ride. Special thanks to Radu our guide, he took us on a lovely route, and showed us beautiful parts of Brasov old town, shared some history, has been very interactive, calm and fun. Most importantly, kept us all safe!

Good communication, organised tour at very short notice. Our lovely guide, Andra arrived on time and was really informative and friendly. We learned lots about bears from her. And we saw the bears in their natural environment. A great experience. Thank you

This was my absolute highlight of a trip to Romania. Booked on the day via WhatsApp with the lovely Irina (Neotours). Excellent value. Was driven to the forest (45 mins) and opportunity to use the toilet before going into the forest. Our guide was Alex and he was incredibly interesting and engaging. He shared lots of interesting facts about the bears. The hide was comfortable, if basic, and we saw the first bear within 15 mins. Saw 7 in total and had over 2 hours enjoying their activity. Felt authentic and natural. Excellent value, highly recommended, well worth booking.

We booked our bear watching trip at short notice and Neotour/Outdoor Holidays made the arrangements efficiently and without fuss. We were very lucky as the usual bear hide was unavailable so we had to travel further to a back-up hide down an unpaved forest road but while it is virtually guaranteed to see bears at either hide, there is far less chance of seeing bear cubs at the regular hide. We were fortunate enough to see two mothers each with two cubs - they were very playful (though the ranger said an adult male had killed a third cub) We spent a bit more than two hours in the hide as we were also treated to the sight of adult males (the mothers and cubs moved off when they heard them arrive) who took to their hind legs at various points and to a male and female together, apparently ‘courting’ just ahead of mating season. Our guide Andra (also a mountain guide/climber) spoke flawless self-taught English, was very knowledgeable and intelligent, and very friendly. The 90 min journeys in her car to and from the forest flew by. It was a very memorable experience and I would highly recommend the tour and the guide.

It was GREAT! We drove to Zăbala, since there already bears were out of hibernation. We had contact via WhatsApp and I payed the invoice also via WhatsApp. We had a real nice guide with a very difficult name. When we arrived we already saw three bears. We stayed for 2 hours or so and saw 7 (!) bears. Thanks ever so much for this one in a lifetime experience!

Me gustó la coordinación del transporte y las explicaciones del guía. No me gustó que los osos estuvieran esperando nuestra llegada. Se nota que están acostumbrados a los "biscuits" diarios que les ponen delante de la caseta de observación. I liked the coordination of transportation and the guide's explanations. I didn't like that the bears were waiting for our arrival. It shows that they are used to the daily "biscuits" that they put in front of the observation booth.

I had a such a great time. The walk was really steep but the views were worth it. Radu was my guide, he was such a lovely guy with a lot of experience. Thoroughly recommend!!

I had promised my 12 year old son before the pandemic that I would take him bear watching. We were not disappointed. This was an amazing experience. On arriving at the hide, which is located in such stunning surroundings, the first bear arrived in just 15 seconds, before the ranger had even put out any food. At one point there were 9 in total and they remained for the full 2 hours that we spent in the hide. I had bought some fancy zoom attachment for my phone so I could take some decent shots but they came so close, I didn’t need it. This was a once in a lifetime experience and one I would recommend to any nature lover.

My wife and I travelled across Europe by train to Romania to go bear watching to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We wanted to make this part of our trip special, and as I was unable to find a tour that matched our requirements I reached out to NeoTour. A custom private tour itinerary was proposed, and met our requirements perfectly - picking us up from Cluj, and giving us a chance to explore some incredible towns and villages, whilst learning about the history and culture of the places we were visiting on the way to our bear watching trip. Our guide Anne was exceptional, full of knowledge, which she skilfully imparted to us, without overwhelming us, but always with new information to share when we were ready. We also learned a lot about the more recent history of Romania, which we had observed from afar. We really wish we could have taken Anne with us for the rest of our trip, as she was a great companion and added so much to the things we saw. This part of holiday adventure was perfect, and will remain in our hearts and memories forever. Thank you!

A wonderful experience. The whole evening was very professionally organized. Eddy the ranger Great . Thanks Derrick

What an amazing experience we had! It had been raining for most of the day and we had been warned by our guide, Radu that the bears might not make an appearance because of this. We waited for nearly 2 hours and Radu had just shut up the hide and we were about to head back when a young bear came bounding down the hillside. Radu unlocked the hide and we enjoyed watching the bear grubbing for food and standing on his hind legs sniffing the air for another 20 minutes. Seeing the bear was wonderful but even if we hadn't seen one it would have been a positive experience as Radu was so kind and knowledgeable, even dropping us off at a restaurant that he recommended when we finally got back to Brasov tired, hungry but utterly elated.

Alex was a great guide who not only gave us the amazing experience of seeing these majestic creatures in their habitat, but also gave us lots valuable info and cool stories. He was very respectful towards nature and a transmitted his passion for bears making the experience super exciting.. super! 100% recommend !

Irina was an amazing guide, she literally regaled us with fantastic stories of the bears and her experiences the entire time we were driving to the hide - and she used a professional driver as well who was very safe so she could tell us everything we could possibly want to know, so that then we could be very quiet in the hide. The forest was beautiful and the hide top quality, no window glare and pristine. Also we were accompanied onsite by two rangers for maximum safety. But we felt already very safe with Irina, she gave us great advice about the bears and you could tell she knew exactly what she was talking about. Because when we arrived (in September) it was during a freak cold spell we unfortunately did not see bears as they tend to hide away if it suddenly goes cold, but that could hot be helped, and we would love to come back to this hide with Irina when we return to Romania!