New website promotes authentic local travel in Romania

Romania is a great place to visit. It is not well known as a touristic destination such as places like France or Spain, but it is indeed a hidden gem, a well-kept secret. We might say it is quite underrated.

What is unique about Romania, apart from the beautiful cities, the picturesque countryside and the amazing nature is the fact that most traditions are kept, that most of the food is organic and local.

As well, in Romania, you can do more than just hiking and admiring mountains, lakes, and castles. In Romania, you can do organized activities such as bear watching, learn woodcarving, organized bike trips and taste dishes that are only available in one region of the country.

There are many international platforms that help you organize your trip, however, there are not many which focus on Romanian trips.  One such platform which offers organized trips by local tourists is Romanian Friend, which uses their local knowledge and connections to create great trips. The people running the platform care about responsible tourism, because this type of tourism creates positive economic benefits by using the services of local businesses: traditional guesthouses, meals with locally sourced products, visits to local workshops or sights, as opposed to mainstream tourism practices involving hotels, restaurants, resorts, and SPAs.

This means most trips are a combination of various interests and activities: ethnographic exploration tours, off-the-beaten-path guided hikes and countryside bike trips, wildlife watching or caving lessons, traditional food tastings, visits to local sights or crafts workshops.  Some tours are organized in collaboration with local NGOs or charities to showcase community projects and causes (environmental, conservationist, doing restoration work).