At the very point where the Danube flows
\ninto the Black Sea, the river has created a delta, a one-of-a-kind spot because
\nof its beauty. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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The Danube Delta’s surface area is
\ncontinually expanding because of the mud carried by the waters, thus forming a
\nnetwork of waterways, lakes, reed-covered islands, forests, pastures and sand
\ndunes. <\/p>\n
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Today’s destination, the Danube Delta, is
\nthe second largest in Europe being at the same time an area of unmatched beauty.
\nIt has been included on UNESCO’s heritage list since 1991. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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C\u0103t\u0103lin \u021aibuleac is president of the Danube
\nDelta Tourist Destination Management Association. He told us the entire area is
\nsuperb.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Catalin
\nTibuleac: It targets a wide category of tourists who
\nwould like to reach Tulcea County as a tourist destination. We take pride in
\nthe local cuisine, in crafts, the inhabitants’ entire story being in perfect
\nharmony with the nature here and its biodiversity. There are 14 minority groups
\nhere living perfectly together, each group with its own traditions and customs.
\nWhenever we speak about the Danube Delta, we speak about Europe’s bio garden.
\nWe have been trying to preserve it like that, promoting a responsible tourism.
\nLast year we launched a programme entitled ‘Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the
\nDanube Delta’. The old-rite holidays of the two minority groups that we have
\nhere, the Lippovan Russians and the Ukrainians, proved very successful. Whoever
\nwants an unusual holiday for them is wholeheartedly welcomed in Tulcea County.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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The Danube Delta is also famous for the
\nlocal cuisine, C\u0103t\u0103lin \u021aibuleac also told us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Catalin
\nTibuleac: Now we have local gastronomic points which
\nhave been recently authorized at government level and will be operational in
\n2019. There are family guest houses offering tourists traditional produce.
\nAlso, we have a series of events revolving around the fish thick soup there are
\nalso cultural events, such as the Anonimul Film festival, which will see its 16th
\nedition in 2019. Another sought-after event is Enisala Fest, targeting rock and
\nfolk enthusiasts, but in a different setting. I am proud to say last year the
\nnumber of tourists we had was around 77% greater than what we had the year
\nbefore. Almost 20% of them were foreign tourists. Such an increase was possible
\nthanks to a tourist product specifically targeting traditional tourism, based
\non multiculturalism, and in perfect harmony with nature.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Another tourist hotspot is Letea Forest,
\nRomania’s oldest nature reserve, which has been under scientific observation since
\n1930. In the Letea sand forest, actually in the place known as Omer’s fountain,
\none of the country’s oldest oak trees can be found. It is 500 or 600 years old,
\nhaving a circumference of 4 meters, according to experts from the Danube Delta
\nEco-tourism Museum. Tourists can have access to these special places, by means
\nof a floating hotel. <\/p>\n
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Marketing manager Andreea Diaconu has been
\nbringing tourists to the Delta since 2001. She will now be telling us what a
\nfloating hotel means. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Andreea
\nDiaconu: This is actually a cruise ship, adjusted to
\nreach these places in the delta, because there are some areas here where access
\ncan be more difficult. It is a floating hotel actually with six double rooms
\nand two flats, which can accommodate at least 16 people. The rooms have the
\nstandard of a four-star hotel. It is a classification specifically created for
\nfloating hotels. They have the facilities of a hotel: private bathrooms, air
\nconditioning satellite TV, a private restaurant, an outdoor beer garden and a
\nbeach beer garden. The hotel uses renewable energy with photovoltaic panels and
\na windmill. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
The good point of being on a floating hotel
\nis that each morning, as we wake up, we find ourselves in a different place, so
\nwe can see a lot more places in the Delta than if we stayed in a guesthouse for
\ninstance; plus the bonus of a boat ride, Andreea Diaconu also told us. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Andreea
\nDiaconu: It is much more comfortable to be on board
\nof a ship and be able to admire the entire scenery offered by the delta. We
\nalso collaborate with travel agents, but the easiest way is to have direct
\ncontact and personalize the desired package. We have tourists coming over
\nespecially for bird-watching, the large majority of them being foreign
\ntourists. There is also the relaxation option, and then we personalize the
\npackage according to the places tourists want to reach. There are tourists who
\nappreciate the Delta entirely, from both perspectives. There are ornithologists
\ncoming over, but there are also people who want to explore the places, whether
\nthey want to see the forest in Letea, or whether they want to get to Sulina,
\nwhich is another fine point in our cruise. Everybody finds something to do in
\nthe Delta, even the fishermen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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For those who may have an interest in that,
\npersonalized routes are on offer. Speaking about that, here is the marketing
\nmanager of a floating hotel Andreea Diaconu once again. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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Andreea
\nDiaconu: For instance, if they want to see the
\nforest in Letea, we contact the people who are in charge of those routes. Those
\nwho stage such routes have in turn special safari cars that can take people to
\nthe forest, the Caraorman sand dunes are visited, and also the wild horses. We
\nhad German, French, English tourists, but also people from South Africa. The
\nlatter’s expectations were a little bit higher as, being poorly informed, they
\nwanted to see crocodiles in the Danube delta. Their wish was amusing, yet they
\nwere fascinated with what they saw in the Delta. We even had a group of
\nornithologists who showed up at a time when, believe it or not, they ran into
\nFlamingo birds. It was a special year when such bird species had made it as far
\nas our Delta.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
For a personalized offer, make sure you
\ncontact travel agents straight away, if you want to have a unique stay in the
\nworld’s largest and most compact reed bed area, the Danube Delta. <\/p>\n
\n
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\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
River Danube springs from the Black Forest Mountains in Germany and its 2,860 kilometer-long journey ends in Romania<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":128,"featured_media":148418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43423],"tags":[44191,32384,44192,44190],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-149638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travellers-guide","tag-enisala","tag-german","tag-letea","tag-sulina"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n