Winter Holiday in Vatra Dornei

Today we invite you to Vatra Dornei in Bukovina, Northern Romania, a mountain resort famous for its ski slopes and a perfect place to spend winter holidays.

Daniel Onea, 19.12.2013, 14:50

Today we invite you to Vatra Dornei in Bukovina, Northern Romania, a mountain resort famous for its ski slopes and a perfect place to spend winter holidays. Vara Dornei is also famous for the quality of its mineral waters that have been used ever since 1899 to treat various diseases. Bukovina’ s traditions and customs, however, are much older. Around Christmas, you can still see groups of carolers wearing traditional costumes. Women in Bukovina are well known for their cooking skills so a table with 12 dishes does not surprise anybody anymore.

A perfect holiday in Vatra Dornei starts on a ski slope, head of the Salvamont Mountain Rescue Service, Petru Ariciuc has said:

“There are three ski slopes in Vatra Dornei and one of them is equipped with floodlights. We also have snow canons and starting next season we’ll have a ski route network connecting the main three slopes. All three slopes have been provided with parking. We are going to expand the ski area by another 5 kilometers. It may not seem much, but in terms of easing traffic and the access to cable car transportation the difference will be notable. Spa tourism is in high demand. We have opened another two spa centers here one of which is a four-star facility with prices specific to a 3-star one.”

Vatra Dornei’s guesthouse offer is also attractive. Located in the middle of a forest, far from the hubbub of the ski slopes, the guesthouse we’re now going to present you has all that it takes to guarantee you a relaxing holiday. Its owner, Constantin Chetraru, has told us that he had guests from all over the world, Australia included:

” This is a very beautiful area and all our tourists – even those from Switzerland, France, Germany and Austria, countries famous for their mountains and landscape – are impressed with the warm welcome they get, with the people in Bukovina and the breathtaking landscape here. This year we have managed to set up a leisure center with lots of facilities for our customers. Right at the entrance we have a small salt mine pit, then there is an electronically controlled area, with a swimming pool with hydro-massage, beam lights and jacuzzi. We also have a massage area, a Finnish sauna and a gym. These are all located at the ground floor. On the first floor we have an Olympic bowling room with four lanes, a table tennis room, a leisure area, and a fitness area, while the top floor is devoted to those who love snooker, billiards, air hockey, darts, table football, chess. We offer our clients three types of access cards, for 60, 90 and 120 hours respectively. Fees are rather small and start from an hourly rate of 8 lei ( that is around 2 Euro) for the access card. “

Besides skiing, there are several other ways of spending time in Vatra Dornei, says the head of the Mountain Rescue Service Petru Ariciuc.

SOUNDBITE V.M.:” All three slopes are for medium level, so all our tourists can go skiing safely. There are certain areas, however where the level of difficulty is slightly higher, but these areas are very short. As for the equine tourism, there are several routes that are open even at wintertime and take one or two hours at the most. There are also routes for tourists who want to take walks and we plan to open the route to the Giumalau Chalet as well.“

For tourists in Vatra Dornei, a visit to the Egg Museum is a must. The museum’s owner, teacher Letitia Osinschi, tell us more about it:

SOUNDBITE V.F.: ”After representing Romania, Bukovina in particular, at international egg salons and exhibitions, I succeeded to set up this museum, which hosts the country’s most important egg collection, with more than 1,000 items brought from 79 countries from around the world, all countries with a long-standing tradition in egg painting. You can see here by yourselves an evolution of the egg painting technique. In the past the Bukovina eggs were decorated in a plain manner, with unrefined elements and with a single prevailing pattern, yet with the same colors and motifs that you can still find in Bukovina today, especially in the case of traditional carpets and costumes. Colors were obtained from plants, such as onion leaves and beetroot and even coal. “

You can also find some of these otifs at the guesthouses in Vatra Dornei. Their owners are eager to provide tourists with all the information they might need.

Albumita Preotescu is another guesthouse owner in Vatra Dornei:

SOUNDBITE V.F.:” Apart from offering visitors the opportunity to see the local customs and traditions, such as the goat and the bear, to name just a few, the holiday packages also include Bukovina evenings. At the entrance of the guesthouse there is a special area where tourists can find maps, leaflets and magazines. Not to mention were are always there to assist them with whatever they need.”

Vatra Dornei becomes very special around winter holidays but that doesn’t mean that once winter celebrations are over we can’t continue to celebrate. The beginning of the New Year provides fresh opportunities for having fun, says the head of the Mountain Rescue Service Salvamont Petru Ariciuc.

“The Snow Festivities have already been scheduled for late January and early February. The festivities will cover three or four weekends. On Fridays and Saturdays we will be having pop music concerts, while Sundays will be devoted to traditional music, with famous ensembles on stage. Ski competitions will also be held just like in the previous years. We also want to organize a couple of competitions fro students, as we want to get the schools here involved.”

We know our offer is hard to turn down, and for that you need to contact your tour operator. Early bookings mean generous discounts.