PhotoXperiences are designed for photographers who want more than beautiful images. They are about slowing down, observing, connecting, and creating photographs with meaning.

You will have the time and access to capture authentic moments, from intimate portraits and traditional crafts to landscapes and cultural stories that reveal the true spirit of Romania.

Whether you are passionate about travel photography, documentary photography, portraiture, or simply discovering new cultures through your camera, this experience offers a rare opportunity to photograph Romania from the inside out.

Capture the Stories That Make Romania Unique

Romania is a country of hidden villages, enduring traditions, warm hospitality, and extraordinary visual stories waiting to be discovered.

Join PhotoXperiences for a journey into the heart of Romania, where every village has a story, every person has a history, and every photograph becomes a memory.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

DAY 1

Welcome to Romania! You will arrive in Bucharest, from where this photo tour starts.

DAY 2

Today we will travel to Sibiu, and on our way, we will stop by a glass-making workshop. Here you will be able to see the process sand goes through to become a water glass or a wine decanter. You will also have the chance to photograph the handy employers that shape and pack the glass products.

Sibiu is a beautiful medieval town built by German-Saxons and has defensive walls, towers and eye-catching old buildings. You will roam the cobbled streets of the old town, and you will have a blue hour shoot here.

Day 3

We will leave Transylvania behind, and we will head north to the bucolic Maramures region.

As we make our way into Maramures and observe the land dotted with haystacks, people working in the fields or travelling by horse carts, we will make stops to take it all in.

One of the most iconic attractions in Maramures is its traditional wooden churches. You will visit one of the many across the region, the one in Surdesti village, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

DAY 4

We will start the day with a visit to a famous potter from the region and their fascinating workshop. The man has a very interesting character, and the work that he does is truly impressive, specializing in Dacian pottery and human faces. You will be able to photograph him while he gives shape to the clay.

The town of Sighetu Marmatiei had one of the greatest prisons in the country during the communist regime. Now turned into a museum, the Memorial of the Victims of Communism is a place where people go so they can learn about the communist times, the life that people had during it and its impact on the people of Romania. You will visit the museum, and you also have the opportunity to photograph the cells where the most important political opponents were detained.

In a small village, you will meet a hat-maker and a traditional shoe-maker, but also a family that grinds the corn using a water-powered mill, washes the carpets in a traditional washing whirlpool and distills HORINCA, a strong and tasty local brandy (Americans would simply call it moonshine, but for Romanians it is truly part of the culture).

DAY 5

Being a Sunday, we will pass by one of the local churches to see how people come to church for the Sunday mass, many of them proudly wearing their traditional clothes.

Then we will travel to the Bucovina region, crossing the mountains through a pass with a beautiful landscape. There will be plenty of photo opportunities along the way, so we will stop a few times to take advantage of them.

DAY 6

Today you will visit the most beautiful painted monastery from the Bucovina region, the one in Sucevita, which has some of the best preserved frescoes to this day from all painted monasteries in the country.

Then we will visit the workshop and museum of a local artist who paints eggs and has created true masterpieces, some of the eggs taking days or even weeks to complete.

Next, we will have the chance to photograph a steam train in motion, as it runs through villages and forests.

In the late afternoon, we will hope for some great weather with clouds and sun as we will be in a place which offers wonderful landscape photography opportunities with mountains, fences, forests and old barns.

DAY 7

We will head back to the Transylvania region, to the medieval town of Biertan. On our way, we will stop at a winery where we will have lunch and a wine tasting.

Biertan is a charming village of German-Saxon heritage and has one of the most impressive strongholds in Transylvania. You will wander through its streets so you can get a feel for the place, its architecture and get an insight into the life of the locals.

DAY 8

At sunrise, you will photograph Biertan village, set in a beautiful landscape, among gentle hills and guarded by St Mary’s fortified church.

Then we will meet a gypsy family in a nearby village that will give us insight into their way of life. The man is a coppersmith, so you will be able to photograph him while working.

We will then have lunch at a small-scale organic farm, where you will also learn about their traditional farming techniques.

The next stop will be at a group of charcoal workers, where you will see how charcoal is made by slowly burning large quantities of wood for a long period of time. The place offers great opportunities for photography as, while the people carry on their activity, the smoke arises from the wood, creating an idyllic atmosphere.

DAY 9

You will spend the day in Viscri, another village of German-Saxon heritage, with well-preserved, colourful houses and cobbled-stone roads. You will visit the local bakery, which has a very interesting way of making bread: they first burn the bread on the outside and then beat it with a stick and “polish” it afterwards.

In the second part of the day, we will travel by horse-drawn cart to a sheepfold up on the hills, where we will see the shepherds milking the sheep and making cheese.

DAY 10

In Viscri, most families have cows which are taken to pasture every morning by hired herdsmen. It is a time when the village wakes up to life, the cows walk freely around sunrise down the village while locals who have just milked them bring the milk to the collection center. It is an interesting time of the day to be out and photograph.

Another visit will be to the blacksmith, whose steel objects are still in high demand in the area, as agriculture is the main occupation of people from these rural areas. We will see him making horseshoes or other objects made from metal.

In the afternoon, Raul will present a slideshow with pictures taken during the trip, we’ll have another tasty home-made dinner and share impressions from the trip.

DAY 11

You will travel back home, departing from Bucharest’s airport.