Introduction
Travel Info
Map
Villages
Barsana
Berbesti
Bogdan Voda
Botiza
Breb
Budesti
Calinesti
Harnicesti
Ieud
Moisei
Poienile Izei
Rozavela
Sacel
Salistea de Sus
Sapinta
Sighet
Sirbi
Surdesti |
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One of the reasons there are so few tourists in Maramures is it's
simply not convenient to get there, find a place to stay and get
yourself around. Most people tour Romania by beginning in Bucharest.
When arranging flights, it's the only city with connections to major
airlines and even Bucharest is not that easy. But once you get to
Bucharest, you can either take a train to Baia Mare, one of the twice
weekly flights to Baia Mare (about $50) or rent a car and drive. The
train will take about twelve hours and driving will take about fourteen
but there's lots to see along the way. If you fly to Baia Mare, you can
rent a car there, but your must make prior arrangements with Avis in the
U.S. or Bucharest. If you'll be touring the remainder of Romania, I
recommend you simply arrange a flight to Bucharest and contact a good
travel agency like Nord Nord*Vest to arrange
a flight from Bucharest, a car with a driver and a guide.
Another possibility is to fly into Budapest, Hungary and take the
train from there to Baia Mare or rent a car and drive. The biggest
advantage to Budapest is the greater number of flights and the cheaper
prices. Generally, the prices will be significantly cheaper from the
U.S. to Budapest. The train is very nice and takes about eight hours.
Driving will take about seven hours and it's certainly more interesting!
You first head in the direction of Debrecen and from there towards Satu
Mare, Romania. The most fun will be at the border crossing. If you are
there on a weekend, the line of Romanian cars will be at least one
kilometer long and often longer. They have all been in Hungary on
shopping trips. There are many more things available in Hungary and food
items are cheaper. There's no official policy, but you can drive around
the whole lot of them and nearly any Romanian driver will allow you into
the front of the line at the Hungarian control point. If someone give
you a hard time, show your non-Romanian passport and they will know you
are tourists. If you can, you should drive around the next line of
cars waiting for the Romanian checkpoint. The road is narrow and you
will soon see there are a few minutes between cars. Pick your time and
go around. Same procedure at the front of the line. The best advice is
to arrange your crossings for Tuesday through Wednesday when there will
be very few Romanians. It's an adventure - go for it.
Once you are in Baia Mare or Sighet, there are hotels if you are so
inclined and several tourist agencies. I cannot recommend too strongly
that you arrange for home stays. The people are wonderful and they do
everything possible to make your visit as pleasant as possible. Unlike
many bed & breakfasts in the U.S., the people you stay with will
tend to leave you alone. They will not usually eat with you except for
the man of the house. You can certainly ask if you would like to eat
together. If you take a guide, they will almost certainly eat with you.
Most people have heard that home stays in Maramures are very primitive
and you will have to use an outhouse. This is not true. Nearly all of
the places that offer their rooms to western tourists have gone to great
expense to install indoor plumbing. You will find your stay much more
comfortable than one would expect after walking through the villages.
The minimum stay required to see the majority of Maremures is three
days. If you enjoy walking and taking things a little easier, stay a
week or longer, there's plenty to see.
Romania Tourism Office
14 East 38th Street
12th Floor
New York, NY 10016
1-212-545-8484
1-212-251-0429 Fax
www.turism.ro
email:
tour@romtour.com |
The Romanian Ministry of Tourism also maintains
offices in several other foreign countries. Check the web site
for addresses. They have a page for Maramures, but it provides
little information on the villages covered in this web site. |
NORD NORD*VEST
(North North-West)
Dan Comanescu
Republicii Blvd. No. 15/A/2
Baia Mare, Romania 4800
+40-262-226508Phone
+40-262-227518 Fax
+40-722-348691 Mobile
nnv@mail.alphanet.ro
Email |
Dan Comanescu runs this excellent travel agency
in Baia Mare. NORD NORD*VEST can arrange excellent personal
tours of the Maramures region with home stays in the villages.
Arrangements for a car and driver can be made that will almost
certainly be much cheaper than you can rent a car and buy the
gas yourself. The typical cost per person for ones night's stay
including dinner and breakfast will be $15 to $20.
Additionally, NORD NORD*VEST can arrange tours of the
monasteries in Bucovina and Transylvania. These tours can
include traditional meals, hiking, mountain biking (rentals
available), visits to local craftsmen and artisans and
traditional folk music and dancing presentations. |
Some of the books are available from amazon.com. Links are provided
directly to the amazon.com page for the specific title where you can
usually find additional information or purchase the books.
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Click to see
a larger image |
Author, Year, Title, Pages, Composition, Where Published:
Publisher |
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Barca, Ana (text) & Dinescu, Dan (photographs),
1997, The Wooden Architecture of Maramures,143pp, hb, Romania:
Humanitas
The is the best book I have seen on Maramures. It covers the
wooden architecture of the houses, barns, outbuilding and churches
specifically, but the text contains a considerable information
about Maramures in general. All of the photographs are beautifully
done in black and white. It was published in Romanian, French,
German (?) and English (ISBN 973-28-0822-5).
It is not available at the time in the United States and,
possibly, not anywhere outside of Romania. You can order it from
Humanitas by first contacting them at editors@agora.humanitas.ro
and telling them which version you want and how to arrange
payment. Or write to:
Humanitas
Piata Presei Libere 1
79734 Bucharest, Romania |
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Burford, Tim, 1996, Hiking Guide to Romania, 326pp,
Saybrook, CT: Globe
Contains 22 pages on Maramures. This guide contains precious
little that you cannot find in the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet
books. There is some specific information about hiking from one
village to another, but there are no maps and no specific things
to look for along the way. You'll get lost! If you want to hike
from village to village, just take a general map and ask in the
villages. Chances are, someone will want to go along with you
because that's the way they are.
Available from amazon.com. |
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Burford, Tim & Richardson, Dan, 1998, Romania,
The Rough Guide, 406pp, pb, London: Rough Guides
Contains 22 pages on Maramures.
Available from amazon.com. |
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McNulty, Karsten D., 1999 Romanian Folk Art, A
Guide To Living Traditions, 136pp, Farmington, CT: Aid To
Artisans, Inc.
This is a beautifully photographed book about Romanian folk art
with full-color photographs of the art, the artisan and the the
ethnographic regions. This incredibly detailed book has
directories of museums and artisans and even suggests places to
stay near the folk art centers when visiting Romania. It even has
a chapter for those who would like to do business with artisans in
Romania. This book is a must for any serious crafts buyer or
collector.
Aid To Artisans is a non-profit organization that offers
assistance to artisans world-wide. For more information contact:
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Kosei, Miya, 1991, Red Rose of Romania (English
Subtitle: Europa Orientalis), 144pp, pb, Japan: Nihon Vogue-Sha
Contains remarkable photographs by the author of Maramures and
Hungarian villages in Transylvania. Where The
Wooden Architecture of Maramures contains few photographs
of people, this book almost exclusively of people. A couple of
samples are shown below. It is not available in the United States
and because it was published in 1991, I have no idea how many
copies might remain in Japan. I was able to get a couple copies
through a Japanese bookstore in New York. If you are interested,
call them and they will give you instructions for placing an
order. In Japan, it costs ¥4,500. To have it shipped by air to
the United States will cost about $60. The ISBN is 4-529-02073-8.
Kinokuniya Bookstore
10 West 49th Street
New York, NY 10020
(212) 765-7766 |
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Kosei, Miya, 1997, La Roumanie des quatre saisons
(The Four Seasons of Romania) La Maramures photographié par Kosei
MIYA (The Maramures Photographs of Miya Kosei, 80pp, pb, France:
Muséum national d`historie naturelle.
This publication coincided with the exhibition of Miya Kosei's
photographs at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris,
France in 1997. Text is French.
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Williams, Nicola, 1998, Romania & Moldova,
489pp, pb, Australia: Lonely Planet
Contains 26 pages on Maramures. I prefer this guide over the
Rough Guide, though both contain invaluable information.
Available from amazon.com. |
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Maramures County Tourist Map
You can get this map by writing to one of the agencies listed
above or the following agency in Sighet:
Marmatia sa
4925 Sighetu Marmatiei
str. Libertatii Nr. 21
I would be careful if you decide to stay at their hotel in
Sighet. The back of the map says "Meat products and dishes
prepared in the agency's own lab." Yummy! |
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Fundatia CDIMM Maramures, 1998, Maramuresul
Turistic (Tourism in Maramures), 132pp, pb, Romania: Marco
& Condor srl
This publication was financed by the European Union to help
promote tourism in Maramures. It contains 111 color
photographs, 300 black and white photographs and 20 maps.
The text is in Romainian and English. Descriptions of every
village, wooden church and museum in Maramures are included. It
also contains information about hotels, restaurants and other
necessities for the tourist.
It can be obtained by writing to:
Fundatia CDIMM Maramures
b-dul Unirii, nr. 13/201
4800 Baia Mare, Romania
Phone: +40-62-224870 |
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Tourist Map of Maramures, Bucharest: Socialist
Republic of Romania
This pre-revolution tourist map is the best I have found. It
has a lot of information about the villages and sites on the back.
It is available only in Romanian and French. Get one while you
can! You can get this booklet by writing to one of the agencies
listed above or the Romanian Ministry of Tourism. |
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Romania - Maramures Tradition and Folklore
The sixteen page booklet is provided by the ministry of
tourism. You can get this booklet by writing to one of the
agencies listed above or the Romanian Ministry of Tourism. |
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