One of Romania’s touristic attractions is for sure the Danube River. It is also the Southern Romanian border for 1075 kilometers, getting to the South-Eastern part of the country and creating an unique landscape in Europe – the Danube Delta. Unfortunately, this river is not touristically exploited at its maximum potential and there are only a few places where you can actually go and enjoy the view, do boat tours, and taste the local food based on fresh fish.

Cazanele Dunării (the Danube Gorges) are a part of the Danube’s Defile in Romania, in the South-West part, close to where the Danube enters the country. After the Danube Delta, this place is probably the most visited year round. We visited the area a few years ago and went back this summer for some relaxing days. There’s plenty to do in the area – boat trips, fishing, hiking, enjoy local fish food, but for us, this time it was just a laid back vacation. We chose a nice guest house, with a beautiful infinity pool and a perfect view over the Danube.

Pensiunea Ecaterina offered us exactly what we needed for an extended weekend with friends. We also had our 4 year-old daughter with us and we could barely convince her to come out of the pool. Cozy accommodation and this beautiful pool that we excessively used during 3 days, both day and night. It was perfect for the hot days we spend there. As we live in this times of social distancing, there weren’t too many people around, they made sure that it doesn’t get crowded, something we actually enjoyed a lot. They also have a restaurant on place, it’s not their strongest point, but still the food was not bad. The only minus I would say it’s the fact that they don’t have any fresh fish on their menu, although their are right across the street from the Danube and fishermen are all around.

Nera – Beușnița Natural Park

For one day, we left the pool and the view aside and went for a trip in the Nera- Beușnița Natural Park. We’ve been in the area before, but returned this time for a one day trip to the Ochiul Beiului Lake and the Beușnița Waterfall. It’s a very easy hike, starting from the Bei Camping (there’s also a small fresh trout restaurant there), which can be reached by car (the last couple of kilometres are on a forest road, but in a good condition and accessible with any car).

The hike is a maximum 3 hours return with a lot of time for admiring the view and taking pictures. The hike is easy, a nice walk actually, through the forest, in the shade and away from the hot sun.

Ochiul Beiului Lake

Beușnița Waterfall

La Văioagă Waterfall