Brown Bears in the wild, no fence

We had a bear sighting; the hide is easy to reach, it is a few minutes' walk from where the minibus is parked.

Great experience! Felt so natural to see the Brown Bears in the wild. We saw 3 females in total with one youngster staying for a long time

The organizers sent me a message when and where will meet. No one were there and it took time until they answer our call. Just a delay. We didn't see any bears

The guide was unaware that we were joining the group as active holidays never passed on our booking. Thankfully we were still able to join and the experience in the hide was fantastic. We had to drive in our own car despite the fact that we had been given the impression that we would be picked up by the guide at the meeting point.

We had a wonderful time on this bear-watching adventure! We were lucky enough to see around eight bears, ranging from small ones to one particularly large and impressive bear. It was an incredible experience to witness them in their natural habitat. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys wildlife and the outdoors. Just a small tip – make sure to wear proper walking boots, as the terrain can be uneven and a bit challenging in places.

We managed to see 4/5 bears, with one visit from a mumma bear with 2 older cubs. Extraordinary trip and well worth the money. We went in October and Our tour guide was very informative and funny- answering all our crazy questions. Don't hesitate to book!

The desired outcome of this trip was to see bears in the wild and we got just that! We saw 6 bears in total and were lucky enough to watch them for the whole duration of our visit along with a fox and a few species of birds. The driver was great, we were given information about the area and bears if we asked for it, the journey there and back was smooth and comfortable (and we enjoyed some amazing views of the gorgeous mountain and countryside), collection was as prearranged, communication prior to the trip was good, booking was easy, price was affordable. I will note a few reasons below why this excursion was not as expected or entirely as described which is why I have marked down by 1 star. Had we not seen any bears I would have given less stars but we got what we paid for so can't complain too much! 1. We most certainly were not in a group of 15! We, a group of 3, were collected with another 4 travellers by minibus in Brasov centre as prearranged. We drove for around 40 minutes and stopped off to meet the ranger and the rest of the group who followed us the remainder of the journey in 1 minibus and 2 cars meaning there was around 25 of us in total. Not the small group as expected! 2. Disappointingly there was no walk / trek to the hide as described, photographed and expected. After entering the forest we continued on a well driven path, drove right up to the hide, all the vehicles parked outside and a few steps later were in! 3. The bears were seemingly expecting our arrival. Once we were all in the hide we unexpectedly watched the forest ranger reverse his car along a well driven track towards where the bears were, take a huge sack of food from his boot and empty the lot out for the expectant bears who then proceeded to eat for the duration of our visit. It seems as though this is a regular occurrence and takes away some of the 'wild' aspect. 4. The hide was quite big with tiered bench seating so we did all get a decent view however there are double glazed windows to the front which weren't very clean and kind of made it feel a little like we were in a zoo. Again, this isn't really 'wild' as expected however I must note I was very warm and comfortable.

Pickup was on time and at the allocated point. We were a group of 7 and joined by another couple who made their own way. Our driver and guide Alexandru was knowledgeable and clearly very respectful of the bears and their habitat. We parked along a trail about 1.5km into the forest. We parked in a clearing and went the last 500m to the hide on foot. Alex was very helpful explaining how we needed to be quiet and not use any bright lights such as flash or focus assist lights on our cameras/phones. He also gave us general information (in hushed tones) about the bear population in Romania and then we waited in silence gazing out our two way mirrors at the beautiful countryside. After 90 mins and just a couple of foxes we were finally rewarded with the majestic sight of an adult male brown bear ambling quietly down the trail looking for food. We watched him for about 10 mins and then he sloped off, possibly spooked by a noise within the hide. At this stage dusk had well and truly settled and it started to get dark. Talk of packing up and leaving started to come from our guides but just as we were thinking well at leats we saw one bear .... a family of three arrived on the trail just 20 metres in front of our hide. An adult male and female and a juvenile. We watched them forage around for food for 15 minutes or more before eventually we had to leave them at it and 'escape' out the back of the hide as it had become quite dark and we couldn't stay any longer. A magical and unforgettable experience to witness these magnificent creatures up so close in the wild. Would definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in nature.

Had a great excursion to see wild bears. The trip to the bear hide was a short walk, easily managed by most people. Our small group of 10 people had plenty of room in he hide to sit and take pictures. We were very lucky and had 3 different bears stop by. Our ranger spoke English very well and was very knowledgeable. Our driver to the bear hide area also spoke English well and provided lots of info about the area. Highly recommend this tour if interested in the local wildlife.

We saw 5 bears. We were provided explanations about the bears. We have seen how bears eat and behave. Great experience!