How Should You Prepare for Your First Hiking Vacation (Active Holidays Romania)

If you have never been on hiking vacations, but are thinking about venturing on one, this beginner's guide for hiking in Romania should cover at least the basics.

There are many hiking tours in Romania available for you to choose from, but before you settle your heart on one, we encourage you to assess your current physical fitness on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 indicating that you are in amazing shape. If your score is somewhere between 1 and 5, then choosing a less difficult trail for hiking is highly advisable. In this case your plans to travel in Romania will still include some of the most amazingly epic mountain sceneries on the map, but you will most surely enjoy them from a distance.
However, if you happen to fall in the 5-10 fitness category, you qualify for longer hiking trails with a difficulty level that will literally bring you closer to the clouds.

The next natural step when going on hiking vacations is to decide whether you will be going alone or with a group of friends. Whether you choose to hike by yourself, alone with your thoughts, or decide for a group hiking experience, we advise you to opt for a guided hiking tour. A knowledgeable and experienced guide will keep you away from unnecessary dangers, can offer you easy and practical suggestions with regard to any additional equipment you might need, and will show you the best sights around.

Before you enter the packing frenzy, there is one other aspect you surely overlooked. When hiking in Romania beware of the sudden climat changes, especially if you are planning to take your trip during the first two summer months. Make sure you check the international or local forecasting websites for the weather reports available for that period, and when in doubt, you should pack a waterproof rain coat anyway.

When it comes to packing the essentials, our recommendation is that you keep it light, without omitting the following:
- allergy medicine
- a fully charged cell phone
- a camera and many spare batteries (you will definitely need them)
- suncreen, sun glasses, and bug spray
- first aid kit, knife, flashlight, and a book

To cover the footwear dilemma, hiking boots are the best choice by far. And when it comes to the clothes department, just follow a few guiding rules: always pack a hat to protect you from the wind, avoid shorts and always go for pants in the wild, choose your best sports socks and the shirts that help your skin breathe, and always take spare socks and shirts.
And last, but not least, we end the beginner's chapter with a few tips on the best snacks you can take with you: almonds or nuts, apples, bread and almond butter, beef jerky, and chocolate bars.

We hope you have found this post insightful and we wish you happy hiking in Romania!

Active Holidays offers Transilvania travel and Brasov travel packages, hiking vacations all-year round, active tours and more for those wishing to travel in Romania. Our tours in Romania include walking & trekking, cycling, mountain-biking, horseback riding, skiing, tour-skiing. Additionally, we offer cultural tours in Romania that will take you to the most interesting places around the country.