Days follow a simple pattern. You have breakfast in the guesthouse dining room and then head to the stables, where you tack up your own horse. Grooming help is welcome too. Then you ride out in single file with an English-speaking guide. The first ride on day two is a short introduction loop over hay meadows and old pastureland, with open ground for a faster pace and a stretch through beech forest. From day three the rides get longer: four to five hours through the foothills, with a lunch stop, panoramic views on the way home and plenty of chances to trot and canter. In spring the meadows are full of wild flowers.

What sets this apart from a typical stable-based riding week is the mix. There is a real hike with an ecological focus in the Stramba Valley. There's a full cultural day at two UNESCO-listed places, Sighisoara and Viscri, followed by a traditional Saxon dinner. You spend a night at a working mountain farm with no mains power, and there's a bear hide visit. The two-day forest loop on days five and six covers about 50km. Long meadow canters and deep forest tracks make it the most remote riding of the week.

The horses are a mixed herd of about 40: Arab and Shagya-Arab, Kisberi, Gidran and other Hungarian breeds, from 15hh to 16.2hh. They're described as fit, surefooted and good-tempered. You'll ride two to four different horses over the week. Tack is endurance saddles with saddlebags. Helmets are mandatory, and you need to bring your own.

The guiding team knows these trails well and has first aid training. All the guides speak English, and some also speak German and French. The pace is active, with long trots and canters. On steeper sections you will dismount and lead your horse downhill for up to 20–30 minutes, so you need a reasonable level of fitness on foot as well as in the saddle.

The guesthouse is in Sinca Noua, about three hours by road from Bucharest airport. The area has rolling hills, mixed mountain forest and small farming villages, with Bran Castle close by. The hosts run a conservation project in the area, the CARPATHIA Conservation Project. Guests are asked to give a €40 donation to it, and the evening film on the last night explains the work.

Groups are small: at least 3 riders, and at most 6 international riders in high season or 8 in low season, plus guides. Non-riders can come along at a lower rate and join the sightseeing, hikes and evenings.

What's included

- 7 nights accommodation (double/twin en-suite room at the guesthouse, one night camping May–September) - Full board from dinner on day 1 to breakfast on day 8 - All drinks except those from the bar - 1 horse with saddle and bridle per rider - English-speaking horse guide - Scheduled airport transfers from/to Bucharest - Inland transport - Optional transfer from camp to the guesthouse on day 5 and back on day 6 - Sightseeing visits to Sighisoara and Viscri - Stramba Valley guided hike - Bear hide visit

What's not included

- International and domestic flights - Drinks from the bar and personal extras - Tips for the local team (around €40 suggested per week) - €40 donation to the CARPATHIA Conservation Project - Travel and cancellation insurance (mandatory) - Visas - Single room supplement - Private airport transfers outside the scheduled times - Sleeping bag rental (approx. €15)