As a small extension of the 2018 community meetup I joined Philpp on a trip to the Danube Delta. For some reason I had long wanted to visit the place where the Danube, this great European river, meets the sea.

We had been on the Danube for two days now. As part of the meetup we slept in Russe (Bulgara) and visited the Roman fortifications (T). From Russe we drove to Srebarna and then to Silistra (T) where our meetup ended. Silistra also marks the end point of the Roman Limes.

As mentioned in nearly everyone's review of Srebarna it was kind of a let down. We wanted to see birds and there were none to be spotted. So I was a bit anxious to see if we would spot any birds in the Delta, especially considering how busy with locals, tourists and fishermen the place is; the Delta is not a fully protected area, only parts are.

My worries were quickly dissolved as within the hour we had seen a kingfisher and an eagle up close. There were also plenty of pelicans and what not. Under normal circumstances I am not really keen on birds, but this was quite nice as it also combined with some beautiful scenery. Admittedly, the vegetation is what most Europeans will recognize from their own lakes and rivers at home. But this is a great representative for this type of ecosystem. Add to this the size of the site and you have a fine world heritage site. 

Interestingly, the Delta also is home to a significant Russian minority, the Lipovans. They fled Russian in the 18th century when the Orthodox Church was reformed and they wanted no part of it. As a consequence we stopped in two primarily Russian villages along the way. I am not too fond of these folkloristic visits to be honest and would have rather done without.

Getting In

There are several tour operators offering tours into the Delta. The Delta is large, so I would check their itinerary and the type of boat they transport you on. We went on a small but speedy inflatable boat way deep into the Delta. Personally, I would have loved if we had made it to the Black Sea, but I am not sure such a tour exists.

Part of the tour was a stop in a local village for lunch. Both Philipp and I decided against this option, but we were then stuck in a fairly mundane Russian village in the Delta with little else to do. If possible, I would book a tour without extended lunch break and keep on cruising.

You can also stay in the Delta overnight. There are hotel boats. And you can also sleep in the traditional villages. Be mindful, though: At night the mosquitos come out.

Getting There

The hub for the Danube Delta is Tulcea. We came by car from Bulgaria crossing the border at Silistra and the Danube by ferry thereafter. It took surprisingly long to get out of Bulgaria into Romania considering both are EU members. In Romania we also needed to figure out how to get a highway pass (all possible online, no printer required). And then it was still a pretty long ride as Tulcea is really off the map for most purposes.

While You Are There

The closest WHS is the Southern most Stuve arc. Fellow WHS travellers actually made the effort. But they had to do quite a detour and cross two borders in the process (Moldova, Ukraine), so this took them long hours. Unless you are a world heritage fanatic you should skip on this.

To see further sites in Romania you will have to get back to Bucharest first. Alternatively you can head South to Bulgaria which has several sites, but admittedly these are of rather low quality.

In our case we drove back to Nessebar (5h including the time spent at the border). We stopped once along the way near Constantiu to visit the rather weird Rupestrian Art of Basarabi (T) in the process. Or at least we tried to, as there really wasn't much to see and do.

Practicalities

The Danube Delta lies on the border withh Ukraine so your phone may actually switch to a Ukrainian network. This may result in high roaming costs, so our guides recommended to us to turn off the data connection and go into flight mode.

While the weather may be warm, I would recommend bringing warm clothes nonetheless. The boats go fairly fast and are not protected against the wind. I wish I had brought more clothing as I was freezing when the sun descended.

Tulcea is fairly dull. Considering that most visitors will have to stay overnight, there is very little in tourist infrastructure available.

Finally, if you plan to stay at night bring insect repellant. During a normal day time visit, though, you will not need it.