Every experience is a day trip: you are back the same evening
Brown bear watching from a hide
Zărnești basin
WildlifeEasy5 hPhotographyFirst-timers
Duration5 h
GradeEasy
Good forMax 6Ages 12+
On sightings
Sightings are never guaranteedWe do not publish a sighting rate for this experience. These are wild animals on wild ground and we do not bait. Some evenings you will see nothing at all.
What the day is like
An evening in a hide on wild ground. No baiting. Sightings are never guaranteed and we will not pretend otherwise.
An evening in a hide on wild ground, waiting. Some evenings a bear comes within twenty metres. Some evenings nothing comes at all, and we will not pretend otherwise before you book.
We do not bait
No food is put out to draw animals in. Baiting changes a bear's behaviour permanently, teaches it to associate people with food, and is a large part of why some bears end up shot as problem animals. It also makes for a dishonest photograph.
The consequence is that our sighting rate is lower than operators who do bait. We think that is the right trade.
In the hide
Two to three hours sitting still and quiet, from late afternoon into dusk. It gets cold. Bring more layers than you think.
The day, hour by hour
16:00Meet and brief
Collected from Brașov. The guide covers how to behave in the hide and what to do if a bear comes close.
17:00Walk in
Twenty minutes on foot, quietly. The last stretch is single file and silent.
17:30Settle in the hide
Optics set up. From here it is waiting — which is most of what wildlife watching actually is.
20:30Dusk
The quiet hour, and when most sightings happen if they happen at all.
21:15Walk out and back
Out in the dark with head torches, and back to Brașov.
What's included
We provide
Binoculars and a spotting scope
Transport to the meeting point
You bring
Muted clothing — no bright colours
No perfume or scented deodorant
Quiet fabrics; avoid anything that rustles
Warm layers — a hide gets cold when you sit still
Where you meet
Departs from Brașov
Pickup from your Brașov accommodation — the hide is reached on foot
Fourteen seasons in the Piatra Craiului. Maintains the hides and runs the tracking mornings.
Guides are not booked individually. We assign whoever knows that ground and season best, and tell you who it is when we confirm.
Questions people ask
What are the chances of seeing a bear?
We do not publish a figure, because we do not have enough recorded departures to state one honestly. When we do, it will be on this page with the number of evenings it is based on. Anyone quoting you a precise percentage is either baiting or guessing.
Why will you not bait?
Because it changes the animal permanently and it endangers it. A bear that associates humans with food ends up in a village, and then it ends up dead.
Can children come?
From twelve, if they can sit still and silent for three hours. Be honest with yourself about that — one restless child ends the evening for everyone.
What if we see nothing?
It happens, and no refund is due for an absence of wild animals. You will have spent an evening in beautiful country with a biologist, which is worth something on its own.
