Here are some comments written about our tours by past participants:

I am delighted to recommend the visit to Transylvania with Sally of Carpathian Tours. We went on an eight day tour in June 2006. People often complain about not being able to experience the authentic life of a country where they are touring. They often feel like outsiders , visiting the landmarks or buildings and museums , but never really being able to take part in the life and culture of the place. Sally's Carpathian tour turns you into an insider.
We made friends, we listened to wonderful music in beautiful places, we had home cooked meals , and excellent accommodation.
Sally leaves nothing to chance. The tours are excellent value for money, and Sally is a particularly valuable tour guide as she is a fluent speaker of Hungarian. She is obviously well loved by the people we visited and is very knowledgeable about the music and culture of the villages . I will be going again.
Jann Chambers

Certainly the tour of Transylvania with Carpathian was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The memories of these amazing people and of their music live with me. I can only hope that the rapid social changes that are engulfing them does not extinguish their traditions and zest for life and does bring them some prosperity.
JRC

We are DIY travellers. We travel on a tightish budget and generally make our own arrangements because this enables us to do what we enjoy most – meet local people, and sample the local music, dance and food. We had long wanted to visit Hungary and Transylvania, but were doubtful that we would be able to find the things we most enjoy without speaking the languages. Carpathian Tours was the answer for us.
Sally organised everything superbly and is a great travel companion and guide. Our small group travelled in a comfortable, reliable van to Kluj Napoca (Kolosvar) and three villages in the vicinity. Sally arranged genial home stays with families that she knows well - lovely people who cooked us magnificent food and looked after us as if we were old friends of the family. We baked bread, we made sheep milk cheese, we cooked local dishes, we discovered palinka. With Sally interpreting, we learned about local history and culture from the people who live it. We visited their homes and were shown folk costumes and hand crafts that otherwise would be behind glass cases in museums. We strolled with village geese, wandered through fields and forests, visited churches above and below ground and took the time to smell the flowers. But the really special, probably unique, aspect of Sally's tour was experiencing the authentic regional music and dance close up and getting to know and spend time with these wonderfully talented musicians and dancers.
Our Carpathian tour was much more than a holiday . It was an incredible treat.
Leah Bloomfield and Robin Nahum, Sydney, Australia.

We visited families in small rural villages and were fascinated to discover a way of life so totally unfamiliar. The people we met were so warm and generous and I always felt a that I was a welcome guest.
I have a memory of a perfect evening sitting underneath laden fruit trees, feasting on home cooked food while local musicians played music passed to them from many generations before. We were invited to inspect family treasures of amazing and intricate embroidery and beautiful stone work and sculpture.
One night we were invited to a village Tanshaus where families gathered dressed in traditional costume. We danced while the local band played wonderful and energetic music. The younger villagers astonished us with their skilful leaps and leg slapping and their intricate movements performed rhythmically and at top speed.
CJC

We found the tour guide very friendly, approachable, informed & informative about the history & life issues of the people of the visited areas, culturally & personally sensitive to the visitors & the visited. In the tour, we had a very personal experience of the people & places we visited. The generosity & open friendship of the families with whom we spent time, was very much appreciated. The accommodation was appropriate for the price and the places; the timetable was well organised without pressure and with appropriate rest periods. Transport was safe & reliable with only longer journeys on the first & last days. The musicians provided excellent examples of the differing styles of music, which varied as we moved from village to village.
The whole experience will be long remembered. We have certainly been enriched by spending time with some people of Transylvania where life is very different from that experienced in Australia.
Peter & Lyn