Glowing review from Experience Ukraine and Beyond customers.

Testimonial from Melinda and Doug, who visited Transylvania with me in september 2024.

They have submitted their review to my google business profile straight after the tour, but it was pending for over a year, as google team were convinced that it was a paid review. It looked too good to be true, but Melida appealed their decision and few days ago sent me a message that its finally approved!

Read it for yourself and do join one of our tours.

Nataliya

Dinner in the nature, Transylvania.

" We just completed our fourth tour with Nataliya. We’ve been to Ukraine twice, Georgia, and this time Romania.  Everyone in our group was a repeat guest,  and there’s a reason why.

Nataliya’s trips are magical.  Every day is an adventure, something new and unexpected. We privately joke she attracts friends and food like we attract mosquitos (at home, that is- none on this trip!)  We can go visit someone’s goats and unexpectedly find ourselves seated at a makeshift table in their yard, being served cake and homemade syrop drink. (To quote one of our guides, as he tucked in, ”She only makes this for special celebrations. We are so lucky!”) we’ve had this same experience on every trip.

Market day in Medias, Transylvania

Everything is well planned. Nataliya has an astonishing network in the most far-flung places.  This time we enjoyed visits to a shepherd’s hut for homemade stew and mammaliga (cooked in the ashes!), a visit to a glass recycling factory (sounds weird but was a highlight), an abandoned synagogue, a cooking workshop, an ecology talk,  a bird walk, a fortified church, folks’ homes and private collections. We even had a meal, in a field, cooked over a fire, with nice dishes and linen, and a local folk band.

Walk from the shepherds

She packs a lot into every trip and makes a huge effort for guests to learn about where they’re visiting, versus “sight seeing”. We learn so much on each trip, and have developed a deep love and respect for the people and places we’ve been privileged to engage with.

The highlight, however, is the food. Soooo much food. So fresh. So varied. Farm to table. Homemade breads, jams, cheeses, sour creams, , zacusca  and other local spreads  at every meal. Fresh honey. The highlight this time was tomatoes. I ate a pound of the sweetest tomatoes imaginable every day if this trip.

Lunch in Hosman village, Transylvania

The guesthouses we’ve stayed in on all four trips have been basic, very very clean, and very comfortable.  They are elevated far past the finest hotel by the quality of the people who proudly run them, and the superior, indescribably delicious food they serve.

I’m almost afraid to leave such a glowing review for fear we will get squeezed out of future trips! But, credit where credit is due.  Nataliya’s trips are singular, once in a lifetime. I feel so fortunate we have discovered her."