Camping Baleia

Hikers grab your boots and head into the foothills around Mount Baleia (40 minutes’ drive), or make for Retezat National Park (45 minutes) for alpine adventures taking in glacial lakes and wildflower meadows. There are also demanding trails in the Piatra Mâțeștilor (half an hour) walking area, with spectacular views over the mountain peaks. Grădiștea Muncelului-Cioclovina Natural Park (20 minutes) is another haven for walkers, with cave complexes among its limestone canyons and plateaux. As well as all its natural attributes, the park is rich in ancient Dacian history, with the amazing mountaintop archeological site at Sarmizegetusa Regia (90 minutes, well-worth the journey) just begging to be explored. Adrenaline-sports lovers can go canyoning and rappelling down waterfalls in Jgheabului Canyon near Crivadia (15 minutes). However, if that’s all too extreme for younger kids, take them to meet the animatronics monsters at Dinosaur World Transylvania (half an hour), where there are also cute donkeys and alpacas to cuddle, zorbing facilities and treetop zipwires.