Difficulty Grades
Here is a list with the difficulty grades, adopted by Active Travel Romania for all escorted (guided) walking tours and self-guided (inn to inn) hiking vacations in Romania, run by the company.
To prepare yourself for the best of your vacation we recommend that you start planning it in an advance. Good physical condition is required. In order to achieve it we advise you to start walking, jogging or cycling everyday. Swimming a couple of times a week is also highly recommended. You do not need much to get yourself in shape. And don't forget that the most important tip for an unforgettable active holiday is to choose a trip which corresponds to your physical condition! Note that you should personally carry your baggage, which is naturally an additional difficulty.
Here is a list with the difficulty grades, adopted by Active Travel Romania for all escorted (guided)walking tours and self-guided (inn to inn) hiking vacations in Romania, run by the company.
Very easy or easy No special experience is needed; everyone who is in condition to cope with long Saturday walks in the forest can also cope with these tours. As a rule, the trips are short and at a low altitude. Often, it is your choice to join or skip a day-tour. The routes follow a hilly terrain without steep ascents and descents. Normally the active part (walking/cycling) is 3/5h a day.
Medium Most of you, who are used to walking during a long weekend, will be in condition to cope with a tour of this level. You should be in good health condition and not too bad physical condition. We have successive days of longer and more difficult walking and days of lighter walking. Some parts of the day routes are done at a higher altitude. The paths are in good condition. The active part (walking/cycling) takes roughly 5/7h a day. You are free to skip some walks and have a rest.
Hard These tours include trekking/cycling which is a little harder, normally on a challenging terrain. We take it for granted that you are in good condition and fit. You should be physically prepared at home to get the maximum of the tour. Most of the hiking is done at a greater height (max 2544 m). As on other tours you are free to skip some treks and have a rest.
Very hard Tours of this level demand that you be really in good shape. The paths are not always in the best condition and the marking can be scarce. There are day-treks with big ascents and descents. Changing weather conditions /even in midsummer/ play an important role when trekking at a very high altitude and may cause changes of the preliminary route. This is to be decided by the mountain guide on the spot. Normally, the treks are 6/8h per day, but some can be longer. Preliminary trekking experience is an advantage, but not necessary if you are really in good shape.
Classification of the trekking & hiking tours Scale Difficulty Average high Average km/day very easy - ranging slopes up to 200 m up to 8 km easy - wide path, well accessible 200 - 400 m 8 - 12 km medium - narrow path, sometimes pathless 400 - 600 m 12 - 16 km hard - narrow path, sometimes pathless, rarely exposed 600 - 800 m 16 - 20 km very hard - narrow path, often pathless, often exposed over 800 m over 20 km Classification of the biking tours Scale Difficulty Average high (m) Average km/day very easy - asphalt roads up to 200 up to 20 km easy - partly asphalt roads, sometimes well-ranging roads 200 - 400 20 - 30 km medium - equal shares asphalt roads/ranging slopes 400 - 600 30 - 40 km hard - mainly on slopes, sometimes in poor condition, sometimes with asphalt 600 - 800 40 - 50 km very hard - mainly on slopes, sometimes technically challenging, sometimes offroad, no asphalt over 800 over 50 km
