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in Ieud

We had three great days in Maramures with Ioana. She was incredibly patient with our four kids and tailored the tour to meet their needs. When we spontaneously asked if we could take a quick trip over the border to Ukraine, she even accompanied us! Highly recommended!

Susan and I had a 6 day private tour of the magical Maramureș region with Ioana, which turned out to be the soul of our trip. Ioana brings a beautiful warmth and intimacy to her tours. Because of the close, respectful relationships she shares with the local artisans, weavers, and families, we were welcomed into traditional homes not as tourists, but as dear friends. Driving through the rolling hills and villages with Ioana felt like traveling with family.Ioana is a gifted guide and now our friend.

Ioana made our trip to Romania super special. She knows so much about the area and shares her knowledge so generously. She has friends and contacts throughout the Maramureş area and introduced us to local people wherever we went. Everyone loves her! I cannot imagine a better guide! Our visit to Maramureş was enchanting!

Our day with Ioana was fabulous. First of all she created a custom itinerary based on our interest in meeting the people of Maramureș and learning about their culture. Our first stop was to visit a sheepfold. After a short walk up the hill we met the sheep, goats, working dogs, and the shepherds. The shepherds patiently answered all our questions about their lives and the sheep. And finally, we got to taste two different kinds of cheese produced from the sheep and their milk. Next we visited the homes of two weavers. It was fascinating to watch them work and to hear the explanations of how weaving is done. Ioana took us to a natural whirlpool to see how rugs and blankets are cleaned and washed. It was fascinating. We stopped at a guesthouse for a lunch specially made for us. We finished the afternoon by visiting a maker of traditional leather shoes and a woodworking shop. Ioana was the best guide. She tailored the tour to exactly what we wanted and is so knowledgeable about Maramureș. She took us places that otherwise would not be accessible to tourists. Her English was perfect and her accent was easy to understand. I highly recommend a private tour with Ioana for anyone that wants a memorable day in Maramureș.

My day with Ioana was fabulous. We hiked over the hill to the Botiza valley and on the way chatted with shepherds and wood choppers. Then we visited various wooden churches and crafts people with Ioana busily translating all my questions. The people we met were lovely and so eager to share their craft. I would never have been able to have this experience without such an excellent translator and Ioana was so cheerful and knew so much about the area. She was also kind enough to drive me to pick up my luggage and drop me at the bus stop at the end of the day. I hugely recommend this tour.

The tour we had with Ioana made our Maramures experience all I had hoped for, and more. Do NOT let just a few posted reviews stop you from hiring her. You will not regret it. She will personalize the tour to what you are most interested in. We had the best day of all in Romania with her.We met 2 weavers, a potter, a woodworker, saw 2 wooden churches and attended one local celebration. None of this would have been possible without her.We saw and learned about the real Maramures, it's people, their customs. And enjoyed hearing from each of the craftsmen/ women.I can't speak highly enough of the experience we had and will always remember that day as the best day in Romania. And if I were to come back, I know if I contacted her again, we could craft a DIFFERENT experience!

We had our tour with Ioana today, and all I can say is it EXCEEDED our hopes! If you're going to the Maramures area, you really should get a guide. And using Ioana would be the best move you could make. She will personalize your tour. Tell her what you want and she'll work with you to make it happen. I could write a book, but I'll try to make this short. We were most interested in the local people and traditions of the area. Plus, it poured rain the day before, so hiking the hills wasn't going to make much sense.During the tour, I'm pretty sure she answered EVERY question we had for the day. We saw two weavers, a potter, two wood carvers, and attended a local festival. No way would we have had that opportunity on our own. We saw two of the wooden churches and she gave us the history of each, as well as the history of the area and the different religions. She gave us tips for our next two days that are extremely helpful.Honestly, there's just so much more I could say, but it was just so much, I can't remember it all. We also stopped for a fabulous lunch. We never felt rushed, and Ioana has a wealth of information on the area she lives in.I know there aren't a lot of reviews for this tour, but don't let that stop you.The great thing is, if we were to come back to this area and contact her again, I'm confident we could plan something totally different if we wanted to. These are NOT cookie-cutter tours.

Ioana was the most amazing tour guide we have ever had. She was incredibly easy to work with and made sure the tour she provided was exactly what we wanted to do. We did a 4 hour hike from Ieud to Botiza through the mountains, which gave us an opportunity to see beautiful views and also learn a bit about which mushrooms are safe to pick, try plums from the tree and some new berries, and also identify some animal tracks. Ioana taught us about the history of the region, told us about her own family and experience living in Romania, and endured our endless questions with a smile. She packed us a lovely picnic with homemade zacusca, meatballs, peppers, and brownies. We never felt rushed, and she let us stop to take photos or enjoy the scenery as often as we liked. She gave us an excellent tour of the church in Ieud, which was so helpful to have the frescoes explained and also to have someone who knew who to call for the key to open the church. Our favorite part of the tour was that she introduced us to several locals. I noticed some lovely pumpkins in someone's backyard, so Ioana asked the owner if we could take some photos. We were invited in to see the pumpkins and taste the pumpkin seeds. Locals are so friendly, but I would not have been brave enough to ask that on my own! We also met some talented ladies who are still weaving the famous Botiza carpets and tapestries with a loom. She also invited us to come meet the woman who makes her family a fresh loaf of bread each week. We were always welcomed and fed. These interactions will be cherished memories of our travels in Romania. If you can believe it, we did all of this in a one day tour (a little over 8 hours). As she was only available for one day during our trip, she made some excellent recommendations about local sights and a local celebration happening the next day. I will certainly call Ioana in the future when we are back in Maramures. Her fee is nominal for the experience she provides. You can tell she is only interested in you having a good experience. I highly recommend you hire her as your guide!

I had the chance to discover a part of the Maramures with Ioana and keeps a great memory of that day. Ioana is a passionate and competent guide. His knowledge in many fields is amazing. She has a clear pleasure in transmitting them and her command of English and French allows us to take full advantage of them. Moreover, her human qualities encourage a quality exchange, both with us tourists and with the villagers we meet thanks to her. A very nice experience that I highly recommend. Merci Ioana.

Ioana is a very knowledgeable guide. I had a Great day hiking in the mountains from Ieud to Botiza with beautiful scenery, local farmers making cheese, famous wooden churches, monasteries, and culture.

I was referred to Ioana by another tour operator in Bucharest and I really couldn't have been happier about the time my friend and I spent touring with her.As a local, Ioana (Joanna) is extremely knowledgeable about everything having to do with Maramures, and what I really appreciated the most was her excellent communication. She was great at checking in with my friend and I to ensure the tour matched our interests, and she had multiple recommendations for places to see that fit those interests.Something I did not expect was how up close and personal we were able to get with the local craftsman. I knew we would be visiting local craftsman, but I didn't realize how open and welcoming they would be to people coming to their workplaces and watching them work. It was truly a unique experience!If you will be in the area, to make the most of your visit, I HIGHLY recommend a tour with Ioana!

Through Ioana we have had unique encounters with people, culture, crafts and incredibly beautiful nature. We were traveling with her 4 times, next year absolutely again!!! It makes the treasures visible in secret! Thank you, dear Ioana 💫

Excellent experience with Ioana. Nice, very thoughtful and attentive to people’s preferences and expectations. She adapted the tour to our needs and wishes and took the time to explain mixing information on history, traditions and personal experiences. The lunch place she chose, Pensiunea Doina, was fabulous.

We returned from about 10 days from this fantastic first trip to Romanian land, more specifically in the beautiful Maramures. For two and a half days (the first day we arrived in the area after about 5 hours by car, from Transylvania), our guide Ioana accompanied us to different places in the Maramures, making us fall in love. Together with Ioana, we agreed to limit the visit to the most "touristy" churches and attractions, focusing instead on getting to know the local culture, and especially the wonderful local people. We visited several farming families, joined shepherds in the pastures, witnessed a pig slaughter as well as a touching farewell mass in traditional clothing, toasted endless times with so many hospitable people at every hour of the day, and much more. They were 3 wonderful days, able to satisfy our desires to get in touch with local people, and at the same time to photograph (our great passion) in freedom all these situations and these beautiful people, always in the name of hospitality.Ioana is a fantastic person and guide. Having a guide like Ioana, really makes you understand how important it is, especially in certain areas of the world, to rely on a local person. We were really lucky to have met her and to have arranged with her, we could not ask for anything better. Ioana has always been attentive to our needs, punctual, kind, very sweet, and always prepared to explain us customs, traditions, contradictions: in short, it has been a constant pleasure to be in her company, and we will never stop thanking her for everything she has made us live. Considering the relative proximity to Italy, and the opportunities to visit an area still quite authentic and far from mass tourism, we will certainly return as soon as possible. A huge MOOL-TZU-MESK to our new friend Ioana!

We were lucky enough to spend two days with Ioana and she made the experience a highlight of our trip. She is incredibly knowledgeable across a huge range of subjects and added so much color to our understanding of what we were seeing. On top of it all, she is so personable and wonderful to talk to, and she managed to work all of our many interests into the sights and experiences of both days. Cannot recommend her more highly!

Ioana is a very kind and pleasant guide of the Ieud area. Her English is at mother tongue level. Her knowledge on this area is vast. She explained us many symbols and frescos in churches, on wooden gates and on houses, She introduced us to many local crafts artists, to interesting little museums, to healing plants and to beautiful roads and houses. Ioana knows a lot about the Maramures area, their tradition, culture, history, faith and people and is sharing it with joy. She is very flexible and plans the trip by the tourist's specific interest. I strongly recommend Ioana.