Danube Delta Tour
The Danube Delta is a wildlife enthusiast’s (especially a bird watcher’s) paradise.
Travelers can spend three or more days exploring its passages, teaming with the highest concentration of bird colonies in all of Europe. The maze of canals bordered by thatch, willows and oaks entangled in lianas, offers the perfect breeding ground for countless species of birds, some of them from as far away as China and Africa. Millions of Egyptian white pelicans arrive here every spring to raise their young, while equal numbers of Arctic geese come here to escape the harsh winters of Northern Europe.
The Danube delta provides a critical refuge for several globally threatened species. It is home to about 330 bird species, including 70% of the world’s white pelican population and 60% of the world’s pygmy cormorants. The delta is home to a remarkable population of glossy ibis, spoonbill, different species of egrets and herons. Most of the European freshwater fish species (around 70 species) exist in the delta.
Interest Facts
Danube Delta Pelicans
» The Danube River is the most international river on the planet – its course runs across — or forms a part of the borders of several countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and four capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.
» Formed over a period of more than 10,000 years, the Danube Delta continues to grow due to the 67 million tons of alluvia deposited every year by the Danube River.
» The Delta is formed around the three main channels of the Danube, named after their respective ports: Chilia (in the north), Sulina (in the middle), and Sfantu Gheorghe (in the south).
» The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve has the third largest biodiversity in the world (over 5,500 flora and fauna species), exceeded only by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the Galapagos Archipelago in Ecuador.
Places to explore
Chilia Arm (Bratul Chilia)
Tulcea – Chilia Veche – Periprava
Access: Scheduled boat service between Tulcea and Periprava with stops in Ceatalchioi, Plaur, Pardina, Tatanir, Chilia Veche
Chilia Arm (Bratul Chilia)
Tulcea – Chilia Veche – Periprava
Access: Scheduled boat service between Tulcea and Periprava with stops in Ceatalchioi, Plaur, Pardina, Tatanir, Chilia Veche
Sulina Arm (Bratul Sulina)
Tulcea – Crisan – Sulina
Access: Scheduled boat service between Tulcea and Sulina with stops in:
Partizani, Maliuc, Crisan
The Sulina Arm, shortest of the three, stretches some 42 miles from Tulcea to Sulina. Although it only carries 18% of the total water flow, Sulina is the main navigation route for passenger and commercial traffic. Between 1880 and 1902, a canal was dug to facilitate river traffic, shortening the natural course of the Sulina arm and allowing for easier access to villages in the Delta.
Maliuc (15 miles east of Tulcea)
Maliuc is one of the Delta’s youngest settlements. Lake Furtuna, one of the region’s largest lakes, lies just to the north of Maliuc.
Crisan (28 miles east of Tulcea)
Crisan is the main stepping-off point between Tulcea and Sulina.A fishermen’s village with a few houses spreading over the right bank and a fishery on the opposite shore, it makes an excellent base for exploring the surrounding lakes and canals.
Sulina
Sulina, the terminus point for cruise liners sailing across the Delta, was mentioned for the first time more than 1,000 years ago under the name of Selina in a work written by Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenetes. This port town once bustled with traders from Europe and the Middle East, adventurers and sea pirates.
Sfantu Gheoghe Arm (Bratul Sfantu Ghoerghe)
Tulcea – Sfantu Gheorghe
Access: Scheduled boat service between Tulcea and Sulina with stops in: Balteni de Jos, Mahmudia, Murighiol
Murighiol is the jump-off point for boats to Uzlina. Located 24 miles east of Tulcea, Uzlina is home to the offices of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve and the Jacques Cousteau Foundation. The Cormoran Tourist Complex in Uzlina provides facilities for hiring boats and guides to venture into some of the more interesting parts of the Delta.
Visit historic sites, explore the waterways in a canoe or traditional fisherman boat, catch a sunset you’ll never forget, sample wine from vineyards dating back to the Roman Empire and savor some of the finest caviar in the world, the beluga sturgeon from the Black Sea!
» Bird Watching
Danube Delta Bird WatchingA bird-watchers’ paradise, the Danube Delta offers the opportunity to spot more than 300 species of migratory and resident birds, including eagles, egrets, vultures, geese, cranes, ibises, cormorants, swans and pelicans. Located on the 45th parallel, the Danube Delta makes for a perfect stopping-off point between the Equator and the North Pole for millions of migratory birds.
Some of the most important species include:
The White Pelican (pelecanus onocrotalus)
In March, swaths of white pelicans leave the Nile Delta and the Red Sea to come nest in the Danube Delta. The Delta is home to Europe’s largest breeding population (some 3,500 pairs).
Best seen: March to October
Dalmatian Pelican (pelecanus crispus)
After decades of decline, this species’ numbers have slowly begun to increase in the Delta. Currently, some 150 pairs have been spotted in several small colonies.
Best seen: April to October; some pairs may stay over the winter.
Small Egret (egretta garzetta)
A migratory species protected by law, the small egret lives in marshy areas and nests in small willows.
Best seen: April to October; some pairs may stay over the winter.
Pygmy Cormorant (phalacrocorax pygmeus)
Best seen: April to October; some pairs may stay over the winter.
Ferruginous Duck (aythya nyroca)
The Danube Delta may be the last place in Europe to see this declining species. In August and September, large numbers often gather at Somova Lake, just west of Tulcea.
Best seen: March to October
Red-breasted Goose (branta ruficollis)
In winter, thousands of this species – almost half of the entire world population – reside on the Razim-Sinoe lagoon and coastal plain to the south of the Delta.
Best seen: Late October to March
Glossy Ibis (plegadis falcinellus)
More than 30% of the European population nests in the reed beds of the delta.
Best seen: April to September