Wildlife Photo Tour to the Danube Delta, 4d/3n - SHARED 2023

Program

Day 1: Departure time from Tulcea, from Port Aval – Tulcea, is at 16:00. We wait for you half an hour before this time, in order to fix payments (if any) and other details. We will go to Mila23 and check in at the guesthouse. The transfer takes 2-2,5 hours. During the transfer, we have enough time to talk about our route, Danube Delta peculiarities, nature photography, rules and behavior in a natural reserve and the program for next two days.

In the evening, the host will wait for you with a traditional dinner based on fish (if you have any food restrictions, please let us know when you make the booking).

The trip to Mila23 is on a very beautiful route, full of photographic subjects; the twilight is perfect for the route to Mila23. We will not travel on the Danube but on small canals and wild lakes, constantly looking for new subjects to photograph.

Days 2-3: Our trip into the Danube Delta will begin early in the morning, 30 minutes before sunrise, to catch its magic light and birds that begin to feed. The morning tour takes about 5-6 hours and you will have the breakfast to go or on return to the accommodation. After the morning session, you will return to the guesthouse to have some rest. With 4 hours before sunset, you will start for the evening session. You will travel to different places in Danube Delta, the routes being decided on a day to day basis, depending on weather conditions, water level and our guides experience. After taking your last shots in the dusk, you will come back to the accommodation. Don’t forget to download your photos and recharge your batteries!

We will be looking for the stars of these places: Pelicans, both the White and the rare Dalmatians. Of course, we will be looking for any kind of bird, starting with the common Little and Great Egrets, Gray, Purple, Yellow, or Night Heron, the agile Kingfisher, the majestic White-tailed Eagle and noisy Coots. We will also look for surf birds or birds that look for food in muddy stretches: Godwits, Spoonbills, Ibises, Ruffs, Stilts and others.

Of course we will not neglect the mammals, we will always seek to find the playful otters, the cautious wild boars, the elegant roe deer, the funny muskrats or the beautiful raccoon dog.

Lunch is optional (you can order it to the guesthouse). Dinner is at the guesthouse.

Day 4: After a relaxed breakfast (8:30 a.m.), this time without sunrise session, you will return to Tulcea, but now, in the morning, you will have the best light for this route. This is a good chance to have good pictures from the fantastic Danube Delta. Around 12:00-12:30 you will be back to Tulcea and end our tour.

Details

Accommodation

Your accommodation for this photo tour is made in double or single rooms (by your request), in one of our exclusive locations in Mila23 Village, Danube Delta, depending by our availability. All the guesthouses are 3* rated, have small capacity (7-8 rooms), owned and run by locals, offers authentic local food. All room have en-suite bathrooms.

The boat

This trip is done with an OPEN BOAT

The boat we are using for this photo tour has been built specifically for this activity. The boat is very stable, it has a lot of room, equipped with 3 benches with backrests and pillows. All tour participants will change places between them during the photo sessions, so each one of you will be seated at a time on the first or last bench.

All photographers will be sitting on the benches facing the direction of travel, with a very high freedom of movement and the field of view unobstructed. The height at which you can take pictures is 40cm above the water; you will look the pelicans straight in the eyes.

The tour

Our photo tours are done at low speed, we will not be chasing birds, we will not race. The guide knows very well what to do when you need to take a picture and will put the boat in a position favorable for everyone. If we encounter bird flocks spots, we will stay anchored or tied to the shore until we exhaust all desired topics; we are not limited to achieving a certain route.

Have with you