The Bears' Cave — Attraction in Pietroasa

Peștera Urșilor (Bears’ Cave) is certainly an interesting natural site with impressive rock formations and a fascinating geological history. If you’ve never visited a show cave before, it can be quite exciting. However, for those with experience from other countries, the visit may feel rather average.

The entrance fee of 40 Lei per person is quite steep for a guided tour that lasts only around 45 minutes – especially considering that parking costs an additional 10 Lei. So you end up paying 50 Lei just for one person, which is too much for what is offered.

The guided tour is only available in Romanian, and almost all informational signs are exclusively in Romanian as well. For one of the so-called “Top 10 tourist attractions in Romania,” this lack of multilingual support is disappointing and outdated!

Before entering the cave, you’ll see several signs forbidding photography. The guide reinforces this at the start of the tour, but then says that “two or three pictures are okay.” This kind of mixed message is very unprofessional. A ban on flash would be understandable – but a total ban on photos? Not really.

The access road to the cave is in very poor condition for several kilometers, apparently due to recent work on utility connections. Driving there is frustrating and requires caution. However, the signage to reach the site is clear and easy to follow.

Conclusion: The cave itself is well-kept and visually interesting, but the overall experience lacks quality. Overpriced entry, no multilingual access, weak visitor guidance, and inconsistent rules make it hard to fully enjoy. I’m giving a generous 3 out of 5 stars, but that’s the...

The cave itself is really beautiful, spacious and full of fascinating stalactites that are not seen anywhere else. The history of the cave is also very interesting. However, the reason for my low rating is the management of this unique natural monument. 1) The guide gives the absolute minimum of information compared to other caves in the EU, there were only 3 guided stops along the whole route in such a huge cave 2) Everything in and around the cave is highly commercial and is used exclusively for profit, the guide even started selling souvenirs at the end of the tour (!) 3) IMPORTANT!! The tours and all materials are exclusively in Romanian, without any possibility of a tour in English or any other language, which is not notified to the visitor in advance. 4) IMPORTANT!! It is forbidden to take ANY photos in the cave, usually two "bodyguards" follow the group keeping eye on you ready to use force if you try to take a photo of anything. There is only one place where you can take a photo in the cave and it's on the very end of tour right in front of the exit. I have never seen anything like this in...

I loved this cave. Very accessible and easy to visit even for an elderly fat person I was with. It was a little chilly (10 degrees) so have a jacket with you. The cave had about 850m and we walked at a leisure pace. You can only enter with a guide who will tell you more about this cave and answer any questions. The cave is very wide and big, with high ceilings and large corridors. It is impressive and really worth visiting it. There are no living creatures inside the cave now. No bats, insects, lizards, nothing. Just some bear bones from many years ago. There was a big parking where we paid 5 Ron for an entire day, and there was a lady who had traditional pies and we tried the cheese one and a berries one. They were hot and delicious and it was a perfect snack before...