Libearty Bear Sanctuary Zarnesti — Attraction in Zona Metropolitană Brașov

You can't give anything other than 5 stars and I'm really shocked that there are once again people who are too stupid to understand the concept of the Bear Sanctuary and then have the nerve to write a bad review. As has been stated several times, it is NOT a zoo, it isn't entertainment for little children, it's not about taking the coolest instagram photos and it's not a park with benches to relax and have a picnic. It's about getting to know the valuable and wonderful work of the sanctuary, the founder and the staff, getting lots of interesting information about brown bears and hearing the stories of the rescued animals. This brings tears to your eyes and you are once again shocked by the unbelievable cruelty that people are capable of. It's hard to bear and yet so important to hear because it is the reality of our world. Places like this sanctuary give you a little hope, and watching the bears bathe in the water, play together, or climb the trees is simply beautiful. One can only express gratitude for the tireless work of the staff, the enthusiasm with which the very kind guide explained everything and patiently answered every question, and for the loving place that was created for the animals. Final useful information: yes, the road there is unfortunately extremely bad and you have to be prepared for a 3 km rocky path with huge potholes. (If the government would invest some money to make access easier, that would be great; the money the sanctuary receives goes to the animals.) You should wear good shoes because the path you take during the tour is quite rocky and in places very steep. I'm not that fit and had a bit of trouble keeping up with the pace in some places; you do go up quite a hill. The standard tour is not suitable for people with walking difficulties. I would also like to support the entrance fee again. When you calculate how much the animals need in food every day, plus medical care, rescue operations, etc., then every penny should be...

I went there with 15,12 and 10 year-old kids, as kids below 5 are not allowed (safety reasons).

We took the 09:30 English tour, and had Silvestru as our guide. What an amazing and intersting experience!

First, it is important to understand this is a visit to a sanctuary. By visiting it you donate to its continued operation for saving animals from cages and a horrible life.

The visit started with a very good explanation about the sanctuary and why it exists. We then followed the guide and heard info about the operation, the various bears and their stories, and of course had a great chance of seeing the bears live because they waited for their meals (so they gathered near the fences and waited).

Looks like the bears have a better life there, which lets them spend their rest of their life as bears and not pets, without any cruelty and a lot of care.

Thank you guys for this visit and the great job you're doing there!

Some operational tips: It is better to arrive 10-15 mins earlier to be able to park the car in the large (free) parking area and reach the gate on foot on time. There is a toilet in the entrance, and a gift shop, besides a tickets counter.

Whoever reserved online only needs to show the QR codes to get in, after the group meets with the guide and is allowed to get in. You won't be able to stay in the sanctuary (you get out with the guide) The tour is about...

Glad they exist but sceptical about some points. I am glad that they rescue bears and give traumatised bears such a big area to live on. I am a bit sceptical as the guide shared that there are no bears in captivity in Romania left and now all the bears are rescued from the wild. But they do not try to rehabilitate young bears, even though it has been proven possible in other rescue centers. Plus the guide shared that they also feed bread and yoghurt which isn't a natural diet.

Lastly they really missed the chance to tell visitors on how to behave to protect bears, such as not to feed wild bears along the road and close off all garbage that bears could get to. This take home message is important to share with the visitors.

To be honest the tour was disappointing. We bought tickets online and had an English tour at 9.15, but the group was almost 50 people for 1 guide which was too much. There was little room for questions, and when I asked a question about how the bears receive medicine the answer was only 'with special procedures'. The people at the entrance were also quite rude to other visitors.

The tour took a little over an hour. I did find the example old cage at the start of the tour a powerful visual and we saw over 25 bears during the tour.

FYI the road up was really rocky, so some cars had...