Terms and Conditions

Discover Danube Delta is the brand of Alternative Travel, a licensed tour operator run by SC Dobrogea Misterioasă SRL, based in Tulcea, Romania. In these terms, “we” and “us” means SC Dobrogea Misterioasă SRL, and “you” means every guest named in the booking.

• Company: SC Dobrogea Misterioasă SRL, trade register J36/151/2008, VAT RO23526340
• Registered office: Str. Erou Demetriade 55, Tulcea, Romania
• Tour operator licence: no. 1806 of 23 April 2019 (organising travel agency)
• Insolvency insurance: OMNIASIG, policy no. I58638, valid until 25 February 2027
• Contact: contact@discoverdanubedelta.com, +40 763 869 400, +40 757 894 456

When you send a booking request, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old, that you have read these terms, and that every guest in your booking agrees to them. The conditions on the tour page at the time of your booking (price, what is included, deposit, cancellation, children) are part of our agreement. Where a tour page says something more specific than these terms, the tour page applies.

• Shared trips and tours. You travel with other guests, on the same boat or car and at the hours in the itinerary. Each shared program needs a minimum number of guests, shown on the tour page.
• Private trips and tours. Only you and your group, with your own guide and boat or car.
• Nature, birdwatching and photo programs are different programs. They use different hours, routes and group sizes. Please book the one that matches what you want to do.
• Programs outside Romania (Lake Kerkini in Greece, the vultures in Bulgaria) are organised by us together with local partners we trust.

All our boat trips start from the passenger pontoon in Port Tulcea Aval, Intrarea Marmurei 3, Tulcea, unless the tour page says otherwise. It is not the public harbour in the town centre.

1. You send a booking request, with the form on the tour page or by email.
2. We confirm availability and send you a payment link.
3. Your booking is confirmed only when we receive the payment (the deposit or the full price, as shown on the tour page). Our agreement starts on that date.

A request is not a booking. Please pay within 3 days of our email. If we do not receive the payment by then, the request expires and the places go to other guests. Never pay an old payment link without asking us first: if the places are taken, we can only refund you.

Bookings are made only in writing, by the form or by email. The phone and WhatsApp are for questions only. Please give us a working email address and a mobile number: we send every confirmation and every change there, and we cannot be responsible for messages that do not reach you because of a wrong address or number. If you do not receive our answer within 24 hours, check your spam folder, then write to us again.

Before the tour you receive the practical details by email: meeting time and place, and our phone numbers for the day.

• Shared day trips: the full price, when you book.
• Private day trips: a deposit of 50%.
• Multi day tours, shared and private: a deposit of 20%.
• Photo tours at Lake Kerkini (Greece) and to the vultures in Bulgaria: a fixed deposit of 500 EUR per person.

The balance is paid as shown in the booking steps on the tour page. For most programs in Romania, you pay it at boarding, in cash or by card, in RON or EUR. Programs outside the Danube Delta and Dobrogea are paid in EUR only.

Online payments are made through a secure payment link from EuPlatesc. Your card details go directly to the payment provider. We never see or store them.

Prices are in euro (EUR), per person, VAT included, unless the tour page says otherwise. What is included and what is not is listed on each tour page. Everything not listed as included (optional lunches, drinks, insurance, parking, personal expenses) is paid by you.

The price you book at is the price you pay. If our prices change after your booking is confirmed, your price stays the same, whether they go up or down.

Every tour page has its own cancellation policy, and that policy applies to your booking. Unless the tour page says otherwise:

• Multi day tours: more than 90 days before the start, you can postpone your trip and receive a voucher for the amount paid, valid for 2 years. Less than 90 days before the start, the deposit is not refundable.
• Shared day trips: once paid, the price is not refundable.
• Private day trips: the deposit is not refundable.

Weather is not a reason for a refund. Our boats are open and our trips run in sun, wind, cold and light rain. Bookings cancelled because rain or cold is forecast are not refunded. If you leave a trip or a tour early, or miss a departure, the price is not refunded.

Changes. Write to us by email if you want to change your date or program. We do our best to help, depending on availability, but we cannot promise every change.

Sending someone in your place. You can transfer your booking to another person who meets the conditions of the program, if you tell us by email at least 7 days before the start. You and the new guest are both responsible for any balance and for any extra costs of the change.

Your rights under package travel law. For multi day tours that combine transport and accommodation, Romanian package travel law (Government Ordinance 2/2018) also applies. You can cancel at any time before the start, paying the cancellation fee above. If unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at the destination (for example a flood or an official closure of the area) seriously affect the tour, you can cancel before the start and receive a full refund.

• Not enough guests. If a shared program does not reach the minimum number of guests, we tell you at the latest the day before a day trip, 7 days before a multi day tour of 2 to 6 days, and 20 days before a tour longer than 6 days. You choose another date or program, or you receive a full refund.
• Safety. If a strong storm or dangerous conditions make a departure unsafe, we cancel it. You choose another date, or you receive a full refund for that trip. The decision belongs to the guide and the boat driver.
• Route and hours. In the Danube Delta, weather, wind, water level and the birds decide a lot. The guide may change the route, the order of the trips or the hours to give you the best day possible, or for your safety. This is part of the program and is not a reason for a refund.
• Accommodation. In rare cases we may have to move you to another guesthouse of the same or a higher standard. We tell you as soon as we know.
• Events beyond our control. If a program has to be cancelled or changed because of events we could not foresee or avoid, we tell you as soon as possible and offer another date or a refund of what you paid for the services not provided.

Refunds are paid within 14 days, to the account you paid from or to the bank account you give us.

Our boats are open: no roof, no shade, no heating. This is what makes the experience complete, and it means you must come prepared, with the clothes and items on the tour page. We do not lend clothes, boots, hats or gloves.

• Be on board on time. The boat cannot wait for late guests.
• Stay seated while the boat is moving and follow the instructions of the guide and the boat driver.
• There are enough life jackets on board for all passengers.
• No smoking and no alcohol on the boats and in the cars.
• Nothing goes overboard: take all your waste back with you.
• Respect the other guests, the guide and the boat driver.

We may refuse to take on board, or take back to shore, anyone who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, who puts the safety of others at risk, or who disturbs the group or the wildlife. In that case the price is not refunded.

Wildlife is wild. Our guides know where and when to look, but no sighting of any species can be promised, and a missed species is not a reason for a refund. We keep our distance from nests and colonies and we never chase or flush birds for a better view or a better photo. We ask the same of you.

The minimum age and the prices for children are shown on each tour page. Children travel only with a parent or an adult responsible for them. Every child has a seat on the boat and in the car and pays the price for their age. Parents are fully responsible for supervising their children during the whole program.

Our programs are active. You step in and out of boats from pontoons and river banks, sometimes ride in safari cars on sandy tracks and walk on uneven ground. Please tell us when you book about any medical condition, reduced mobility, allergy or special diet that may affect your trip, so we can tell you honestly whether the program suits you. If we are not told, we cannot be responsible for a program that turns out to be unsuitable.

• Our partner guesthouses have no extra beds. A child up to 7 years old can sleep in the parents’ bed in a double room. Rooms for families are shown on each guesthouse page; please ask us before you book.
• Meals are served as a “menu of the day”: everyone receives the same menu. Traditional cooking in the Danube Delta is based on fish, and the host decides the dishes depending on the fish available that day.
• If you do not eat fish, choose the chicken or the vegetarian menu when you book. Allergies and special diets must be announced when you book, and for day trips again at boarding.
• Traditional dishes are cooked to their own recipe and are not changed to order.
• Please do not bring your own food into the guesthouses: they have no storage for it.

• The price includes one suitcase or bag per person. Tell us when you book if you travel with more, or with large photo equipment, as space on the boats is limited.
• Your belongings, cameras and optics travel at your own risk. On an open boat, protect them from water, spray and dust. We are not responsible for loss or damage.
• Items forgotten on our boats or in our cars are kept for 2 weeks. If you want them sent to you, you pay the cost of sending them.
• We do not take pets or other animals on our boats or in our cars.

Travel insurance is not included in our prices. We strongly recommend insurance that covers cancellation, medical costs and your equipment.

Tell your guide straight away, or call us during the program. Most problems can be solved on the spot, and once the program is over we can no longer fix them.

If you are still not satisfied, send us your complaint by email within 28 days of the end of the program, with your name and the date and name of the program. We answer within 30 days. If we agree that a service was not provided as booked through our fault, we refund the price of that service.

Except for personal injury and damage caused on purpose or by gross negligence, our liability is limited to three times the total price of your program, as Romanian law allows. We are not liable for delays or losses caused by events we could not foresee or avoid, by you, or by third parties not involved in your program.

If we cannot agree, you can also contact the Romanian consumer protection authority, ANPC (anpc.ro).

How we use your personal data is explained in our Privacy Policy.

These terms are governed by Romanian law. Nothing in them limits the rights you have as a consumer under the law of the European Union or of your country. If one clause is found invalid, the others remain in force.

We may update these terms. Your booking is governed by the version published on the day your booking was confirmed.

Last updated: 26 October 2026