Our Weekend Getaway to Mahmudia, Danube Delta

It was no easy task convincing *le husband to visit the Danube Delta, but I finally pulled it off! 🙌 And if you ask me, I’d say he actually enjoyed it, even if he won’t fully admit it just yet. 😅

The deciding factor was choosing Mahmudia, which is directly accessible by car. We absolutely wanted to avoid the hassle of taking a ferry and the stress of “abandoning” our car in some random parking lot. On top of that, the big group of friends we traveled with brought along just the right amount of enthusiasm and vacation vibes.

*Le husband was definitely not a fan of the Delta for two main reasons: the food and the mosquitoes. He barely eats fish at all (which might seem like an impossible mission in the Danube Delta at first glance), and the horror stories about swarms of mosquitoes didn’t exactly make him want to pack his bags.

We visited in May, and I think the timing helped a lot. Since it wasn’t super hot yet, we managed to skip the mosquito invasion. However, in the evenings, when we gathered around the pool for a beer and some good stories, they would start making an appearance. 🦟

How we spent a weekend in the Danube Delta:

Boat ride through Mahmudia

I absolutely wanted to take a boat ride through the canals, hoping to catch that explosion of wildlife you always see in magazines. However, visiting the Danube Delta in May has its downsides. My only disappointment was that I didn’t see the massive flocks of birds you see in pictures or documentaries. We barely spotted a stray bird here and there, and by the time I managed to focus my camera to snap a photo, it was already flying away. I had a serious battle with my camera’s zoom trying to catch a great crested grebe having breakfast 😅, a grey heron perched on a log, and, a bit further along, a solitary pelican floating lazily near a reed-covered bank. At one point, well hidden among the flooded willows, I even spotted a swan. But everything felt so rushed, as if they all suddenly got camera-shy.

The vegetation and the landscapes more than made up for the absence of “hudubai” (that’s what birds are called back in my hometown village 😂).

The flooded forest feels like something straight out of another world. You float among trees rising directly from the water, navigating narrow canals sheltered by tangled branches, and just a few minutes later, you emerge into a sea of water lilies. For me, this view alone made the entire boat ride worth it.

Relaxation and stories

Aside from the time spent by the pool and out on the canals, we also took some leisurely walks through the village of Mahmudia, strolling right along the banks of the Danube. The locals seemed incredibly friendly – a few of them even invited us into their yards to offer us a plate of food! 😆

Mahmudia Weekend Takeaways

What we liked:

1. The vibe: I absolutely loved the fact that we were quite a big group of friends in all this craziness.
2. The boat ride on the Danube: If it were up to me, I would have gone every single day. I found it incredibly relaxing to just clear my head and listen to nothing but the birds and the water.

What we didn’t like:

1. The drive there: It was quite long and tiring for a simple weekend getaway.
2. The limited food options: I understand that the Delta naturally comes with its specific fish-based cuisine, but for those who visit just for the scenery, have intolerances, or simply don’t eat fish (like *le husband), options are pretty limited. There was only one restaurant in Mahmudia where we managed to find dishes without fish.

Where we stayed:

We stayed at Pensiunea Orizont, which had just barely opened when we visited. You can even see in the photos that not all the facilities were fully ready yet – they were still working on the pool and the inner courtyard. However, it turned out to be perfect for us because we were lucky enough to be just our group of friends, having the entire place to ourselves.

The hosts were incredibly sweet to us: they prepared a traditional fish soup, authentic Delta-style. I personally said “pass” to the fish soup, but the ones in our group who tried it praised it to high heaven, so I’ll take their word for it! 😋

All in all, Mahmudia was exactly the kind of getaway that made me want to come back to the Delta. And who knows, maybe next time *le husband won’t take as much convincing! 😄