Required in the Danube Delta, by seasons

For trips to the Danube Delta, we strongly advise you to have the following with you:

WHAT TO WEAR IN THE DANUBE DELTA, depending on the season:

First and foremost, we must decide WHAT to wear. We need clothing for outdoor activities, shoes that are as comfortable as possible and everything must be of very good quality. 

There is NO reason why you should pack in your luggage evening dresses or suits, stilettos or fragile urban sandals. We strongly advise you not to bring along with you silk clothes or any other clothes made of fancy fabrics for that matter. Unfortunately, you won’t have any occasion to wear them in the Danube Delta in the wild areas where we will go. Moreover, there are no malls and restaurants here, all meals are served at the boarding house where you are accommodated and/or at a local household. 

Or, shortly, our dress code is: OUTDOOR 😊.

Luggage in the Danube Delta – There is no point in carrying useless luggage or trolley bags or suitcases to the Danube Delta, where you won’t have any roads on which to drag them. Much more useful are shoulder bags for travel purposes or (very advisable) backpacks, especially if they are made of waterproof materials, because on a boat there is always a risk that luggage might get wet.

Clothes for the Danube Delta – We recommend you wear trousers that are as comfortable as possible, made of cotton or synthetic breathable fabric (you can find them in any fishing or hiking gear shops), long-sleeve T-shirts + polar fleece jackets (if necessary) + wind stopper jacket that is warm enough for the season when you get here. Sometimes wind jackets are necessary even during the summer, if we go boating early in the morning.

Danube Delta hat – this is a hat with brims that are large enough to cover your ears and the back of your neck. If you don’t have it on, you risk being exposed to serious sunburn, no matter how immune you consider yourself to sunburn. Still, brims should not be very wide, because it may fall from your head while on the boat. It would be very useful if it had a strap to tie it under your chin. 

Danube Delta clothes – You need to consider that you will get onto and off the boat. Always wear slip resistant shoes that are safe and under no circumstance slippers, slip-on shoes or stiletto sandals. You need hiking or trekking shoes here. Any slipping on or off the boat can be very dangerous.

Persons who participate in trips to Letea or Caraorman need to keep in mind that these include walking on sand. We strongly recommend you wear very comfortable shoes.   

Spring and Autumn

Spring and autumn in the Danube Delta are not like in the park, because it is much colder. Temperatures in the Delta are frequently way lower within the Delta, by quite a few degrees, than the temperatures on land (Dobruja and the rest of the country). The closer one gets to the sea, the colder it is, not to mention the steadfast wind that keeps blowing during the spring. And if you get here at the beginning or at the end of the season (to put it more precisely – early in the spring or late in the autumn), we recommend you consider wearing ski-type equipment.  

Now you should not expect polar temperatures, but neither should you think that this kind of taking a walk bare-headed with just a short-sleeved T-shirt on.

You need to have with you:

• Windstopper jacket
• A knitted cap to cover your ears, NOT a baseball cap! You won’t feel your ears anymore because of the cold, if you don’t protect them, especially when on the boat.
• Long-sleeve T-shirt.
• Long trousers.
• Hiking or trekking shoes or boots.
• Raincoat – this is a must, everywhere in the Danube Delta!
• High SPF sunscreen – the sun may shine very strongly and the water reflection makes the radiation level even higher than on land.  
• Sunglasses; we strongly advise you to opt for polarized sunglasses, as they will cut the water reflection and your eyes will feel very fresh at the end of a boating day.
• Mosquito repellent creams and lotions
• Hat with insect repellent net (when you arrive in the Delta, you will see that the insect thing is not so horrific, but some people feel better if they take all precautions).
• If you your skin is sensitive to insect bites, we would advise you to take a calming lotion with you.

It would not be bad at all if you had with you also:

• A Swiss army knife
• Drinking water bottle. Do NOT drink water directly from the Danube or from other sources. Drink only bottled water. Locals drink water directly from canals but they have been doing this since they were young and they are immune, while persons who are not used to this water may have serious stomach troubles after drinking untreated water.  

Summer

During the summer it can be very hot in the Danube Delta and the sun may shine very brightly. We strongly advise you to keep this in mind when travelling to this area.

You need to have with you:

• Wind stopper jacket

• A hat, NOT a baseball cap! Baseball caps leave your ears and the back of your neck unprotected under the direct sun and you will get sunburnt by the evening.
• Long-sleeve T-shirt.
• Long trousers.
• Hiking or trekking shoes or sandals (NOT SLIPPERS / FLIP-FLAPS!)

• Raincoat – this is a must, everywhere in the Danube Delta!

• High SPF sunscreen – the sun may shine very strongly and the water reflection makes the radiation level even higher than on land.  
• Sunglasses; we strongly advise you to opt for polarized sunglasses, as they will cut the water reflection and your eyes will feel very fresh at the end of a boating day.
• Mosquito repellent creams and lotions
• Hat with insect repellent net
• If you your skin is sensitive to insect bites, we would advise you to take a calming lotion with you.

It would not be bad at all if you had with you also:

• A Swiss army knife
• Drinking water bottle. Do NOT drink water directly from the Danube or from other sources. Drink only bottled water. Locals drink water directly from canals but they have been doing this since they were young and they are immune, while persons who are not used to this water may have serious stomach troubles after drinking untreated water.  

Winter

Now we are talking about extreme weather equipment indeed. And you cannot make any compromise about that. You need to have a PROPER! knitted cap that is waterproof and windproof (no trendy little urban caps are allowed), warm gloves or mittens, waterproof and windproof winter suit + thermal body equipment. Mountain hiking boots are not always appropriate because you will spend most of your time on the boat, which means that you won’t be walking, and your feet may freeze. The best solutions are warm boating boots with felt socks inside, which can be found in fishing stores, in the special shoes department for winter fishing. Such boating boots with felt socks + warm ski socks are the best possible option for winter in the Danube Delta.

A balaclava can also be very good against the harsh wind of Dobrudja winters.

Even though it is winter, you need to get properly hydrated; a thermos filled with hot tea is pure liquid gold during the winter! Under no circumstances would we advise you to drink alcohol, as this does not get you warm and it can also expose you to very serious accidents.

Electronics

If you go on a trip by boat and you carry devices that are not waterproof (phones, photo cameras, video cameras, drones etc.) make sure that, if necessary, you can protect your electronic devices against dampness. Rain covers and pouches are highly recommended, as well as waterproof bags or even simple plastic bags. We recommend you get a waterproof cell phone case as it will protect your phone not only against water but also against the fine grains of sand from Letea, Sulina or Sfantu Gheorghe, which may cause damage to sensitive electronic devices.

I am personaly carry my photo devices in a Lowepro waterproof backpack and I always have with me very large plastic bags in which I could put my entire backpack if I needed to. If I go only by boat, I keep my electronic devices in a plastic box with clip on lids (you may find those in supermarkets).

For avid photographers and video makers I recommend they have much storage space and batteries, as there are plenty of subjects to shoot videos and take photos of and big temptations to do so and I have met many photographers with no storage space or batteries left halfway on their trip. So: many batteries, many cards or download/storage solutions.