# Danube Delta

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Dobruja](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/dobrogea) › [Tulcea County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/tulcea)

> Europe's largest wetland, a biosphere reserve and UNESCO site: channels, lakes, reed beds and 365 bird species, from pelicans to egrets; visited by boat from Tulcea.

[UNESCO World Heritage](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/unesco-heritage) · [Top 20 in Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/top-20)

**At a glance:** Deltas in Tulcea County. Opening hours: daily open 24 hours. Ticket: 5 lei/day. The visit takes 7½ – 8 hours. Information verified on 23 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily open 24 hours — The delta is open at all times, but you depend on ships and boats. Navrom Delta sails from Tulcea daily in season (19 June – 14 September): to Sulina the semi-fast ship at 10:00 (2½ hours) and the classic ship at 13:30 (3½ hours), returning from Sulina at 07:00 (classic) and 13:30 (semi-fast); there are also sailings to Sfântu Gheorghe, Crișan, Mila 23, Caraorman, Periprava and Chilia Veche, less frequent off season. Private and guesthouse boats usually go out between 08:00 and sunset. The ARBDD centre in Tulcea is open Monday–Thursday 08:00–16:30, Friday 08:00–14:00.
- **Ticket:** 5 lei/day — ARBDD permit; 15 lei/week
- **Visit duration:** 7½ – 8 hours — one day minimum; ideally 2–3 days
- **With kids:** Yes — life jacket, mosquito spray
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — in the Tulcea harbours
- **Best season:** May – October — May–June for the birds
- **Address:** Tulcea harbour, the river station (Navrom Delta ships); private boat trips leave from Port Tulcea Aval, Str. Intrarea Marmurei 3, Tulcea County
- **Coordinates:** 45.1815, 28.7918
- **Phone:** +40 240 518 924
- **Website:** https://ddbra.ro/
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube_Delta
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q184429
- **Categories:** [Deltas](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/deltas), [National parks and reserves](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/national-parks-and-reserves)

## About Danube Delta

At the end of the Danube's 2,860 km journey the river splits into three arms, Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe, and leaves behind a maze of channels, backwaters, lakes and floating reed islands. The Danube Delta is Romania's youngest region, built over the last ten thousand years from the river's silt, and it still grows a few metres a year towards the sea. The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, created in 1990, covers about 580,000 ha, and its core has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991 and a Ramsar wetland of international importance.

The delta holds the largest compact reed beds in the world and 365 bird species, of which around 170 breed here: great white and Dalmatian pelicans, cormorants, egrets, herons, swans, glossy ibises, white-tailed eagles. It is also home to 135 fish species, from the carp and pike of the lakes to the sturgeon that still come up from the sea. On the Letea and Caraorman sand banks grow oak forests draped in lianas; Letea forest was declared a nature reserve in 1938.

Only a few thousand people live in the delta, in fishing villages of Lipovans, Ukrainians and Romanians such as Mila 23, Crișan, Sfântu Gheorghe and Letea, and in Sulina, a small port town on the arm of the same name, once the seat of the European Commission of the Danube, which still cannot be reached by road.

### What you can see

The simplest way in is the Navrom Delta ship from Tulcea harbour, down the Sulina arm to Crișan, Mila 23 or Sulina, or a boat belonging to a guesthouse or a local boatman, which can get into the narrow channels where the big ships cannot. On the classic routes, Tulcea – Mila 35 channel – Lake Furtuna – Mila 23, or Crișan – Caraorman channel – lakes Puiu and Roșu, you see the reed beds, the water lilies, cormorants drying their wings on the willows and, with luck, pelican colonies.

From Sulina you can walk or take a cart to the wild beach where the Sulina arm meets the Black Sea, and visit the old lighthouse and the maritime cemetery in town. At Sfântu Gheorghe, at the end of the southern arm, is the widest beach, with dunes and Sacalin island offshore. In the north, Letea forest is visited only on foot, along the marked trail, with feral horses among the oaks. The reserve has 15 approved boat routes and 9 land routes, starting from Tulcea, Murighiol, Jurilovca and the delta villages.

### Good to know

Every visitor needs an access permit from the Reserve Administration: 5 lei a day or 15 lei a week, free for children, pupils, students and pensioners; it is bought online or by SMS and checked on the channels. The strictly protected zones (Roșca-Buhaiova, Sacalin-Zătoane, Periteasca-Leahova and others) are closed to tourists. The best time is May–June, with high water, nesting birds and none of the heat and mosquitoes of July–August; autumn is quiet and beautiful. In dry summers, as in 2026, the water drops and some channels become impassable.

## Don't miss

- Great white and Dalmatian pelicans on lakes Furtuna, Merhei or Roșu, the largest colonies in Europe.
- The narrow channels roofed with willows and carpeted with water lilies between Mila 23 and Crișan, travelled in a Lipovan boat.
- The wild beach at Sulina, where the Sulina arm enters the Black Sea, and the old lighthouse in town.
- Letea forest, with ancient oaks, lianas and feral horses, on the sand bank in the north of the delta.
- The Lipovan fishing villages, with blue-painted houses and fish soup at the guesthouse, and sunset from the pontoon.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** the gateway to the delta is Tulcea, ~290 km from Bucharest (A2 motorway to Cernavodă, then DN22 via Hârșova, ~4 hours), ~125 km from Constanța (DN22, ~2 hours) and ~90 km from Brăila/Galați with the ferry across the Danube at Smârdan. The car stays in Tulcea; you enter the delta only by water. Other gateways: Murighiol (40 km from Tulcea, for the southern lakes and Sfântu Gheorghe), Jurilovca (for Gura Portiței, across Lake Razim) and Chilia Veche, the only delta village with a road. Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe have no road at all.

**Public transport:** train to Tulcea (from Bucharest with a change at Medgidia, ~5–6 hours) or coach (~4 hours from Bucharest's Militari bus station, several a day). From Tulcea harbour, the Navrom Delta ships (tickets at the river station or online) and, from Port Tulcea Aval, the fast boats of guesthouses and private operators, which pick up passengers by name.

### Where to park

At Port Tulcea Aval, where the private boats leave, the guarded car park cost ~40 lei a day in 2025. At the river station and along the Ivan Patzaichin embankment there are paid public car parks during the day, crowded in summer; some delta guesthouses have arrangements with car parks in town for longer stays (~15–20 lei a day). Do not leave the car on the riverbank or next to the reeds; it is forbidden and fined.

### Fees & discounts

ARBDD tourist access permit: 5 lei per person per day, 15 lei a week, 30 lei a year; free for children, pupils, students, pensioners, people with disabilities and locals. Buy it at permise.ddbra.ro, by SMS to 7494 (code TUR1 or TUR7, ~6 lei with VAT), at the SelfPay payment station at the ARBDD headquarters in Tulcea or at any of the more than 15,000 SelfPay stations around the country, or in cash at the information centres in Sulina, Crișan and Murighiol. Own boat: 20 lei per stay or 100 lei a year. Navrom Delta 2026, unsubsidised adult fares, one way: Sulina 66 lei (semi-fast 76), Sfântu Gheorghe 70 (80), Crișan 50 (56), Periprava 76 (86). Prices for private boat trips are not officially published and are negotiated with the boatman.

### Rules

Carry your ARBDD permit and ID; they are checked on the water. Keep to the approved routes; the strictly protected zones and bird colonies are off limits, do not approach nests and do not shout. Motorboat speed on the inner channels and lakes is limited (5 km/h in sensitive areas). Camp and light fires only in designated places; all rubbish leaves the delta with you. Do not pick plants or cut wood; recreational fishing needs a separate, free permit, with a 5 kg daily limit. The Letea and Caraorman forests are visited only on foot, on the marked path, no smoking. Drones and commercial filming need ARBDD authorisation. Life jackets are compulsory in boats.

### Facilities

Guesthouses and fish restaurants in all the larger villages and in Sulina · ARBDD information centres in Tulcea, Sulina, Crișan and Murighiol · small shops in the villages, no cash machines in most of them (bring cash) · weak mobile signal on the channels and in the small villages · pharmacy and hospital only in Tulcea and Sulina · no step-free access on boats and pontoons · the Danube Delta Museum (Ecotourism Museum Centre) in Tulcea, with aquariums, good on a rainy day

## Details

- **Protected area type:** biosphere reserve
- **Departure ports:** Tulcea, Murighiol, Jurilovca, Chilia Veche
- **Access by boat only:** Yes
- **Bird species:** 365
- **Bird season:** May–June
- **Fishing allowed:** Yes
- **Access permit:** Yes

## Frequently asked questions about Danube Delta

**How much is a ticket to Danube Delta?**

A ticket to Danube Delta costs 5 lei/day (ARBDD permit; 15 lei/week). More under “Fees & discounts”.

**What are the opening hours of Danube Delta?**

Opening hours at Danube Delta: daily open 24 hours. More under “Opening hours”.

**How long does a visit to Danube Delta take?**

A visit to Danube Delta takes about 7½ – 8 hours (one day minimum; ideally 2–3 days).

**Can you visit Danube Delta with kids?**

Yes, Danube Delta is suitable for children (life jacket, mosquito spray).

**Where can I park at Danube Delta?**

There is paid parking at Danube Delta (in the Tulcea harbours). More under “Where to park”.

**How do I get to Danube Delta?**

Danube Delta is located at Tulcea harbour, the river station (Navrom Delta ships); private boat trips leave from Port Tulcea Aval, Str. Intrarea Marmurei 3, Tulcea County. More under “Getting there”.

**When is the best time to visit Danube Delta?**

The best season for Danube Delta: May – October (May–June for the birds).

## Nearby attractions

- [Tulcea](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/tulcea) — Deltas · Tulcea, TL · Free · 2½ – 3 hours · 0 km
  The Danube port town where the ships to the Danube Delta leave from: the waterfront with the River Station, the Independence Monument on the hill, the Azizie Mosque and the aquarium.
- [Tulcea Aquarium (Danube Delta Eco-Tourism Museum Centre)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/tulcea-aquarium) — Zoos and aquariums · Tulcea, TL · 30 lei · ½ – 1 hours · 1 km
  The Danube Delta Eco-Tourism Museum Centre, the public aquarium in central Tulcea, with fish from the Danube and the Black Sea, coral reef tanks and a tunnel among sturgeon, plus an exhibition on the Delta's wildlife.
- [Celic-Dere Monastery](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/celic-dere-monastery) — Monasteries · Frecăței, TL · 45 min · 23 km
  A convent in the Tulcea hills, with a white church built in 1901–1932 reached by a monumental staircase, rose gardens and a wooden windmill listed as a historic monument.
- [Saon Monastery](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/saon-monastery) — Monasteries · Niculițel, TL · 45 min · 26 km
  A convent by Lake Saon with a white three-towered church built from 1909 and the old church of 1881, in the commune of Niculițel; a listed historic monument.
- [Noviodunum Fortress](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/noviodunum-fortress) — Fortresses and fortifications · Isaccea, TL · 45 min · 33 km
  The ruins of the Roman and Byzantine fortress near Isaccea, main base of the Danube fleet Classis Flavia Moesica, with stone-and-brick walls uncovered on the banks of the Danube.
- [Mahmudia](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/mahmudia) — Villages and traditions · Mahmudia, TL · Free · ½ – 1 hours · 34 km
  A Dobruja village on the bank of the Sfântu Gheorghe arm, ~31 km from Tulcea, with a Navrom landing stage, the ancient remains of Salsovia and the Beștepe hills behind it.

## Featured in the guides

- [The Danube Delta: map, what it is, the villages and what to see](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/danube-delta) — The Danube Delta on the map: the Chilia, Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe branches, villages and sights. A 580,000 ha reserve, UNESCO since 1991. Water in 2026.
- [Danube Delta trip: one, two or three days, where to start and how to get to Sulina and Sfântu Gheorghe](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/danube-delta-trip) — From Tulcea, 300 km from Bucharest: a day by boat to Mila 23, the Navrom ship to Sulina (66 lei, 3 h 30) and Sfântu Gheorghe. Murighiol, Mahmudia, Jurilovca.
- [Things to do in Tulcea: what to see in the city and around it](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/things-to-do-in-tulcea) — Ecotourism Museum Centre (the aquarium, 30 lei), museums, waterfront, river station; Celic-Dere 26 km away, Cocoș, Saon, Enisala, Halmyris, Noviodunum.
- [Birds and wildlife of the Danube Delta: pelicans, where and when to see them](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/birds-of-the-danube-delta) — 365 bird species, according to the reserve, including the great white and Dalmatian pelicans. Where to see them, when (May–June, migration) and what is closed.
- [Visiting the Danube Delta for the first time: the access permit, mosquitoes and when to go](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/visiting-the-danube-delta) — The ARBDD permit: 5 lei/day, 15 lei/7 days, 30 lei/year, free for children and pensioners; online or by SMS to 7494. May–June is best, before the mosquitoes.
- [Fishing in the Danube Delta: the fishing permit, the 2026 closed season and where you may fish](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/fishing-in-the-danube-delta) — The ARBDD fishing permit is free but needs the access permit too (5 lei/day). 2026 closed season: 9 April–7 June. Up to 5 kg a day, only in 31 zones.
- [Sulina or Sfântu Gheorghe? The beaches of the Danube Delta (and Gura Portiței)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/sulina-or-sfantu-gheorghe) — Sulina: a port town with an old lighthouse and a 5 km beach 2–3 km away, with terraces in summer. Sfântu Gheorghe: a village and 30 km of wild beach.
- [Deltas near Bucharest: Văcărești, Comana (the Neajlov Delta) and Balta Mică a Brăilei](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/deltas-near-bucharest) — The Văcărești Delta is inside Bucharest (183 ha, free), the Neajlov Delta at Comana is 40 km away (5 lei) and Balta Mică a Brăilei 210 km, by boat only.

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Last updated: 23 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania