Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania: Danube Delta Village & Beach

Sfântu Gheorghe is a fishing village in Romania’s Danube Delta, where the southern branch of the Danube meets the Black Sea.

I’ve enjoyed several trips here and loved the riverfront, traditional fishing boats, Black Sea beach and slower pace of village life.

Sfântu Gheorghe Village

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The village of Sfântu Gheorghe is on the bank of the River Danube. Fishing and tourism are its two core industries. The harbour area is full of small river fishing boats. These are often in and out, practising traditional fishing methods. There are a few resorts, including Green Village Resort, and many self-catering holiday rentals.

Accommodation

We stayed in a variety of houses during our visits. The first was a 2-bedroom home with an extensive garden and a veranda as a dining area. They had nicely decorated the house and even had an open roof area to unwind. The host provided us with traditional local food. This was a different fish meal served daily, starting with soup.

The second had the same food arrangement but included breakfast. The garden in this one was smaller but had a kitchen and another bedroom in the outhouse. You can compare local accommodation here.

Green Village Resort

The Green Village Resort is one of the most popular places to stay. It is a lovely complex with private grounds and lots of facilities. Green Village Resort has a restaurant, bars, a sauna, and much more for a luxurious experience.

Casa Mihaela

We stayed in Casa Mihaela, which had easy access to the river. They had a variety of rooms for rent suitable for families, each sleeping between 2 and 4 people.

Casa Mihaela has a garden with seating and a covered dining area for meals and socialising. They provide meals if ordered in advance. They have a resident cat and dog, which are friendly. You need to book directly to stay here.

Casa Aura

Casa Aura is another lovely place to stay that offers daily meals upon request. They have multiple rooms set around their garden.

They are an ideal place if a larger family group is visiting Sfântu Gheorghe. Their food and hospitality are great. You need to book directly with the host here too.

Stray Dogs of Romania

There were loads of stray dogs about; they were friendly enough. Most of these were used to people being about and minding their own business. That was unless you gave them a treat; then you gained a shadow for the day. Well, until the dog gets bored or spots a better prospect.

Shops and Supplies

The village has a supermarket, a bakery and bars. The bakery was in a thatched house by the riverside and sold one type of bread, which was handy for me to order with very limited Romanian.

The supermarket was a small one that sold the basics: meat, cheese, dairy, bread, tins and confectionery. It had a substantial supply of drinks, both alcoholic and soft drinks. The staff here were friendly; one or two had very basic English, but we communicated easily enough.

The fishing boats’ landing was an excellent source of fresh fish, and you could buy it straight from the dockside as the boats came in.

Sfântu Gheorghe Bars and Restaurants

There were a few bars, and each had outdoor seating. These were good value, even by Romanian standards. These were friendly places, but people mainly stuck to their groups. The stray dogs sometimes popped in to say hello.

Terasă Bar

Terasă is a bar just near the supermarket with lots of parasols on a patio and a micro-shop. This one opened at 7:30 am for coffee, beer, or food, and eventually closed at 11:30 pm. We often got bottles at last orders to take home.

Cherhanaua Veche Bar & Restaurant

Cherhanaua Veche is a bar near the riverfront and was a perfect place to watch river life go by. The pub had indoor and outdoor seating and a barbecue grill cooking food for guests. They also served ice cream as an afternoon snack.

Restaurant La Sfatoi

Restaurant La Sfatoi has a covered terrace, which is handy if it rains or the sun is strong. They have an interesting menu featuring both fish and meat main courses. I enjoyed their pork steaks served with rustic potatoes, which were delicious. For drinks, they are quite cheap and sell the popular Romanian beers like Ursus.

There were plenty of other bars that we popped into. Most were tiny but had the important ingredients, like Ursus and Cuic.

How to Get to Sfântu Gheorghe

Sfântu Gheorghe is not easily accessible by car due to the lack of roads and lots of channels to cross. Some routes involve ferries, but I’ve heard arriving by car can be a challenge. We arrived for the first time on a private speedboat, loaded up with our bags, and had a fun journey down the river from Tulcea.

On another occasion, we also arrived on a Navrom boat from Tulcea. This is a boat that you can get tickets for on the dock or online in advance. Other ways include other small private boats from Tulcea. They often do Delta tours too.

Looking at Google Maps, the only other viable way to reach the remote village is on foot. That would entail hiking 84 km with some wading or swimming mixed in. I’m sure this would be an interesting walk through the UNESCO World Heritage Site. For nature lovers, the bird and wildlife watching would make this an adventure, albeit a long one.

Book a Danube Delta Boat Tour

There are tours to Sacalin, the shipwreck, and the rest of the area. Some are available from the village; you’ll notice many signs up advertising these.

You can plan and book day trips or multi-day tours from either Bucharest or Tulcea. These cover some of the nicest parts of the Danube Delta region and have experienced tour guides.

Sfântu Gheorghe Church

There is a small but pretty church on the main sandy road near the supermarket.

Sfântu Gheorghe Beach

The beach is a nice but long walk from the village along the sand road, crossing a river channel and dunes on the way. The walk took about 35 minutes at an average pace when I timed it, so I knew what time I would need to leave to see the Black Sea sunrise.

Getting to the Black Sea beach

Enterprising locals run 4×4 vehicles with seated trailers, which let you skip the walk to the beach in exchange for a quick but bumpy ride. They are happy for people to flag them down anywhere.

If walking, once you exit the village, you pass a small army base, cross a river channel lined with reeds, and then you are in the dunes. This area has trees; it looks like a sandy wetland and is home to many wild birds, cattle and other wildlife. We had the privilege of seeing baby adders, or European vipers, crossing in front of us.

Bars at the beach

At the beach are two bars selling beer, snacks, and ice cream. These both had covered seating areas and were good for shade just off the beach. Serenity On The Beach was my favourite of the two and had much more comfortable seating, and the staff spoke very good English.

The Sand and Black Sea

Sfântu Gheorghe Beach had fine sand and plenty of space to sit by the sea to sunbathe or swim. The sea was shallow, with average waves, and was warm in both June and late September. The shoreline has lots of driftwood.

I very much enjoyed the daytime at the Black Sea. It was boiling, but the bars provided a pleasant refuge from the sun. The beach is long. You can walk towards the point where the river meets the sea in one direction, while the beach continues for miles north, towards Sulina.

Black Sea Sunrise

The sunrise on the Black Sea on Sfântu Gheorghe beach was absolutely stunning and thoroughly enjoyable. I got up most mornings and made the 35-minute walk to see the sun come up. Sometimes the beach was quiet; other times, there were a few photographers with tripods and others taking Instagram shots of themselves.

I usually had a shot of tuica before leaving to wake me up and put me in a spiritual mood for the occasion. To accompany that, I took a diet cola drink or a can of Ursus with me to watch the spectacle. I attended on my own, except for one occasion when I had some company, which was eventful.

Sadly, Serenity On The Beach wasn’t open for the sunrises. This became my favourite part of the day during my stay in the village, but it often led to a siesta.