Bioarchaeology: Székelyudvarhely Logistics

The Setting

Students and volunteers will be housed in Székelyudvarhely/ Odorheiu Secuiesc, a small and beautiful city, rich in history and culture. It is a cosmopolitan town, situated in central Transylvania, on the historical divide between the Szekely Country to the East into the Carpathians Mountains and the more Romanian and Saxon Transylvania to the South and West into the lowlands.

      Students and volunteers will be housed in double or triple occupancy rooms within 45min walking distance from downtown Odorheiu Secuiesc (or a 10min cab ride). A bus will be chartered to take us into the field and back daily.

Meals

          Breakfast and dinner will be served Mon-Fri in the hotel restaurant. Participants will sample a variety of amazing home cooked Romanian and Szekler traditional meals. Students and volunteers are responsible for their own lunches in the field, as well as all meals during weekends. Beware that Romanian cuisine is meat oriented, but we can accommodate vegetarian dietary requirements. However, we are unable to offer a vegan or gluten-free option.

          There are plenty of small stores, supermarkets, farmer markets, where you can purchase fresh cheese, various meat products, garden vegetables, bread, drinks, and anything else you might need. 

         Odorheiu Secuiesc provides all the amenities of a small European city, which includes hospitals, an international bus station, train station, and all the stores you might need.

Projects Dates and Fees

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Session 1 : June 6- July 2, 2027

Session 2 : July 4 - July 30, 2027

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 Field Program Costs (non-credit): US$3395 per each 4-week session

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​Team size: Funerary Excavation: 18-30 participants

                       Osteology Workshops: 16-18 participants

         The fee is for each individual session. It includes a $895 non-refundable registration fee, room and board as described above, lectures, training, most gear, site access, and museum clearance. If you register before March 1st, 2026, you are expected to pay the $895 non-refundable portion of the fees, as well as any accessory fees (such as weekend field trips and chartered bus ride to our hotel from the airport and return)  within 21 days after being accepted to the program. The remainder of the fees are to be paid in full no later than April 30, 2026. No refund will be considered after March 14, 2026.

          The program fees do not include the trip to and from Romania. Participants must arrange their own travel to and from Romania, and health/travel insurance. Participants who are not taking the chartered bus from the airport to our hotel (and back) are responsible for getting to our base on their own (instructions will be provided with the travel kit upon acceptance). Participants are responsible for their own lunches Mon-Fri, as well as all meals during weekends.

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          The project itself is museum-based based and, as a result, ArchaeoTek / BioArch Canada does not offer credits directly. However, 3-6 undergraduate (graduate-if applicable) credits can be earned through University of South Florida. USF specific deadlines and additional credit fees apply. To apply for academic credit through USF, you need to fill out first our on-line application form. Only after you receive confirmation of acceptance from us, you will be able to apply for credit directly to USF.

Getting There: Travel

The simplest (and cheapest) way to get to our base is to fly into Bucharest airport (International Airport Henry Coanda, in Otopeni) on Saturday (June 5 or July 3, 2027), and spend the night in the Hilton Garden Inn Bucharest Airport (it is a 5min walk from the airport). We will be arrange a group discount for the hotel. We will pick up everyone who bought a ticket on Sunday (June 6 or July 4, 2027) morning at 11AM in the Hilton parking lot and will drive you to our base. The bus ride is, under normal circumstances, 5-6h long. The cost for a one way ticket on our chartered bus is US$150. Although Bucharest (not the airport which is situated in a different town, about 30km from Bucharest) has its charms and a lot has been done to clean the city and make it safer, it is not recommended you venture into it on arrival. If you want to explore it, we strongly recommend you do it at the end of your stay in Romania, when you are more versed with the local realities and better equipped to deal with  the  city. Also, Bucharest has been and still is Romania's Covid-19 hotspot, so make sure you protect yourselves diligently. We also offer the possibility to book the return on our chartered bus, directly from the hotel to the airport. We leave from our hotel Friday (July 2 or July 30, 2027) evening around 9-10 PM in order to arrive at the airport before 4AM on Saturday morning so participants can make it on time to the earliest flights (6AM) out of Bucharest. Participants are personally responsible to obtain all the necessary travel documents.

          If you want to get to our hotel on your own from the airport (not recommended), you will need to take a train or a taxi from the airport to the main train station in Bucharest (Bucuresti Nord) and then grab several trains to Sighisoara, and the entire ride is about 8h long. There are no direct trains to Odorhei from Bucharest. You will be required to switch trains in Sighisoara (Sighisoara-Odorhei train ride is about 1h30 long). However, keep in mind that 2-3h (or more) delays are considered "normal" in Romania. Once you arrive at the Odorhei train station, you will then have to take a cab to our hotel. The train ride costs around US$65. If you are taking a cab from the airport to the train station, the cost is around US$35, but you run the risk of getting ripped off (which is the case every time you take a taxi in Bucharest as a tourist). From Odorhei train station to our hotel, the cab ride is less than US$10. Do not buy your train tickets online: always buy them at the train station!

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