Most people skip Romania in favor of other more popular European countries but if you
get the chance to visit, definitely do it.
Accommodation is generally very cheap through Airbnb or hostels
and I never paid more than 200 RON a night staying in the city center.
How to get around Romania.
Knowing how to drive a manual car will make it much cheaper like
most of Europe for that matter.
I couldn’t find many connections between the cities in Transylvania and the ones
that I did find took forever (7 hours from Timisoara to Cluj Napoca for example).
Most people don’t offer trips until about a week out so I would monitor
the website from this point on and book the best times you can find.
There are plenty of mountain villages and seaside towns like Constanta that I would
have loved to see but I think I got a good flavor of the country by this itinerary.
If this sounds like the places you want to also see, this itinerary is for you.
Of course, if you want to relax and enjoy the good wine and food, by all
means spend a few extra days but for my style of traveling, it wasn’t necessary.
Many of my friends told me to avoid Bucharest because it is a hectic
city without much charm and home to mostly ugly Communist buildings.
The city has a rich history and even before it was named Timisoara
there were settlements here that date back to ancient times.
The city is also famous for its street art scene; the Timisoara Murals Project features
dozens of works by local artists depicting scenes from Romanian history and culture.
Cluj is also home to a vibrant tech scene with plenty of start ups,
hipster style cafes, co-working spaces, bars, and plenty of restaurants.
To be honest, I had no idea about the Hungarian Romanian feud over
Transylvania (not that there is much of one anymore) or that Romanians were
essentially vassals to other empires throughout much of their history.
Today, it is still an active salt mine but one which also offers tourists
many other attractions including an underground lake, an active water
treatment facility and a museum where you can learn more about its history.
In the summer there are open air concerts in front of city hall where you can
enjoy live music while eating traditional Romanian food such as sarmale or
ciorba de perisoare (goulash soup).
The Museum of Contemporary Art has an impressive collection of paintings by
Romanian artists such as George Apostu or Tudor Brauner; while the Museum of
Folk Art houses a collection of traditional costumes and tools used by local craftsmen.
Peles Castle was only completed in the late 19th century when Romania’s
first King Carol I decided it was a beautiful piece of land when visiting.
Bran Castle was occupied by Vlad III Dracula (Vlad Tepes), who was imprisoned there for
two months before being taken to Targoviste, where he was executed on April 14th 1476.
Unfortunately, there is no platform in front of the sign itself for you to take photos
with the sign like you can do in Hollywood.
There are so many hipster style cafes, coworking spaces, fancy cocktail
bars, trendy restaurants, and a wild nightlife that Bucharest makes for
a great escape from the quiet and picturesque towns of Transylvania.
Day 1: Fly into TimisoaraDay 2: TImisoara to Cluj NapocaDay 3: Cluj NapocaDay 4: Cluj
Napoca (day trip to Turda)Day 5: Cluj Napoca to SibiuDay 6: Sibiu to BrasovDay 7: Brasov
to Bran Castle and Peles CastleDay 8: Brasov to BucharestDay 9: BucharestDay 10: Fly out.
I have no shame in admitting that I’m a bit of a cevapcici connoisseur
so eating copious amounts of must.
The Romanian national dessert is without a doubt one of the most
delicious things I’ve ever had.
This is a popular dish in Turkish cuisine and certainly came from
the times of Ottoman occupation.
The Mangalitsa was once raised primarily as livestock for slaughter, but today they
are also raised for their high quality meat products such as bacon and hams which
are exported worldwide under brand names such as “Royal Oak” or “Bacon of Hungary”.
Be prepared for heavy-ish dishes and don’t plan on losing any weight
when traveling through Romania.
Visiting Beautiful Toledo, Spain: Top Things To Do And Best Places To Eat.