Help with possible Romania trip

1) Considering your two options I'd say visit Maramures and Bucovina (you can do them both in a week), these regions are 'more' unique than southern Transylvania (that's the part with old cities, castles etc.).

2) There are airports in Baia Mare (Maramures) and Suceava (Bucovina). Baia Mare has flights from Bucharest, while Suceava has flights from Bucharest, Timisoara (a large city in western Romania), Rome and Venice.

There are trains to these regions from various parts of Romania (from Bucharest there are 3-4 trains daily to Maramures and 7-8 trains to Bucovina); travel times are relatively long.

Budapest is slightly closer to Maramures than Bucharest, but further away to Bucovina.

You could also fly into Cluj Napoca (largest city in Transylvania), it gets flights from several European cities and it's close to Maramures.

3) The weather in May is usually reasonably warm (above 20°C/70°F), but it can get rainy for short periods of time. Anyway, it's unlikely it will rain the whole time you're there.

Thank you for your help! I think I am leaning towards Maramures/Bucovina and combining the two. Transylvania too looks wonderful, but I'm looking for a more unique/less tourisy experience. I appreciate your help with the smaller airports. I'm going to do some research to see which cities fly into those airports, as this will allow more flexibility should awards flights to Bucharest be unavailable when we book.

Tracy

You can certainly do Bucovina and Mamamures in a week (great choice). However, public transport in those areas isn't great - you need a car, or a car and driver. I certainly can't recommend the guide I used, but I'm sure there are others that are better.

Thank you thursdaysd! We were planning our driving ourselves. Hopefully this is an okay idea! We like to have the flexibility. I read on Clifton's report about the tretcherous roads, so we'll have to be prepared! But do you think a private guide is the way to go? If so, I would prefer one for just certain tours or days.

Tracy

I'm not the best person to ask about guides as I had a bad experience! If you're driving yourself and have a good guidebook or two, I think you'll be fine on your own. I loved Romania despite the guide, so I'm sure you'll have a good trip, but do be careful with the driving.

For my TR see http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html - Roaming Romania. You might find this useful about driving: http://tinyurl.com/328jcvt

thursdaysd, I read your report yesterday. I found the link on another Romania post you had replied to. Very helpful! I am so sorry about the guide from hell! But I'm glad to know that it didn't ruin your experience.

Tracy

Glad it was helpful! You're not going 'til next year? Plenty of time for anticipation, lol, and the roads may have improved some more by then.

Pathetic, I know! I am going through travel withdrawals (I have 6 month old twin daughters) and haven't been on vacation since our trip to Turkey last February. I am a perpetual planner, and it gives me something to do when the girls are sleeping!

You've been to some amazing places, btw. I loved looking at all of your pictures! I am so envious. I love how you travel off the beaten path.

Wow - congratulations on the twins! Are you taking them to Romania? Or leaving them with doting grandparents? Glad you liked the pix - I still have lots I haven't processed yet...

Thank you! We are leaving them at home with grandparents. We don't live as close to my parents as I would like, and they are looking forward to having the girls to themselves for a week!

Tracy, for what it's worth, I honestly don't think Transylvania is as touristy as one might think. Well, Bran Castle and Rasnov are, but I was surprised that Sighisoara in October really wasn't nearly as touristy as say, your average Andalusia white town. And this was on Halloween (unintentional on our part but very quiet that night anyway)

Anyway, I think the Marmures and Bucovina plan is a good one and the idea of flying into Cluj is pretty brilliant (which is why I mention Sighisoara, since it's pretty close and IMO, kinda cool). But more so, most of Transylvania is chock a block with walled churches and small villages that probably never see a tourist. Judging by the astounded looks we'd get from the grannies anyway. But not sure about car rentals around Cluj and I know everyone says that public transport around there isn't great at getting you into the far corners of RO.

PS - 6 months??? Already?? Wow. Just wow.

Clifton,

Thank you! I'm so glad you found my post and responded. I've been diligently reading my Romania travel guide and doing research. My concern is that, given our lack of time in Romania and the transportation options, it may make more sense to just stay in Transylvania. I really want to at least see the painted monasteries, but distances seem to be far between and trains not so great. We definitely want to see at least some of Transylvania, but driving between Transylvania and Suceava would be a long drive. I am considering maybe seeing Sighisoara and Sibiu, and then driving to Suceava to see the painted monastaries for a few days and then flying back to Bucharest before flying home. However, that seems kind of hectic for a shorter trip. In your opinion do you think we could have a good time if we only get a chance to see Transylvania?

Actually they will be 7 months on Monday! I can't believe it either. It makes me a little sad and sappy, as they are growing up so fast, but they are getting more fun each day. I hope your daughter is doing well and that your family is enjoying Australia!

Tracy

We found it cheaper to go from Budapest. You might want to take a look at my trip report.

Michael, I read your trip report when you first posted it but I'll look for it again. I could use all the help I can get!

In the meantime, did you drive from Budapest to Romania? I am considering Budapest but it still seems a long way from Maramures and Bucavino and flights back to Budapest are surprisingly expensive and seem to require a layover in Bucharest which is annoying because it should be a short flight. I'm just torn on the logistics of all of this, which is why I guess I am considering just a simple Transylvania trip...it seems so much easier!

Tracy

I think either trip would be good, but you're right. For such a short trip, it probably would be a long day spent just getting from the central part of Transylvania to Bucovina. Well, not probably - it was for us. We started in Sighisoara early one day, went through the very Hungarian towns just east of there, up along Lake Bicaz and the Gorge (beautiful scenery) then rolled into Guru Humorlei (sp? from memory) a little after dark. A long day and driving later than is a good idea on those roads. People seemed to think you'd see them coming in from work... or that it was their roads after all... but they're all dressed in black! Plus the livestock and such just makes it a bad idea to still be on the road after dark. Of course, it's probably light a bit later in May than it was in October but the drive really is tiring, all that dodging stuff on the road.

Anyway, once in Bucovina, we saw the monasteries in what was really no more than a day. I could see spending longer, but they're similar in a lot of ways as far as construction and it's the paintings you're really checking out. And once I saw Suceavita, that was my fav and I was sort of mentally coasting after that, to be honest. Enjoying, but I saw the best one already, so not driven to keep staring at murals, as shallow as that sounds. After that, it was more about the peace and quiet and the nuns gardening and that sort of thing for me.

In Transylvania, yes, it's different, but not so different. It's still Romanian. Still horses and carts and cabbage with sour cream and Reislings and life is pretty much the same. But instead of remote monasteries, it's walled churches and goth towers in towns. I loved Transylvania, for getting lost on back roads between Sighisoara and Sibiu (around Agnita) if nothign else. Slice of life stuff. Personally, I wasn't wowed by Bran. Rasnov I understand has gone the same themepark route. Sinaia isn't in Transylvania. Pretty mountain town, nice monastery and 1800's manor house, but not worth going so far south on your tight schedule.

But I can honestly say that I found Sibiu a very beautiful and interesting city who understands a little about tourism but isn't wrapped up in it. Sighsoara by now may be a bit more touristy, but it really is a little marvel of gothic architecture and it sure ain't no Bruges or Rothenburg in terms of hordes and t-shirt shops. In the citadel, most houses are still lived in and the churches still in use. Then you have all these towns with the Saxon churches - like Beirtan and Harmann and more that don't even register on maps and in books.

Beirtan for instance... Unesco Heritage site. Big walled church on the hill (referred to as a peasant fortress) in the center of town. Immaculately kept. And how touristy is it? A student was sitting on the grass reading a book until we got there, and she quietly came in with us to show us the town vault and the other features of the church. Not another person there. The hand crocheted seat pads meant to hold a spot in the pews were all around the church staking out various grandma's spots for next Sunday's services. At the bottom of the hill had been a little cafe and that was it. At the best known of the walled churches in Transylvania.

So yeah, while I think the buildings in Bucovina are the most unique in the country... I think you'll see *the real Romania* no matter where you go.

I'd say the absolutely more unaffected place in RO is Maramures which I found fascinating. Honestly, I think my wife found it a bit off-putting. Not all of Maramures, and it's hard to explain but imagine being a stranger walking around a tiny village in the Ozarks - circa 1890. A village where everyone knows everyone else. And there you are, dressed so totally different. And you don't speak English. And everyone comes to a dead stop and watches even when you *drive* by. But tons of unique culture going on up there... but not a place you blow through and see the big sites. Because the big site is usually the town church and you got to start by miming to passersby that you'd like to find whoever it is that has the key. LOL. It's an adventure in Maramures.

On the family front, I totally get that sad and sappy thing... ours is almost 32 months now. It goes by so quickly. She's tagged along to Peru and Bali though in the last year... she's a good little traveler. Yeah, as they get older, they'll develop personalities and you'll wonder were it all came from. Enjoy it, it's a blast.

Thanks Clifton! Your report was a treasure to read and I really appreciate your imput.

I really want to go to Maramures, even more so now that you described it! We've been around a lot of Western and Central Europe and we are looking for something different, perhaps a little more exotic. Our FF miles won't get us further than Europe so Romania seemed like a good choice. I'm just struggling with how to get to Maramures in the least amount of time as possible and still have a relaxing trip and be able to enjoy ourselves without rushing. That seems to be my biggest struggle with planning this trip...I just can't wrap my mind around the logistics. And perhaps I'm suffering from wanting to see it all and knowing that, especially given the road conditions, we have to limit ourselves.

I really want to see Transylvania. It sounds like it have so much of what we enjoy about traveling. Midevil towns, walled towns, beautiful scenery, castles. I figure if we can limit ourselves to just Transylvania, and perhaps some of the towns around it, we could enjoy ourselves at a more leisurely pace. Visit some wineries, smaller towns, and basically just take our time. But that doesn't keep me from wanting to visit Maramures and Bucovina! I think I could visit Maramures and/or Bucovina but I would have to give up Transylvania but I'm not sure if my husband would like that idea as he really wants to see some of the sites in Transylvania.

Luckily we still have quite a bit of time to research and plan....although too much time may not be a good thing because I'll just keep adding to my list of things I want to see!

Wow...she is already 32 months? Time really does fly! I think it's wonderful that you are traveling with her, and I'm envious. If we had just one baby I think I would seriously consider taking her. But with two I just can't right now. Way too much stuff that is needed...everyone behind us in the security line, and on the plane, would hate us! But we are traveling with them to the beach this summer when they learn how to sit up, and we plan on renting a cabin in the northern Georgia mountains this fall. We won't be able to do much hiking with them, but it will be nice to just get away.

Thanks again!
Tracy

We have friends who went to Romania on a guided tour with www.originalworld.com. They raved about their guide and driver and said he can be contacted directly for his services. His name is Cristian Reisen and his email is cristian@cristianreisen.ro. Hope this helps.

Hi tcreath - minor heads-up, when we were getting ready for our trip to Budapest earlier this year, I called our bank to make sure they knew and wouldn't flag our ATM/Debit cards. She asked if we were headed to nearby Romania, as apparently our cards would not work there - the country was blacklisted, I guess, by my bank... might be worth some due diligence in advance. Have a great trip!

AHaugeto, thank you for the heads up! Yikes...we would be in a pretty tough bind if that is the case. We'll definitely have to call our bank beforehand.

jrjcollins, thank you for the information. We will probably go ahead and do it ourselves though. We prefer to go at our own pace and, well, we are too cheap for that!

I think from the perspective of someone who hasn't been yet, I can see your husband's point. I remember before our trip that Transylvvania was "it" - the thing I thought of when I thought of Romania.

It's a conundrum, that's for sure. 3 fairly distinct areas that, IMO, aren't basically the same as anything elsewhere. I've heard people say that because the "Saxons" had such a strong presence in Transylvania, that the towns were essentially German. But to me the history, not to mention the current day to day life, after the basic construction seems so different that it renders the point irrelevant for me. But architecture is only a portion of what I usually come to see. Part of the environment, really interesting but not what I stare out while ignoring everyone going past.

I honestly don't think you could go wrong in ANY of the areas, but I think you'll have to accept that there's something unique and right next door that you're going to miss with a 7 day window. Especially since transport isn't a breeze. But you won't lack for interesting things to see.

Since you read the report, you probably already know we took a about 13 days if I recall and that we started in Budapest also. The whole car situation thing looked to be trouble (or pricy) at that time if starting in RO and honestly, we thought Bucharest wasn't particularly closer to some of our targets (Maramures & Timisoara) than Budapest was. Mind you, a lot of rental companies at that time weren't allowing cars to cross the border into Romania, but Budget out of Budapest (from a hotel on Buda hill) did. Plus, we figured that roads in Hungary were fast in comparison which turned out to be mostly true, so we made good time to the border. No dodging around there once I drove us out of central Budapest.

Oh... if you know any Italian, it's not hard to pick up a bit of Romanian. Pimsleur isn't too bad if you can work past the pick-up lines part of the dialogue. "So, she we eat at the hotel?" he asks... Just asking for a bill in Romanian would send cafe waiters away beaming and they'd bring back witnesses from the kitchen. haha Probably so they could share a chuckle over our pronunciations later.

And if you know any German or French, those would have both come in handy at certain points. Rural people around Agnita sometimes tried to see if we spoke German. Nice that people were surprised to see strangers and wanted to have a chat. Unfortunately, my grandparent's influence has mostly faded in my memory now. And French was the foreign language of choice for older people who went to school in the days of communism so that was tried on us at times too.

On the family front. Just wait until they're this age... first you think it's so weird that you're having real conversations with the same little faces you were looking at, only a couple of months ago, thinking "what DO they want??". And now they're pleading their case for wearing their shiny ballet shoes to the playground. Telling you how to drive..... and they're winning the argument!

Clifton, I so appreciate your input. I never thought about possible problems with renting a car in Romania, but I just did a sample reservation on Auto Europe for next May, choosing all locations and all types of cars, and they do not have anything available. Of course this could be because it's too far in advance. I'll have to check out other car rental websites, but this will apparently add just another challenge to the trip! We may have to fly into Budapest if this is the case. We prefer to drive, and given the train options in Romania going by rail isn't much of an option.

At this point I'm thinking that where we choose to base ourselves may come down to where we can fly into. If we have to fly into/out of Budapest it doesn't make any sense to drive all the way to Transylvania because it's just too far away and we would have to get back to Hungary to avoid the exhorbant drop-off charges. If we do need to fly into Budapest then perhaps we'll concentrate on the Maramures area. I haven't yet been to Budapest, so this too would add to the challenge because I'll be tempted to spend a few days there that we won't really have.

Decisions decisions! I think you are right though; given what I've read and seen I think we'll be happy with any of the three regions. Romania as a whole looks quite different from anything we've seen before and that's mostly what we are after...something different and unique!

It's amazing how quickly they grow up, isn't it? I still get a little shock when I see Elizabeth on her tummy even though she has been rolling over for about 3 weeks now! I have to give your little one credit for already being quite the fashion plate...a girl has to look cute, even on the playground!

Oops...forgot to mention that I did take 4 semesters of college German. I'm certainly not great at it, but I *think* I may be able to brush up. My husband took German as well, so between the two of us we may be able to get by with a little bit of broken German if it's spoken. I've attempted to learn Italian before a few of our trips, but when it comes to French I am completely lost!

Sorry to keep responding and topping my own post! Clifton, rental cars from Budapest are almost half the cost over renting in Bucharest! Was this the same scenario you experienced? I decided to try a sample week in October and there were cars available but I was really surprised to see such a vast difference in cost. If we did want to reserve in Budapest I'll have to call Auto Europe to make sure we would be allowed to take the car across the border.

For everyone that responded to my post, I have a question. I really want to see Romania but our short time frame of one week seems almost too short to do it any justice. And with the stumbling blocks with airports and transportation I'm just wondering if you think it's even worth going to Romania for just a week? It just seems like if we had even three or four more days we would have much more flexibility.

rental cars from Budapest are almost half the cost over renting in Bucharest

Bingo! That was big motivation for us. Well that and two other things. I was cheating it into the itinerary because I was game to see Budapest anyway... and... because sometimes we'll do a two country gambit in case we hate the big focus country of the trip. In other words, if we hated Romania, we'd be able to cut it short and head *back* to Hungary early. Such a cop out.. lol. We've never had to use it, but it's not the only time we scoped it out that way. We did the same thing with Morocco. Planned to cross the straits to Spain at the end, figuring of we didn't like Morocco, then we could go north right away and wing it on hotels in Andalusia. Ended up loving Morocco and wishing we'd spent the last few days there too, but that's the cost of insurance.

Anyway, back to your trip... yeah - call Autoeurope. Their site used to tell you who you'd be renting from, as in what actual company, before you finalized the offer. And you'd get to see the terms and conditions on the screen for each pickup location, which was of course different companies. Now I don't think they have that. So someone on the phone should be able to suss that out if you end up starting in Budapest and use AE to arrange the car deal. I remember they were on top of things when I had to call them about a different trip and very nice.

All of the Romanian rentals we'd see were either with small indy companies that always give me the heebee jeebees... or with Hertz, who seem to think, based on their rates, that their cars are made of diamonds and gold. And that's the case no matter what country I've checked them in. Of course, some time has passed.., it may have gotten better as far as selection of companies. Back then, even the few there were wanted us to bring the car back to Bucharest (there goes the chance to fly back) or they'd sort of pretend to have other Romanian drop cities on their website, but in reality once we got to the fine print were planning on charging us a hefty fee to have someone come from Bucharest and pick up the car themselves. (we considered an open jaw, from Bucharest to Budapest, maybe leaving the car in Oradea or Satu Mare or Sibiu and going by train to Budapest but it wasn't to be)

Hopefully you get to use that German and that it's still holding up. I, ahem, have several of Spanish and I'm sure I still sound like I've taken several blows to the head trying to have a reasonable conversation.

The "Saxon" population (really a 700 year old displaced group from the Rhineland area) have been dwindling due to age and going to Germany, but quite a few were still maintaining their churches. Yeah, French totally zooms me too. All I hear are vowels and breathing. I've got no ear for it at all. Romanian is actually a latin language, with some slavic thrown in. So since I'd been listening to Italian CD's for 8 months, a lot of it sort of transferred.

You're right. Central Transylvania would be a haul. I forget that we stopped in Timisoara and Hunedoara on the way. Actually though, I think you probably could do something like 2 or 3 days in Maramures. and the rest based in Sibiu or Sighisoara and still pull it off. Maramures is not a big area and again, it's not a lot of attractions - just villages mainly, plus the Merry Cemetery. A bit more driving one day, but you can really haul once you hit one of the Hungarian highways. I checked and we had 12 days in RO... but we did do Timi and Hune (the Banat) and Bucovina... and Sinaia in the mountains too. So, just saying...

If you do try Budapest, I could see though why you'd want to stick to Maramures. Budapest itself would be hard to ignore coming and going. Don't know what you like in hotels, but if basic with a nice staff and a monster view is appealing - an unsolicited reco - Room 93 at the Victoria. www.victoria.hu

ok, I looked at my own old url and I see their prices have jumped. It was like 79 euro when we went. Ah well. Still, what a view from the little balcony of that room. http://www.travelisfatal.com/gallery/index.php?gazpart=view&gazimage=149

and the view if you turned your head to the right slightly was an equally impressive view of the Chain Bridge. Normally I don't worry about views because I want to be out there... but that was one I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at. Hey, at least if you want to see sights and don't have the time... you got all night.

Of course it's worth to go to Romania even for a week - southern Transylvania, Maramures, Bucovina are all extremely interesting regions, seeing any of them will make up for not having the time to visit the whole country.

As for car rentals, the best way is to rent directly from Romanian companies. The larger ones like Autonom ( http://www.autonom.com/ ) or Eurocars ( http://www.eurocars.ro/ ) are reliable enough, have offices in most large cities and are relatively reasonably priced.

In case you decide to go through Budapest another option to get to Transylvania fast is flying with the low cost airline Wizzair ( http://wizzair.com/?language=EN ) to Targu Mures; the flight takes one hour and costs about $20 if you book with a few weeks in advance. Targu Mures is quite close to southern Transylvania (less than one hour's drive to Sighisoara, 2 1/2-3 hours to Sibiu) and respectively about four hours away from Maramures.

Tracy,

Just got back from Bucharest ... Short time but loved it. I have some Lei ($$$) left over (Could not get them exchanged in US) that you can have for you trip in May! You can check out my report at:

http://dmbtraveler195.blogspot.com/2010/06/romania-for-night-bucharest.html.

Hi Tracey. I went to Romania for just three days and did some sightseeing while my husband was attending to some business there. Although it was only a short time I am very glad I went. Should you decide to use a guide for any portion of your trip, then I can highly recommend CTI Tours. I did a full day tour of Bucharest and the next day, I did a full day tour of Transylvania (Brasov, Bran and Sinaia). I had an excellent english speaking guide (Maria) and a driver and they really enhanced the experience for me because they could explain the significance of the sites I was seeing much better than a guidebook could. Having lived through the latter Ceacescu years, Maria was also able to give some extremely interesting insight about life during Romania's not too distant communist past. I highly recommend them if you choose to go this way.
http://www.studyabroad.ro/cti/en/index.htm

Clifton, I had to laugh at your comments about adding Hungary just in case Romania didn't work because we too have done something similar in the past. We've often planned trips with a backup plan in case we didn't care for our original plan. Sad but true....our vacation time is much to valuable to spend it in a place we don't care for!

I am still working on the logistics for this Romania trip. I really, really want to visit Maramures and/or Bucovina. I'm thinking that I may see about flying from OTP to maybe Baia Mare and then driving to Sighet and from there to Suceava and then back down to Bucharest. A lot of driving, probably more than I would prefer, but we do typically like driving and will see about possible places of interest to stop along the way to make the journey more interesting. We still want at least a night in Sighisoara and then maybe a stopover at Bran Castle before arriving in Bucharest to fly home. I'm not really too interested in Bucharest so we don't plan on spending much time there other than to catch our flight back.

I guess I shouldn't be getting too much into the details, though, until I make sure we can even get a flight to Bucharest with AA miles! I don't want to get too ahead of myself. If we have to fly into BUD then will will have to skip Transylvania all together, and maybe even Bucovina, depending on how much driving we want to do. And if we can't get AA flights to Budapest, well, I guess the whole Romania trip will have to be scrapped for plan B (which, at this point I *think* will be centered around Krakow/Poland).

Thank you everyone that replied and given me your advice, opinions and links! I really appreciate it!

Tracy

Not to pry, but if you have plenty of FF miles, look into OneWorld partner awards. They'd cost more miles usually, but the availability is totally different.

I know British Airways flies to Budapest, because that's how we got there and I'm almost certain Bucharest too. Also, Malev, the Hungarian national airline, is now a OneWorld member too.

We were looking for award tickets to Australia and couldn't get them once. Then we came up with one of the OneWorld plans that sent us through Hong Kong and we were able to go anyway. Just more miles... and in our case, a couple extra days because we decided the HK layover would be too good to pass on.

Even if you were able to fit in a couple of days in Maramures and a couple in central Transylvania, I think you'd have a great trip and not too rushed.

ps - those car companies flat4 suggested weren't around when we went, so they might be an answer to your problem, if they're not limited miles/km's.

Thanks Clifton! I can use AA OneWorld partners for miles. I just have to call them to book because they won't allow online bookings for miles tickets on partner airlines. I think I'm just more worried about availability. I don't have as much experience with flying on awards miles as some on here, and in the past we've had to tweak our trip plans a bit because of flight options, but I'm hoping that if we try to book sooner we can either get what we want or continue calling until flights open up.

Have you done much traveling from Australia? I know that at one time you mentioned cheaper flights to SE Asia, and from your post above it sounds like you made it to Bali? So much fun..I'm envious!

Yeah, definitely call them. Oh - and there is a difference between a partner award and a OneWorld award. For instance, not all AA's partners are OneWorld. And the OneWorld alliance offers something a little different than a straight partnership arrangement. Best I can tell, OneWorld has very specific types of awards, but it seems like they may override at least some of the availability issues. So if you looked at the OneWorld.com site and found an award that would work for you, when you called AA and they ran out of options, you could say... "what about the OneWorld award XXX". When we called about the Australia trip, they would check their own routes, then Qantas as a 'partner' (as in, did Qantas have any seats in their FF program on those dates).. and then said "no". Then we pulled the OneWorld award question out, and it was "no problem".

Bali was our only trip so far. It was a gift - a family member loaned us their villa there and the flight was just a 5.5 hour non-stop on Jetstar (a budget airline). That's probably it for a bit. Maybe see some more of Australia. It's just a big move and re-buying everything and getting set up in a house and starting new careers is going to keep us grounded for a while. But I am pretty excited about Air Asia running budget flights from here non-stop to Kuala Lumpur and from there to all sorts of places for relatively cleap tickets... like Sri Lanka or Guilin or Borneo. And especially to Siem Reap for $58, since I've been dying to get back there.

Oh, on that OneWorld thing. With our ticket, the "special" part of the qualifying for that particular ticket was "must use three OneWorld members to make the trip". So then we said... well, what if we stopped in Hong Kong? And so we took AA from STL to LAX, Cathay Pacific from LAX to Hong Kong... Qantas from HK to MEL and again MEL to LAX where we picked up AA again to get home.

I was thinking with your route, it may not be so hard to creatively combine AA, BA and Malev to build an 3 airline itinerary to either Budapest or Bucharest (or open jaw), if you had to. --

AA to London and back. BA to Bucharest, Malev from OTP or BUD back to London? 3 airlines, all OneWorld.

Thanks Clifton! You know so much more about this stuff than I do! I think I could get three OneWorld flights with some creative planning. I believe most flights that leave Charlotte have an AA flight to ORD or JFK, then a BA flight to LHR. From there I can see if I can get a Malev flight to OTP or perhaps back from BUD to LHR. Interesting! I'll definitely have to look into it.

Bali sounds great. A private villa too....I think I would die! I know what you mean though about starting over and all. Hopefully you'll get to do lots of traveling in the future. I would love to return to Asia (we've only been to Japan) but the flights are so long, and expensive, that it makes it difficult for just a week or so.

Good news! I just called AA this morning and I have flights on hold! CLT to ORD to LHR to OTP and back. The flights aren't really that bad...no really long layovers and, best of all, no overnight in London necessary! The flight doesn't get into Bucharest until 4:15 pm, but I can handle that. We'll probably immediately rent the car or fly to our next destination.

It sounds like Romania is vastly different from western and central Europe, which is what we are looking for. I have 5 days to confirm the booking. Any last minute words of encouragement or your personal thoughts on your Romania trips?

Thanks!
Tracy

Yayyyy!! Knowing your interest in the new and unusual, I think you're going to enjoy it!

Thanks Clifton! I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I got my preferred dates without having to do any juggling around. And many of the flights on AA.com showed overnights in London and I'm so happy I don't have to do that. Too expensive, I don't feel the need to return, and I don't have to take a night away from Romania. So excited!

Clifton (and others), I'm putting together a rough itinerary because, well, I'm bored and the girls are in bed for the night! This is very rough, but how does this sound?

1st night - Bucharest (4:15 pm arrival)
2nd night - Sighisoara (see Brasov/Bran on the way)
3rd night - Sighisoara (day trip to Sibiu)
4th night - Sighet
5th night - Sighet
6th night - Suceava
7th night - Bucharest (flying from Suceava to Bucharest)
Fly home

Is this entirely too much traveling? I'm using viamichelin and I admit that it's a lot of driving, although we do like driving and the scenery looks gorgeous. If so, should I eliminate Maramures or Bucovina? I want to drive one direction and fly back, but I'm not sure which would be more appealing? It looks like we could fly back to Bucharest on Tarom from either Baia Mare or Suceava.

Thanks!
Tracy

Depending on how/where you're getting your car... and keeping in mind, I haven't started this way myself but just based on old ideas from old research...

What do you think about the idea of catching the train from OTP to Brasov on arrival and being that much further along the next morning + less driving before sight seeing the next day?

I think then your longest bit is Sighisoara to Sighet - if you could cut down on that idea of starting in Bucharest one morning, driving the mountains (the road runs along the tracks anyway) and ending in Sighisoara along the way, with Brasov (a pretty good sized city) and Bran on the way. That would be a rough day. By starting in Brasov that morning, you may even find time to see some of the more authentic Saxon walls, like the churches in Harmann or Prejmer. They're about 20 miles the other side of Brasov, opposite the way from Bran.

Sighet to Suceava is long, but not a hard drive IMO. A one highway drive for the most part with one high pass and a few interesting looking villages on the way, but not much specific to stop at. One village just inside the Bucovina area had quite unique houses, but you look as you pass, more or less. I think I might suggest stopping short of Suceava. A place like Guru Humorliei(sp) is closer to the monasteries, should you still need some time in the morning before you head to the Suceava airport. We actually stayed in a guest house very near the Voronet monastery called Casa Elena. We were winging it without reservations. Not a lot of character and not close to town, but they had a lot of rooms and were nice, plus had decent food. But we could get up in the morning after a long drive, grab some breakfast and be at the first of 4 monasteries in about 5 mins, so that was ok with us.

Around Sighisoara, you might plan for the Sibiu day trip, but also think about leaving time to poke about Sighisoara's citadel area. It's small, but it has a lot of nooks and crannies, plus the ancient wooden staircase to the old church and cemetery hovering above the town. Leave time to snoop. Also, if you have a good map and a car, you may find yourself curious about the nearer towns and run out of time for Sibiu. For instance, Medias has a lot of that old architecture... and I swear for a good sized city, with avery old and colorful center, I never saw any tourists. Mind you, it's not quite as evocative and not nearly as spruced up as Sibiu. In fact, I'd say it's fair to say that it's rough around the edges. But I liked it. So, if you get into a pinch....

Oh, and on your question about what to eliminate if you had to - I'd start with what I've already said, but if it came down to Maramures or Bucovina... for you I'd say eliminate Bucovina. If someone seemed to be ga-ga about churches, architecture and painting, I'd go the other way and say to keep Bucovina. But what you expressed about being more interested in living culture... that's more Maramures. Although, one sticky point is that the drive from Sighioara to Bucovina is much more scenic (and slow and winding and tempting to stop for photos!) than from Sighisoara to Sighet (we drove a lot of that in between area in day trip from Sighisoara).

Clifton, I can't thank you enough for your wealth of information! Between you and tower (Stu has been kind enough to email me with lots of information as well) its been so helpful.

I love the idea of training to Brasov! I never even considered it. I don't really have any interest in Bucharest, but my husband was nervous about driving at night. Since we wouldn't even get in until 4:15 (and that's assuming the flight is on time) by the time we got our luggage and the car...it would just be too late. I would much, much, much rather start in Brasov! I'll have to do more research on the train system in Romania.

Hmmmm...there is so much to see! I'm thinking that we may cut out the Bucovina part of the trip. I would rather have some time to explore and I'm worried that if we do the above itinerary it would leave little time for anything unexpected that may interest us. We like stumbling across interesting villages that may not be in our guidebooks, or stopping to take pictures of scenery or whatever. Medias sounds interesting! I do think the painted monasteries look pretty and interesting, but I think I would rather spend my time in the Maramures area. I'm kind of worried that after I see one or two painted monasteries that I would kind of be over it and want to move on! Sad but true. Sometimes I think I have the attention span of a 2 year old! We enjoy sights, obviously, but usually our best times are just spent walking around and experiencing the overall "feeling" of a city or town or place, if that makes sense. We don't always have to be doing something in particular to have a good time.

Is there much to see in between Sighisoara and Sighet? It looks like that would be a longer drive, so it would be great if we could include a few places to stop to make it more enjoyable. And it sounds like Sighet is a good place to base ourselves...is this correct?

Thank you!!!
Tracy

Ah, Stu's great, isn't he? We share a love of both Romania and Morocco and have chit chatted back and forth about those on email.

Well, I will confess to a gap between Sighisoara and Sighet that I don't know enough about. We'd run out there for day trips and what we saw was farming roads and wineries. They make some really nice dry Reislings in that area. But not a whole lot of things to draw us un, unlike to the east and south of Sighisoara. And on the Maramurs side, just so you know... once you get out of the time-locked Maramures proper, it does get industrial looking. Mostly just south and west of there. For instance, Baia Mare & Satu Mare have a lot of mining activities. I believe Baia Mare actually means "Big Mine".

So with that in mind, Sighet is about your only real option for accommodation around there unless you were doing a home stay. I'm sorry I'm not more help with suggesting stops while getting there. We came around the other way, through Bucovina, then left right out of Maramures and back in to Hungary.

I do get what you're saying about the monasteries and wearing out. Anything can be like that unless you're a real aficionado of something. The monasteries are actually similar in many ways - it's the theme of the painting that's different. So in a lot of ways, your time is spent studying the murals. Well, beyond enjoying the setting in the hills, with the nuns working.

Ok, anyway... in Maramures - you have the villages. Ieud and Poienile Izei stick in my memory most, but take the car and a map just weave around on the back roads back there. Stop when you see a brown wooden chuch steeple. You'll definitely get your "slice of life". In Sapanta, you have the must-see Merry Cemetery. They do charge a small fee there. Worth it, IMO and not built just to collect the fee. It's just a poor area and it's their only claim to fame. In Barsana is a not old but looks old traditional monastery of the Maramures building style. You can go in different buildings and have a look around and the nuns just sort of work around you.

When I started typing, I said it was going to be a fast post because it was after 2am. Now it's realllly after 2am! Take care.

Clifton, I hope you are in bed asleep right now! Thank you so much again!

Stu is wonderful. He was kind enough to email me with information on our trip to Turkey last year, and mailed me some wonderful highlighted maps, and we've kept in touch. He stumbled upon this post when I first posted it and has been giving me advice and sending me pictures. Between the two of you who needs a travel agency?!

Is the Maramures area pretty? Well, not counting the mines of course. I do love gorgeous scenery so that would be a bonus, although not a deal breaker. And finally, if we drive up there from Sighisoara will two nights be enough or should we allot for more time? There are several flights each day from Baia Mare to Bucharest, so I'm thinking that maybe we'll take a later evening flight so we would still have the whole day in the area before getting to Bucharest. So if we do two nights, I *think* that should give us at least two full days, plus the driving day from Sighisoara.

We will have an earlier morning flight out of Bucharest so I'm thinking that we may just bypass Bucharest altogether and just stay near the airport for that final night once we fly in. As I said above, I don't really have much interest in Bucharest itself. I've heard some okay things about it, but there is just too much to see in Romania to want to stay in a big communist-era city!

I think Maramures is very pretty. Sort of old fashioned farm pretty. Two days I think is about right. It's interesting, but there really isn't a place to sort of linger over a cup of coffee, etc except back in Sighet. I mean, these really are small villages with no tourist infrastructure. This is my gallery of Romania photos, and the first one is in Maramures and very typical of the area.

http://www.travelisfatal.com/gallery/index.php?gazpart=show&gazgal=12

Sighet is more of a slightly sprawling more modern town, which when there, you'll see why that's a good thing for a casual visitor.

If you look at this map image, -- http://www.romanianmonasteries.org/rom/images/maramures_map.jpg -- your "sweet spot" is north of Desesti (the second "s" should be one with a little tail on it, which sounds like "sh". Medias is like that too, so that it's actually pronounced med-EE-ash).

Then Ieud is your far west (and most authentic feeling) point and Sapanta your far east. There's a few areas around Romania, usually coming into cities, where it almost reminds me of Granite City, IL (bet you have a visual now). But if you're in that box, you won't see much if any of the old communist era grey boxes.

You will see that shades of that grey coming into Brasov and Sighisoara and it CAN feel grim on the way in. Just FYI. Push on to the center and it'll change as you go.

Clifton, I had a pretty good laugh at your Granite City comment! This is bad, but my husband and I often reference Granite City when stumbling across various towns...we call them "Granite-esque"! My parents were born and Raised in Granite City and that smell from the steel factory is forever embedded in my brain.

So, when you say "old fashioned farm pretty" we aren't talking southern Illinois cornfield farm pretty, are we? I'm envisioning the areas I grew up in...Troy, Glen Carbon, Lebanon. They are pretty, especially now that I am in NC and don't see too many farms, but I admit I'm not sure if I'm looking for that on my European vacation!

By the way, I forgot to mention that your pictures are gorgeous! I only wish I could take a decent picture. If I do its usually either by accident or because the scenery is so pretty that it's hard to take a bad picture. I'm envious! And congrats about the Lonely Planet guide!

Thanks on the nice pic comments. I used to be able to work on those a little more, before you know who came along. lol

Granite City is etched in my mind too. lol. I just mention it so that so you know. I think there are some people on the boards I would never, ever recommend Romania to. I think some expect that picture postcard approach to a fairy tale looking village (except you get there and the village is a nearly a themed park of souvenir shops, gourmet food and bottle shops and overly precious cafes and pastisseries and galleries. Beautiful and definitely comfy for the tourists. Some people like that. I can see the beauty, and I don't mind good food and wine, but the presentation sort of makes me feel... hmmm... like a customer, rather than a visitor.

Coming into Brasov, or Medias or Sighisoara won't be like that, and it won't be like that once you're in the old own either. So I thought it might be worth mentioning to whoever else picks up your thread later when doing research. They built a lot of grim grey block buildings in the 50's-80s surrounding the old centers. But even that's a new experience.

Hmmm, in Maramures, well these are villages who definitely make their living off of agriculture. Probably more hilly than metro IL, but it's not dramatic scenery. Romania has some stunning mountain scenery, but it sort of wraps in a hook around the southern boundary of Transylvania and then heads north to separate eastern Transylvania from Bucovina. Maramures is more gentle hills and winding one lane roads. You see people farming, but it's by hand. Horse plows, wooden rakes. So a different. Maybe Glen Carbon of 200 yrs ago (although the look is different). If you see the land behind the couple in that pic, that's what a lot of it looks like.

Now... if you're looking for major league 'wow' scenery in Romania, as in dramatic mountain views, I'd say it's the Trans-fagerean road south from near Sibiu. Lots of winding mountain road there. And the Bicaz Gorge, as I mentioned earlier is on the way from central Transylvania to Bucovina. Even the area you'll pass through from Bucharest to Brasov is over the mountains. Sinaia is a ski area in fact. Bran is very hilly, as is Rasnov, the old hilltop fortress just up the road.

You know... I started looking over old pics. Ones never good enough in my opinion to post, but still worth keeping for memories. And Maramures is a lot more hilly and scenic that I remembered. I think I was comparing it to the very big mountains in the south, but... it's pretty.

Then I got to thinking. Anymore, you can find video of almost anything on Youtube, so I looked. And I found a few videos that shows Maramures "live"... I thought you might like this one though. Quite a few shots of the landscape, churches and costumes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6khGsPlpVs

I really appreciate your honesty! I too prefer more "real" destinations instead of those picture-perfect towns that cater to only tourists. While they are pretty, they aren't very authentic. I think the main reason we want to visit Romania is its authenticity.

I loved that video! And the music was absolutely gorgeous! I have my girls in the room with me and they stopped what they were doing to listen to it at first. I do think the region is very pretty with its rolling green hills. I like the feel of the area, from what I saw and read. And interesting...I never even thought to check out youtube for vacation information!

Dear Tracy,
I have read your long posts and change my mind few times

I work as a tour guide in Romania, so I hope you don't mind advices.
First of all 7 days seems short for all the regions you wish to see. I will normally say the North (with Maramures & Bucovina) or the south-east Transylvania.
Adding flights will help you a lot.
If you are not too tired you can fly the same evening to Baia Mare (one flight only, in the evening 20:55, not flying Fri, Sat) and stay in Baia Mare overnight.
1st night Baia Mare
2nd night Sighet
3rd night Sighet
4th night Gura Humorului
5th night Gura Humorului
6th night Sighisoara
7th nigth Brasov
You should really add a day or two at least!
From Maramures to Bucovina you drive about 5 hours over the pass, from Bucovina to Sighisoara you do about 7 hours over Bicaz Gorge (a road very well described by Clifton and definitly you should take it instead of boring Sighisoara - Sighet!). You can stay in Brasov your last night, if you have a late flight. The drive from Brasov to OTP takes 3 hours (but count more in case of road work, accident, etc)

Clifton, I love your webiste "Travel is fatal" and I envy you for the pictures. I am a keen photographer myself: have a look to my pictures: http://www.myromania.com.ro/index.php/photos.html
But, its only from Romania and I did no work on them.

one nice hotel to stay at is
panzio lobogo in homorodfurdo

http://www.lobogo.ro/

Tracy, I don't know why, but one day on YouTube I typed "driving in XXX" to see what road conditions looked like around there. Since then, it's rare the place that someone hasn't video'd and uploaded.

Ramona - you sure do have a way with photos, especially of people. Your candid shots are wonderful. Thanks for sharing them. You're very lucky to live so near such beautiful scenery and interesting people.

Hi Fodorites!
I've been reading reviews and forum discussions here for quite a while now and throughout time I found many of your advice very useful during my trips.

This is the first time I am actually asking for advice. I have arrived in Romania last week already and, given that I’ll stay here until November, I would really like to take advantage and visit the Maramures and Bucovine regions. I have to say, Clifton really convinced me this is the right choice for me. Unfortunately, as I came here for business, I don’t have time to organize the tour all by myself. In addition to that, I have already asked for some offers to several travel agencies.
The first who answered is a travel agency located in Cluj-Napoca, called Pan Travel. And here is my question: has any of you heard about them? Searching on the Internet I found out they have really good references in other travel guides such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. Moreover, they also seem to have quite a good feedback on their website as well (not to mention their tour guide who really sounds like a very knowledgeable guy).

If you recommend them too, next week I’ll accept their offer and sign with them. I wouldn’t wanna miss the autumn leaves

Waiting for your expert advice! Thanks!

Sorry, I don't know about this agency. I write you because you like autumn leaves. Where you stay in Romania? If you are in Bucharest or not far from there, you can have a day trip to Cheia. There is nearby a small mountain, called Muntele Rosu, meaning "Red Mountain", because the color of the trees there in the autumn.

Sorry, I haven't heard of them either RyeCatcher. We were on our own with a rental car, so I don't have any background there with agencies.

If you like the price and what the guy has to say (and you're SURE this is the guy who'll be taking you around), at least it *sounds* like you're on the right track. I guess from other trips in other places, all I could suggest is that you're all very clear about the plans and how you feel about being taken for "shopping", etc. The commission thing, which I haven't heard is a big problem in Romania but it sure is a pain in the butt in Asia sometimes and has soured a couple of what would have otherwise been nice guide experiences.

Hope you're having fun.

I don't know them either. I had a very bad experience with my guide in that part of Romania, so I would suggest very limited money up front, and a back-up plan if they don't work out.

Thanks for the tip Valtor. I’m actually staying in Bucharest and now I’m really considering going to see the Red Moutain. Thanks again!
Clifton, I know what you mean with the shopping commission. It happened to me in Tunisia and Egypt. Hopefully, Romania will prove to be a brave exception
Thursdaysd, I’ve read about your experience with the guide from hell. That’s exactly the reasons why I asked about this particular travel agency, to make sure. I’ll try to keep my back covered. Thanks for your advice!
I am a bit disappointed you have heard about this travel agency. I still haven’t got an answer from any other travel agency and I’m seriously thinking of signing with them. I’ll get back to you with the impressions. Thanks again everyone!

I did not read this forum for a long time.What i see after 4 years is that thursdaysd has a big problem with me.I'm asking you all?! Tour guide from hell? Why? She had a bad experience because she is a very complicated persson.If i made somethingh wrong?Yes.The only thingh i did wrong was to accept that tour with this lady.I never offended her and she continue to attack me for 4 years allready.She had a tour in Romania in 2006.I was young(26 years old)and maybe with not so much experience.Do'nt you think she has to stop? I askt her many times to forgive me if she thinks that the tour was so bad.I apologise again and again.But please Kathy Wilhelm....STOP in the name of God.What is the reson you do all this?I'm still in the same job.I had hundreds of costumers after 2006.Are all my costumers unhappy? I do not understand why do you do all this.Please stot.Please remove that post from internet.I do not deserve this.I have a family.I must take care of my wife and my baby(he will come in 7 month).I think enaugh it is enaugh.God bless you all!!

Rye, I remembered something that can help: I know a very good and serious driver, who takes many times tourists in tours in Romania. He knows also good places to sleep and to eat. He was our driver in 2000 and we loved him, recommended them to friends who also said then that he was very good. His name is Viorel Iabcu, he lived in Ploiesti (60 Km from Bucharest). His email is viorel_iancu@yahoo.com
You can say him that you have his address from Liliana Victor.

Fortunately, Romania has very genuine tourism potential, but unfortunately no one deals build on it so happens in <a href="http://www.inchirierimasini.info/satumare"> Satu Mare </a>, in which there are many tourist attractions as the Synagogue, Fire Tower, the Reformed Church, but nobody starduie to make known a great number of tourists.

kiprianis:
1. I did not post your name here.
2. I am not going to take the "Tour Guide From Hell" piece down, so stop bugging me about it. Every word is true.
3. 26 is plenty old enough to know that lying and cheating are wrong.
4. If you've had hundreds of customers since 2006 why are you worrying about my web site?

Tracy, for what it's worth, I honestly think Romania is best visited with a driver tour guide. We were there twice and loved it. This is the company we used

www.tours-of-romania.com

Their most comprehensive tour is the Romanian Rhapsody.

Wow, what a great thread! We're in Barcelona and a Romanian friend who lives in Chicago has invited us to her daughter's christening in Sibhu this August, so I was trying to get some info.

Low and behold I find this from lovely friends Clifton, Tracy and others.

Now to go off and read those trip reports. Thanks guys!

Wondering if you went Tracy and how it went? Is your trip report up yet?

I hear ya on those fast growing babes too. Mine who was 5 when we started our open ended world tour ( and I think 6 when we ran into you Clifton in Morocco by chance) is 10 1/2. Enjoy those baby years, in a blink they are tween!

Mozart is 10 1/2 now? Whoa! Is she still playing her music? And are you still planning on moving on to Penang or is Europe too much of a draw still? We're another year on since this thread, now with a 3 and 2/3 yr old and still loving it everyday.

I love the feel of Sibiu. So not touristy (IMO) compared to so many places. But easily enough to keep you fed and sheltered. How nice to get an "insiders" look!

WTnow, unfortunately we didn't make it to Romania. I'm still a bit bummed about it because we ended up going back to some old favorites instead (Bavaria and then Rome) but my heart was set on Romania. The reason why we chose to skip it this time around was that we jus didn't feel that we could do all the things we wanted to do in our short time frame given the road infrastructure there.

I do hope you visit so I can read your trip report which will give me further motivation to get there, I'm sure!

Everyone says that kids grow up so fast but until you become a parent yourself you don't really understand the true meaning of that. My little ones are 19 months old now and I'm constantly both sad (where are my little angels?) and happy (they are so much fun now) but I sometimes wish I can press a pause button!

Happy travels!
Tracy

Oh my gosh Clifton, your baby is 3 2/3...my time flies! Give your wife and little angel a big hug from us!

Yes Mozart is still playing piano and violin around the world. My heart is still in Europe, but we did winter this past year in Penang so that she can immerse in her Mandarin. We will do the same this coming winter.

BUT I think we will continue to visit Europe for many years to come. ( We keep our RV here super cheaply, so gives us a home/vehicle/storage for practically nothing & we know it well now and have lots of local friends here).

I wrote a recent post about raising a bilingual/trilingal kid and you can see her reading Spanish in Spain at 7 and this past winter speaking Mandarin at 10 in her Chinese school uniform. She is growing! ( Actually still quite tiny for her age).

http://www.soultravelers3.com/2011/06/how-to-raise-a-bilingual-or-multi-lingual-child.html

In order to get her into the Mandarin school, she had to skip two grades so now she is in 7th grade at a 1000 kid huge high school in the winter, but she loves it and is doing well. They are allowing us to do it remotely while we roam..via skype with the dean of studies.

We went completely around the world this year ( with a small carry on each) over 9 months ( 22 airports) so got to see some new places like Bora Bora, Bhutan,Singapore, Sydney, NZ, Jordan, Kauai etc. ( all on our tight budget)

We're in Barcelona now..planning this foray into Romania for most of the month of August & celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in Budapest at the end, before returning to Barcelona. ( I've started another thread on Romania and haven't had a chance to delve into your trip report yet.) Could you link it here? I am such an ungeek, I can't seem to find it.

We do a road trip in the USA starting Sept 15th..from Miami to SF so I am also planning that ( and writing lots on our blog while we rest a bit here). So juggling lots.

I think we will explore Transylvania, Maramures/ Bucovine regions and maybe the Danube Delta that I just learned about for the small fishing villages.My friend is going to be there all month too and will help us with things as she is very connected. So that will make things easier and I always love meeting locals.

But I am still trying to get a sense of the country and what we will really want to see. It's the small villages and picturesque country side that interests us and local people/foods etc. Not interested in Bucharest, but we loved Budapest, only saw it in the rainy, cold fall, so want to enjoy it in summer in luxury style.

What were your most fave places? ( I think we have similar tastes in travel). Is there anything that you would like to have seen but didn't? Are there any places you felt should have been left out?

tcreath Oh I do understand that disappointment but also why you did it. These are the kinds of choices that happen to travelers.

We were all psyched to go to Romania and Hungary a few years ago and then I broke my arm badly biking the Danube in Melk. Ouch!

ttp://www.soultravelers3.com/2009/09/-a-travelers-tragic-tale-handling-travel-disasters-medical-emergency-.html

My right dominant arm was paralyzed for a year! Any sane person would have stopped traveling...but I even managed to sneak a peak at Budapest on the way back to Spain that year, but we had to let Romania go until now.

I also have been trying to get to the Swiss Alps and Lake Como for ages, and thought we'd do it this summer, but I had to let that go as it's just too much. Plus friends we stayed with in Sweden are going to meet up with us here in Barcelona, so I let that go.

I hate letting things go, but it usually is the right thing and I am sure the right time will come again for you and Romania.

Twins!! That is so cool..congrats! I didn't even know you had them til I read this thread. Wow..19 months already..such a cute and wild age.

I hear ya on that pause button, I loved every age that Mozart has been, but I cry every time I hear that Mama Mia song about how time is slipping away.

Her birthday is coming up this fall and I am not ready for an 11 year old!! We're taking her to Wizarding World in Fla for it as she is an HP lover & thinks it's about time for an USA birthday for a change & I am happy to be able to show her more of her own country.

I will keep you posted on our time in Romania ( although the bulk of it might be written when we are back in Penang this winter when I have more time again).

Sounds like she's doing great WTNow. I'm so glad. What a great kid you have there.

You got so close... Sydney... but not quite to Melbourne where we're at now. Do check it out if you get back! Maybe someday we'll show up in Penang at the right time of year and we'll run into each other again. They run a lot of sales out of here to Kuala Lumpur direct on Air Asia, so we've talked about grabbing a deal if it comes up again someday. And Bhutan too? That's a step above the ordinary!

Let's see. Favorites in Romania. Well, we never went to Bucharest either. Or the delta area. We got as far south as Sinaia only.

Favorites -- any of the Maramures villages. Try to find someone with a key to the village church. They've very old and very indicative of how each community lives.

Bucovina - the exterior murals on the monastery churches. Plus the settings on a couple of them are very peaceful.

Sighisoara. It's the most touristy, but also pretty cool, architecturally speaking. Very Transylvanian gothic with the cemetery and the tower and walls...

Sibiu - Cool city, cool buildings (with "eyes"). Just really liked the vibe.

The walled churches around Transylvania. Biertan in particular, but also Harmann and Prejmer... or just any you happen to drive past really.

There were a lot of other things I liked that may just be my tastes or my interests... and that I may not have the same points of comparison as others. But I probably mentioned them in the (realllly long) trip report. Which is getting pretty old now (even before we met in Morocco) but...

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/trip-report-romania-budapest-and-ne-hungary-curses-blessings-and-cabbage.cfm

The Romania gallery is at the bottom of my main galleries page:

http://www.travelisfatal.com/gallery/


Holy cow on your arm! I'm glad that got better! Getting sick or hurt is no fun, especially away from home. I temporarily lost sight in one eye for a few days when we were in Peru in late '09 and I thought that was bad. Something that lasts a year? That is a bit mad really.

Btw, we're US bound for a brief trip too and leave the day you arrive. Nothing personal!

Oh, I meant to add - just don't drive after dark in RO, alright? The driving isn't as bad as like, Phnom Penh or anything... but I'd say it's worse than Morocco. There's *a lot* of random moving obstacles on the road, there really are... including cows, pigs and elderly ladies in black. And they don't move over even if they know you're coming. Once it gets dark, you come up on stuff really fast and it's just too dangerous. For you, for them. For everyone. I got caught out on an overestimated day once and it was really tough going. During the day, it's an ongoing obstacle course, but the pavement conditions I thought were generally Ok-ish. At night... no.

Thanks so much Clifton, so appreciate it!! Love your photos as always!

I didn't realize you did Romania before Morocco in O7, still probably things haven't changed that much.

I am finding it cheaper to fly right into Romania from BCN so probably will do that and then fly into Budapest and from there back to BCN...still working on the best possibilities.

DO let me know if you head to Penang. I think we will be there an extended stay this year...due to her age ...so she can very deeply immerse in her Mandarin. That goes from Jan to Nov ...so lots of chances for you to catch one of those cheap air asia flight...you have friends in Penang!

Yep, we just did Sydney and would love to do an extended trip in Oz...but wow, it is expensive and with bad internet for travelers like us. If I can figure out how to do a long trip around Oz on our budget, we will def get to Melbourne and say hi!

We're thinking long stays in NZ and Oz when she finishes the school year before heading to south America and Africa, but that's all just in the dream stage now. We'll be exploring Asia more on her many school holiday this year on those air asia cheap flights.

Yowser, losing sight while traveling. Sorry to hear that. Yep, bad illness or accident on the road ain't fun. This year it was some severe problems with digestion, but I am mostly better.

Sorry we will miss you in the US.

Diving in Romania sounds like a trip...at least we won't be in an RV. LOL. We will def heed your warning about not after dark.

I can't tell you how many times we have overestimated in the RV and broken our promise to ourselves not to drive in the dark, but we will really not break it in Romania...sounds like a night mare. Worse than Morocco...yikes.

Bhutan has the record for the worst possible roads in the world of all the scary roads that we have been on. Thankfully we did not have to drive the 4x4 but the curvy, mountain cliff dirt one-lane roads ( trucks coming opposite) are not meant for peeps with vertigo like me ( no need for seat belts when the drop is 9000ft). Rain, sleet, boulders in road didn't help, nor seeing cars that fell off the cliff. That said, the views, monkeys, yaks , nomads, people were spectacular. Even the flight in over Mt Everest in their two airplane airlines is a trip. HIGHLY recommend Bhutan..no place like it.

Please tell me that there are not horrible mountain roads in Romania..I've done my share this year.

Thanks again, keep in touch!! Off to read your trip report and and try to figure out flights and car rentals.

Bhutan sounds like quite an experience. It was always near the top of my list, but drifted a few spots lower as I thought about always being in the car, walking with, and so on.. with a guide person we didn't know well. Just realize how often our best times have been at "our pace" and when we could be "just us" versus when we've had a day guide and have gotten a bit frustrated with the change that's had in our style. Some we've really enjoyed though. I'd just started thinking "what if we got one we didn't click with and was stuck for a week or more in car all day, every day??" Then I read someone's report that had had that less happy experience... and others who commented and said they did too. And Bhutan slipped a bit on the wish list. Sounds like you fared pretty well in that gamble though.

Obviously, I'd be very happy they were doing the driving though!

No, I never saw mountain roads like that in Romania. There may be some, but none we ever had to take. We went over and through the Carpathians several times but the roads always seemed to be in good condition. Magnificent views in many places, but no driving I'd classify as hair raising.

Agree that Australia is really expensive right now compared to when it was 2:1 exchange we used to get when visiting. Now that we earn in AUD, I'd like to say we don't notice it, but... at least it's not as bad. I realized the other day that we could eat your standard cafe or pub meal cheaper inside Disneyland than in our suburban neighborhood, East/SE Asian places and fish & chips aside. Oh well, we get good ingredients at the grocery... but that's not a lot of help to the budget traveler! (tip: stay "ethnic", much like in NYC, to contain costs or look for your local RSL for a meal)

Definitely, if one of us finds the other somewhere near their doorstep, we'll have to say hi in person again! I'll keep an eye on your RO trip!

Yes, I hear you on the guide thing as we like to do our own thing too, but we did luck out with our journey to Bhutan. We adored our guide and driver..they gave us lots of space and autonomy...and they were actually a very positive part of the experience.

Bhutan is an awesome place, but once there one understands why there are the restrictions in place ( and how it has managed to stay a true shangri-la and isolated).

One can set one's own itinerary in Bhutan, so that is the way to do it...research and know and get exactly what you want. It's a place that takes time because of the mountainous location and infrastructure ( basically one poor road into the fascinating central and eastern part) so slow travel and stops to walk the land for days in between the drives are important.

Soon one will be able to fly to the center and east, but there are some advantages to the drive in truly experiencing the country. We had to backtrack, so I'd avoid that and just do one way ( one can exit on the east into India).There is no place on earth like Bhutan so more than worth the effort if done with good planning. I agree though, the driving part was not my fave.

Thanks again for your input on this. I am sure we will meet up again some day or place.