3 weeks in Eastern Europe Solo
 

Just looking for feedback on the itinerary from some fellow travelers. Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated! This is my first solo trip but I've traveled before and feel pretty comfortable.

Kyiv, Ukraine - 4 days - 1 day visit to Chernobyl

Train to Lviv, Ukraine - 3 days

Train to Maramures County, Romania

7 days in Transylvania - by rental car - Sighisoara, Brasov, Sibiu, Poeinari Castle, Targoviste, Bucharest

Flight or train from Bucharest to Budapest - 4 days in Budapest - flight back home

Thanks for your help!!!

Looks good. Click on my name for my Romania TR.

<<Train to Maramures County, Romania

7 days in Transylvania - by rental car - Sighisoara, Brasov, Sibiu, Poeinari Castle, Targoviste, Bucharest>>

This part has a lot of backtracking and reversal. Maramures County is not far from the Hungarian border, yet you're proposing to end your bouncing around in Bucharest, which leaves you further from your end destination of Budapest.

Would it be easier to go from Lviv to Bucharest, hire a car there and tour through Transylvania to Maramures, end up your Romanian holiday in Cluj, and then take a train from Cluj to Budapest?

On the map, and conceptually, this seems like a better alternative but I do not know the train connections between Cluj and Budapest. My GUESS is that they are good considering Cluj is close to areas within Romania that are heavily and traditionally Magyar and used to be part of Hungary.

Our son and I went on the Exclusion Zone tour when we visited Kiev. For that part of your trip, be certain to have your reservation in place as soon as you have your dates, as the tour operator needs time to check passport information (and, the travel vans only accommodate about a dozen passengers, as I recall.) And, if you are at all prone to motion sickness, arrive early for the departure to secure a seat in the front of the van. The roads, while paved, are not the smoothest, and sitting in the back may make for an unpleasant drive.

We visited Budapest, parts of Transylvania (Sighisoara, Sibiu, Brasov, Bran, Peles castle) and Bucharest last year. Bucharest was nice but if was not a highlight of our trip. Transylvania with its small towns and villages was delightful. Budapest will be a nice contrast to both Ukraine and Romania as it's more regal and grand-- think something along the lines of Vienna but more laid back and cheaper ;))

We flew from Budapest to Targu Muresh on WizzAir. I worried as it was our first LCC flight, but it went without a hitch. It's a 45 min flight, so very easy to do. I believe there are only 2 flights per week, so you should check to see if it works with your schedule. You could do that in case you decide to skip Bucharest.

Another suggestion is to make sure you stay in some villages (perhaps guesthouses etc) in Transylvania. I could not really do it myself as I was part of a group, but I would have loved the experience.

Oh, and even though a lot of people say that Romanian food is nothing to write home about. I could not agree less. With a bit of research, I found places along our route which were just absolutely amazing. And my whole group agreed. Very traditional. Very simple. Yet very tasty.

Enjoy your trip. I am sure you love Transylvania and Budapest!