WTnow

Hi all,

I loved the thread by tcreath about a trip to Romania and wondered if I could get more input for our specific needs from those who have done it.

We're in Barcelona now.( Yep, we are that crazy family that has been traveling non-stop as for the last 5 years. ) We're relaxing a bit after some weeks of travel from Penang, Bangkok, Bhutan and Jordan.

BUT we have been invited to Romania for a friend's baby's christening. ( She is Romanian but lives and teaches law in the States).

We have been to Budapest briefly, but did not make it to Romania the year we planned it because I broke my arm in a bike wreck on the Danube in Melk. ( Needed surgery and it was paralyzed for a year)

So I am happy to get another chance.

I want to go in early August probably for two or thee weeks ( is that too long??) and we will probably fly into Budapest.

Train, plane or drive...that is one question. What do you think is the best and why?

Our 20th wedding anniversary is in late August so I want to be back to Budapest for that and possibly stay at the Four Seasons there.

The christening is in Sibiu.

What would you say are the most important things to see?

With a very sophisticated local as a friend we will have great advantages, but I also want to prepare and have some ideas of my own.

Love the feedback and food for thought that I get from the wise folks here at Fodors.

What would you do if you had two or three weeks in Romania. We tend to be frugal types who like to live large on little...so look for value.

Thanks in advance!!

mjdh1957

I was in Romania last year and visited Brasov, Sighisoara and Sibiu. There is a direct train from Budapest to Sibiu, which would probably be cheaper and easier than driving. Lots of car rental companies have restrictions about taking cars into less developed countries like Romania.

Sibiu has its old German historic centre, as do most of the towns round there. We did a tour into the country to see some of the German fortified churches in the region. I can recommend the one in Biertan, which is spectacular, though some of the smaller ones are very interesting too.

flat4

If you're starting from Barcelona it's probably best to head directly to Romania, specifically to fly with Wizzair from Barcelona to Cluj or Targu Mures (tickets for early August start around €120) then catch a bus to Sibiu (a 3 - 3 1/2 hours trip, tickets from €4) or rent a car.

This would be faster than going through Budapest - getting from it to Sibiu takes about 7-8 hours by car or 10 hours by train (tickets from ~€35).

Two-three weeks isn't long at all for Romania, that will just about give you enough to get a good look at the main tourist regions.

You could spend the first week in southern Transylvania (the area between Sibiu, Sighisoara and Brasov) and surroundings: visit the three main cities, do the above mentioned German villages with their famous churches, check the castles (Peles palace in Sinaia, Hunyad castle in Hunedoara, Rasnov and Fagaras fortresses, Bran castle), drive the Transfagarasan road (or at least do some hikes into the Fagaras mountains) etc.

On the second week head to the north of the country (Maramures and Bucovina regions), try to experience life in their numerous traditional villages and check the landmarks: ancient wooden churches (in Maramures) and medieval painted monasteries (in Bucovina).

If you'll still have a few days after that spend them in the Danube Delta (vast unspoiled wetlands will all kinds of wildlife, tiny fisherman villages, large deserted beaches on its Black Sea end), it's great in August.


Try to use guesthouses ("pensiune") for accommodations, there are plenty of them in any tourist area and they offer the same standards as hotels at much lower prices.

WTnow

Thanks so much mjdh1957 and flat4! I so appreciate the input!!

I have done much looking yet, so I am curious what does a nice guest house run in Romania for a night?

I will have to think and look more at that plane and train.

I was thinking Budapest because we want to end up there at the end, but glad to hear other possibilities.

Transylvania and Maramures and Bucovina are areas that I am interested in and seeing the painted monasteries. Haven't thought about the Danube Delta, but like that idea too!

We tend to like authentic pretty small villages and rural areas rather than cities.

Our friend has many friends and relatives in Romania so she will help us meet local people which we always find perhaps the best part of travel and I hear wonderful things about Romanian hospitality.

Long ago, in 1988 I went with a peace group all over the USSR and we met a bunch of Romanians in East Germany ( young people) and they were so sweet that I will always remember them and perhaps part of my motivation for going.

We have a tween, so of course we will have to see the "dracula" site in Transylvania ...touristy or not.

flat4

Guesthouses' prices start around $15/night. A decent double room is $25-$35/night.

Southern Transylvania and Maramures-Bucovina are perfect destinations if you like picturesque rural areas; you can simply wander off the main roads and you'll find dozens of small old villages .

The main Dracula sites are Bran castle and the medieval part of Sighisoara (where he was allegedly born). Another relatively less known site are the ruins of Poenari fortress (rebuilt during Vlad the Impaler's reign), at the southern end of the Transfagarasan road.

WTnow

Thanks so much flat4 I so appreciate your input.

How far is Danube Delta area from Translyvania and Maramures-Bucovina?

I haven't heard about it before and it also sounds lovely..especially the little fishing villages.

I love your flight idea as well, so am looking into that.

I'm also trying to figure out how to do it so that I get to Budapest for our 20th Anniversary, then back to Barcelona as cheaply as possible by Sept, because then we leave to for a USA roadtrip on Sept 13.

I've read that Romania will be in Shengan ( probably spelling that wrong) this year, but it looks like not until this fall or something.

Are there stamps when we come in and out and are there any hassles in that way. ( There was a bit when we went into Montenegro a while back).

Are the trains safe? Are buses better than the trains?

Picturesque rural areas are exactly what we love..so happy to hear that!!

flat4

The Danube Delta is about 6-7 hours away from Transylvania and respectively 8-9 hours from Bucovina. It's possible to do part of the trip by night train or bus to save time.

To get to Budapest I'd suggest two options:

a) after the Danube Delta take a bus to Bucharest (4 1/2 hours, ~€12) then the night train to Budapest (sleeper tickets from ~€45);

b) change a bit the itinerary (do southern Transylvania first, the Danube Delta second and Maramures+Bucovina last) then catch a bus to Targu Mures (it's about 4 hours south of Maramures) and fly with Wizzair to Budapest, it costs less than €20;

From Budapest you can fly to Barcelona with the same Wizzair, tickets for late August/early September cost around €95.

It's unlikely Romania will become a full Schengen member this year so your passports will get stamped. But it's no hassle at all, it won't take more than 5-10 minutes.

Trains are reasonably safe.
On major routes and for long distance travel it's best to use trains, they're more comfortable than buses. But on local routes/short trips it's better to use buses.

WTnow

Wow, flat4, you are full of fabulous information and a very big help!! Gracias or rather...Mult’umesc!

I like the b itinerary..it sounds perfect!!

I am going to go look at those flights and study a bit more on all this fab info you have given me.

flat4

Glad to be of use. Don't hesitate to ask if you have other questions.

WTnow

I am thinking about keeping your basic plan, but maybe rerouting to Bucharest to get a cheap flight that doesn't get in so late. Still looking.

Do you know any good deals with car rentals? We want the smallest, cheapest ( but reliable of course) stick shift car.

We will use mass transit as we can and will have some driving done by local friends, but will probably need a car for at least part of our 3 weeks visit. ( leaning towards 3 weeks now in Romania instead of 2 to make it more restful).

Also are the roads mountainous that we will be going on? What is driving like in rural Romania for someone who is not use to it. ( That said we have done LOTS of driving in rural Europe including places like Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Ireland,Greece, etc. usually with a heavy RV)

If we can't make the Four Seasons in Budapest for our 20th anniversary, do you know of another spectacular place or idea in Romania or nearby?

thursdaysd

When I visited northern Romania in 2006 public transport in the north was very patchy. Renting a car for Bucovina and Maramures would probably still be the way to go. I would do that area last and then take a train to Budapest - probably from Oreada or Cluj Napoca, which you could do on a day train.

The Lonely Planet author has a rant about driving in Romania up on the web, but I think he may be overdoing it. My Romania TR is here: http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html

flat4

You mean flying to Bucharest first? Unfortunately budget flights from Barcelona (both the ones operated by Wizzair and those of the other low cost airline, BlueAir) arrive late in the evening (after 11PM) in Bucharest too.

Good deals on car rentals came mainly from small local companies so suggestions depend on which city you plan to rent the car in. Usually the cheapest cars are Dacia Logan sedans, at about €20-30/day.
As an example here are some companies in Cluj (shortened URLs):
http://is.gd/PXN2MU
http://is.gd/3e7dwv

Southern Transylvania can be done relatively easy using public transport (plus you'll have there your local friends).
In the Danube Delta a car would be useless, getting around is done almost exclusively by water.

But in Maramures&Bucovina having a car would be a good idea, as mentioned above by Thursdaysd public transport isn't so great there. These two regions are mostly hilly; there is a mountain range separating them but driving across it isn't particularly challenging.

Driving won't be too complicated - just go slowly on secondary roads (they aren't so great), slow down even more when crossing villages (at some point a child, biker, animal etc. will certainly be in the middle of the road) and watch out for horse pulled wagons.

For the anniversary if want to do something retro and don't mind rustic settings check this: http://is.gd/A8RNLS - a sort of upscale yet very traditional guesthouses.

travelmagpie

We spent a month in Romania and absolutely loved it. The people are very warm and outgoing, and the language is quite accessible as it's similar to French/Spanish/Italian, and closest to Latin.
Sighisoara is fantastic. We also enjoyed visiting the Bear Cave (with cave bear bones) and Ethnographic Museum at Chiscau, Tulcea (with a boat trip to Sulina on the Black Sea), and just travelling through the countryside where there are beautiful little pointed haystacks everywhere. We didn't go to the monasteries in the Maramures as we were there in November, but I've read a wonderful book about that area called "Along the Enchanted Way" by William Blacker.
In Budapest I recommend the Statue Park and Ecseri Market, both easily accessible by public transport.
www.travelmagpie.com

WTnow

Thanks again Flat4, so helpful. So appreciate your input too travelmagpie and thursdaysd ! Just getting back to this due to time constraints.

Love the place you mentioned for the anniversary..may have to check that out, but we will do the anniversary at the Four Seasons in Budapest ( they are sponsoring us because we are travel writers). ( Then a couple days at a budget guest house so we can finally see Budapest in summer as it was freezing and rainy last time).

That is booked but ugh, I haven't booked my flights yet as I have been swamped with dealing with the details of our USA road trip in Sept which is MUCH more time intensive than I expected.

I am not really interested in Bucharest, but my friend suggested coming into there because she has many friends there and doesn't know anyone in Targu Mures so a bit worried about us coming in late there. She doesn't want us to have a bad experience like cab ripping us off or not available etc.

Vueling has one from BCN at 3 pm, arrives OTP at 7 pm ( but I think I missed the cheaper prices)

Also she saw one on Blue air that leaves BCN at 11:10, arrives BBU at 15:15. ( but I can't find it and I am not sure of what BBU and OTP differences are).

I need to find the cheapest flight into Romania from BCN for the very beginning of August ( we're flexible on dates, even very late July) and then the cheapest flight out of Budapest to BCN on 29th of Aug ( could do a day later or so if price is better).

I am trying to hunt those down today, but since you are so savvy, I thought I'd ask again for your input.

I don't care where I fly into as long as I can take a safe, cheap bus or train to Transylvania from the airport. As we will meet up with our friends there and they can help the beginning part of our trip.

Ideas?

Michael

We discovered that the cheapest rental to tour Romania was to rent in Budapest and return the car in Budapest, but that was a few years ago. You might want to take a look at my trip report. Just click on my name to find it.

WTnow

Thanks Michael! I don't think that will work for us as we just need a car for a week and we will be there for 3 to 4 weeks. We are flying back via Budapest, so maybe I will look again at a round trip from Budapest and BCN and adding a car for the whole time.

We are always traveling so try to keep costs to a minimum.

flat4

The cheapest option seems to be the Wizzair flight to Bucharest on August 2, it costs €119.
But there is no public transport to Transylvania at the late hour this flight lands, you will have to spend the night in Bucharest.

For the Budapest-Barcelona flight Wizzair is apparently the cheapest choice again, tickets cost €103 on August 29.

tower

So there you are, Jeanne d'arc...haven't seen any posts for along while. How is Mozart doing..she mst be 12 now? Cute as ever and still wowing the natives with her violin..bless her!
We corresponded several times in the early days of your world travel adventure. As for Romania, I may have a good deal of input having traveled the country fairly extensively, all by car, in the 70's 80's and as recently as 2005.

Here are some pics from my 2005 visit where I escorted 16 of my readership on a footsteps tour. We had a small bus so I didn't have to do any driving, just talk everyone's ear off.
Aside from all of the better known sites in Transylvania, Maramures(h)and Bucovina..try to get to Bicaz Gorges and to the Neculae Popa home and museum (Mozart especially will love it) near Piatra Neamts for some fun. The suggestion for the Delta is worth following. Was there in the 70's (during Ceausescu's reign of no-good)... had to skirt the Delta area in '05 due to the bird flu scares. You will thoroughly enjoy this infrequently visited country...over a span of 30 years I was treated respectfully, kindly and cooperatively by so many citizens, many of who I interviewed as part of my research goals. (I'd be happy to share many pix with you..just write...)

Stuart Tower
rozstu1 at aol dot com

tower

typo.."whom"...no, I did not include the pix...if you wish, write and I will send all.
stu

WTnow

Thanks so much again flat4!! We booked the return, but then it got too late & our internet was wacky here in Barcelona, so we will book the flight in today.

You don't happen to have an idea where we could book a night at a hotel for that late entry do you?