I will be flying into Budapest this spring and then going to Romania. I will end up in Bucharest but would like help on where to visit and the best way to get around. My time is fairly flexible, but probably around a week after leaving Budapest before arriving in Bucharest. Car rental from Budapest to Bucharest was very expensive because of the drop fee. I like the small old towns, as well as the larger ones. we like to visit castles, cathedrals and historical places.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

You may want to take a look at my trip report, although it was a round trip starting and ending in Budapest. We drove through Maramures, Bukovina, the Carpathian area from Brasov to Sibiu and then back to Budapest. It was quite a while ago, so prices and hotel availability has probably changed, although the churches in Bukovina already had large parking lots to accommodate tour buses. Click on my name to find my report. Clifton also wrote a great report which is far more literary than mine.

Additional suggestions on the following would be helpful as well:

Since it is so expensive to rent a car in Hungary and drop it in Romania, what would be a good city in Romania to go to by train from Budapest to pick up a rental?

Alternatively, if I just use trains, what would be the best first (and subsequent) stops when coming from Budapest?

Thanks

I do not think that Maramures and Bukovina are well served by trains, and what is to be seen in these areas require local transportation.

Timisoara is close to the Hungarian border and might fit your needs in terms of getting there and renting a car.

We absolutely loved Brasov, so I would try to get there if you can. You can visit Peles Castle on your way from Bucharest to Brasov, then you can also do Bran Castle (25 minutes from Brasov). It's a charming little town and very beautiful.

You should take a train from Budapest to Oradea Romania. We are just back from a month of travels and rented a car in Brasov, dropping it in Oradea. Easy. The drop fee was 90 euro well worth not having to backtrack. We saw spectacular scenery traveling Sinaia Brasov Biertan Sighisoara Targu mares Vatra Dornei Voronet Moldovita Dej Cluf and into Oradea. Mountains Fog High meadows tiny villages spectacular castles fortresses horse carts gypsys gorgeous painted houses like jewels- emerald melon coral turquoise red- and flowers sheep cows beautiful fields like Switzerland shepherds churches forests galore windy windy windy windy roads. Also many ' head on collision' near misses on the 2 lane roads. The roads are superb- a pothole every 200 or 300 miles perhaps. We're big fans of Romania after this trip.

Just a little thought, I much prefer Hungary to Romania, and when in Romania I prefer the Transylvanian area. While you are planning to go to Romania I'd focus more on the Hungarian bits.

Click on my name for my Romania TR. I traveled by train, bus, and one car-and-driver from Bucharest to Timisoara, and then by train to Szeged in Hungary, one of my favorite cities. On an earlier trip to Mamamures and Bucovina I used a car and driver, but that was back in 2006.

Be aware, however, that the migrant situation may make crossing the Hungarian/Romanian border problematic.

In September 2015, we did pretty much exactly what you are planning to do. Spent 3 full days in Budapest, and then flew with WizzAir to Targu Mures for 6 days in Transylvania. I was apprehensive to fly with LCC after reading some dreadful reviews. But our flight was just fine. No delays. No ruddiness. It was short and went without any trouble.

We didn't want to change hotels every night, so opted to stay in the Sighisoara, Sibiu, Brasov area finishing in Bucharest. I wish we had the chance to visit Maramures region too, but with only 6 full days, it's quite hard. Distances are great and there is just so much to do in this triangle, that leaving it would have been a shame. Saxon charming towns and villages. Fortified churches. Two castles (Bran and Peles). Bran is very touristy but if you have time is still a fun thing to do. Since the passages and staircases are really really narrow, it becomes a challenge to navigate with so many people there. As for Peles. Oh my. So gorgeous. I regret that we didn't have enough time to take the longer tour which would have included the apartments upstairs. But even with the shorter (60min) tour, you will be amazed.

What I highly recommend is getting "village experience" in Transylvania. There are many charming villages for example Viscri, where you might be able to (even without spending the night) have a home cooked meal by one of the local ladies. And then perhaps hire a horse cart to take you around the village and the surroundings. It was so much fun.

Lastly I have to mention that prior to my visit to Romania I saw a number of people having lukewarm feeling about Romanian food. So I was not expecting to be impressed, but! Were they wrong or were they wrong! If you do proper research and pick the right places, you will love the food there. Everyone in my group was even more in love with Romanian food than with the food in Budapest. And we all gained about 2kg in one week

Enjoy Romania and Transylvania especially!