Romania itinerary- interested in feedback only from people who have actually been there.

[Anonymous]

Agree you should go to the Black Sea! Vama Veche

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Unfortunately driving is not an option for us.

We have to go by public transport or taxi between cities and do the day tours or do it on our own and use taxi/uber/bolt for drop off's.

Why is driving not an option? If you don’t drive, the trip will suck. Truly. You should just pick another destination if that is the case, but why cant you drive?

We’ve lived in/travelled all over Europe (more than 30 countries) and found driving in Romania among the worst experiences. As a pp mentioned, loads of 2 lane highways with slow moving tractor trailers that are impossible to pass with all of the twisting roads, tons of construction, detours and bad road conditions. Getting anywhere took twice as long as google maps predicted.

Granted this was 5 years ago, so maybe things have improved but if I had to do it over I would definitely go with trains.

That being said, despite the transportation headaches it was a great/unique experience and Transylvania is beautiful!

Well I’ve been to every country in Europe, and driven in most of them, and I didn’t find Romania bad at all.

PP here, last year I drove all over Romania and it was easy. Much easier than Ireland because the roads are so darn narrow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make sense to do a day trip to Transfagarasan Highway. It's a one way drive and ends up near some of the cities you want to see. Just take that from one place to the next.

I would spend a max of one day in Bucharest, agree with another poster it was the least interesting part of the trip for us. We loved the smaller towns.

I would go to Bucovina rather than Cluj if you can get there. It's a different landscape so will provide variety. The Painted Monasteries are incredible.

OP here. I just checked out the painted monasteries and they are beautiful. Where did you base yourself to visit these?

In an AirBNB called “Rija Land” in Ciumarna. It was absolutely lovely!

[Anonymous]

We just came back from Romania this weekend and drove everywhere and thought the roads were amazing! they all felt and looked new. Our trip from Bucharest through Transfagarasan road took almost 8 hours though, not sure how you will do it in one day. We dud bucharest - transfagarasan - corvin's castle (skippable) - sibiu - sighisoara - viscri (do not skip) - brasov - sinaia - bucharest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can do the castles in one day if you have a guide with a car. Another advantage of that is that the guides get you in faster - not sure if they officially pay to the museums, pay someone under the table or make reservations as a small group, but we’ve just walked in as opposed to standing in line with all the individual visitors.

OP here. How did you find these guides with the cars? Did you just book tours on getyourguide or viator?

I did the tour with Florin https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g295394-d9883349-Reviews-Flip_Flop_Tours-Brasov_Brasov_County_Central_Romania_Transylvania.html. A coworker recommended him.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just came back from Romania this weekend and drove everywhere and thought the roads were amazing! they all felt and looked new. Our trip from Bucharest through Transfagarasan road took almost 8 hours though, not sure how you will do it in one day. We dud bucharest - transfagarasan - corvin's castle (skippable) - sibiu - sighisoara - viscri (do not skip) - brasov - sinaia - bucharest.

Thank you!

What did you like about Viscri and why did you not like Corvin's castle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make sense to do a day trip to Transfagarasan Highway. It's a one way drive and ends up near some of the cities you want to see. Just take that from one place to the next.

I would spend a max of one day in Bucharest, agree with another poster it was the least interesting part of the trip for us. We loved the smaller towns.

I would go to Bucovina rather than Cluj if you can get there. It's a different landscape so will provide variety. The Painted Monasteries are incredible.

OP here. I just checked out the painted monasteries and they are beautiful. Where did you base yourself to visit these?

In an AirBNB called “Rija Land” in Ciumarna. It was absolutely lovely!

That looks lovely. If we were traveling with more people it would have been a great place to stay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just came back from Romania this weekend and drove everywhere and thought the roads were amazing! they all felt and looked new. Our trip from Bucharest through Transfagarasan road took almost 8 hours though, not sure how you will do it in one day. We dud bucharest - transfagarasan - corvin's castle (skippable) - sibiu - sighisoara - viscri (do not skip) - brasov - sinaia - bucharest.

Thank you!

What did you like about Viscri and why did you not like Corvin's castle?

Corvin was sooo touristy - overwhelming - tons of rooms, tons of people, it was also a very hot day. I couldn't download the audio guide though so maybe it would have been better. We were constantly losing each other.

Viscri fortified church - it's in a lovely village, we walked from parking lot, got coffee in a small cafe, walked to see the fortified church. The natural setting was so peaceful, our kid found all the exhibits more accessible, it was just perfect. I wished we had cash on us as some villageres were selling homemade crafts near the church, like socks and blankets, that i would have liked to buy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn't make sense to do a day trip to Transfagarasan Highway. It's a one way drive and ends up near some of the cities you want to see. Just take that from one place to the next.

I would spend a max of one day in Bucharest, agree with another poster it was the least interesting part of the trip for us. We loved the smaller towns.

I would go to Bucovina rather than Cluj if you can get there. It's a different landscape so will provide variety. The Painted Monasteries are incredible.

OP here. I just checked out the painted monasteries and they are beautiful. Where did you base yourself to visit these?

In an AirBNB called “Rija Land” in Ciumarna. It was absolutely lovely!

That looks lovely. If we were traveling with more people it would have been a great place to stay.

Yes, it’s large, but we had 3 adults, 3 kids and it was so nice to spread out after a week in smaller places! The owners also brought us fresh milk from their cows, amazing homemade loads of bread, cheese, and butter…tons of fresh veggies and eggs. I love to cook so it was heaven for me! The porch overlooks a gorgeous forest. My kids still talk about what an awesome place it was.

[Anonymous]

Oh, another tip….when you go up the Transfagarasan there is a big waterfall to stop at that is incredible. Make sure to stop and also to buy sausages there…wonderful! The sausage was a hit with everyone.