Romania 12 Day Itinerary

Romania 12 Day Itinerary (including travel time):

Oh my goodness, I LOOOVE Romania SO much!!  It’s a beautiful country with plenty of medieval castles and adorable, colorful towns to explore.  And, unlike most European countries these days, it isn’t very crowded.

It was super easy to rent a car and drive from Bucharest to Sinaia (Peles Castle), to Bran Castle in Transylvania, on to Brasov, then Sighisoara, followed by Sibiu, and finally back to Bucharest.  There’s a nice highway, but we also did a lot of driving through cute towns and peaceful countryside.  And there are no tolls to worry about on this entire adventure.

Below is a recap of the trip, to give you an idea of how to book your adventure.  I read the Rick Steves’ chapter on Romania to gain some guidance on how to chunk down the adventure. He always has the best travel advice.

August 21st:
Fly from IAD to Bucharest, connecting in Paris. Don’t confuse Bucharest with Budapest, Hungary haha (which is also a gorgeous city, and would make a nice add-on to this trip).

August 22nd:
Arrive in Bucharest on August 22nd around 4pm (perfect timing to check into the hotel), and grab an Uber from the airport to Old Town Bucharest (about a 30 minute ride).
Stay at Rembrandt Hotel for 2 nights (it’s the perfect location at the edge of the Old Town, next to the cute Van Gogh coffee shop).  Don’t bother picking up the rental car until you check out on the 24th.

Sites in Bucharest:

• Old town is so cute! Plenty of restaurants line the pedestrian only streets
• Maca Vilacrosse Passage
• Palace of parliament (largest building in Europe) bring passport if you want to tour
• Romanian people’s Salvation Cathedral— the largest Orthodox Church in world apparently..
• Stavropoleos Monestery 
• the romantic Victory Avenue (Calea Victoriei)
• the Cărturești Carusel bookstore is so pretty!
• Pasajul Victoria- the umbrella street
• Therme spa (we didn’t end up making it to this, but it’s a huuuuge thermal spa that looks amazing)
• Join dancing in the street!

August 24th:
Check out of the hotel August 24th, and pick up the Ascar rental car at 12pm (the car rental office is located walking distance from Old Town, next to the Grand Hotel Bucharest, where we stayed on our last night, at the end of the journey)
Drive to Peles Castle in Sinaia (be sure to book your tickets in advance! And check which days they are closed)– it’s sooooo prettyyyy!! And it has been featured in Hallmark movies
-driving around this central area of Romania is easy, and we did not encounter any tolls on this whole vacation)
Tour inside and outside of Peles Castle (and the smaller Pelisor Castle)– if you can only tour inside one castle, this is the one to choose over the famous Bran Castle.
Spend one night at Opus View (note that you have to call them upon arrival, so be sure to have a working international plan or WhatsApp)
We ate dinner at the restaurant next to the Sinaia Gondola– yummy and beautiful. We took an Uber up the mountain to it, and we walked back to the hotel after dinner

August 25th:
Take the Sinaia gondola up the mountain (and depending on the season, you can walk back down)
Drive one hour to Bran Castle (entering the Transylvania region)– (aka Dracula’s Castle/Vlad the Impaler) an authentic medieval fortress from the 14th century,
But FIRST, stop at the Wednesday Adams Nevermore Academy filming location at the gorge Cantacuzino Castle!!  It’s SO pretty.  We grabbed a delicious lunch here.
Stay at Casa Din Bran – Inn Cuisine (be sure to book a castle view! We booked the “Deluxe Double Room with Castle View”)
-breakfast is included, and it’s delish
We did not bother touring the inside of Bran Castle, because I read that there’s not much to see…there’s just a lot of hype because it’s “Dracula’s Castle” (and longgg lines). We preferred to walk around the town, viewing the castle from the street, and also the amazing view from our balcony.
Leading up the castle you will find a fun market selling Dracula paraphernalia, jewelry, food, trinkets..

August 26th:
Drive to Brasov (about 30 minutes), stopping by Rasnov Castle on the way
Stay 2 nights right in the town center at Hotel Bella Muzica— beautiful hotel across the street from the main square, Piata Sfatului
-A wonderful breakfast is included
Brasov (one of the original 7 towns founded by Saxon settlers) is so cute and colorful, with plenty of pedestrian only streets
Grab dinner on the square

August 27th:
Visit the Black Church (the large Gothic church)
Hike to the White Tower (amazing views of the city below)– this tower protected the city in medieval times
Hike up to the fortress on the hill (can’t go inside)– Citadel of The Guard
Enjoy people watching in the beautiful Nicolae Titulescu Park (so many pretty flowers)
Visit some of the other stunning churches– Biserica Sfântul Nicolae and Church of St. Paraskeva

August 28th:
Drive to Sighisoara (about 2 hours), first stopping by Viscri
Visit the fortified church in Viscri (dates back to the 1100s)– the path to the church is pretty, right next to a horse pasture– we collected apples off the ground to feed to the horses.
Spend one night in cute walled city of Sighisoara
Stay at Hotel Villa Franca, which is right by the steps up to the old town city
Sighișoara is the cuuuuutest of the towns we visited.  The entire city itself is the castle, and it’s the best preserved of the 7 Saxon towns.
I actually wish we had stayed here two nights, and only 1 in Brasov. I do love Brasov, but this little medieval gem is just so cool.
Visit Sighisoara’s Cemetery (the hilltop Saxon cemetery).

August 29th: Drive to Sibiu (about 2 hours), stopping first at Biertan (30 min from Sighisoara)
Visit the Fortified Church of Biertan— this was so cool!  It’s a beautiful church, and lovely organ music was constantly playing from inside (but you can’t go inside)
Eat breakfast/lunch at the adorable medieval restaurant, Restaurant Medieval Unglerus
Drive to Sibiu
Stay 2 nights at Rosen Villa Sibiu-– great location, steps from the main squares. Free private parking included.
Sibiu is so pretty (mostly traffic-free!), and the buildings have eyes!  The rooftop design creates an effect that the buildings are watching

 August 30th:
Explore all 3 squares of Uppertown
Explore Lower town
Visit the Carpenters Tower
Climb the Council Tower (in the grand square)
Enjoy the cafes that line the small square
Walk along “Strada Nicolae Balcescu”
Climb up the bell tower at Catedral Evanghelica— great views
Walk across the Bridge of Lies

 

 

 

August 31st: head back to Bucharest (4.5 hours) unless you want to drive part of the famous Transfagarasan highway (winding roads…takes much longer)

Drive straight to the Ascar rental return (Bulevardul Nicolae Bălcescu 4, București 010051), drop off the car at 6pm, and walk just around the corner to the hotel
Stay at Grand Hotel Bucharest— a 5 star hotel with a pool and sundeck (they no longer have a spa here) and a dining room on the 21st floor, with amazing views
– breakfast is included, and it’s wonderful (also has great views)
– you can easily walk into the old city from here, but we decided to fully relax and enjoy ourselves on our last night, before flying home in the morning.

September 1st: fly home in afternoon

Feel free to email me with any questions!  blazersandbubbly@gmail.com
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