3 weeks in Romania

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/romania-and-hungary

I don't like to say that places are must-sees because it depends in each traveler's interests, but I found all of these places very attractive:

Timisoara (also the birthplace of the revolution)
Sibiu
Sighisoara
Brasov
Cluj-Napoca
Peles Castle in Sinaia

Maramures in the NW is an area of beautiful wooden churches, carved gateposts, and the Merry Cemetery. You may even see some women wearing folk attire to church on Sunday. It's basically impossible to see this area via public transportation, so you should definitely take advantage of having a car and include it in your itinerary

Bucovina in the NE is the area of the painted monasteries and is also very worthwhile. Like Maramures, this area needs a car (or a tour).

Bucharest lost much of its historic architecture under Ceausescu, but there is still some scattered around, and I'm sure there are worthwhile museums and historic sights.

I traveled through Romania during the summer and do not know what sort of weather you may encounter in October.

In mid September 2019 we spent 18 nights in Romania. We flew into Cluj-Napoca and out of Sophia where we went after Romania. Our itinerary was: Cluj-Napoca, 2 nights; Botiza, Maramures, 3 nights; Gura Humorului, 2 nights; Lacul Rosul, 1 night; Sighisoara, 2 nights; Sibiu, 3 nights; Brasov, 3 nights; Bucharest, 2 nights.

I wished we had a few more days to add a visit to Alba Iulia but there was nothing we would have cut from our itinerary. Cluj is a medium size town with some sights and was a good place to start. We picked up a car and began the driving part of our trip. We stopped at some sights between some of the towns. Maramures with its villages, rural life, and wooden churches was really special. Gura Humorului was really out of the way but we wanted to see the painted churches. We spent one night in Lacul Rosul because the drive to Sighisoara was really too long. Being at the end of the tourist season, Lacul Rosul was fairly deserted but it's in the mountains and we enjoyed an afternoon and evening among the pines. Another advantage was that we drove through Bicaz Gorge which was beautiful. Sighisoara is tiny but beautiful, Sibiu is larger and also beautiful. We also enjoyed Brasov and from there visited Bran Castle and Rasnov Fortress. On the way to Bucharest we stopped at Peles Castle. Many people say Bucharest is gritty and not worth much time but we wished that we had one more night there. There were a lot of interesting sights and we felt we could have used one more day.

If you enjoy reading and think you might be interested in Maramures, you might read Along the Enchanted Way by William Blacker. I think it was recommended by someone on this forum and I was able to find a used copy on Amazon. It added to my appreciation of the region and the people who live there.

I'm not sure this answers your question regarding can't-be-missed places as we all have different interests, but after researching Romania and taking into considerations the amount of time we had, we were very happy with our choices. You can look at pictures and research what to do in these locations and decide if any would suit your interests. Have fun planning!

Thank you both for the very helpful suggestions! Many of these places were on our list and I’m glad to have several more to check out. Do you have any driving tips for us? This will be the first time we’ve rented a car in Europe.

I used public transportation (which is quite slow in Romania) except for a 2-day tour to Maramures and a 1-day tour to Bucovina. You should expect rather slow going in those rural areas. Take a look at ViaMichelin.com for estimated driving times.

Except on the completed portions of the A# freeways, driving can be slow. There are lots of slow trucks that can be difficult to pass. Be aware of oncoming traffic when you try to pass, some drivers can be crazily aggressive. Some highways are poorly maintained.

Most roadways will slow WAY down when you hit the local villages. Be aware of speed traps! You will be accused, tried, convicted, and required to pay the speeding ticket on the spot.

The completed portions of the A1 freeway from Bucuresti to Pitesti; Sibiu to Deva; and Margina to Timisoara and Arad (and the Hungarian border) are great. Though slow, the drive between Pitesti and Sibiu through Cozia National Park and along the Olt River is gorgeous. Certain sections remind me of the Columbia River gorge.

The stretch of the A1 freeway between Deva and Margina is like 95% completed, except for the new tunnels. Once that gets completed, you'll be able to drive from Budapest, Hungary to Sibiu in fewer than 5 hours.

The A2 freeway from Buc to Constanta is also usually great. Traffic around Bucuresti can be terrible. Make sure to take the A3 route between Bucuresti and Ploesti (en route to or from Brasov) - even though the distance is longer, it is much quicker.

I haven't driven the new extension of the A10 yet, that now goes from Aiud to Cluj; once they complete the Aiud to Sebes section, the middle of the country between will connect Cluj to Sibiu and Deva by the A freeways. But, I don't think the Aiud-Sebes section is scheduled to be completed until 2020.

We didn't have any issues with driving but as acraven and BradFrumos said some roads are narrow and curvy. In all our days of driving we once found cows being herded down the road, many horse drawn carts, slow moving trucks, and a few drivers passing us on a curve on narrow roads. It wasn't every day, of course, but something to be aware of. In the rural areas we were driving slowly anyway so the slow carts and animals weren't much of an issue. As to the passing on narrow roads, we just pulled to the side as much as possible. We were using google.maps and did slow down to the posted limit when entering towns or villages. Didn't have any issues (though we did get caught in a speed trap once in Montenegro or Bosnia and it wasn't fun to be forced to pay up on the spot). Will add that we're in our early to mid 70s and did not find the driving to be an issue.

We will be headed to Romania and driving too. Thanks for the tips here. We’re leaving the U.S. on 9/1 and the Romania portion is 10 nights at the beginning of a 5 week trip.

We’re looking forward to seeing the country.