Practical questions about Romania, including public transporation, hotels and communication.

You are lucky. Romania is a special place. Love it. I am not going to say Romania is a modern western destination; it isn't, but it has all the creature comforts you need for an enjoyable trip including ample bathrooms and some pretty good food if you know where to look. Public transportation while extant is not of very high quality or great comfort or great reliability. I am not a great fan of guides but this is a place where I believe they are worth the investment. You should be able to hire a guide with a car and have very nice, very clean, very acceptable accommodations for maybe $350 a day.

My part time business puts me in a position where I get asked for a Romanian guide from time to time. I have used and recommended Daniel Gheorghita on a number of occasions and I have gotten nothing but good feed back http://covinnus.com/ The last time we used him the intent was to return to Budapest from Sibu by train but the Hungarian rail was threatening a strike so Daniel drove us into Budapest on a fantastic 6 hour road trip. He is a great kid and it was fantastic.

As for actual hotels? Depends on where you are going to visit. It's a big country. Do try and spend one full day in Bucharest. Despite what you may read, it really is an interesting town.

As for the language, Romanian is a Romance Language so if either of you know a little French or Spanish or Italian you should catch on pretty quickly.

Thanks so much for your reply, James. Phrases like "ample bathrooms" and "good food" are quite encouraging. I appreciate the guide recommendation. At this time my husband and I both have modest incomes and must travel accordingly, so for now, $350 a day is out of our budget range. Do you think we would be able to get around without a guide?

If you are just a little adventurous, a lot patient and enjoy the experience of the challenge then there is no reason you cant do it without a guide. With the guide you will just cover more territory in less time and with less aggravation. Decent accommodations everywhere but Bucharest will easily be under $90. In Bucharest a little more. But then it all depends on what you consider "decent". You might look for a couple of hubs like Bucharest, Brasov and Sibu and then hire a couple of day guides to reach the sites outside of the cities. That will cut the cost in half. You still might want to contact a few guides, tell them what you are interested in and give them a budget and see what they come up with. You might be surprised. The economy isn't good in Romania and there are bargains; and you might be able to piece together a part self for the easy stuff and part guided for the nooks and crannies.

I would describe us as adventurous and patient so I think we will be okay without a guide. Thanks for your advice--very helpful!

I traveled in Romania and loved it. However I did have a car so don,t know about logistics. But I only know a little Spanish and we managed fine with English. We visited Bucharest, Brasov, Timisoara, Singasora , the area around Transylvania and found great rooms without any advance reservations. All were under your budget. It is such an inexpensive and interesting place to travel. Loved the food and the people were so friendly. I guess I am a pretty adventurous but I never felt afraid and I would go back anytime. There appeared to be a number of buses near pele,s castle so there must be some public transportation. We did drop the rental car near the border with Hungary and took the train to Budapest. I also remember conversing with someone on this site who went on a solo trip and used all public trans to most locations I went to and she had a fabulous time.

Thanks Terry kathryn, that's very encouraging. My fears when traveling tend to center around 1) being hit by a car. 2) getting into a bus accident 3) No public bathrooms. Otherwise I am all adventure!

Hi Alyson-my Romania experience thus far is limited to part of a day in Bucharest 10 years ago. Pedestrian crosswalks with lights were respected by motorists and pedestrians alike, so crossing the street was not problem, and we were never in danger of getting hit by a Dacia. The concrete sidewalks and curbs, however, were in pretty poor repair in many places, so we had to watch our step. Maybe that's all changed now. The public bus was great! Based on the exchange rate with the currency at the time, we withdrew tens of thousands from an ATM just to buy breakfast! I understand the New Leu is about 3 to the dollar, so you're less likely to be a virtual "millionaire" in Romania now.

Ten years ago, our guidebook warned about packs of roving stray dogs in the city, and I later saw other news reports that this was a problem. Apparently many people had simply turned their dogs loose and had stopped taking care of them. We never saw any dogs though, and again, if this was a problem at one time, maybe it's also changed.

Would like to return some day.

I would use the Lonely Planet guidebook for planning some details. They should summarize bus connections between the towns they cover, as well as list affordable hotels. Bradt is another brand of guides we keep in our library for that region.

Train schedules are available through DB, as for most of Europe. How to Look Up Train Schedules Online gives you the DB train schedule link and tips for using it.

Thanks for the feedback Cyn and Laura--much appreciated!