Romania

Romania is a wonderful travel destination. As you mentioned, the RS "Eastern Europe" travel guide dedicates exactly 29 pages to Romania. I hold out hope that a RS Romanian publication will surface - but I have doubts. There are other travel guides, but they don't satisfy the way the RS writers do. There is a RS "Romania" program worthy of your time - it may serve as a general overview.

If you elect to visit Romania, in all likelihood your arrival will begin at the Bucharest airport, which was not a pleasant experience for me. When I arrived, the lavatories I visited had broken toilet seats (or none at all), there was debris everywhere in the baggage claim area, and a number of feral dogs were roaming around the parking lot immediately in front of the terminal exit. Maybe they were the welcoming committee. Once you get past that, the brief trip to your hotel exposes the beauty of Bucharest's architecture. I can suggest a few hotels that might be of interest.
Tourism in Romania is a little spotty, but I can recommend a wonderful guide in Bucharest - Ana Adamoae ([email protected]). She is very insightful and will work with you to enhance your experience.
The regions of Romania are worthy of explorations - Transylvania is particularly beautiful and visiting the Maramures region is like going back in time to agrarian life.
A nice pairing with a Romanian visit is to add Bulgaria - two countries separated by the width of the Danube with cultures very dissimilar. I love both of these countries - and I recommend them highly.

Their official tourism website has very good itineraries by train or car listed (see http://romaniatourism.com). Yes, it's safe to travel there (why wouldn't it be?). Check out the Bradt Translyvania Guide or Lonely Planet. Rick Steves doesn't cover every European country in his books (or has tours there) because most Americans don't travel everywhere in Europe so he focuses on the top destinations or where he has experience and local guides on the ground. The fact that Romania isn't listed on the forum comes up all the time, but it's just a business choice. There are other forums where you can find info. Rick did do a travel show covering some of Romania, though, perhaps you can find it somewhere on the site.

Romania is safe. Until RS will publish a guide book about our country, you can use other major guide books, like Lonely and Rough.
Also, on web you can find some more info about.
The best airports are Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca (to save time you can land on one of them and take off from another one), so, you can visit the entire country from the South (Bucharest and, if have time enough, Danube Delta) through Southern Transylvania (with the famous castles from Peles, Bran and Hunedoara), fortified churches (some on UNESCO world heritage list, like Biertan, Viscri, Prejmer), beautiful medieval towns (Brasov, Sighisoara, Sibiu), then Central Transylvania (Cluj-Napoca, Turda salt mine or the unspoiled Rimetea, Sic and Sancraiu villages) and the north: Maramures, where I use to live, the best preserved traditional life of Europe and home for 8 UNESCO wooden churches) and Bucovina (with the famous UNESCO painted monasteries).
The best part of Romania is the countryside and the nature, particularly the rolling hills and the mountains.
To go around, rent a car by yourself, or use local guides for the major regions (see the list on RS). Rick Steves has hired a guide for Bucharest, another one for Southern Transylvania and another one for Maramures.
I don't recommend to hire a single tour guide for the entire country, nobody is a truly expert on everything.
Public transport is very slow and don't cover the remote villages.

Although this is a tour site, it may give you some ideas as to where to go:
https://covinnus.com/tours/
Also, see the official tourist site:
http://romaniatourism.com

We are in our early 70s (75 and 72) and in September 2018 we spent 18 nights in Romania. We flew into Cluj and ended in Bucharest where we took the bus to Plovdiv, Bulgaria for a 12 night stay. Regarding Romania, you're right - there are a lot of historic and natural sites. It felt like we needed more days as we left out some places we would have like to have visited. We picked up a rental car when we left Cluj. Driving was the best option for us as the places we visited were far from each other. We dropped off the car when we arrived in Bucharest.

You don't say how many nights you plan to spend in Romania so as a starting point I'll just list our stops and if you're interested you can search them on google, look at pictures, things to do there, etc.
Cluj - 2 nights; interesting architecture and some historical sights
Botiza - 3 nights; Maramures area; rural living and villages with historical wooden churches, Barsana Monastery, Merry Cemetery
Gura Humorului - 2 nights; painted monasteries. Long drive from Botiza. Worth it for us but maybe not for others
Lacul Rosul - 1 night; pretty lake, it was the end of the season so it was peaceful but some restaurants were closed; stopover as the drive to the next town was too long. Wanted to stop at Targu Neamt Fortress but didn't have time
Sighisoara - 2 nights; small walled town; historical buildings, towers; no time for a day trip to visit Viscri Fortified Church and also no time to stop there on the way to Sibiu
Sibiu - 3 nights; bigger than Sighisoara; a bit more to see. There were 3 festivals on the weekend we were there so it was really interesting and fun.
Brasov - 3 nights; historical buildings and other sights. We took a day trip to Bran Castle and Rasnov Fortress.
Bucharest - 2 nights; We stopped at Peles Castle on the way but did not go in. Palace of Parliament - we called on the morning of our visit to reserve a spot. We enjoyed Bucharest despite what many say about it, and wish we had had one more night there.

There were other towns we would have liked to visit but we'll never see everything. Those who are younger or who like to travel faster might do this differently. This is just a sample of places and sites that might be helpful to you.

Thanks for information so far, very interesting

Yes, it is absolutely safe.

The romaniatourism site mentioned earlier was a big help for our Romania trip planning.

We essentially did Carols trip this past September, stopping in the same locations, but in the opposite direction. We were in Bucharest for three days at the start, then over the next 5 days with a rental car visited Sinaia, Brasov, Peles Castle, Sibiu (side trip to the northern half of the Transfagarasan Highway), Sighisoara, Turda, ending in Cluj where we dropped off the car.

We then connected with our prebooked guide for a private 5 day extensive tour of Maramures and Bucovina, Here is his website: https://maramurestour.com. Five days allowed us an intensive immersion-like experience in this remote and rural part of Romania and if you can find the time I would highly recommend the experience. We were able to get onto the front porches and into the homes and supper tables of some of the residents.

Romania is beautiful and interesting. I highly recommend both Lonely Planet and Rough Guide guidebooks.

An additional point in Romania’s favour is that the language is very accessible compared to most of Eastern Europe. If you have a grasp of French, Italian or Latin you will be able to make sense of a lot of it.

My husband and I spent 1 week in Romania last September with our adult son. We flew in and out of Cluj Napoca and rented a car. We visited Sighisoara, Sibiu and Cluj Napoca. We had a fantastic time! Sighisoara is tiny , but beautiful. We stopped at Biertan, a fortified church,and the city of Medias on our way from Sighisoara to Sibiu. All the Romanians we met were very friendly and most spoke English ( I did find German to be handy in Medias) . We enjoyed some very delicious food, and apparently Romanian wine is very good ( I don’t drink wine). I loved photographing the beautifully coloured houses and the ones with ‘eyes’. My husband loved how cheap everything was, especially the beer! Romania is an amazing place and we are very keen to go there again. We never felt unsafe anywhere.

BUCURESTI
The renovations and rebirth of the Old Town and city center are amazing! Great pedestrian areas, parks, shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. The buildings are now colorful and it seems there is green vegetation everywhere! Palatul Parlamentului (The Palace of the Parliament) is an immense building (beyond anything you can imagine) and absolutely worth a visit. There's a great city walk from Piata Unirii, by Curtea Veche and Palatul Voievodal, to Revolution Square - right through the heart of old town. The village museum near Parcul Herastrau is exceptional.

BRASOV
One of my favorite European cities. It wraps around the mountain and oozes that European city feel. Look for lodging in the Schei District. Perfect access to Mount Tampa and the hiking trails, the old city wall and bastions and easy walking distance to the Black Church, Council Square and Strada Republicii. Brasov is also a perfect base for day trips to visit Sinaia and Peles Castle, Bran Castle and Rasnov Fortress and the various fortified churches throughout the region. The fortified churches are easier to visit by car.

SIBIU
Corvin Castle in Hunedoara - about an hour west of Sibiu - is one of my favorite castles in Europe. Reminds me of Hogwarts. Sibiu is a fun city in itself and there's a great ASTRA open-air folk museum nearby. Great for a base to visit Corvin Castle and nearby Alba Iulia. Alba Iulia - of historical importance to Romania, Hungary, and Transylvania - has a fantastic fortress with huge bastions, Roman ruins and a surprising 11th century catholic cathedral.

SIGHISOARA
I would put Sighisoara on the must-see list too. Whether or not you're interested in Dracula, the city's medieval clock tower and old town are great. So is the wood-covered stairway up to the church-on-the-hill. You can make it a day-trip from Brasov or Sibiu if you have a car. It's difficult to get by train if you're coming directly from Sibiu. Otherwise, it's a great stop en route between Brasov and Cluj or the long way from Brasov to Sibiu.

CLUJ-NAPOCA and TIMISOARA
Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara are underrated. Both cities have a wonderful vibe. Timisoara has exceptional history, from the Hungarian days but especially with regards to the Revolution. The town is great for walking and has a lovely riverfront. It's also an easy 3.5-hour drive from Budapest to Timisoara. About 5.5-6 hours by train.

I feel like Cluj is the most westernized and the most livable city in Romania. It has a growing entrepreneurial culture and is a hotbed for tech companies. They call it the Silicon Valley of Transylvania. It has great, historic churches and provides great walks through the old town and city center to the river front and towards Fortress Hill. The Turda salt mines are an easy day-trip from Cluj.

MOLDOVA (region of Romania, not the country)
Moldova is more difficult to reach, but worth a visit...usually on a subsequent trip. The painted-monasteries draw the tourists - and rightfully so - but Iasi has a majestic palace and I love Piatra Neamt! Just the feel of the city and the access to nature. Love it. FWIW, the drive from Cluj to Piatra Neamt via Bistrita and Vatra Dornei is one of the finest around. It includes the Borgo Pass (from Braham Stoker's Dracula) and Hotel Castel Dracula. One of my fondest memories was helping a local farmer dig his horse-drawn cart out of a snow drift along the highway.

Anyway, Romania is absolutely worthwhile to visit, especially if you have already visited the Western Europe

Thanks for information. The more we read about Romania the more interesting we find it

Would anyone know if you rented a car in Romania would you be permitted to drive it into Bulgaria for a day trip ?

Also, has anyone been to Poenari Castle. Is it worth a visit if we have rental car?

I'm afraid I have to differ from the crowd slightly. I spent a week in Romania in 2012 and enjoyed it, but a few caveats:

Bucharest has a lovely old town. Stay in it. We decided to stay with a local couple via CouchSurfing.org and while they were wonderful, their apartment was not in a particularly safe part of the city and they felt obligated to accompany us everywhere in the city because they felt we'd get robbed if they weren't present. At first I felt like this was an overreaction, but I had two friends who traveled for business shortly after us, and they were both mugged, one at knifepoint just outside the old city, and another while taking a taxi by the taxi driver. Our local hosts had warned us against taking taxis, so we took buses with them. I'd arranged for an airport transfer but suddenly the price was double what had been advertised. We spent a couple hours at the train station waiting for a night train to Timisoara and I don't recommend that experience, either. We saw an old man get shaken down by private security, and while we don't speak Romanian, it was clear that it wasn't a good scene.

That said, Brasov was lovely, the best part of our stay in Romania. The "good" trains were OK. I wouldn't much want to travel on the cheap trains from what I saw. There are packs of stray dogs pretty much everywhere. They didn't seem aggressive but...it's a little off-putting, even for dog-lovers like myself.

I don't want to discourage people from visiting Romania, just to be aware of the reality - despite being an EU country it's definitely something of an adventure for most Americans. This isn't a bad thing - prices are extremely low, people are friendly, the food is amazing.

If you are also interested in similar places, Serbia and Bosnia were similarly cheap but I found personally a lot easier to navigate.

I observed no particular dangers when I traveled through Romania in 2015.

What a terrific thread! You guys are getting me all excited to visit Romania, thanks for that.

Like I said, my week in Romania was in 2012, so we may have been feeling the aftereffects of the recession. That said, Bucharest did not feel like a city in the EU outside of the beautiful pedestrianized city center. And my friends (both Europeans) were mugged in 2013 while on business travel, just outside the city center. It's entirely possible that conditions are far better in Romania now then they were in 2012.

I'm not trying to fear monger, it's absolutely a worthwhile destination. I adore visiting Mexico, a place a lot of Americans consider off-limits. But I think again it's important to be realistic about what to expect and what precautions to take, and I say this as a girl from Oakland who has traveled extensively and never seen the need for a money belt. Ironically, I considered Serbia to be the most undesirable destination on the trip and felt far safer and more at ease in Belgrade than I did in Bucharest, but if I'd stayed at a nice hotel in the center of Bucharest perhaps I'd have a totally different perspective? It's hard to say. It's safe to travel there but it's also a place where I'd say be on your guard with valuables, and err on the side of splurging when you can when it comes to safety and comfort. The driving is particularly crazy and again, we drove across Greece so it's not like I don't have a frame of reference.