Romania & Budapest Itinerary

I've been to Brasov twice and neither time lit my fire, but i'm certain I am the exception. I rode the train to Brasov a few years ago. Not a high point in my travel experiences. I could have spent more time in Sibiu and Sighisoara. Budapest is perfect but many might say a day long relative to the rest of the trip.

I have been following your posts and is it Ana's(?) in preparation for this trip. Budapest is where some of my relatives came from. We've been putting it off for a while and after they election, I got the itch to finally pull the trigger.

It's interesting to hear your perspective. Brasov was originally just 2 nights (really 1.5 days) but I added a day there after reading people gush about it.

As to the Brasov train experience, what happened? Or are you just suggesting we take a bus?

Chris, I like your itinerary very much—it's very similar to the one that I was on last year with our guide. I really loved Brasov and I think 3 nights is a good amount of time to spend there. I think we were actually there for 4 nights, but the last day was just a day of relaxation (I got a massage).

And we were only in Cluj Napoca for one night, but I would have liked to have stayed longer, so I think 2 nights would work well. I did enjoy Timisoara but it's a bit out of your way and you've got plenty of wonderful destinations on there, so I wouldn't change it.

FWIW, we took the train from Bucharest to Brasov and it was fine. Nice scenery and an uneventful train ride. 😊 I would definitely recommend it over a bus. Are you doing any day trips while you are in Brasov? That in itself is a reason to stay an extra night. We made a day trip to Peles Castle via train, which was really nice, and then on another day we took a GYG tour to Bran Castle and the Bear Sanctuary (loved the Bear Sanctuary; but I didn't even make it into Bram Castle).

Chris, I am not disagreeing with anyone about Brasov. Each to their own. I have aquaintance that come to Budapest and rave about some of the most average the city has. But its what they did and they loved it. Who am I to argue.

Brasov, for me (and who am I), was okay for a solid day. The first trip was a tour with an excellent guide and it was "interesting," the second trip, since COVID, was with a Romanian traveling companion and the drive through the mountains and a little snow in late March was beautiful. She knew where to stop, what to see, etc. That and the company made it a great trip. But the destination, again, was "okay". Peles Castle, yes! Even Bran Castle, yes! Brasov to sleep before we hit the road again, yes! Tge train. Its fine .... once. It was 2 hours late arriving which I was told wasnt unheard of. But for an experience, maybe excellent. The bus? No. I would do the train first.

My high points in Romania to date have been Sibiu and Sighisoara and i enjoy Bucharest more than many do. But thats probably because i know someone in town. But 4 trips and I have a lot left to see.

But since you have roots in Hungary, you should dig a bit deeper here. Kick it up s notch. Find some family context if possible and explore it out of your comfort zone. Really from Budapest or elsewhere in the empire? Family name?

Now you have my interest. You say Spring. March and June are best. March is cool but you arent going to the beach. You might see a little snow in Romania and that's lovely. June is ideal.

I was in Romania this past April (3rd time there), flew into Cluj and then traversed through Timisoara, Sibiu, Sighisoara, Brasov, and flew out of Bucharest.

I'm with Mr. E that I thought 1 or 2 nights is enough for Brasov unless you are doing multiple day trips to Bran, Rasnov, Peles castles etc. Some of this will depend on how you get around - I drove and found the driving very easy other than finding a parking spot in Sibiu and esp. Brasov.

I was not bowled over by Cluj compared to Timisoara or even Sighisoara. I did the Turda salt mine and Alba Iulia as stops on my way to Timisoara and then did Corvin castle on my way to Sibiu. I am also glad that I decided to spend the night in Sighisoara as it has a magical feeling at night after most of the folks had left.

There are so many places to see in Romania that it is like putting together a jigsaw trying to decide where to go and in what order. I also loved visiting the fortified churches.

Are you planning on driving those sections where you don't have a guide or going to rely on public transport.

Yes, I plan on renting a car for both of those stretches. We definitely could simplify things with more day trips and less hotel changes. Thoughts?

Well, you can’t see everywhere. So, based on what you have here, I would have to vote with Arnold that one night in Cluj is a night that could be moved elsewhere. I liked it a lot - it had a totally different feel for me, but you might use that night for Bucharest. You really only have 2 days there and it’s a spread out city with more to see than I expected (or expected to like).

I also really liked Brasov, but I won’t rave over it. Sibiu is a darling town and with all you are thinking, you might want to steal a night from Brasov and give it to Sibiu - that is unless you want to do a day trip to Peles Castle and one to a couple of the fortified cities. Then 3 nights makes sense.

Are you meeting your guide in Gura Humorlului, though? Or in Sighisoara?

Blockquote Are you meeting your guide in Gura Humorlului, though? Or in Sighisoara?

Bear in mind that this itinerary is totally up for editing and probably will change, but I assume Sighisoara so we wouldn't need the car? Do you have thoughts on that?

Well, your decision might depend on when your guide is available. But while Sighisoara works to begin a guided tour, I might suggest beginning in Brasov. A couple of reasons: 1) driving Brasov-Sighisoara takes half the time that bus or train does; 2) driving makes it easy to visit some of the fortified churches between Brasov and Sighisoara. Edit: 3) Starting in Brasov means you don’t really need a rental car for the first part of your trip. Just take the train Bucharest to Brasov. We even took the train to Peles Castle from Brasov.

Another thought: right now you can book a reasonable-length flight from Sibiu to Budapest on a Thursday. You do have a change in Vienna, but it saves a drive over to Targu-Mures. So if a Thursday works, you probably come out ahead on time. (Same flights on a Sunday - just a little more expensive.) Hard to beat Wizz Air’s price, though.