Romania - Painted Churches

Getting around Romania is somewhat challenging by public transportation. The trains, where they exist, are not faster than buses; I figured I covered about 30 mph back in 2015. Back then I got myself to Suceava after somehow learning of a tour of the painted monasteries departing from Suceava. That particular tour, organized by a local travel agency, wasn't outstanding; I had a feeling the young guide was a fill-in, but the tour got me to the locations of several of the monasteries.

I haven't been to Iasi. I though Cluj Napoca was very pretty (as are Brasov and Sighisoara). The Retro Hostel in Cluj has a large slate of tours it organizes. You don't have to stay at the hostel to take one of the tours. At the time of my visit, many/most of the tours didn't run on a fixed schedule, but rather on demand. I was thrilled to hook up with one or two other people who wanted to tour Maramures, the NW corner of Romania where the wooden churches and Merry Cemetery are located. It was a really wonderful 2-day tour with great variety of sights and quite inexpensive at that time. We spent the night at a rural B&B where we were fed 3 meals primarily consisting of products grown/produced by the owners, including their own cheese. That tour remains one of the top highlights of all my (long) trips to Europe. I recommend it highly if it's available for your dates and you can't make Bucovina work.

I see Retro Hostel has a 2-day tour of Bucovina as well as still offering a 2-day tour of Maramures. There's also a 5-day tour of both regions, but it sounds as if you probably don't have time for that. There are many other options.

I'd recommend contacting the hostel with your dates to see what tours are set to go already and letting them know you especially want to see Bucovina. They say the tour just requires two people to go, so you just need one other person to express interest. (I assume they'd be happy to arrange a solo trip; it would cost you more, but it might still be extremely reasonable, because Romania is a low-cost destination.)

My tour used the driver's personal car (comfortable and air-conditioned). I imagine tours with more demand use vans.

https://www.retro.ro/retro-tours

Hi Sylvia - You should take the train from Bucharest to Suceava and then another train or bus to Gura Humorului. That’s where you should find accommodation. “La Roata” B&B (la-roata.ro) would be my recommendation. We had a car to visit the churches but I’m sure your chosen accommodation would be happy to arrange transportation for you. The area is beautiful, I hope you’ll have an amazing time.

Thanks to both of you for input. I have spent days and days researching to discover that Romania is a large country that required more than 5 nights if I am going to see all that I want to see.... painted monasteries and now the wooden churches and wonderful small villages. I never mastered finding a train or bus to take me to Suceava, It seemed easier from Bucharest. I might still explore Iasi once I have the energy and patience again.

I can't find an easy way to work out the visit. I started exploring Cluj as a base / starting point. Retro looks great, but they don't have any rooms available.

A 2-week trip was planned just when Covid hit. I think I would be wise to consider another trip this Fall to visit Romania and stay in Western Europe for my extra week.

Thanks again for your input!