Romania road trip

Hello,

Will be travelling by motorcycle to Romania in September. Planning to avoid major highways and probably Bucharest due to reports of traffic and aggressive drivers. What are your"can't miss" spots? We will ride Transalpina and Transfagarashan (sic). Any advice on lodging, etc?

Thanks for your time!

Jim

I thought all of these towns/cities were lovely and very much worth a visit: Sibiu, Brasov, Sighisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Timisoara (birthplace of the revolution that deposed Ceausescu). I also loved a two-day tour to Maramures in northwestern Romania, an area known for beautiful wooden churches and the retention of folk customs. The tour was organized by the Retro Hostel in Cluj-Napoca. I did not stay there, but I'd suggest checking it out. The hostel website lists a lot of tours. Looking at the brief descriptions provided there might give you some good ideas of places to go.

I used booking.com to find my lodgings except for the one-night stay in Maramures, which was arranged by the hostel. I ended up a bit of walk from the train/bus station in a couple of cases, but that's because I was looking for cheap spots. With your own wheels, location won't be so critical for you. I have no idea whether there is any risk to parking a motorcycle in an unprotected spot in Romania.

Jim, the drivers in Romania are definitely aggressive compared to the USA. Stick to more main roads to avoid potholes and such. The drivers...no joke...will pass another car going uphill on a blind corner and oncoming traffic bolts out to the side. The Transfarasan is awesome. I would visit Sibiu area which is close to the Trans. I also liked Brasov and Sighisoara. Peles castle is cool. Bran castle is a giant tourist trap. Unless you love that part of history, I would skip it. Sighisoara can be crowded with tour buses but quiet at night. We stayed in all of these places and used hotels.com or booking.com.

Thanks for the advice! We like to be flexible with travel, would I be correct in assuming that finding lodging the same day would be possible in early September? Also hoping traffic will be less, maybe hopeful thinking??

Jim

Cannot comment on the traffic, beyond saying that it didn't seem bad when I was there in late-August/early September. With your own transportation I don't know why you'd have any problem unless you roll up to a town in the middle of some sort of special event. Some Googling (Events Brasov 2019, etc.) might be prudent. You can also check lodging availability on a website like booking.com to be sure there are options remaining in your price range.

The least expensive options will probably be B&B-style places out in the country. I don't know what would be a good information source for those, but I remember seeing some signs during my Maramures tour. I paid separately for the B&B night in the middle of that tour, which included dinner, breakfast and lunch. It was the equivalent of either 20 or 25 euros altogether (per person, I had a single room). At that price I didn't mind that the bathroom was down the hall.

Thanks for the info! Looking forward to seeing the country and culture. Right now I'm looking forward to going to Florida and getting out of the snow

Here are some itinerary ideas:

https://www.frommers.com/destinations/romania/suggested-itineraries
http://romaniatourism.com/sample-itineraries.html

It depends on how long you have and from what direction you come, but I suggest Brasov and Sibiu as the main bases to explore the most sites. In addition to the sites within and near these cities, they provide easy access to:

• Sinaia and Peles Castle
• Sighisoara (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
• Medieval fortified churches and Saxon villages in Transylvania (several are UNESCO World Heritage Sites)
• Corvin Castle in Hunedoara
• The Citadel in Alba Iulia
• Transfagarasan Highway

The fortified churches and Transfagarasan Highway are best visited by car. Also, Corvin Castle is easier by car, though trains and buses get you there.

Timisoara is an easy stop if you're coming from or going to Budapest, especially by car. And, Corvin Castle and Alba Iulia are convenient detours between Timisoara and Sibiu.

Bucuresti is worth a couple of days, especially at the beginning or end of the trip for flight convenience.

The wooden churches in Maramures and the painted monasteries in Bucovina are more difficult to reach and out of the way. However, they are well-worth the time and effort if you have additional days available.

If you have two people, finding lodging should be fairly easy but like the suggestion above, check for any festivals/holidays. There is a great hike you can do near Brasov called 7 ladders. The hotels in any of the places mentioned are pretty inexpensive compared the USA or “western” Europe. We were able to book things along the way on our phones and we were traveling in May.

thanks again for more ideas and advice! we will have 7-8 days to tour the country

That's about what we had....so we did two nights in Sibiu, one in Sighisoara, three in Brasov and two nights in Bucharest. We landed in Bucharest and drove immediately to Sibiu. It was about 4 hours but since I knew we would all be tired from flying, I bit the bullet and drove the longest distance on the first day since there wasn't anything we were stopping to see on our way to Sibiu. For me, I am not as interested in seeing major cities so I typically only use them to fly in and out of and maybe a night or two. Bucharest has a lot of history but I think the other areas are a lot better. There's a lot to do around Brasov. Sighisoara is a cute town...we stayed there one night but it could easily just be a place to stop and look at.

thanks Beaverdam213! I appreciate the information

We are planning a trip including a leg in Timosoara, Oradea, and Cluj-Napoca in June. Any specific issues in this area? I'm not sure about bus service, so we have thought about renting a car. Here's a key question: How good is road signage? And what apps etc for directions did you use, if such are available in Romania?

I just used google maps on my phone. I didn't pay that close of attention to the road signs. You could always bring a Tom Tom gps or rent one with your car.

I would definitely rent a car and so that you have more freedom as you travel. You might want to check out the app "Triposo" and see if they have a Romania download. This would be helpful for insight during your trip. I also use apps like trip advisor, all trails, bike map, and booking.com.

Thanks, beaverdam. Say, are you from WI? My wife was born in Beaver Dam. I know the area well.

No, I am from Oregon. However, I went to college in WI and many people asked the same thing when I was there. ;)

Carson