Romanian visit

Go to Brasov. It is a beautiful mountain city, and, Castle Bran-, Dracula's castle, is just outside the city. Sinaia is also a must see and it is only an hour away from Brasov. Constanta on the Black Sea is very nice, too.

Hi, Sara:

I will be there in July. First, I looked for the UNESCO (World Heritage) sites. Next, I put Dracula in google. That Bran Castle was NOT his home. You can take an actual Dracula tour with costume parties and all.

Enjoy!
Ann

I agree about Brasov and Bran Castle. Also go to the Painted Monasteries.

I was in Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara last year and it was one of my favorite places in Europe!. I traveled by train and try to get the "high" speed trains. They are not like the ones in Western Europe, but the regional trains are very old, slow and an experience in itself.

I visited the TI centre in Sighisoara and they hooked me up with a guide with a car to take me to Biertan to see the fortified church there. Great half day tour that cost me 25 Euros!

it is easy to get around, I found it much easier than Hungary for instance. The language is a Romance language and is very similiar in some ways to Italian and French. If you know some German this helps a lot too as a lot of people speak German. Lots of people under 30 speak English as well.

I really liked Romania because it felt that it hadn't been destroyed by tourism. Sighisoara had a few cheesy shops, but nothing like other Western European cities. Bran castle was a disappointment, but I have no regrets checking it out. it only took a few hours of the day to see.

If you want to see some pictures of my trip you can check out www.travelpod.com and my user name is kateb75.

We spent a few days in Bucharest and loved the collection of Romanian liturgical art/artifacts at the National Art Museum. Room after room of vestments, books, carved doors, icons... Friends who visited the Village Museum, an open-air museum in a large park, raved about it. And the Parliament Palace was staggering, even just from outside. It's the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon. Traffic in Bucharest was dreadful - if you rent a car to see the countryside be sure to get rid of it before you hit the city! In Constanta, we enjoyed the History and Archeology museum. Have a wonderful time!

Although late, I just wanted to second Alan from Goldsboro's comments Re Romania. Bucharest is making a comeback. Go to the Palace of Parliament (ugly but overwhelming); Village Museum (highly recommended) and take the free walking tour of Bucharest ( wear good shoes as it covers a good distance) use the new 2011 Hop On/Hop Off Bus. Also, Bran Castle (pseudo Dracula venue); Peles Castle (really a palace) and Brasov (nice town) and finally Constanta on the Black Sea. Wish we had extra time to tour the areas up north Re the monasteries. Also, surprisingly good wines, esp. for the price. English is spoken well in the tourist areas (more so than in lots of Western Europe). Prices are good at this time and food is better than you are led to believe.

i may have taken a similar route as kate. the transylvania area is nice, you want to rent a car. trains are ok, but not super comfy. i think bran castle is highly over rated - small, go only if you have time. however, a stop in rasnov on the way is worth it, if you hike up to the castle for a good view. bucharest is getting pretty cool now. go to the old town area on a weekend night, it's super crowded with all the bars and restaurants, very lively. it also has a pretty good subway system you can use. stops are a little far from each other, but it's cheap and fast if you don't mind walk a little bit. consider adding bulgaria if you can when you're in that part of the world.

Just a note... this trip is long over by now....fall 2010

That's okay that these last comments are late...my husband and I are considering Bulgaria/and or Romania in May 2012 (specifically starting 8th or 15th thru end of MAy or into June) so extra comments made here are helpful. Our problem is getting to or from an additional add of Dalmatian coast....just cannot find direct flights between Croatia and these countries without going too far out of the way for the transfer. That equals too high of price to make it worthwhile....OR there are doable flights with Rome as nearest transfer point however those flights are only offered June 30th and on thru summer...we do not want to do overnight train in Eastern Europe (won't even do that in Western Europe)....would do daytime train with stop in Belgrade 1 or 2 nights but who knows what political climate is going thru that territory next May? Eileen
San Diego

If you are looking for a good guide in Romania, let us know. We had a great one. We spent two weeks there last year and loved the country.
So many historic sites