Romania Trip Report: Bucharest/Brasov and customized Grand Tour Romania with Teo

Brasov - I thought this was going to be my favorite Romanian town, until I went to Sibiu and Timisoara. Brasov is easy to get to from Bucharest by train.

And that ends the "easy to get to" part of the story. It was obvious that seeing the rest of Romania was going to require some uncomfortably long bus rides, or a vehicle: either a rental or a tour company. I didn't want to drive, and I was tired of my recent run of big (and medium) bus tours.

Grand Tour of Romania - customized our way

A tour with Teo was exactly the answer. It's no wonder that Rick Steves chose Teo to show him around for his Romania episode. Teo used to be a journalist and loves to ask questions to understand the history and culture of his country. Tourism departments in Romania ask for Teo's help. And much like Rick, Teo can just talk to anyone, and get them to talk to him. About anything.

We started with his Grand Tour of Romania and customized to our interests and timeframe.

https://maramurestour.com/maramures-transylvania-bucovina/

As a tour guide, the great thing about Teo is that he wants to make his tours special for you.

TexasTravelMom said this:
• We basically just mentioned things we were interested in and he made things happen.

From https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/3-1-2-weeks-in-romania

Ceramics in Romania:

Near the beginning of our tour with Teo, I was telling him that I was looking forward to our day in Horezu visiting ceramic "shops." I casually mentioned that we had been seeing ceramics in the souvenir shops marked "Korund" which I thought were lovely. Next thing I know, Teo asked us if we wanted to make a little detour - of course, you always say yes to Teo's detours! Soon we were in Korund visiting the small roadside shops of local artisans, watching one lady paint her pieces freehand while she was chatting with us! Needless to say, I now own several of her pieces. And a few more from next door ;-)

Teo didn't have to research ceramics in Korund. He just knows. Where everything is. And which shops to stop in to see the very best work. That's what it is like touring with Teo.

In Horezu, he patiently took us to one home-based ceramic business after another, speaking to the craftspeople about the challenges of their generational businesses in a modern world. While we admired and bought and admired and bought pieces to bring home with us.

The ceramic visits were our particular interests, which we customized into his tour agenda - one in advance, the other on the fly. Touring with Teo is very flexible!

Visit Romania Now - while the artisans are still there

It struck me that the artisans of Romania are aging and their children are not (always) picking up the businesses. If you want to see hand weavers at their looms, the last remaining wooden water mill while it still pounds wool into felt, and home ceramic businesses that do everything from collecting the clay to throwing the pieces and hand painting them - go now, before they are gone!

CONCLUSION

I love that I can go back to Bucharest, perhaps for another music festival. And I can envision lots more time spent enjoying the towns of Sibiu, Brasov and Timisoara. The best decision was to see Romania with Teo, to see things I never could have experienced on my own and enjoy them much more on a private tour.

Thanks for writing this up! You and TTM are really giving me the itch to return to Romania. So amazing you saw/heard Andrea Bocelli!

What were some of your favorite dishes?

Nduja has been on my mind recently as it is starting to appear in local supermarkets here in the East Bay....

Thanks for the trip report, and for the link to TTM’s report. Besides bookmarking these threads, I can’t wait to hear your live report in zoom in November.
We’ve been talking about visiting Romania for about 5 years, seriously. One of the things that held us back was because getting around, especially to get out of the way places. We were looking into renting a car, but your recommendation of Theo will push this country to the top of our list. Hopefully in 2027, because like most of the posters here on the forum, I already have 2026 booked up completely, lol.

What were some of your favorite dishes?

Stuffed cabbages at Hanu Lui Manoc, with tables in the courtyard of the old Karavanserai. I've eaten stuffed cabbages and even made them myself. But theirs had a flavor, maybe grilled, that made them special. I wish I knew the secret.

And the meatballs at NOUA Bar had a crunchy coating added for texture that made them a treat. We ordered several small plates to share at NOUA and loved them all. Plus it was in a nicely decorated courtyard between two buildings - what you might have called a ruin bar in Budapest.

your recommendation of Theo will push this country to the top of our list.

Barbara, bummer that you might not be at the meeting for the Q and A with Teo. But if you're serious about booking with him, he's very responsive via email to work on your itinerary. And he's even scheduled zoom calls with people to lock in their decisions.

I found a bunch of YouTube videos with Teo sharing his expertise with various professional groups. They're all in Romanian, though!

Here's one example:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SdQ9TZqFoZw&t=547s&pp=ygUWdGVvIGl2YW5jaXVjIG1hcmFtdXJlcw%3D%3D#searching

Even if you can't understand a word, you can get a sense of his expertise, which he's sharing with the interviewer.

Great report, CW. I wish the zoom meeting didn’t conflict with my travel plans. I love the idea of finding a new favorite artist—or three.

Thanks for sharing your trip report. It sounds like you all put together a great tour. And the bonus Bocelli!

Thanks, CW! Enjoyed reading your report! Each of your three reports added something different. Glad you had a great trip!

Bucharest is one of the big surprises of my travel life, it was way better than I expected. I think of it as the Eastern European Naples, a little gritty but fascinating.

A tip on the art museums: the less well known (than the main/biggest "National Museum of Art of Romania") "Art Collections Museum" is well worth a visit. It consists of collections, displayed as such, that were "Donated over nearly a century by both collectors and artists".

Your comment on finding a new (to you) artist resonates with me. We were delighted to "discover" the works of Nicolae Grigorescu in Bucharest. We'd never even heard of him before, which made it an all the more delightful experience.

Thank you for a terrific trip report!

Well done!

Happy travels!

Wonderful trip report! Teo sounds like a perfect guide for Romania. I'm going to go back now and watch him in the Rick Steves Romania episode.

Also, I love that you found some new artists that you like. I enjoy doing this on my trips, too.

Really glad that this trip worked out so well for you and your travel partners!

I enjoyed your report, CW; thanks for writing it. Romania sounds like an interesting country. I hope to get there someday.

I especially love how three forum members ended up traveling together.

Barbara N, hopefully we'll get to talk in person in October. Can't complain when we're traveling!

jeanm, it really came together nicely. It was fun to put my planning energy into Bucharest and Brasov, knowing that I wasn't responsible for all the rest.

Carol, I love how each of us has a different highlights reel. When I read the reports from Mardee and TexasTravelMom I think, oh wow, that part was special too!

Bucharest is one of the big surprises of my travel life, it was way better than I expected.

Rob, completely agree with you! Fascinating and full of a friendly soul that I found in both the people and the art. I thought I would fly through the art museums. Within 5 minutes, I knew I'd be spending hours.

I'm glad I visited Bucharest first, before the rest of the country. And now I'd like to go back to see the city viewpoint again. And go relax in a few Romanian squares!

Thank you, David and Christine.

Teo sounds like a perfect guide for Romania.

Truth. He has this subtle humor that warms as you get to know him. And he seems to love showing each person their best view of Romania. Even based on a simple offhand remark. And even when 3 different people have 3 different views.

I especially love how three forum members ended up traveling together.

Carroll, so true. Three independent travelers, from three different states, with 3 different travel backgrounds. And I would say, with 3 different (but overlapping) views on the best parts of Romania.

Three independent travelers, from three different states, with 3 different travel backgrounds. And I would say, with 3 different (but overlapping) views on the best parts of Romania.

An accurate assessment for sure. And somehow we all had a wonderful trip.

Three independent travelers, from three different states, with 3 different travel backgrounds. And I would say, with 3 different (but overlapping) views on the best parts of Romania.

I wholeheartedly agree! And I learned so much from the two of them; including the art of drinking vișinată! Seriously, they were wonderful travelers and always quick to share their knowledge.

Here's a video that Teo posted of our visit with the Mischiu family, whose ceramic workshop we visited in Horezu, Romania:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/24808059752217219/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v

We watched the Son throwing a piece, Dad taking greenware pieces to the overhead drying racks and Mom doing the detailed hand painting.

I was asked what resources we used for planning our time in Romania, so I thought I would include my answer here.

We used Marsle's trip report in early stages as we were considering how much time to allocate to each city:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/bulgaria-and-romania-report-in-progress

We chose from Teo's tours and then customized to our tastes, adding days and even adding a city:
https://maramurestour.com/maramures-tours/

The beauty of booking with Teo is that he did all the planning for our time with him - booked our hotels (according to our specifications for 3 star properties in en-suite rooms with breakfast) and booked the car/minivan, did all the driving and paid for parking and petrol, as part of our tour costs. He also paid for all of our admissions, none of which needed to be booked in advance. There was one train sightseeing option that would have needed to be booked in advance, but we decided against it.

Teo offered suggestions and joined us for lunches on the days that we were sightseeing. We did not include meals (except breakfast) in the price of our tour, although you can. We ordered from the regular menus and each paid separately for our lunches and dinners, as did Teo. All but one restaurant was very accomodating with splitting the bills to pay with 4 credit cards!

Once situated in our hotels, Teo gave us an orientation to each town, including restaurant suggestions, before retiring to his own, separate accommodation - except 1 night where he stayed in the same hotel, a new one he was trying in Horezu, which we all loved!

A2For sightseeing on our own in Bucharest and Brasov, I used these resources.

Romania - I used the Rick Steves guidebook (from my library) which has a section on Romania:
https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/eastern-europe-guidebook

I also used these Rick Steves articles/videos:
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/romania
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/bucharest-romania-little-paris-of-the-east

I regularly use the Crazy Tourist "15/20/25 Best Things to Do" to identify my own list of city highlights:
https://www.thecrazytourist.com/25-best-things-to-do-in-bucharest-romania/
https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-things-to-do-in-brasov-romania/

I search (and often book through) GetYourGuide to find city tours and day trips. For this trip, I booked in Bucharest:
https://www.getyourguide.com/bucharest-l111/bucharest-hidden-markets-secret-quarters-t72676/
https://www.getyourguide.com/bucharest-l111/bucharest-city-highlights-guided-walking-tour-t410553

And from Brasov:
https://www.getyourguide.com/brasov-l2003/brasov-bear-sanctuary-dracula-castle-and-rasnov-fortress-t534227/
- the Bear Sanctuary has its own guides, which you must use. So any tour that you book, is just providing logistics to get there.

We visited Peles and Pelisor Castles on our own as a day trip from Brasov to Sinaia, via train and bus. We walked on the trail (rather than the road) down from the castles, discovering a small souvenir market on the way to the monastery and then back to the bus stop. I believe we found the transit details in the Rick Steves book. Or maybe just Google Maps. Either way, it was easy.

And we went to all 4 of the Bucharest "Best Romanian Restaurants" (listed and linked in my trip report, above) from this article:
https://michellealtenberg.com/best-restaurants-in-bucharest/#Best_Romanian_Restaurants_in_Bucharest

I found this article useful for my in town Brasov planning:
https://jetsettingfools.com/brasov-romania-things-to-do-eat/
I especially enjoyed their #8 "Ramble alongside the Brasov Old City Walls" and the short walk/mini hike up to and between the White and Black Towers.

There were a lot more interesting options to be saved for another visit, including Danube Delta tours, an Alpaca farm visit and a variety of wine and food tours.

We reserved / bought these timed tickets in advance:

Cotroceni Nataional Museum, Bucharest - timed ticket, you MUST bring your passport or you will be denied entry

Palatul PrimaveriI (Ceausescu House) - timed ticket for English guided tour

Palace of Parliament - you must call on the day prior to reserve a spot for your visit. Our hotel called for us. You pick up and pay for your ticket just before your visit, passport required. Call early in the day to get the timeslot of your choice, and allow some flexibility in your day in case one timeslot is already full.

Peles and Pelisor - from Brasov, we booked the 915am Peles vist and the 2pm Pelisor visit, allowing ample time for lunch between the two

Bear Sanctuary - from Brasov, we booked a guided day trip; they told us which timeslot to buy our tickets, which we purchased individually on the website. If you go on your own, you must book a timed ticket for an English tour.

We also made reservations, in advance, for the Caru' cu Bere Restaurant in Bucharest. I requested in my booking a table with good viewing for the dancers and they gave us the perfect table. Other tables did not have a view and had to crowd around the dance floor.

Great information about Romania. This is reminding me I need soon to make the time to put together a trip report of the trip my wife and I took there at about the same time as the RS forum travelers with Teo, in fact I know we almost (but not quite) were in the same city, Cluj, at the same time. Our experience was a bit different as it was a group tour with Road Scholar, but also very good, and I can equally enthusiastically recommend Romania as a fascinating destination that is still pretty much off the beaten track in Europe. I think Rick did quite a nice job in his TV episode of capturing the "vibe" of Bucharest and the places in Transylvania he went.

Slate, that would have been a fun meet up if it had been the same day! Mardee and I had some good Italian the day we were in Cluj. Ha!

And some good wine!!!

That would have been fun. A memory of Cluj I’ll always have is that I’m one of the many people who retired from federal service a few years earlier than I might otherwise have done due to circumstances, and my last day of employment was 9/30, which coincidentally was the last night of our Romania tour (I had been on leave since earlier this year), and Road Scholar hosted a final dinner for our tour at a village inn near Cluj, with great food, Roma musicians, and plenty of wine, so that was a great retirement party!

Slate, I love that your tour hosted your retirement party! That sounds like a fun night in Cluj. I look forward to your trip and tour report. I'm headed for my first Road Scholar tour in February.