Romania Travel Guide

Land of Dracula, castles, fairy tale towns, spectacular scenery and masters of deep frying dough. (How is it always crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and not greasy?!) Romania doesn’t get as much credit as a travel destination as it really should. We didn’t get the warmest welcome when we arrived into Romania, granted, but stepping away from the capital city to explore Transylvania surrounded by the Carpathian mountains changed our first impressions. (Click here to read about our bad experience in Bucharest!)

Most people will be heading to Bucharest as their first stop (it usually makes sense in terms of bus connections from Bulgaria, as well as cheap flights). While I would recommend that you do explore Bucharest, I would also recommend that you don’t plan much time here.

Keep Brasov, Sighisoara, Sibiu and Sinaia at the top of your Romania travel list. These are our favourite spots; you can easily travel by train to reach these spots that will make you feel like you’ve walked on to a Disney film set.

The country, like the majority of the Balkan countries, went through a socialist/communist dictatorship period that didn’t end well. Under the tyrannical rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu between 1965 and 1989, the Romanian people were poverty-stricken. Ceaușescu’s irresponsible use of Romania’s funds created a lack of food, medicine and other necessities for the Romanian people. When protestors stood up against the regime in Timișoara, they were shot down. This sparked further revolution throughout the country, eventually resulting in the dictator and his family attempting to flee the country. Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife were both put on trial, found guilty, and executed for their crimes.

If you fancy an alternative adventure exploring fairy tale castles, breathing in fresh mountain air, delving in to a dark history, and wandering medieval towns that will provide fascinating and unique street photography, Romania is the place to be.

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