Length: 6 days
This six days trip will show you some of the most beautiful and famous parts of Romania, a country famous for being home of two of the most known characters in history, Count Vlad Tepes commonly known as “Dracula”, and former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, one the most ruthless dictators of the communist cold-war period, sequels of his time of ruling are still palpable in many ways throughout the country, especially in thecapital Bucharest.
Transylvania (Brasov)
Our first stop is Brasov, the capital of the Transylvanian Saxons (group of Germans who settled in Romania), you can see at first sight the German influence in the old town, the architecture style and how the city was built almost makes you feel as if you were in western Europe. It is a beautiful city to visit itself, but it also works perfectly as a hotspot for day trips around the region of Transylvania aka Dracula’s territory.
Accommodation
Since we are talking about Eastern Europe, prices are way more affordable than western countries, that is excellent when you are looking at a hostel and expect to get the top rated by a price of 25 euros per night and end up with a top rated hostel for 13 euros per night, Centrum House Hostel offers exactly that, friendly staff, great location, clean rooms, and an excellent 4 mixed-bedroom for 14 euros per night (depending on season).
Touristic spots
Ideally you should stay at least three days in this region, taking in to consideration that you most likely would want to take day trips to visit Bran Castle, Rasnov Fortress, Peles castle, and the Fagaras fortress, all of those tours are offered by a variety of companies at a very affordable price, I personally would recommend to ask the reception at your hostel to see if they have maybe a company on a discount.
Don’t forget as well that you need to dedicate Brasov’s old town it’s good amount of time, even though the old town is small, it has a lot to offer with things like the black church, or the main square. There are some companies that offer free walking tours around the old town of Brasov, I personally recommend Walkabout Free Tours, they are very professional and clear while they tell you about the history of the city, since they are free tours, they work based on tips, but don’t worry, since you are students, they don’t expect you to give a lot since you most likely don’t have that much income, in that case, between 5-10 euros per persona is a reasonable amount to tip the tour guide. If you are really into churches’ architecture, you may also enter the black church, but that will cost you extra.
I would not recommend you to visit Bran castle if you are expecting the castle of Dracula, Bran castle was never the castle of Vlad Tepes, even though he was born in Transylvania, he never ruled there, so the castle was never his, it is a beautiful attraction but beside all the touristic souvenirs and activities downhill from the castle there is only one room in the entire castle dedicated to Dracula’s book.
Food and Nightlife
Brasov doesn’t characterize for having a big nightlife presence in term of clubs, but they do offer some very nice bars in which you can enjoy a nice night and get some drinks.
Bella Musica is definitely one restaurant you should try, even though the Mexican-European kitchen combination might sound strange, don’t worry... it’s totally worth going! This restaurant is located in the basement of a 400-year-old building offers you a great experience and also amazing food at a very good price/value.
Bucharest
When traveling from Brasov to Bucharest I recommend using the trains, the prices are really cheap, they can go as low as 3 euros and the trip is about three and a half hours.
Bucharest is the capital of Romania, a city known by many as “the little Paris of eastern Europe '', because of some of its architecture and streets trying to replicate some of the most iconic places in Paris. The city itself might not be as beautiful or famous as other European capitals, but history will blow your mind away.
Accommodation
Bucharest is a much larger city than Brasov, but nevertheless the hostels are very accessible, you should try to find hostels in the city center to have a better experience and spend less time on public transport. X Hostel Bucharest is a very good hostel, close to the center, has a very nice bar where you can do the pre-game and the rooms are about 11 euros per night for a 4 mixed dorm, which is an amazing price.
Touristic Spots
Bucharest’s main attraction are two amazing buildings, the parliament and the spring palace, but also the city has a lot of very nice views and streets, so the best way to get to know the city would be to take a free walking tour upon arrival, to get to know the main spots of the city, get some recommendations and learn about the history of the city and its former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Again, I recommend Walkabout Free Tours they are very professional and know how to work under pressure, since on our tour there was a big storm, we couldn’t keep walking and ended up at a coffee shop for like 40 minutes, in this time the guide talked about history and kept the tour going, keeping people engaged, so that was very good.
On your second day, you should dedicate it to visit the parliament and the spring palace. I am not getting into a lot of detail about the two places in order to not spoil your visit, because believe me, it will shock you.
Don’t make the mistake of going to the parliament first! Visit the spring palace in the morning and get to know the residence of Nicolae Ceausescu and his family, get a grasp about their way of living and afterwards visit the parliament, which started building during the reign of Nicolae and was supposed to be his palace, he was killed before it was finished so it was finished and turned into public offices. Book your parliament tour in advance.
Food and nightlife
Bucharest is a city with a very good nightlife, I recommend checking out the city center, especially between Unirii Square and Gabroveni, Selari, and Lipscani streets.
There are many restaurant and bars to get the party started and have a nice meal, afterwards you might want to go to a club, if you are visiting Bucharest during the weekend, you definitely need to go to Face Club, it is one of the best clubs in Bucharest and the best part is that it closes at 6 am, so there is a lot of time to party in this great city.