#155 Brasov, Transylvania

Brasov

Despite being based in Brasov for three days, we actually spent very little time exploring the area as we were busy with day trips. However, our AirBnB was located in the old town and had a great view of the Brasov sign in the mountains. The old town is a great place to stay, and is a short and cheap Uber ride to the train or bus stations.

We did have some time in the late afternoons after our day trips to venture out a little and explore the area, and it would have been nice to have had at least one full day exploring there.

Food & Drink

We availed of a giant chimney cake (Kurtos Kalacs) from a little wagon for just 20lei, and it was large enough for 3 of us to share. We also enjoyed a relaxing evening cocktail outside along one of the many bars and restaurants, who set up tables and chairs in the middle of the street in the evenings.

For dinner one evening we had dinner at the highly rated Sergiana. It's located in a cellar, so no option to dine al fresco which we had gotten used to! I enjoyed my meal but my friends was incredibly salty, and the service wasn't particularly fast, so overall it's a bit hit and miss.

Sights to See

We wandered around the main square, Piata Sfatului, which is also next to the Black Church. Unfortunately we didn't have time to fit in a trip up to the Brasov sign on Tampa mountain, which can be reached by a short hike or by cable car. 

I feel it is also important to note that there is nowhere to eat in or around Brasov train station, as we came back from a day trip and had to wait 2 hours for our train back to Bucharest and ended up almost starving! After a look around the station we found nothing suitable (honestly they looked like places we'd get food poisoning) and ventured across the street to a shopping mall - which similarly had nowhere that looked clean or fresh. So....yeah. Try and bring some snacks with you!

#154 Bran Castle, Transylvania

Bran / Dracula's Castle

Bran Castle is famous for being the inspiration for Dracula's castle. This has been largely debunked and in reality there is little to no basis for this vampire link, but nonetheless it remains one of the most popular tourist attractions in Romania.

We had heard that it's small, overcrowded and overrated, and that Peles Castle is better. We didn't agree with this, and enjoyed Bran very much, possibly because we had such low expectations going in.

We went midweek and got the bus to Bran from Autogara 2 in Brasov, which is located a little bit out of the city and isn't the one located next to the train station, so you'll need to get an Uber or something there. We had read online the bus to Bran cost 7 lei each way, but we were charged 9 lei (€2) by the bus driver so it seems the price has increased, although it's still cheap.

Early Birds Get The...

Since I had heard about it being very busy with coach tours, and having a similar problem when we visited Peles, I was eager to get there as early as possible. We got the 8am bus from Brasov that arrived at 8.45am, despite the castle not being open until 9.15am. Thankfully the bus dropped us right outside the castle and it's only a few minutes walk to the entrance. Entry to the castle is 40lei(€8.50).

It allowed us enough time to make a leisurely walk up to the castle and go to the bathroom before entering just moments after opening time. When we entered there was only two small groups of children in front of us, but by the time we left about an hour later the castle was already getting very busy with large tour groups.

Inside Dracula's Lair

You don't need a guided tour and are free to wander around the castle at your leisure. It's quite old style and the rooms aren't too busy with decorations or furniture, but I enjoyed it. There's a lovely view of the mountains, and the castle has some neat features like a very narrow stairwell, winding wooden stairs, and an open veranda. We enjoyed wandering around at our own pace but I imagine later in the day or on weekends it would be very crowded and uncomfortable.

On the way out of the castle we stopped at the little souvenir market, as it had been mostly closed on our way into the castle. The prices were reasonable and I got a fridge magnet for 5lei(€1). We stopped at Galeria restaurant and my friend got a gelato dessert and I got a black forest gateau, these were good and the prices were reasonable.

Also I should mention that the bus from Brasov to Bran also makes a stop at Rasnov, a citadel on hill that also boasts a Hollywood-esque sign. We were tempted to stop off here, but in the end we were just very tired after a busy few days and decided to give it a miss. However, it looked good from the bus as we passed and I think if you have time it could be a nice addition to your trip.

#153 Sighisoara, Transylvania

Sighisoara

We only had time to do a day trip to either Sighisoara or Sibiu, and in the end decided that Sighisoara looked like a prettier place. It was a little difficult to find information and we were unsure if the information we did have was up to date, but thankfully in the end it all ran very smoothly.

The Bus

We took a bus there and back from Brasov. The bus left from the Autogara 1 bus station which is attached to the main Brasov train station.

We had read they were "mini buses" but the bus we got on was a comfortable coach and wasn't busy, however this might have been because it was midweek. We used the company CDI and found timetables (with the help of Google Translate) on www.cdyservice.ro, it leaves around every 2 hours in each direction and the route is Tg Mures - Bucuresti. They have a ticket office where you can buy tickets in Brasov, and you just buy them from the bus driver in Sighisoara. It cost 25lei/€5 each way and took around 2 hours.

We got the first bus of the day at 8.56am which arrived in Sighisoara at 10.56am, and we returned on the 2.30pm bus, which was enough for us to wander around the old town and get some lunch before heading back to Brasov and spending the evening there. The bus station in Sighisoara is within a short walking distance of the old town and is easy to navigate.

The journey is quite nice and takes in quite a few small towns and villages, as well as scenery and even some old ruins.

Picture Perfect

Sighisoara was absolutely gorgeous and very picturesque, with winding cobble stoned streets and colorful old buildings. It was particularly nice as the weather was blue skies and since we arrived early in the day it wasn't too busy with coach tours and other tourists either.

For lunch we had pizza and a beer outside at Pizzeria San Gennaro just off the main square (Piata Cetatii). This was probably one of the better places we ate at with good service in Romania, so would recommend.

I had largely planned this trip, and the night before we visited Sighisoara my friends asked me "But what is there to do there?" and my response was "Nothing, I think it's just pretty to walk around". I was a little concerned if the trip would be a waste of time, and it had been very troublesome figuring out the bus, but it was a gamble that paid off and our relaxing day wandering around Sighisoara was one of the highlights of our trip.

#152 Peles Castle and Sinaia, Transylvania

Peles Castle

To start with, you should probably know that the 's' of Peles has an accent on it which makes it pronounced like "Pel-esh". I had read online and even heard from locals that this castle is far nicer than Bran/Dracula Castle. As it turns out, my friends and I totally disagree on that point, and while Peles was nice, we still think Bran was better.

Train to Sinaia

We went on a Sunday and set off on the train from Bucharest at 8.10am and despite a slight delay, arrived at Sinaia station just before 10am. You can check train times, buy tickets online and show them on your phone to the inspector at www.cfrcalatori.ro, or just buy them at the station.

We left our luggage at Sinaia station for 10lei/€2 (open everyday from 7am-7pm) and used the bathroom for a small 1.5lei fee. You will need to show your passport when leaving your luggage so make sure you have it to hand. Sinaia is nestled in forest covered mountains, and is beautifully scenic. 

The Long Walk

From Sinaia station to Peles Castle it is an uphill hike, but nothing too difficult if you take your time. It was confusing, as oftentimes there are signs for it pointing in opposite directions. In the end, I think we went the long way around following the road that was meant more for vehicles, and there was probably a shorter route with steps for walking in the other direction.

It took us 20mins to walk from the station to the Monastery. We didn't go in as we were asked to rent a skirt to cover our legs, and my friend took offence to this. I'm not sure if it's because it was a Sunday, as I hadn't read about it online before, but it's something to be careful of if you're a woman in shorts.

It took us another 25mins from there to reach the castle, and that included a stop at a local shop to buy some water and quite a bit of time stopping and trying to see if Google Maps could help us, as we couldn't see the castle and were very unsure if we were even going in the right direction. So overall it was one hour walk from the station to the castle. I had read online it was about 30-40mins, so I'm unsure if we were just very slow or if we went the long way around.

Entry Fee and Tour

By the time we arrived at the castle it was after 11am, and despite seeing no other tourists on the train from Bucharest or on the walk up, we found several coaches parked outside, and the castle was busy with plenty of group tours. We queued up and got a tour quite quickly, but I imagine could be far busier later in the afternoon. There were local women outside selling little baskets of cherries and raspberries for 10lei which were a nice snack after the long walk.

We paid 30lei/€6.50 entry, and there is also another 30lei extra charge if you want to take photos inside. We didn't bother and as it turned out, almost everyone took lots of photos. The groups were so big it was very easy to sneak photos on your phone without being caught (once you didn't use flash) and even if you were caught, you were just told not to take photos or to show your photo pass, there was no real punishment. Therefore I'd advise unless you have a big camera not to bother paying the extra photo charge.

The compulsory guided tour wasn't great, I think it took about 40mins or so. It was very crowded and at times difficult to hear the guide as he wasn't very loud and didn't have the best English, and many people spoke over him to their friends. The interior was quite fancy and decadent, but the tour just wasn't enjoyable and we would have preferred doing it in our own time.

We also had a problem that we couldn't actually get a proper full photo of the exterior of the castle, as when we walked up the lane it was obscured until we reached it, and then we were too close to get it all in one photo. There did appear to be a lane at the bottom of the field in front of the castle that we could see people walking and perhaps there we could have gotten a better photo, but we were just too tired and hungry to check it out.

The Way Back

On the way back to the station we went a little out of our way to stop to eat at a restaurant called Snow which was quite highly rated online. Unfortunately it wasn't worth our time as the service was very, very slow and the food was so bad we couldn't finish it despite being hungry (very greasy and oily). The decor was nice but I wouldn't recommend.

Once finished in Sinaia, you can hop back on another train that will bring you to Brasov, a nice city and a good starting point for day trips to Bran(Draculas) castle as well as the picturesque towns of Sighisoara and Sibiu. The train from Sinaia to Brasov took one hour and cost 14lei/€3, and departs regularly.

Overall, we were glad we went to Sinaia and Peles Castle, but we did favour Bran Castle.

#151 Transylvania, Romania

I had a blast during my visit to Romania, despite finding it difficult to find information before my visit. Hopefully this blog will help anyone else who is planning their trip!

For details on my time spent in Bucharest, you can check my previous post here.

Sample Itinerary

We spent 5 full days in Romania. We spent our first and our last day in Bucharest, and the 3 days in between in Transylvania.

Our itinerary worked out like this:

Day 1: Bucharest - Old town, palace of the parliament, outdoor village museum, natural history museum (overnight in Bucharest)

Day 2: Sinaia - Peles Castle (overnight in Brasov)

Day 3: Sighisoara (overnight in Brasov)

Day 4: Bran Castle (overnight in Bucharest)

Day 5: Bucharest - Therme Spa

The itinerary worked really well as it allowed us to see all the main sights and make the most of our time in Romania.

Bucharest to Sinaia and Peles Castle

Sinaia is the closest and easiest place to get to from Bucharest. It's a direct train that takes about 1.5hr and costs about 40lei/€9.  The main attraction here is Peles Castle, and as the local monastery is nearby some people visit there also.

Train Information

With the help of Google Translate you can easily buy train tickets on the official Romanian Railways website at www.cfrcalatori.ro (but only up to 6hrs before the train departs) and show them on your phone to the ticket inspector. You can also buy them at the station using automated ticket machines or desks.

We sometimes bought tickets in advance, but often we weren't sure exactly what time we would be finished sightseeing, so bought them at the station. On one occasion (I believe it was midday and midweek) the tickets were sold out and we had to wait an hour for the next train, which was a little inconvenient. I've heard trains sell out more often at weekends and weekday rush hour, so I suppose my advice would be to buy in advance if possible.

Peles Castle

I had read and heard from locals that the castle is far nicer than Bran/Dracula Castle, but we preferred Bran.

We left our luggage at Sinaia train station for 10lei. From there to Peles Castle it is an uphill hike, but nothing too difficult if you take your time. It took us about a one hour walk from the station to the castle.

We paid 30lei/€6.50 entry, and there is also another 30lei extra if you want to take photos inside but I'd advise unless you have a big camera not to bother paying the extra. The compulsory guided tour wasn't great, it was very crowded and at times difficult to hear the guide.

Once finished in Sinaia, we hopped back on another train that took us to Brasov. The train from Sinaia to Brasov took one hour and cost 14lei/€3, and departs regularly.

Sighisoara

We only had time to do a day trip to either Sighisoara or Sibiu, and in the end decided that Sighisoara looked like a prettier place. It was a little difficult to find information and we were unsure if the information we did have was up to date, but thankfully in the end it all ran very smoothly. We took a bus there and back that left from the Autogara 1 bus station which is attached to the main Brasov train station. We used the company CDI and found timetables (with the help of Google Translate) on www.cdyservice.ro. It cost 25lei/€5 each way and took around 2 hours.


Sighisoara was absolutely gorgeous and very picturesque, with winding cobble stoned streets and colorful old buildings. It was particularly nice as the weather was blue skies and since we arrived early in the day it wasn't too busy with coach tours and other tourists.

Brasov

Despite being based in Brasov for three days, we actually spent very little time exploring the area as we were busy with day trips. However, our AirBnB was located in the old town and had a great view of the Brasov sign in the mountains. The old town is a great place to stay, and is a short and cheap Uber ride to the train or bus stations.

One of the highlights of our brief stay was a giant chimney cake (Kurtos Kalacs) from a little wagon for just 20lei, and it was large enough for 3 of us to share.

We wandered around the main square, Piata Sfatului, which is also next to the Black Church. Unfortunately we didn't have time to fit in a trip up to the Brasov sign on Tampa mountain, which can be reached by a short hike or by cable car. 

Bran / Dracula's Castle

Bran Castle is famous for being the inspiration for Dracula's castle. This has been largely debunked and in reality there is little to no basis for this vampire link, but nonetheless it remains one of the most popular tourist attractions in Romania. 

We had heard that it's small, overcrowded and overrated, and that Peles Castle is better. We didn't agree with this, and enjoyed Bran very much, possibly because we had such low expectations going in.


We went midweek and got the bus to Bran from Autogara 2 in Brasov. We got the 8am bus from Brasov that arrived at 8.45am. Entry to the castle is 40lei/€8.50. You don't need a guided tour and are free to wander around the castle at your leisure. It's quite old style and the rooms aren't too busy with decorations or furniture, but I enjoyed it. On the way out of the castle we stopped at the little souvenir market, the prices were reasonable and I got a fridge magnet for 5lei/€1.

Also I should mention that the bus from Brasov to Bran also makes a stop at Rasnov, a citadel on hill that also boasts a Hollywood-esque sign. We were too tired to go but I think it does look like a neat place if you have the time and energy!

#150 Bucharest, Romania

While looking up flights and potential places to visit, I came across Romania. I was curious, but also dubious. As a solo female traveller, I put it on the "maybe" list and moved on. A few months later, I was doing a similar thing, but with friends this time. It was difficult to pick a place that had relatively cheap flights, and somewhere the three of us hadn't already been - again Romania came up. Deciding to be adventurous, we went for it and booked our flights to Bucharest.

The good news is I absolutely loved Romania and would highly recommend it to anyone. It is spectacular in terms of value for money, and it was (surprisingly) clean, modern and safe. Book your flights now!!!

Planning Your Trip to Romania

It's quite hard to find information about Romania that is up to date. TripAdvisor isn't hugely populated with that many reviews, and a lot of blogs or forum posts I found were a few years old, and things can change very fast. So, I found planning our trip took a lot more research and time than it usually would with more popular and mainstream destinations.

Hopefully the information in this blog will be useful, and then after that it's just taking the time and trying to find the newest information as it's the most reliable. We visited early June 2018, which is apparently one of the best times to go because it's good weather but not too hot or crowded like July and August.

Bucharest to Transylvania

There isn't a huge amount to do in Bucharest, and I've read a lot of blogs and instances were people have attempted to visit some of the castles (Dracula!) in Transylvania during a day trip from Bucharest. I have an adjoining post with my experience of Transylvania where you can get more detail - but I would definitely recommend planning a longer trip in Romania (we spent 5 full days) and staying overnight in Transylvania than trying to rush it in a day.

Bucharest Old Town

Bucharest old town (Lipscani) is wonderful, and wandering through the streets can make you feel more like you're in Paris than in Romania. We stayed at two AirBnBs which were located just a few minutes walk and it's a great area to base yourself. It is mostly comprised of bars, cafés and restaurants, and is a hive of activity in the evenings. Even being a tourist trap prices are incredibly reasonable, with a beer costing on average 10lei/€2 and meals usually around 25lei/€5.

The old town is a short walk to the impressive Palace of the Parliament, and a short Uber ride to the wonderful Outdoor Village Museum (Dimitrie Gusti). We didn't get a tour of the Parliament as we felt it may not be time well spent, and were happy to just look at it from the outside. The outdoor museum features very old buildings taken from around Romania and is lovely to walk around. It's priced very cheaply at 15lei/€3 and I think is best enjoyed in the morning before it gets too busy or too hot. 

From the village museum we walked out to the Arcul De Triomf, and from there down a pleasant avenue lined with embassy's to get the Museum of the Romanian Peasant. After a lot of confused wandering around we eventually discovered that the museum has closed, despite all indications online saying it's still open. A little disappointed, we went into the nearby Natural History Museum instead. While it was enjoyable to get inside out of the heat, it wasn't anything special and I wouldn't recommend it. There was again an extra cost to take photos, which we didn't avail of and there was no one around to check we had paid the extra cost either, so it appears to be a money-racket.

Getting Around Bucharest

You have two main travel options of metro or bus which are usually less than 50c a trip, but we ended up using Uber as prices ended up being on average less than €2 per trip, and divided between three of us was very cheap. The great things about Uber is the price is already agreed before you take the journey so there's no nasty surprises at the end, and you can pay online using your card which eliminates the need for carrying around cash. I had never used it before this trip, but would recommend it as the best way to get around cities in Romania.

Also, we noticed there were very few other tourists around. A few seemed to be Eastern European, and most were part of large coach tours. This meant you could see no other tourists on the bus or at the train stations and assume it's not busy, but once you arrived at the attraction in question there could be ten buses parked outside and hundreds of tourists in large groups inside. In general, it's best to try go places first thing in the morning before most of the bus tours arrive.

Therme Spa

I loved this place so much I gave it it's own blog post. It is Europe's largest wellness spa, a huge facility located on the outskirts of the city close to the airport. Entry cost us around €30 for 4.5hours, which included access to all three areas and to whatever treatments were scheduled during our time there (we had a scrub and a beauty treatment called "liquid gold"). It has something for everyone, including an amazing childrens area with an array of slides, and is well worth a visit if you have some spare time.

#149 Barcelona, Spain

I'm Irish, and Spain is the most popular holiday destination for Irish people. Since our weather is a bit damp, as a nation we just can't get enough of the hot Spanish weather.

I, however, do not like hot weather. I do not enjoy sitting by the pool all day working on my tan. I was brought on a few of these sun holidays as a child and the scars still remain.

Now, Barcelona is said to be a sort-of exception to this "sitting  by the pool" rule. A vibrant, fun, cultural city which makes a great city break. I wasn't hugely interested in going, but it's a close-by destination which regularly gets rave reviews by the many who have been. So to cross it off the list, I booked my flights.

On the whole, I did not enjoy Barcelona. I wouldn't hugely recommend it and I would not like to go back. I found that while it was nice, it was in many cases over-hyped and often times disappointing. A fine example of this is all the works by artist Gaudi which dot the city - some are OK, some are overpriced and a bit rubbish. If, like me, you have no interest in art, then most of his works are a waste of your time, despite how much everyone on TripAdvisor can try and tell you how amazing it is.

Weather

You go to Barcelona for the blue skies don't you? Well, we visited in late April and the weather forecast stated there would be rain for the four days of my trip.... This updated the day before we left and stated the first day would be sunny, and the rest wet. So we ran around our first day in a desperate attempt to get some nice photos before the rain hit. As it turned out, it never rained, but we had sore legs and feet from the stress of that first day that it somewhat put a damper on the rest of the days there.

Gaudi

I like to travel cheaply, and more often than not I will avoid paying entrance fees to attractions I have no interest in. Following this logic, I saw the Sagrada Familia cathedral from the outside only, as I did with Casa Batllo. I don't think I missed out hugely as most of the photos you see of these places online are also taken from the outside only. 

We decided to splash out on one attraction, and pay entrance to visit Park Guell. You really need to book a time online (even just a day or two before), as it's a very busy attraction and there are many cases where people show up in the morning for all the timeslots to be already sold out until much later in the day, or totally sold out. Thankfully the website is in English, fast and easy to use and the tickets were sent as pdf to my emails and scanned off my phone at the entrance.

The website however did not inform us of the following: the park is still a work in progress and half of the famous rooftop view was obscured, and the park is a trek to get to. We went to the nearest metro, and then had to walk for a long time down a business district with very few restaurants or cafés. Based on the amount of time and effort it took to get there, plus the disappointing interior, I was unhappy I had spent my money on this attraction.

Castell Montjuic

I really enjoyed this place, and probably because it wasn't hugely over-hyped in the same way as many of the Gaudi works. We got there by getting the funicular halfway up the hill (it's great because it is attached to the metro and you can use your metro travel card, saving money).  Once you get out there is an option to grab a bus, however we decided to walk. It was an uphill walk but nothing too strenuous and there were nice views along the way. Another option is to get the cable car, which does look good but not so much if you're saving money.

Entrance was cheap at €3/5 and the views were fabulous. One of the highlights.

Las Ramblas / La Boquiera Market

Las Ramblas is literally just a long pedestrian avenue with suspicious looking people loitering and others trying to sell grossly overpriced souvenirs. It was an uncomfortable experience and I felt paranoid I was going to be pickpocketed or kidnapped. The only reason to go there is to get to the wonderful La Boquiera market. Among the fish, meat and cheeses there were lots of juices and fruit cups that were great value at around €1.50. Again another gem in our visit.

#148 Preparing for Barcelona

Did you know that I, with my travel blog, have not traveled in almost one year? My last trip was to Brussels in May, and my next won't be until April. Terrible!

I had a trip to Croatia booked for last October, however due to work constrictions I was forced to cancel. Afterwards I was desperate for a break and I toyed with the idea of visiting Germany for a Christmas market, however after research I still found it difficult to decide which city was best to visit and could offer more than just overpriced mulled wine - so in the end I gave up and abandoned the idea altogether.

Unfortunately due to further work constraints I am unable to travel again until Easter, which this year falls in the end of March/beginning of April. Having browsed through airline websites I found a fair price and decided to visit Barcelona in Spain.

Park Guell in Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona has been somewhere on my "to-do" list for quite a while, but it always came runner-up as I would find cheaper flights to another destination. I also think April will be a good time for me to visit, as I have an aversion to the heat and prefer a more comfortable climate.

Unlike my usual trips this one will not be solo - my sister heard I was going and got jealous, so she booked her tickets a few days later!

We've previously traveled around Tokyo and Edinburgh together, and she enjoys my travel style - cheap and cheerful! When she travels with her husband it costs quite a lot as they stay in hotels and eat at nice restaurants etc. When she travels with me, she stays in hostel dormitories, eats bread on-the-go for lunch and forgoes some of the "must-see" destinations because of their high cost.

I've had a brief look at the things to do in Barcelona and I'm confident our 3 day stay will be enough to get everything done.