2017 began, and of course the planning of our holidays also began, starting with easter. My in-laws had Romania in mind, and although I had been there before for work, I did not have much time to see the country, so this was an opportunity I could not refuse.

We booked the flights in January. I usually like to plan a draft itinerary before buying the tickets to estimate the days I need to visit the places I want to go. This time we did it the other way around: buy the tickets according to the days we have and then plan the trip accordingly. So here is our itinerary…

Our 8 days itinerary:

Day 1: Flight from Madrid to Bucharest, arrived at 21:00. We picked up the rented car and slept close to the airport.

Day 2: Left Bucharest at 10:00 to visit Sinaia. Slept in Brasov.

Day 3: Visited Brasov. Slept in Sibiu.

Day 4: Visited Sibiu. Slept in Sighisoara.

Day 5: Visited Sighisoara. Slept in Sighisoara.

Day 6: Left Sighisoara at 9:15 to Suceavita. Visited 2 Painted Monasteries and slept in Suceavita.

Day 7: Visited Voronet Monastery and left to Iasi to visit it and to take our flight to Bucharest. Slept in Bucharest.

Day 8: Visited Bucharest and took our flight to Madrid at 21:20.

…and here is the map I created for this travel.

Below you will find practical information and inspiration to prepare your own trip to Romania.

Visa:

Carrying a Spanish passports means I didn´t need visa to go to Romania.

Renting a car:

We rented the car 1 month before our road trip, through rentalcars.com. It was a comfortable Ford Focus for 6 days, 3 extra driver and full insurance per 360€, plus 132€ for returning it in a different office. A little expensive because we wanted the full coverage insurance and I didn’t know about www.worldwideinsure.com at the moment. This an insurance that costs around 70£ per year and covers all the cars you rent worldwide, up to 50.000 dollars and up to four drivers. Until the moment I haven’t had to use it, but one of my friend did and she was satisfied with it.

Driving in Romania turned out easier than expected.

Language:

As a spanish and english speaker, I didn’t understand much when hearing them talking but it was a little better when reading signpost. Anyway, it was easy to find english speakers in the country.

Weather:

It was April, and the weather was just perfect, not too cold not too hot. It rained just a little big on one of the day.

I also have been close to Bucharest for work in December and January and it was very cold, with snow everywhere. I believe the best time to go is in June or September because it is not too hot or cold and the Transfăgărășan road is open: world’s best road trip according to Top Gear.

Internet:

Very easy to find wi-fi everywhere #ThanksGosh.

Electricity: 

The voltage in Romania is 230V, and the frequency is 50 Hz. They use type F sockets, which is the most common use in Europe.

Currency, Credit card  and ATM:

The Romanian leu (plural lei) is the currency of Romania, subdivided into 100 bani, which also means “money” in Romanian.

Except from a few things like the car, we paid everything by cash because most of the time credit card weren’t accepted, especially outside Bucharest.

ATM weren’t easy to find as we drove away from Bucharest.

Tipping:

Always 10%. Waitress are paid low as the owners expect them to get tipped, although most of the time you feel like you don’t want to leave any tips (service is not their biggest strength).

Total Expenses:

To be honest, as I had already visited Romania in winter for work and did not have the best experience, especially with the food, my expectations were quite low. But now that I came back from our road trip I am delighted and excited to encourage other travelers to visit this beautiful country. Especially now that tourism has not yet arrived in a massive way, so it is still a good time to discover the most authentic Romania.

Prices are still very low for transport, food or accommodation and the country offers many things to see and do as you cross the Carpathian Mountains, know its variety of landscapes and cultures, castles, monasteries and medieval villages. Each region has its charm and, on the whole, is a very stimulating and varied country.