Romania

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McCheese

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My girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Romania this summer in late July/early August. We'll be flying in to Bucharest and we'll have 2 weeks in the country.

Any suggestions on must-see stuff? I don't know much about the country, so I'm really open and curious. We're the type of travelers who like to go off the beaten path and explore on our own whenever possible.

*Edit* In terms of language, we've been learning some basic Romanian. However, I speak Russian. Would Russian take me far in Romania, or is it not super common there?
 
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lurkingdirk

AssHat Taint
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Russian might get you punched in the face in Romania. The revolution there was painful, and many lives were lost. You'll get along fine in Romania with English.

A spectacular way to see the Carpathians is to rent a car and spend a day driving the Transfagarasan road ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfagarasan ) which crosses the Fagaras mountains, the highest part of the Carpathians in Romania.
 

Intrinsic

Person of Whiteness
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Didn’t we have 1 or 2 forum posters from Romania? The Keyboard guy? Hah shit he’s probably going to hate me. “The keyboard guy? That mother fucker.”
 

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
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I vaguely remember seeing some Romanian posters here.

Anyway, here's what we've got planned as a rough itinerary:

Arrive in Bucharest
2 days in Bucharest
4 days in Brasov
1.5 - 2 days in Cluj-Napoca (depending on travel times)
3 days in Suceava
1 day in Bucharest
Depart

We have ideas for things we want to see/do in each area, but I'd love to hear first-hand experience if anyone has been to those places.
 

Void

Experiencer
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Yeah, he was (maybe still is) definitely in Romania several years ago. I bought some electronic parts for him that he couldn't get without paying an exorbitant fee, but only cost me a few bucks. Even with shipping it was vastly cheaper I guess.

Hopefully he used those parts to meddle in our elections! (Yes, I know Romania isn't Russia, just let me have my fun.)
 

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
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I vaguely remember seeing some Romanian posters here.

Anyway, here's what we've got planned as a rough itinerary:

Arrive in Bucharest
2 days in Bucharest
4 days in Brasov
1.5 - 2 days in Cluj-Napoca (depending on travel times)
3 days in Suceava
1 day in Bucharest
Depart

We have ideas for things we want to see/do in each area, but I'd love to hear first-hand experience if anyone has been to those places.

Updating this for posterity in case anyone plans a trip to Romania in the future and searches this thread.

We followed the above itinerary almost to a 'T', but we added a day/night in Sighisoara and only did 1 in Cluj. Definitely glad we did it. Sighisoara is filled with really cool history, even if you ignore the touristy Vlad Tepes stuff.

Brasov was amazing and a great place to use as a base. Day trips from there are very doable to many places (Peles Castle, Rasnov fortress, etc.) and the city itself has a ton of stuff to do in and around it.

Suceava was probably the most interesting part. It was the least touristy and the only part where we actually needed to use some Romania to communicate. The painted monasteries were amazing and probably the highlight of the trip. A++ do recommend seeing them.

We did everything ourselves except for one 6 hour small group tour to some of the painted monasteries. We just went to bus/train stations, bought tickets, figured out routes, traveled with locals, etc. We took one night train in a sleeper car. If you've never experienced an Eastern European sleeper car, you definitely should try it at least once in your life. It's awful but in a really good way. I'd done a lot of traveling like this before in Russia, and it was a very similar experience.

Cluj was our least favorite, just because it was insanely touristy and western. It felt more like we were in NYC or DC than Romania. I'd only spend more than a day there if you're really into partying and nightlight, because it looks like it has an awesome bar and drinking scene.

Prices in country were dirt cheap. Typical meals for 2 people consisted of: a beer and a lemonade/juice, 2 main courses, one or two desserts, and the total price was almost always around like 20 bucks. When we went out of touristy areas it wasn't uncommon to get that food for like 15 dollars.

All in all, absolutely fantastic trip and I would recommend Romania to anyone. It had a fantastic European feel without the crowds and prices that you get in Spain or France.
 

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Ahn'Qiraj Raider
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