Romania 
                          
 


Romania is a southeastern European country known the region of Transylvania, ringed by the Carpathian Mountains with castles and many fortified churches. It may surprise you that Romania has lots of wonderful Black Sea beach resorts. From party beaches crowded with young people having fun to quiet family beaches – Romania has it all. 

5. Where we stayed
6. Places to eat
History is something that Romania is definitely not short of. You’ll find yourself charmed by the medieval architecture as much as buildings of the Communist era. A mysterious country full of contrasts, there is so much to discover. Of all the places I've visited, Romania definitely made the top 10 must-visit destinations. 
This is my diary of 2 weeks in Romania.
Wizz Air offers the best flight deals and flies to several airports in Romania, it depends on what you would like to see and do. We flew to Bucharest, Romania capital, but we didn't stay there. I wish we had spent a day or so in the city as Bucharest has a lot to offer such as the iconic and imposing communist-era Parliament building and great nightlife with trendy cafes and drinking gardens. Instead, we picked our car up and set off for Sinaia.
SINAIA
1 hour and 40 mins drive from Bucharest brings you to this beautiful town surrounded by the Bucegi Mountains.  Once home to Romania’s first king Carol I, who created a summer retreat here, Peleş Castle is the main attraction in town.  It's also a ski resort in the winter and a hikers paradise in summer. 
1. Peleș Castle

It was built as a summer residence for the Romanian Royal Family by King Carol I, and it gives the impression that it's still waiting for the return of its former owners. After we parked our car in a free car park, we walked through the trees and gardens to the castle. First, you see the smaller Pelisor Castle, unfortunately, it was closed when we visited. Then down the road, the view opens up like it straight from the pages of a fairytale opens up.  

Fun fact: Peles Castle was also one of the most modern constructions of its time being the first castle in Europe and in the world to have central heating through the walls and floors

You can visit the inside of the castle only within a guided tour given your chosen language by paying an admission fee £5.70 for adult and £2.85 for a child. But when you in, you can ditch the group and have a look around by yourself, unless you love guided tour and want to learn more about the castle and its history. My 9 years old thought it's been boring, so we finished to look around by ourselves. 
 The unique design of the castle did charm and impressed us, but I have to mention that out of this world garden around the castle was breathtaking. Lovely walks, places to have a picnic, a cute little cafe, it has it all. You must allocate at list 2 hours to walks around, maybe more. We certainly enjoyed it. 
2. Bucegi Mountains

The Bucegi Mountains are a beautiful area of Romania with picturesque views. From Peles Castle, it takes about 10-15 min drive, and you get to the cable car station Gondola Sinaia. There are 3 different cable cars: one going up, one going down and one ski lift, which keeps going around and you just hop on if you want to. To be honest, just looking at the ski lift we decided against it straight away. Cable cars are cheap, £10 return trip for an adult and £6.65 for a child. 
The views are magnificent. You can have a short or long hike, then visit the small cafe on the top, which makes a good pit stop for coffee with a view.
3. Bran Castle (Dracula Castle)

On the way to Brasov we stopped at Bran Castle, also known as Dracula Castle. It became famous thanks to Bram Stoker’s character, Dracula. Interestingly Bram Stoker never visited Romania. The castle featured in the first edition of “Dracula” is strikingly similar to Bran Castle and no other in all of Romania. This place, surrounded by an aura of mystery and legend, just amazing and well worth to visit. It's very touristy, busy with bus after bus full of people. Even though this castle has nothing to do with the character of Dracula, every shop is full of items covered with fangs and blood designs, magnets, T-shirts, you name it - Dracula is on it! I was no different from any other person, sucked in by the book legend, I ended up with a bag of tat. 
 I recommend to buy your ticket online and print it before you turn up. Otherwise, you will spend a few hours in the queue like we did. There are dozens of disappointed reviews of Bran Castle, where people expected more and don’t recommend visiting. I tend to disagree, please remember that this is not a Dracula castle with coffins inside, it's a castle with a history going back to 1211. Full of rich history, beautiful garden outside and many extra exhibitions inside. My daughter, strangely enough, loved the torture exhibitions.
                                                                      Brasov

After about 50 min picturesque drive from Bran, we arrived in Brasov. Pretty old town center with buildings in yellow, pink and blue has a very unique feel. The café culture is thriving, interesting bars even more so. The old town center is very compact and you can see everything in one or two days. Brasov has become a new popular weekend destination for Western European tourists, but it's still very affordable. Brasov is generally more expensive than the other parts of Romania that we visited. 
 I certainly had a great few days with my daughter there and this is My top 10 things to do in Brasov:
 Lake Sfânta Ana

It takes about 1 hour and 30 min drive from Brasov to the only crater lake in Romania. There is a large parking place (about £2 for a day) where we had to leave the car and continue by foot through a beautiful pine forest. Car park attendant warned us about the bears, and it's made us laugh, but a few hours later we've seen a mama bear with three little calves trying to eat from a rubbish bin. 
The lake's water is so pure that it's very similar to distilled water, but unfortunately, we couldn't swim in the lake. For about €5 for an hour, we rented a little boat instead. Walks are lovely, small cafe to buy drinks and snacks. The lake itself is not large, but we did spend most of our day there.



Valea Lupului, Buzau and White Water Rafting trip

2 hours and 30 min drive from Brasov took us through mountain roads, past rivers and lakes and it has been just awesome. If we could, we would stop every 5 mins to take pictures and soak up the fresh air and enjoy the incredible Romanian nature. Unfortunately, we were in a rush to get to Buzau for our White Water Rafting trip. 
Valea Lupului is a small village set in stunning mountain surroundings on the banks of Buzău River and only 40 min drive from not well-known Mud Volcanoes.  
4 hours unforgettable experience of rafting near the Siriu water storage dam with beautiful surroundings was just must on our trip. In summer it has an easy to medium difficulty level and was perfect for my 9 years old daughter.



The Berca Mud Volcanoes 

Drive to Mud Volcano was a treat with a sensational view, horse and carriage and cows on the road past by. The Mud Volcanoes are not what you would expect. There isn't hot lava, volcanic ash or anything like that. Despite that, it's very spectacular. The Mud Volcanoes created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. So the gas pushes the water and the clay to the surface (which by that time become mud), creating small cones which resemble the shape of a volcano. These volcanoes are pretty unique because it's only a hand full of European countries can proudly say they got them: Taman Peninsula of Russia, Italy, they are common in the northern front of the Apennines and in Sicily. On August 24, 2013, a mud volcano appeared in the centre of the via Coccia DI Morto roundabout in Fiumicino near Rome.
The place almost the size of a football court and it pretty much resembles a lunar area. 
Entrance is 4 Leu for an adult (about £0.70) and 1 Leu for a child. Don't expect very well developed tourist facilities. Just go there to see the area, take some pictures, enjoy the views.
  Mamaia

All most 3 hours drive took us to Mamaia, the most popular beach resort in Romania, located by the Black Sea Coast. It's known for its fine sand, a vibrant nightlife and great restaurants. Mamaia is a magnet for local tourists. From the UK Wizz air offers direct flight to Constanta city, only 15 min drive from Mamaia, which my husband took advantage of. Unfortunately, he couldn't do the first fun part of our holiday due to suffering from back pain, but join us for relaxing beach part. Mamaia has so much to offer with its long beach promenade with countless shops, restaurants, beach clubs, amusement parks and other activities. 
We had a great time, and this is My top 10 things to do in Mamaia:


Our road trip in beautiful, surprising, full of history Romania lasted 2 weeks. Breathtaking mountains, lakes and rivers, mysterious castles, great food and nice friendly people made our holiday unforgettable. That it was a cheap country made it icing on the cake.
Would say that the beaches of Mamaia are worth a visit, and certainly another great and cheaper option to the more famous beach destinations in neighbouring Bulgaria.


Where we stayed

Hotel Riviera, Sinaia

    Calea Brașovului 8, Sinaia 106100

Lovely clean place with a very nice restaurant. This hotel cost £31 for 2 nights with breakfast, free parking and it's had an amazing view from a balcony. It's quite far from town center to walk, but we had a car and it wasn't a problem for us. Lady on reception spoke good English. I definitely recommend this place.


 Main Square Apartments, Brasov
                            Piața Sfatului 21, Brașov 500025

In the heart of Braşov, 5 min walk from the
Historical Centre, this place was a great 
location for our 2 night stay. Very clean
but this simple guest house cost  £77 without breakfast.   
                                                                         Pensiunea Valea Lupului , Buzau
 
                                                                                                              DN10 22, Valea Lupului 127444
 This is a very lovely little guesthouse which was designed in  collaboration with a Swiss architect, the plan being to recreate the atmosphere of a Swiss cottage. The view from a  balcony does not disappoint, and the stillness of the night is  guaranteed. The pension is withdrawn a few tens of meters from the main road, but surprisingly well isolated from  noise.  No Wifi, but TV with English TV Channels. 
                                                                    The staff didn't speak any English, but I didn't really expect it.  Had a lot of  fun with an translation app. €20 per night with  buffet breakfast well worth it.

                                                                   We were fortunate to witness a local wedding they hosted hosted in the evening with live music and dancing. Amazing experience.
                                                                       
                                                                                   Hotel Bavaria Blu, Mamaia
                                                                                        Bulevardul Mamaia, Constanța 900001
 
                                                                            Not much different to any 3 star mid range beach hotels, Bavaria Blue had a lovely pool, 2 min walk to the gorgeous beach with a cool beach bar. 
       Hotel was clean with very friendly staff who all most spoke 
                                                                  English Buffet breakfast was interesting with some unknown very fishy taste spreads. 

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