The original post: /r/travel by /u/heyheyitsandre on 2024-06-03 15:44:27.

Hello! I need some help in putting together a Romania itinerary.

The facts: Sep 7-15th, I will land in Bucharest in the morning of the 7th. My brother will be coming from Poland and could meet me elsewhere in theory, if needed. I will have to stay in an airport hotel in Bucharest the night of the 14th because the flight is at like 7:00 the 15th. Both able bodied mid 20s, can do hills or 10k+ steps per day. He has no diet restrictions but I’m allergic to gluten unfortunately. Not celiac though so I can eat stuff that’s like made on the same counter as bread or whatever.

Our interests: culture, history, good food, museums, views, castles, just walking around squares or plazas and enjoying a coffee at a cafe. He is sober, I enjoy a couple cocktails with dinner but not much more so we don’t need need clubs or bar recs to really drink. We like nightlife in the sense of just lots going on, people walking around, etc, and if the bars have good food, by all means. I’d also love to see a football match, I imagine it’s probably tough to get FCSB or Dinamo Bucuresti tickets but worth exploring. Would watch a match of any size in almost any city we can.

My ideas so far: rent a car, use it to easily get to Bran Castle and then to Brasov. Be in Brasov for a few days and then drive on the Transfagarasan Highway on to Cluj. Stay in Cluj for a bit and then drive down to Sibiu. Stay in Sibiu for a few days and then over to Timisoara, stopping at Hunyadi Castle on the way. Would be nice to leave the car here and take the sleeper train from Timisoara to Bucharest. Stay in Bucharest center for a day or two and then the airport hotel the night of the 14th.

Another idea I’ve had is to get a Eurail one country pass with 4-5 travel days. We could take the sleeper train to Timisoara day 1 and then train to Cluj, Sibiu, Brasov, and back to Bucharest. However I really want to see both Hunyadi and Bran castle which would be difficult with no car. The train is probably less stress than having to take care of a rental car but also handcuffs us to time tables, transfers, slow routes, etc. Would also let us sleep a night while going to Timisoara though.

Please let me know if it seems obvious one is better than the other. Or if I probably need to drop Sibiu or Brasov. Just on paper, 9 days and hitting Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj, Sibiu, and Timisoara seems pretty fast paced.

Give me all your thoughts!! Thanks