Romania – quick travel guide

Central eastern Europe’s most “Latin” country. Warm friendly attitudes, diverse terrain, meat-heavy foods.

I think visitors are drawn to Romania for different reasons. For some because they’re already hovering near the east, like in Hungary Poland Slovakia or Croatia…and they figure why not? Others because they want a cheap country. Some are curious about Transylvania and Dracula pop culture things. Others still because of other reasons.

I think you can travel through the main parts in 2 weeks. But to see actual Romanian things (like actual landscapes and not just touristy stuff), you need more like 3-4 weeks.

General thoughts about Romania & Romanians:

• Romania has very diverse terrain. Beaches and mountains. Many Romanians will insist you “must go see the mountains” to really see the beauty of Romania.
• Romanians are the most “latin” vibes of the surrounding countries. Whereas Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova…those feel more Slavic/Russian to me, and their language is somewhat interchangeable with Russian. Romanians generally don’t speak Russian (although the older ones might be able), and their language seems somewhat more like Spanish/Italian. Their vibes are also very latin as well in behavior, extroverted warmth and friendliness. Same goes for their music, it seems more festive and latin. They also like reggaeton music, their version of it is called “manele”.
• Full range of English-speaking people – from zero English, to just a little, to just conversational, to fluent.
• Romanian economy is a big one. The people aren’t poor but they’re also not happy with their economic situation. Many want to move out and live elsewhere (like Germany) to earn in a stronger currency. Many will say Romania is nice for outsiders with foreign currency but not so great for locals. They do admit that they like the relaxed Romanian lifestyle.

General tips for traveling in Romania:

• Transportation – trains or buses are probably the fastest and least hassle way. Keep in mind that trains do leave late sometimes. BlaBlaCar also has many rides between different cities.
• Horrible roads – Romanians like to brag their roads are the worst in the EU, broken and unfinished and neglected by the government.
• Tap water – safe to drink and delicious, but locals will try to tell you it’s not the best idea. They prefer to drink from bottles.
• Language – if English doesn’t work, you can try Spanish and they’ll mostly understand you. But the young generation nowadays speaks really good English already.

Miscellaneous tips:

• ESIM – you can get those ESIMS that cover most of western europe. Cheap price and will cover you well here.

Safety tips:

• Romania is largely safe but there are some sketchy areas and also sketchy/shady characters in tourist zones.
• Young girls should be careful walking alone late at night as there are some boys who may harass.

Customs:

• Multemesc, noroc, te rog.

Romanian cities (* = recommended, ** = must see):

• Bucharest** – is the biggest city in Romania. Has a nice big old town area and also several areas to checkout. Compared to Cluj (which I like more), Bucharest feels very commercial and perhaps too big that it’s not walkable.
  • Brasov* – yes because it’s in the beautiful Transylvania region. If you have limited time, spend it exploring the city and beautiful landscapes rather than wasting time on Dracula stuff.
• Cluj-Napoca** – a really nice place to visit/live, perfect size small-city with a charming old town area and with many events/festivals. Definitely my favorite city in Romania. It’s the perfect size. Not too big or small. Plenty of things to fill your days and nights. University town with lots of young people.
  • Sighisoara – I haven’t gone but locals recommend it as a good mountain place.
  • Targu Mures – small town, good for raising kids but otherwise boring. And people from here eventually move to Cluj.
• Timisoara* – small/medium size, beautiful and worth seeing! Very colorful and vibrant old towns and squares. Super nice little tourist city. You could walk all the main tourist areas in 3-4 hours.
  • Deva – small town.

If you’re gonna ask me, I much prefer Cluj & Timisoara over Bucharest & Brasov. Easily more charming and also feels less touristy (although it’s got high tourist value).

Nearby countries:

• Poland – really nice. Have been to both Krakow and Warsaw. I’d recommend Krakow definitely. Warsaw only after you’ve been to Krakow.
• Slovakia – only been to Bratislava for a day and can’t say much. Nice and cheap. Don’t know enough about what distinguishes them from everybody else.
• Hungary – Budapest is a really cool destination.
• Serbia – Belgrade and Novi Sad are nice, charmy and worth seeing.
• Ukraine – I spent time in Kiev and Lviv. Loved it, great food and warm people once you actually meet locals. Unfortunately can’t recommend until the war is over.
• Moldova – haven’t been but heard nice things. Also good/cheap wine. Many Moldovans live in Romania (and speak the same language, Romanian). That’s because Moldova used to be part Romania (and then became part of the Soviet Union and Russian became the official language), but now it’s a separate country and reverted back to Romanian language.
• Bulgaria – haven’t been but heard nice things.

Unfiltered notes: