Hi there,

Me and my wife are planning a three weeks trip to Romania this summer. Of course, Brasov, Bran and Sighisoara are top priority. I've done my homework about decent hotels and B&B's at reasonable prices, but only in the above mentioned cities. Probably we'll be staying in Brasov a week or so and Bran and Sighisoara will be one day trips.

A have a few questions, hopefully I'll get the answers from you guys.

How are the road conditions Satu Mare - Brasov and Brasov - Oradea?
Which places do you reccomend us to visit on the route? We are less into nature and more into cities, castles, maybe a day or two in a spa town... About one week on the way from the Hungarian border to Brasov, another week on the return trip.
Except Bran and Sighisoara, any one day trip from Brasov, maybe something out of the beaten track?
Could you please recomand me some restaurants wich are not aimed for tourists, but mostly for the locals. Three reasons: first, I hate paying more than the locals do, then (at least in Scandinavia) the food is better at a "normal" pub, and last but not least, we're travelling on a bugdet. So, if it's someone from Brasov, Sighisoara or Bran, any links, aprox. prices, what to order...

Thanks alot! Kind regards from Finland!

Hello! The route you should take is through Oradea. In 2007 when I last passed through it was a decent piece of road, by our standards. But you should be prepared for anything. In Romania things are not that civilised when we talk about roads. You can expect places where maintenance is beeing done, you should expect retarded drivers that ignore basic rules just to pass you, and so on.
As for the visiting, in three weeks you can see a lot of places. Because you like old arhitecture, you should really see the old part of Sibiu, for example.
As for a "spa town", in the area you can find Sovata, maybe the thermal lake there is what you are looking for. Or very close to Sibiu there's a kind of resort with some salt water lakes called Ocna Sibiului.
In the area of local restaurants I can't make any suggestion, I'm not from around there.
Hope you have a nice time here!

Thanks for the reply, Merced, after a quick search on the net it seems I really have to take your advice and add Sibiu on the must-see places. Not much info on Sovata thou, but I'll try harder tommorow.

Oh, I forgot something really important. It's my second trip to Romania, as a kid I've spend a holiday with my parents at Mamaia (Mamaya?... anyway, on the Black Sea Coast). But I wasn't aloud to drink beer at that age. So, which are the best Romanian beers, lager and pislner? And I really mean Romanian beer, not Carlsberg, Tuborg etc. made in Romania.

As we say up here, beer, connecting people.

I presume you will be entering Romania from Hungary using the Bors border crossing. From there the route will take you through Oradea and Cluj Napoca (E60). From Cluj you can then head south to Alba Iulia - Sebes - Sibiu. This road is in fair condition but you should be especially careful when leavening Cluj Napoca and heading to Alba Iulia. There is a hill/commune called Feleac and it is particularly accident prone. So be careful and slow down!

You must visit Sibiu!

From Sibiu the quickest route to Brasov is going south and then turning left towards Fagaras-Brasov. This road is generally in good conditions but there are still some roadwork’s being done so expect some poor portions and even some traffic jams.

If you are in this area you MUST go up to Balea Lake on Transfagarasan. . The road going up there from this part (Sibiu - Fagaras - Brasov) is in good conditions and you will be rewarded with a grate mountain scenic view!

The road from Brasov to Sighisoara is in very good conditions. While in the Brasov area also search for Villages with fortified churches.

Expect the road from Brasov to Bran to be in poor condition. As for Bran castele you can also check out their official site.

I am sorry for the local restaurant, I can't help you there, maybe someone in the area can.

Great links, thanks! Prejmer seems close to Brasov, also the scenic route might be a good idea. What about Cluj Napoca, Alba Iulia, Sebes, would you recommand visiting these cities?

Alecsz99, we were planning to enter Romania at a border HU-RO near the city of Satu Mare, it seems to be the shortest way from Tokay, Hungary. I don't remember the name right now. And we thought to return from the border point near Oradea. But it's nothing decided yet. We bought the ferryboat tickets from Helsinki to Northern Germany and return, and we have some hotel reservations in Germany, Poland and Hungary.

Even the subject is called Transylvania (Romania was taken), we may get to visit other places in Romania. Lonely Planet and Let's Go Europe mention wooden churches and painted monasteries not very far from Satu Mare. Sinaia and it's castle seems to be a half an hour drive from Brasov, Bucharest is also very close to Brasov, we'll see. The idea is to see new places, of course, but also to have a relaxing holiday, not to rush.

Thanks for the reply, Alecsz99!

Welcome to Romania abel!

I think you mean the Hungarian town of Tokaj. From there the quickest way of entering Romania is by Petea border crossing. The road from Petea to Satu Mare and then to Zalau - Cluj is in good conditions from what I hear (I've only been as far as Zalau on this road). Zalau - Cluj is also in good conditions.

Regardin Cluj I personally find it a city worth visiting. I could name St. Michael's Church, with the statue of Matthias Corvinus and The Orthodox Cathedral, with the statue of Avram Iancu as must see as long as you are in Cluj.

In Alba Iulia the city center is interesting, particularly the Alba Iulia Fortress. Near Sebes you will find the Calnic Fortress which is in the UNESCO World Heritage.

Sinaia is quite close to Brasov and the castles there (Peles and Pelisor) are worth a visit. If you make the trip from Brasov to Sinaia during the week the road will be less crowded then in the weekend.

Bucharest can be a nice visit but would require at least a couple of days just to visit the sites. As in all major cities expect traffic if visiting on a weekday.

Make sure to also visit the Rasnov Fortress and the Rupea Fortress not far from Brasov. Also there is a Fortified church in Harman, very close to Brasov. More here.

My pleasure to help! And who knows...maybe one day I will be driving to Finland and will be in need of advice...

Local restaurants, nothing fancy just good food at rezonable price:

One is near Miercurea Sibiului: Lat 45°54'33.75"N, Long 23°44'20.04"E

In Sebes is another one: "Butoiul de Aur" it's around these coordinates in Sebes Bus Station: LAt 45°57'28.01"N, Long 23°34'44.15"E . It's famous for big "mici" with a lot of garlic.

The best route would be Oradea, Cluj-Napoca, Targu-Mures, Sighisoara, Brasov.

On this route you will not encounter real problems on the road. All these citties are nice to visit, not only to pass through.

I enjoy Ursus.

I most enjoyed Sibiu, with its old streets and houses... It's beautiful and it reminds of Gremany...that's my opinion...