If you love to experience a new culture and you love nature, then Romania is a match for you. In this article, we’ll share our own honest experiences, to help you figure out if Romania is worth visiting or not.
Romania is not usually known for being a tourist attraction but during our trip in September 2022, we found lots of beautiful spots we definitely would recommend visiting.
We wanted to escape our daily life and spend a big part of our trip in the Carpathian mountains.
We were craving some fresh mountain air, and lots of green and countryside scenery – so it was the perfect getaway to go offline and recharge our batteries.
- 11 Reasons Why Romania is Worth Visiting
- 1. Explore the Breathtaking Romanian Mountains
- 2. Try cozy & mouth-watering food
- 3. Experience another side of Europe (light culture shock)
- 4. Visit Dracula’s castle (and other medieval castles)
- 5. Drive through the stunning Transfagarasan Road
- 6. Visit the wildlife & beautiful sceneries in the Danube Delta
- 7. Taste local craft beers and undiscovered wines
- 8. Attend Music Festivals (UNTOLD)
- 9. Visit Beautiful Monasteries & Churches
- 10. Charming Countrysides
- 11. Go Skiing in the Mountains (Winter Sports)
- 12. Visit the Salt Mine (Salina Turda)
- 13. Observe Interesting Architecture (Impressive Buildings in Bucharest)
- 5 Reasons Why Romania is NOT Worth Visiting
11 Reasons Why Romania is Worth Visiting
1. Explore the Breathtaking Romanian Mountains
Mountains make up 23% of Romania’s landscape. The rest of the country’s landscape is flat or hilly.
The mountains of Romania are breathtaking and driving through these mountains is a unique experience as you frequently bump into cows, sheeps, wild dogs, or people who ride a horse and cart. It takes you into a whole other world, very back to basics.
It’s so fun to drive through the mountains and pass these small villages where you can stop, look around and take a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. And only hear the sound of cowbells and birds singing.
If you decide to drive through these mountains, we would recommend a steady car or an SUV with big tires that’s compatible with mountain roads.
The mountains of Romania are full of wildlife. The most animals you will see are cows, deers, sheeps, and goats. In the green and more hidden areas, there are foxes, wild boars, and brown bears.
2. Try cozy & mouth-watering food
Romanian food is “comfort food”. With varied, savory, and filling dishes, Romanian food is something anyone should try at least once in their lifetime.
Here are some traditional dishes you shouldn’t miss when traveling to Romania:
Soups
- Meatballs Soup (Ciorba de perisoare)
- Radauteana Soup (Ciorba radauteana) *found mostly in Bucovina area
- Beans & Smoked Pork Soup in Bread (Ciorba de fasole cu afumatura in paine)
- Soury soups (bors) *If you’re in Cluj-Napoca, go to Zama for some great authentic soups
Salads & Spreads
- Aubergine Salad (salata de vinete)
- Zacusca (roasted sweet veggies spread)
- Fish Eggs Salad (salata de icre)
Staple Food / Main Dishes
- Curated Meats, Sheep’s Cheese, Spreads, Smoked Sausage, Free Range Eggs, Apple Juice, Omlette with Cheese (typical breakfast)
- Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (sarmale)
- Stuffed Peppers (ardei umpluti)
- Bulz (special polenta with cheese)
- Mici (pork & beef grilled rolls)
Dessert
- Doughnuts filled with Jam & Cottage Cheese (Papanasi)
- Cheese Pies (in the picture0
3. Experience another side of Europe (light culture shock)
Romania is a country that makes you feel like you stepped back in time. It’s a land of contrasts, which as a traveler can be interesting to observe to expand your mind.
After its harsh communist past, with Ceausescu in charge as a dictator, and today’s corruption issues, Romania is still struggling to adapt to what we call “modernism”.
It’s interesting to see a totally different side of Europe.
Driving around Romania you’ll see horses and carts, with people and bags of potatoes in the back waiting at the traffic lights next to the latest types of BMW’s.
Stray cats and dogs looking for food are also part of the Romanian street view.
4. Visit Dracula’s castle (and other medieval castles)
Ever wondered where the fictional horror story of Dracula the Vampire originally came from?
Then you should really visit Bran Castle a.k.a. Dracula’s Castle, because that’s the place where all the vampire novels derived from.
Romania’s oldest castle is located 25 kilometers from one of Romania’s biggest cities, Brasov, located in the Transylvania region.
They restored and preserved the castle and its furniture, so you could really get an accurate impression of how everything looked back then.
Further, they give lots of information about who was the Lord or the Lady of the castle over the years and some deeper insights into the history of the Transylvania region.
But besides Dracula’s Castle, you’ll find other numerous authentic medieval castles in Romania. Most of the castles that were built around the 14th and 18th centuries were more frugal and were mainly built to protect against intruders.
While the castles that descended from the 18th century were more like “show-offs”: beautiful and imposing.
5. Drive through the stunning Transfagarasan Road
“Transfagarasan Road” aka ‘The world’s best road’ according to Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear.
This a bold statement, as Romania is not really known for the best-maintained roads, but this particular road is a bit different.
Nicolae Ceausescu, the dictator of Romania during communism, gave orders to build this magnificent road.
It was built between 1970 and 1974 and was a strategic move, to be used in case of a Soviet invasion.
This wavy road with lots of sharp hairpin bends leads you through the beautiful Fagarasi mountains.
The road is 151 kilometers long and climbs up to a height of 2,042 meters (6,699 ft. ).
If you decide to road trip around Romania, we would highly recommend passing this road.
It’s also a huge challenge for advanced hikers and cyclists and a joy for drivers and motorcycle fanatics.
It’s best to avoid this road during weekends and vacations because of the rush hours.
It’s good to know that some areas of the road are sometimes closed due to snow or poor weather. It’s highly recommended, out of safety reasons, to check if the road is closed by accessing this official site.
6. Visit the wildlife & beautiful sceneries in the Danube Delta
The Danube Delta is Europe’s largest remaining natural wetland, the second-largest delta in Europe, and the best-preserved one on the continent.
It’s also one of Europe’s greatest wonders and it’s a paradise for bird lovers, as it has over 315 species of birds.
Besides bird watching and sailing on its channels, you can take a tour in the forest where there are 2000 different types of plants and trees: It’s no wonder that it is the #3 natural reservations in the world.
You can stop by in a village there, where you can eat unbelievably scrumptious food like freshly-caught fish, caviar, and savory soups.
7. Taste local craft beers and undiscovered wines
Romanian’s craft beer movement has grown immensely over the years.
Passionate brewers are opening their own local breweries where you can enjoy a good variety of artisanal beers: from dark, bitter and rich flavored to light and fruity.
During your trip, you should also try some Romanian wine because it is surprisingly delicious. Wine production in Romania, grew significantly over the years, being #13 in the world and #6 in Europe.
There are more than 400 wineries in Romania, with vineyards with great soil and perfect conditions for grape growing.
Some noticeable wines are Feteasca Neagra, Negru de Dragasani, Budureasca, Purcari, and Conacul Ceptura.
8. Attend Music Festivals (UNTOLD)
You’d never think Romania would be a popular destination for electronic music lovers, but the UNTOLD festival tells us otherwise.
It’s held in Cluj-Napoca, usually every year in August, and some of the most popular DJs in the world come to perform there: Claptone, ATB, Kungs, J Balvin, David Guetta, Afrojack, DJ Snake, Lost Frequencies și Steve Aoki, etc.
9. Visit Beautiful Monasteries & Churches
Romania is the most religious country in the European Union (1% non-believers), and most Romanians are Orthodox Christians.
Whether you’re in a big city like Bucharest, or in a small village, you’ll see churches popping up almost around every corner.
There are 50 times more churches than hospitals and 5 times more churches than schools.
Visiting monasteries and churches is a great way to learn about the country’s culture and understand its traditions.
Romania keeps its churches well-maintained and lots of money is invested in them.
Some of the most beautifully painted and well-decorated churches are in Bukovina (UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites) with Voronet, Sucevita; in Maramures with “Wooden churches”; in Transylvania with the Black Church in Brasov or with fortified churches like the one from Viscri.
10. Charming Countrysides
Romania’s authentic old villages look like they were frozen in time.
In the mountains, farm life is very common with dogs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and cows or horses.
It’s very idyllic to see these super old farms where the smoke comes out of the chimney and animals to walk around the farm and where people grow their own vegetables.
11. Go Skiing in the Mountains (Winter Sports)
Most Europeans go to the Alps for practicing winter sports.
What not many people know is that in the mountains of Romania you are also able to experience a wonderful winter sport holiday.
The best area to visit for winter sports is Poiana Brasov. It’s located in the beautiful Carpathian Mountains. The best time to go skiing is from November to April.
12. Visit the Salt Mine (Salina Turda)
Salina Turda is seen as one of the seven miracles of Romania. This is one of the most popular tourist places.
Last year more than 600.000 people visited Salina Turda. From 1075 until the early 20th century, the mine was used to continuously produce table salt and in the early 90’s used for halotherapy.
Afterward, they invested six million euros in the mine to renovate it and make it a tourist attraction.
Salina Turda exists out of several salt-encrusted big chambers where you can find mini golf, tennis tables, a boating lake, a Ferris wheel, and an amphitheater.
13. Observe Interesting Architecture (Impressive Buildings in Bucharest)
The contrast between old and new is also present in Romanian architecture with medieval, preWW1, interwar, postwar, and contemporary 21st architecture.
In Bucharest, you’ll see a mix of new and old buildings.
When you step into Bucharest, you’ll be surrounded by very big and heavy buildings.
There are stunning buildings like the Romanian Athenaeum, the National Art Museum, the Palace of Parliament (the heaviest building in the world), Stavropoleos Church (1724), The Savings Bank Palace, The National Military Circle, Carol I Royal Foundation, and many others.
At the same time, you’ll also see residential buildings that look old, poorly maintained, and unsafe (rated as high-risk to collapse in case of an earthquake).
This contrast and the street view can be very interesting to experience.
5 Reasons Why Romania is NOT Worth Visiting
1. No Longer a “Good Value for Money” Destination
Romania used to be known as a cheap country to explore with low rents, affordable prices at grocery stores, decent restaurant prices, and overall a great value-for-money destination.
However, due to recent events, things have changed drastically.
If you want to book a decent hotel room, you’ll need to spend around 50-80 euros on that.
In restaurants in Bucharest, a coffee costs between 3-5 euros, a local beer 2 euros, and craft beer can go up to 5 euros.
A meal at a decent restaurant with drinks included ranges from around 15-20 euros.
2. It’s hard to travel around
Before we went on our trip, we did lots of research online.
It was hard to find an example of people who traveled a certain route which they recommended and we could follow.
Romania is just not very set for tourists, at least not if you compare it with other European countries like Italy or Spain.
Lots of hotspots weren’t that close to each other, and by that, I mean a minimum of two and maximum of six hours of traveling.
If you want to make your own route and check all these places it’s more convenient to rent a car and drive on which day and at which hour suits you best.
Lots of car rental agencies didn’t have too many flexible options and they were pricey.
Besides driving, we also took some train rides from the south to the north. Some of the trips went very smooth but we also had bad experiences (read more in:…).
Because they don’t maintain the railroads and the trains are very old, you can experience hours of delays. The Romanian government doesn’t invest too much money in the infrastructure of the country.
3. The culture is not open-minded
The moment you step into the country, you can sense the culture isn’t too open-minded.
The way people dress, act and speak is very conservative. If you are a bit different than them, you might get some stares (not necessarily in a bad way!).
Romanians love to stare, and you might feel that you are very observant of what you are doing.
You rarely (almost never) see queer or trans people on the streets or same-sex couples holding hands in public.
As a queer couple, we didn’t feel safe holding hands in public or showing any signs of affection toward each other.
Also, If you’re a woman walking around, men will tend to say some comments about your looks, but luckily most of the time it doesn’t go any further.
The diversity of the ethnicities there is very limited in Romania. Because of the education level in combination with less-traveled people, Romanians tend to stare at people who look different than them (but mostly, not with bad intentions).
4. Very big contrast between the rich and poor
The contrast between rich and poor can be a downside when it comes to visiting Romania.
It’s tough and sad to see the poverty in this country. If you want to just have lots of fun, rest, and enjoy your vacation days, Romania may not be the right country to visit.
The poorness of the people, homeless people, kids, and old ladies begging for food on the streets, stray dogs roaming around, and poorly-maintained buildings, can impact your mental state and sadden you a bit.
5. It can be unsafe (Bucharest Buildings)
Bucharest is considered one of the most exposed cities in the entire EU to earthquake risks.
Back in 1977, the city had one of the worst earthquakes to ever happen in Europe, which affected more than 1 million buildings and killed around 1500 people.
Unfortunately, many of those buildings were not reconsolidated, with Bucharest having today over 400 buildings (officially, but can be more) marked with high seismic risk.
You’ll recognize these buildings by a red sign put on the buildings (this is how the government “solved” the issue).
When you rent an Airbnb, or even a hotel room, make sure you ask before about the seismic risk of the building you’re about to spend your nights in. Read more about our own experience here.
