spinmaster
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Has anyone here been on holiday in Romania? I have heard some good reports and some awful reports (particularly about Bucharest)
Romania - Recommend as Holiday?
- Thread starter spinmaster
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I did a road trip of Romania in 2007. It was very, very interesting. But this is not something for the faint of heart. If all you have ever done are package holidays in Western Europe, a trip around Romania might be too much of a challenge.
We found that while Romania is very interesting and the people are nice, it is extremely hard to find food. Yes, I know how odd that sounds but it is true. In the bigger cities, you will find Western-style supermarkets where you can stock up on supplies. In smaller towns, you will have a hard time finding basic supplies. I guess Romanians know how to find them. As foreigners, we had no clue. Restaurants are almost non-existent, even in big cities. You will find pizza places sometimes but quality there is often poor. We were joking on our first day that we should buy a microwave and take it with us. At the end of the tour, we wished we really had.
The one part of Romania that is very different from all of this would be Transylvania. It is full of incredibly beautiful towns with plenty of pubs and restaurants. If you wanted to get a glimpse of Romania without the hardships of a full trip around the country, I recommend you explore that region.
Bucharest is very interesting. It is somewhat sad and gloomy with concrete buildings having displaced old houses and churches in most places - but it has its own weird charm. The palace is a must-see.
We found that pretty much nobody had any English. It was fun to try and get by without a common language. But again, this is not something for the faint of heart. In summary, I very much recommend Romania to the experienced traveler, especially one who appreciates the great contrasts and absurdities of Eastern Europe. Those looking for a "simple" holiday would probably not like Romania. You can fly to Constanta and lie on the beach there - but this is just a sea of concrete hotels and anything but real Romania.
To give you an impression of some of the sights you might encounter while traversing that country, here are the 285 pictures I took on our trip: http://fabianowski.de/gallery/index.php?/category/48
We found that while Romania is very interesting and the people are nice, it is extremely hard to find food. Yes, I know how odd that sounds but it is true. In the bigger cities, you will find Western-style supermarkets where you can stock up on supplies. In smaller towns, you will have a hard time finding basic supplies. I guess Romanians know how to find them. As foreigners, we had no clue. Restaurants are almost non-existent, even in big cities. You will find pizza places sometimes but quality there is often poor. We were joking on our first day that we should buy a microwave and take it with us. At the end of the tour, we wished we really had.
The one part of Romania that is very different from all of this would be Transylvania. It is full of incredibly beautiful towns with plenty of pubs and restaurants. If you wanted to get a glimpse of Romania without the hardships of a full trip around the country, I recommend you explore that region.
Bucharest is very interesting. It is somewhat sad and gloomy with concrete buildings having displaced old houses and churches in most places - but it has its own weird charm. The palace is a must-see.
We found that pretty much nobody had any English. It was fun to try and get by without a common language. But again, this is not something for the faint of heart. In summary, I very much recommend Romania to the experienced traveler, especially one who appreciates the great contrasts and absurdities of Eastern Europe. Those looking for a "simple" holiday would probably not like Romania. You can fly to Constanta and lie on the beach there - but this is just a sea of concrete hotels and anything but real Romania.
To give you an impression of some of the sights you might encounter while traversing that country, here are the 285 pictures I took on our trip: http://fabianowski.de/gallery/index.php?/category/48
spinmaster
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Thanks undo, sounds good.
Thought that was Slovakia
Thought that was SlovakiaThat's simply nonsense. Sure there is organized crime in Romania. As there is in Ireland. This does not affect tourists, however. Your post smells of someone who has never been to the country and just "heard things".
I visited Romania about 10 years ago, and loved it. Because I was travelling alone, I opted for a coach tour (the Dracula tour, visiting places associated with the real Dracula, Vlad Tepes). I spent the first week in Mamaia, a beach resort close to Constanta. The beach is beautiful, but at the time, there wasn't a lot else to do there. Things may have changed since then, of course. I spent a day in Costanta, which was easily accessible via taxi. The city is full of history, complete with Roman ruins and a really good museum. I also went on a cruise of the Danube Delta, which was arranged through my hotel.
I spent the second week being ferried around by coach, driving through some beautiful scenery and staying in some lovely hotels. In Bucharest, the People's Palace was a sight to see, but I didn't particularly enjoy what I saw of the rest of the city. Maybe it was the time of year - July - and it was just too darn hot and sticky.
The Carpathians are stunning, and I loved all the small towns I visited during the 1,000 mile trip.
If you play it safe, you could have a great holiday there. Personally, I would avoid Bucharest, but the beach and the ski resorts are lovely.
I spent the second week being ferried around by coach, driving through some beautiful scenery and staying in some lovely hotels. In Bucharest, the People's Palace was a sight to see, but I didn't particularly enjoy what I saw of the rest of the city. Maybe it was the time of year - July - and it was just too darn hot and sticky.
The Carpathians are stunning, and I loved all the small towns I visited during the 1,000 mile trip.
If you play it safe, you could have a great holiday there. Personally, I would avoid Bucharest, but the beach and the ski resorts are lovely.
Incidentally, this was the single part of our road trip around Romania that we hated. When we first got on the boat that would take us around the delta, we wondered why the deck was essentially one huge mattress. A couple of hours later, we knew why: It was so extremely boring that everyone just laid down on deck and fell asleep
. The trip consisted of 10 hours of cruising through canals with nothing to see and no commentary. The only break was for lunch where they served some rather dodgy fish.This is not to discourage anyone from visiting Romania - it is just the Danube Delta that I believe you should skip.