Transylvania (Romania)

Transylvania (though in Romania spelt Transilvania) starts from the heart of Romania upto the borders of Hungary and Yugoslavia. Being the new part of Romania, transylvania once was apart of the Austrian Hungarian empire until after world war one. The Carpathian mountains seperating old Romania from the new highlight a beautiful site with clean air and fresh running water, with eye catching views in the summer months with clear blue sky's. Transylvania ...
...The only major airport in Transylvania being at Timisoara is near more to the Hungarian border than the centre of Romania.

I have been to Transylvania a great number of times and alway returned to the same place as my base, this place being the city of Brasov.

Brasov being actually the heart of Romania is a city with around 320,000 people living there is an ideal place to start any holiday to this up and coming new ... more

Transylvania (though in Romania spelt Transilvania) starts from the heart of Romania upto the borders of Hungary and Yugoslavia. Being the new part of Romania, transylvania once was apart of the Austrian Hungarian empire until after world war one. The Carpathian mountains seperating old Romania from the new highlight a beautiful site with clean air and fresh running water, with eye catching views in the summer months with clear blue sky's. Transylvania has a number of large cities namely 'Brasov, Sibiu, Cluj and Timisoara'. The only major airport in Transylvania being at Timisoara is near more to the Hungarian border than the centre of Romania.

I have been to Transylvania a great number of times and alway returned to the same place as my base, this place being the city of Brasov.

Brasov being actually the heart of Romania is a city with around 320,000 people living there is an ideal place to start any holiday to this up and coming new place to a vacation.

Getting to Brasov:
The easiest way by far is by air, all major internation airports in th UK provide flights to Romania, either direct from Heathrow or in-direct from all the rest. Direct flights (3hrs) are with either BA or Tarom and the price is not much different at around £180 return. In-direct flights (6-9hrs) are slightly more in cost from £190 to £275 return depending on how early you book your ticket and with which airline you use, these can be found on the website of most travel sites. All these flights go to Bucharest in the south of the country. So you will need to travel north to get to Brasov. This can be by train or you can drive if you wish because there are a number of car hire companys at the airport when you arrive.

Arriving at Bucharest and getting through passport control is not so hard now which it was at one time. UK nationals do not need a visa these days to enter Romania, but be prepaired to answer a number of question before you get your entry stamp in your passport. The airport its self as been updated and modernised in resent years, but you can still have a short wait for your baggage to arrive in the collection area. There are customs but they very rarely stop you when entering the country.
Once outside the airport, if you have not rented a car then its off to the train station. Go by bus not by taxi. The taxi drivers at the airport will charge you a small fortune to get to the train station, but a taxi is far the quickest way. (taxi fare around 2 million lei, bus fare around 50,000 lei).
When you get to the station you must get your train ticket from the desks which on the right side entry doors. If you walk down the corridor to the lines you will need to pay a fee to enter the station first which is around 15,000 lei. Whilst in the station watch your bags, they can go in a blink of an eye there due to the amount of people queueing up for a ticket. To get your ticket just say Brasov va-rog, once you have it their will be a set of numbers on it. These are your carriage number and seat number. The train journey will take around 3 to 4 hours to Brasov. Once at Brasov take a taxi to your hotel. Don't worry the price in Brasov is always on the meter. Hotels and gusethouses in Brasov can be found on the web.

Brasov:
Now your in the of Brasov, first thing is to get some local currency. Excharge is around 55,000lei to the pound at the moment, but this changes by the day sometimes in a big way up or down. Basics are mainly cheap to buy so you will only need around £25 per day spending money, like cigs are about 50p for 20 and the beer and other drinks and eating out are cheap also.
Things to see in Brasov are the Black Church, so called because of its colour as it was set on fire in 1246 by the Turks. The first Romanian school is there, this is a museum. History museum. You can go up Tampa mountian by cable car to a restaurant which looks over the whole city. There are a few traditional restaurants which you can see the old wine cellars below.

You can travel to many places from brasov either by car, bus, train or taxi.
Bran castle; which is about 30 km (north) away from Brasov is where the legend of Dracula comes from written by Bram Stoker. The place is eerie to say the least inside the castle. Its colder inside than outside in winter. With the snow on the ground and minus 15 chill in the air you could say that its spook to look at. Dracula based on Vlad Tepes never lived or was known to have ever visited Bran castle actually came from the south of Romania. Cost to enter Bran Castle is around 60,000lei.
The Royal Palace; also known as Peles in Sinia is about 40 km (south) away from Brasov is where the last king of Romania lived until 1945. Romanias dictator Nicolae Ceausescu also lived there for a time claiming it to be his own right up until 1989 when he and his wife where shot. Inside there are guided tours in English, but you will need to visit more than once to see the whole of the palace because the place is that large. Cost to enter Peles is around 100,000lei.
Pioana Brasov; which is the local ski area in winter is about 25km (north-west) away from Brasov. In summer this is ideal for mountain walks, but be careful of the bears in the forest. Pioana is full of hotels and guesthouses to stay in but the price is very costly at around £75 per night minimum upto over £200 per night in the higher starred hotels. this place is full of life almost 24 hours a day with restaurants and a night club and night ski in winter this is a really good day out.

Getting around:
Getting around in Bravov is best by taxi if you don't want to walk. The fares are cheap and are always on the meter with an average cost of 55,000 lei. You can travel by bus if you wish, but these buses are in a bad state of repair and what I call bone shakers the cost is only about 5,000 lei for a ticket, but must be bought from a ticket kiosk first before you enter the bus. These can be found all around the city and the price is the same at each one. You can drive if you have the use of a car but this can be an experience of a life time. The roads are in such a bad state with pot holes everywhere, the drivers have only one view in mind straight forward forget whats at the side or behind them. They pass you on either side and theres no road marking really just the odd road sign every now and then. Have an accident and your in for it, road rage is very ripe out in Romania but you would wounder why with the state of some of the car on the road, we take better to the scrap yard.

People in Brasov:
Most people in Brasov are friendly and most can speak English to a point if they want to. Be aware of beggers, these are mainly children and once they hear your from aboard its like bees to a honey pot they are there. Best is to be firm with them and yjust either say NU meaning NO or ignore them totally. Remember to watch your pockets though whilst they are around you. Gypsies with there bright coloured cloths and very dark skin, they would robb you as much as look at you. Saying that, gypsies very rarely enter the city its self and are more likely to be in small villages outside the city bounds and there are few of them anyway. Don't let this put you off visiting this new and up coming holiday tour place. Every country as its bad points and this is Romania's.

Food:
The food in transylvania is good with many diiferent things to try. If your a cake fan then your in dream you just don't want to wake up from. Everything is with chocolate or cream and it tastes real good. Meals are a little spicy at times but are good and taste great. If you want just the traditional then you get this also, but if you like gravy well thats hard to find. The wines are good and cheap to buy. You can get food in almost all cafe/bars and it will not cost you much from your budget of £25 per day.

Temps:
Winter time anything down to -20 but with nearly no wind it does seem a little warmer than that.
Summer time anything up to +40, and you sometimes do know about it.

I have traveled to Transylvania many times at all times of the year, no matter what time it is in the year there is alway something to do or somewhere to go and I go at least once each year.
I would recommend Transylvania to anyone who is thinking of going to somewhere different for a holiday. 

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