I have had limited experience of Bulgaria but the bits I have seen are very beautiful (Plovdiv and the Rhodopa Mountains). I wouldnt necessrily choose Bulgaria for its wine. Sorry I havent been to Roumania so cant help you choose.

stevelyon -- Thanks so much for the recommendation on the Rhodopa Mountains. I googled, and they look gorgeous -- and very much the kind of area we would like.

I have been to both places and I would go to Romania.

That does not mean that Bulgaria is not nice...but you will already be doing the Black Sea cruise..so no use going to Varna.

Rousse, Vidin ,Belogradchick are nice places as is Sofia.

Bucharest is a very nice city and lots to see.

I would book a Castle tour which would take you outside of Bucharest for the day to see
Peles Castle
Pelisor ( Little Peles Castle)
Bran Castle...the Dracula Castle
Rasnov Fortress...about 10 miles from Bran
Brasov town about 10 miles from Rasnov...very nice quaint place

This is done in a nice driving loop.

The cost is 125 euros for the day and worth it for sure.

Having a couple of weeks you can do both countries.

If you like rural life in Romania especially check the Maramures and Bucovina regions .

Not been to Bulgaria, though I get the impression that the infrastructure outside the main tourist areas is a bit iffy.

Went to Transylvania a couple of years ago and loved it. Stayed in Brasov, Sighisoara and Sibiu. Did a couple of trips, to Bran and to some of the fortified Saxon churches. Would happily go again. Other areas we considered and couldn't make time for were Bukovina and the Danube Delta. Bucharest didn't appeal to be honest.

I suspect that Romania has more to see than Bulgaria, but I have not been to Bulgaria. You might want to take a look at my trip report on Hungary and Romania. It's a little old, but the tourist sights are essentially the same. Just click on my name to find it.

Thank you all for your comments! I hadn't expected Romania to be so much more popular than Bulgaria. One of the main reasons we were considering Bulgaria is that we met a Bulgarian woman a couple years ago (on Easter Island of all places) who really made her country sound inviting.

Percy -- Who did you book your tour with?

mjdh1957 -- Did you also rent a car? It seems like a car is almost required (although I usually prefer public transportation).

Michael -- your Trip Report is very helpful (and insightful). Thanks!

Hi,

I would recommend Bulgaria (my home country). It has everything in a small territory - beautiful mountains, heritage sites, beaches,small old villages, great monasteries. Rodopi mountain is especially beautiful in autumn. Koprivstica, Zeravna and Lesten are heritage villages with old architecture set in a nice countryside. Less touristy but very cosy are Kosovo, Deltchevo and Varbovo. Melnik - the smallest Bulgarian town is popular with the great wine and old architecture.
Take a look at this sites:

http://gowhere.bg/en/index.html

http://www.best-places-bulgaria.com/index.html

Hi Magster2005

I booked with :

GoRomaniaTours.com This is their website

The e-mail is:

Tours@GoRomaniaTours.com

If you book with them ask for Dan, he was very good.

I have friends leaving for Romania next month as part of a Danube Cruise and I had them contact GoRomaia and they are booked with them.

But I had a great time with them.

I will let you know what they say when they get back.

Oh yes... just to mention that when I did the Castle Tour loop with Dan, he picked me up at the hotel at 8 AM and we never got back until 10 PM..

What a lovely day it was , and the weather was in the high 80's F.

I have been to both, and agree that there is more to see in Romania. I traveled in Bulgaria with a tour group and found the Black Sea coast eminently missable, I think I would have enjoyed the trip more if I had spent more time in the mountains. But Romania also has good scenery, the Maramures and Bucovina districts were fascinating, and there other places I wanted to see and didn't get to.

For Bulgaria see: http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/time-to-tour-in-sofia/ (with pix) or click on my name for my TR here (no pix).

For Romania see: http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html - Roaming Romania

Thank you all so much for the helpful information. I am traveling now (Paris!) but will pore over all of these websites when I return. Thanks again -- information from travelers who have visited these countrese is fairly scanty so I really appreciate your help!