We are planning a trip to Hungary and Romania in May and I would appreciate any comments or tips on our itinerary. We travel a lot, but have never been to this area. We love trains and would like to travel by train as much as possible.
BTW, we live in NYC and found that a visit to the Romanian Tourist Office there was extremely helpful. The representative there spent an hour with us, going over maps and making great suggestions for the itinerary, and answering questions. Their website is also excellent, much more user-friendly than the usual government sites, including historic hotel listings and suggested itineraries.
We’ll fly to Budapest and stay for a week. We plan to see the sights in a leisurely way and do day trips to Szentendre and possibly Eger as well. (We got a great deal from the Hotel Parlament for our long stay.)
Romania Day 1 – 5: We’ll take a train from Budapest, arriving in the evening in Baia Mare, staying at Hotel Carpati. The next day we rent a car and drive to Sighetu Marmatiei, our base for the next 4 days at Hotel Marmatia.
In Sighet we have arranged for a private guide to take us around the wooden churches and villages for two full days. The last day we will ride the steam train at Viseu de Sos and will sleep on the train the night before. That afternoon we’ll drive back to Baia Mare.
Day 6 – 8 : take a morning train to Brasov (Hotel Bella Muzica) and stay for 3 nights. Visit sights in Brasov and either Bran or Sinaia.
Day 9 -10: Train to Sibiu (Huet Residence) for two days.
Day 11: Fly home.
Any tips, tricks, comments or suggestions would be most welcome!
Romania and Hungary itinerary
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Hi andy7,
We spent about 2 weeks in Romania last fall -- if you click on my name, you can take a look at my trip report. One suggestion I would make is that you stay in one of the many rural guesthouses near Sighet rather than in a hotel. Staying in a guesthouse is such a special experience and a highlight of visiting Maramures.
As far as tips -- be sure to try the polenta and also palinka (plum brandy). I'll be happy to try to answer any questions you have. Romania is a great destination.
You might want to take a look at my trip report on our travels in Hungary and Romania; click on my name to find it. We rented the car in Hungary and returned it there, and our trip was longer than yours.
We are two senior ladies who rented a car and drove all over Romania . . . had a fantastic time. I typed up my travelog and would be happy to send it to you . . . warning, it is long and detailed.
If interested, email me at behrens at unt dot edu. Oh, forgot to add, we're budget travelers, so you won't be reading about 5* anythings.
Sandy (in Denton)
Thanks everyone, great information. I'm sure we'll have more questions as we do more planning and reading.
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Taking a train out to Eger makes a lot of sense. It is possible to go further East on the train and there are some fine spots along the way. Tokaji is the best due to the local wine but it is a small town, Miskolc is a bigger town but a bit more down at heel, however it does have a fantastic spa pool inside a mountain at miskolctapolca.