Romania

Don't know what to see in Romania or how to start planning a trip? Let's start from the capital, Bucharest. So, early in the morning hop on in a car. After you've admired the all-surrounding contrasts of this urban and cultural center - from diverse architectural styles to the mixture of nations and cultures, head towards the vineyards in Moldova to enjoy the local wine varieties. Even if you don't visit in the grape harvesting season, the cellars surely store in plenty of wine and the locals will be kind enough to open a bottle for you.

From here, hitchhike to the monasteries in northern Bukovina, a cradle of Christian Orthodox spirituality. Breathe in the surrounding calmness and admire the famous Last Judgment, painted on one of the walls of Voroneț Monastery, or enjoy the visual contrast that the red geraniums make on the white walls of Agapia Monastery.

By dully following the Transrarău road, you quickly reach the popular and touristic region of Maramureș. You might find it slightly overcrowded with tourists, but for a fair reason: aside from the many places that are worth seeing, here you will find one of the few areas in Romania where people still go to church in traditional costumes.

Then, get on the train and head to Szeklerland in the northwest of Transylvania to admire the clean and ordered Hungarian villages. The hospitality of the locals is just delightful.

Slowly make your way to the luring hills of the center of Romania, and stop in the Saxon villages of Transylvania. Here, you will probably eat the best "balmoş". On your way to Crișana, visit the Dacian fortresses. This is the place where the history of the local population started and where the Dacians, the ancestors of the Romanians, faced the Romans.

Now that your batteries are recharged, find your way to the place where the Danube joins the Romanian territory to start its smooth flow towards the Danube Delta. Following the watercourse is rewarding, and we recommend making short pitstops at the manors in Oltenia to understand the history of the local boyar families.

At the end of the day, enjoy a fish soup while admiring a fairytale sunset on one of the channels of the Danube Delta.

Visiting this surprising country comes with a lot of unexpected adventures, and this is only an idea of what you could do and see in Romania. So start planning your trip today!