Romania is the best value left in Europe for backpackers who like trains, mountains and towns that look like woodcut illustrations. The classic route runs north from Bucharest over the Carpathians and hops between the old Saxon citadel towns of Transylvania. We gave it twelve days; you could squeeze it into eight.
Bucharest: two nights, no more, no less
Bucharest gets unfairly skipped. Give it two nights. The Palace of the Parliament — Ceaușescu's megalomaniac concrete mountain, the heaviest building on Earth — has tours from about 60 lei, and the contrast between its marble halls and the crumbling Belle Époque villas nearby explains modern Romania faster than any museum. The old town is rowdy and cheap: a half-liter of local beer for 12-15 lei, dorm beds 70-110 lei (roughly 15-22 euros). Then get out — the country is elsewhere.
Over the mountains to Brașov
The train from Bucharest's Gara de Nord to Brașov takes about 2.5-3 hours and costs 50-75 lei. The line climbs through the Prahova Valley past Sinaia, and if you're not in a hurry, hopping off there for the afternoon to see Peleș Castle — a fairytale of turrets against a wall of fir-covered mountains — is worth the two-hour detour. Brașov itself sits in a bowl of green peaks with a Hollywood-style sign on the hill above. Base yourself here three nights. The medieval center is gorgeous but the town's best trick is the Tampa cable car (about 25 lei return, or a free 45-minute hike) for the full view. Watch for the bears: they genuinely wander the outskirts at dusk, and locals treat it the way Australians treat spiders.
Bran and the Dracula economy
Bran Castle is 45 minutes from Brașov by local bus from Autogara 2 (about 10-12 lei). Yes, it's the "Dracula castle," and no, Vlad the Impaler barely set foot in it, and yes, go anyway — perched on its rock with secret staircases inside, it earns the postcard. Entry around 70 lei. Go early or late; midday coach crowds are brutal. Skip the vampire-tat market stalls and put the money toward a plate of sarmale (cabbage rolls with polenta, 30-40 lei) back in Brașov.
Sighișoara: sleep inside the citadel
Two to three hours from Brașov by train (30-50 lei) brings you to Sighișoara, the best-preserved inhabited medieval citadel in Europe and the actual birthplace of Vlad. It's tiny — cobbled lanes, nine surviving towers, a covered wooden staircase from 1642 climbing to the church on the hill — and it transforms when the day-trippers leave. Stay one night inside or just below the walls (guesthouses from 130-180 lei a double, dorms scarce but around 80 lei). Climb the clock tower at opening time and you'll have the rooftops to yourself.
Sibiu, the grand one
Another 2.5 hours by train (about 40 lei) gets you to Sibiu, the old Saxon capital, where the houses have eyelid-shaped attic windows that genuinely seem to watch you cross the square. This is the sophisticated stop — good museums, Romania's best food scene outside Bucharest, and the Bridge of Lies for the obligatory photo. From Sibiu you can day-trip into the Făgăraș mountains: in summer a shared transfer or tour (around 150-200 lei) runs the Transfăgărășan road up to the glacial lake at Bâlea, one of the great mountain drives anywhere. The road is only fully open roughly July to October.
Finish in Cluj
The train to Cluj-Napoca takes around 4 hours (50-70 lei). Cluj is Transylvania's student capital — a quarter of the city is under 25 — so the finish line comes with specialty coffee, cheap excellent restaurants, and bars in courtyards you'd never find sober. Cluj airport has budget flights across Europe, making it the natural exit.
Practical notes
Go May-June or September-October; July brings heat and August brings crowds to Brașov and Bran. Check timetables on the CFR Călători app and buy same-day at the station — Romanian trains are slow but honest, and the slowness through the Carpathians is the point. Budget 180-250 lei a day (35-50 euros) all-in. Learn "mulțumesc" (thank you); it buys a lot of goodwill.
