September 1, 2020

Quick Guide to 4 Days in Romania – Halloween Edition

Romania has never crossed my mind until a colleague mentioned that she wanted to do Romania for Halloween. She said that there is a costume party at Dracula’s castle. I did my research and sure enough, there is a costume party at the castle. I told my travel buddy that we are doing it this year! We packed our bags and jammed our last minute costumes in our luggage. Let’s see how spooky this country can be on the scariest night of the year.

Table of Contents

Getting Around:

Romania is not the easiest country to get around especially to Bran Castle, where the Halloween Party is located. Bucharest is the capital and largest city in Romania. This is often the epicenter for international flights and transit into the country. Public transit is very cheap in Bucharest. About 1.5 LEI or about 0.30 cents per transfer. Day passes and weekly passes are also available for an affordable price. This is the best option while traveling within Bucharest. However, there is a lot of congestion in this metropolis city. If taking the public transit does not entice you, most of the main attractions can be reach by walking. Do note that public transportation is not always reliable especially for distance traveling.

One of the travelers that I met along the way said that it took her 6.5 hours to get from Bucharest to Brasov. A route that takes about 2.5 hours via private transit. Obviously, the long travel time is not normal but we have heard on several occasions that we should not rely on public transportation to get us to a nearby city quickly.

Since my stay was short, I opted for quicker options. From Otopeni Henri Coanda Airport to Old Town Bucharest, I hired an Uber driver. That is correct. They have Uber in Bucharest (but not in all of Romania). Other ride sharing options include Bolt and Clever. For my 36 minute ride from the airport to Old Town, it costs me 42 RON or $9.71USD.

To do distant traveling in Romania, I recommend hiring a driver. There are several companies that will arrange transfers for you. I found my driver through “DayTrip“. To travel from Bucharest to Brasov (2.5 hrs or 183.3 km), I paid $111 for my entire party. DayTrip also allow you to book additional excursions on your way to your final destination for extra costs. There are cheaper options of course. That same traveler that I met paid $25 on a return from Brasov to Bucharest but she had to work around the driver’s time. Sadly, I do not have that driver’s information.

Need to Know:

One of the major surprises in Romania are the bathrooms. The bathrooms in public areas are co-ed. While that was an adjustment for me, most of the bathrooms that I encountered had doors that did not lock. The bathrooms are filthy with “water” all over the floors. Make sure your feet are covered and hold on to that handle ladies!

What To Eat:

Romanians love their meat and cabbage. Majority of the main dishes feature pork and sausage paired with polenta and pickled cabbage.

Currency:

Romania has their own currency called LEI. It is sometimes written as RON.

$1 = LEI 4.32
€1 = LEI 4.76
£1 = LEI 5.52
¥1 = LEI 0.04

Hotels:

You can find an affordable accommodations anywhere in Romania. We spent under $300 for 4 nights staying in rooms located in the center of all of the main attractions. We stayed in 2 different AirBnBs and 1 hotel. All rooms were booked the night before or the day of.

Itinerary:

Day 1: October 31, 2019 [Orange]

Destinations:

OTP International Airport to Old Town Bucharest Hotel – $9.71
Ghost and Vampire Tour – $56.46

Where to Eat:

Dinner
- Caru Cu Bere – $27.50

Where to Stay in Bucharest:

AirBnB – $105 (2 nights)

Day 2: November 1, 2019 [Green]

Destinations:

Bulgaria Tour – $254.02
1. Basarbovo Monastery
2. Tsarevets Fortress
3. Konstantsalieva House
Bar Hopping – $5.50 a drink
1. Gilda Music Lounge
2. Bound Club & Bar
3. Times Cocktail Bar