Romania is the country of Dracula — and that is both its blessing and its curse. The legend of Vlad the Impaler and Bram Stoker’s fictional vampire has given Romania one of the most recognisable tourist brands in the world (Bran Castle, marketed as Dracula’s Castle, draws over 800,000 visitors a year), but it has also obscured the real Romania: a country of extraordinary natural beauty, rich folklore, some of the best-preserved medieval towns in Eastern Europe, and the wild Carpathian Mountains, home to the largest population of brown bears, wolves, and lynx in Europe outside Russia. Romania rewards the traveller who looks beyond the Dracula cliché. Transylvania — the name alone is worth the journey — delivers Saxon fortified churches, the perfectly preserved medieval citadel of Sighişoara (the birthplace of the real Vlad Ţepeş), and the colourful, ramshackle charm of cities like Brașov and Sibiu. The painted monasteries of Bucovina — their exterior frescoes, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, are among the most extraordinary religious artworks in Europe. The Danube Delta is a vast, wild wetland that is one of the continent’s great bird-watching destinations. And through it all runs a fierce Romanian hospitality, a cuisine built around mămăligă (polenta), sarmale (stuffed cabbage rolls), and ţuică (plum brandy — dangerously strong, universally offered), and a sense that this is still a country where travel feels like discovery rather than consumption.

Quick Facts: Romania Travel Guide

• Best time to visit Romania: May–June and September for the most pleasant weather and the best hiking conditions in the Carpathians; July–August can be hot in Bucharest and the plains; autumn (late September–October) for the spectacular leaf colours in Transylvania — the forests are magnificent; December for the Christmas markets in Brașov and Sibiu and the atmospheric possibility of snow in the Carpathians; winter is cold everywhere and heavy snow closes some mountain roads, but the Carpathians are beautiful under snow and the skiing at Poiana Brașov is the best in the country
• Top attractions in Romania: The medieval citadel of Sighişoara — the best-preserved inhabited medieval citadel in Europe (read our Sighişoara guide →); Bran Castle — the Dracula connection may be tenuous but the castle is genuinely beautiful and the museum is entertaining (read our Bran Castle guide →); the painted monasteries of Bucovina (Voroneţ — the “Sistine Chapel of the East” with its famous Voroneţ blue — and Suceviţa, Moldoviţa, Humor); the Transfăgărășan Highway — one of the most spectacular roads in the world (open July–October only, built as a military route by Ceaușescu); the Danube Delta — a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve that is Europe’s largest wetland; the Saxon fortified churches of Transylvania (Biertan, Viscri, Prejmer — UNESCO-listed); and Bucharest’s Palace of the Parliament — the second-largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon, a monument to Ceaușescu’s megalomania
• How to get to Romania: Bucharest Henri Coandă Airport (OTP) is the main hub; Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Timișoara, and Iași also have international flights; train connections from Budapest (~12h), Vienna (~15h) — slow but scenic; the country is large — distances are significant and road conditions can be variable outside the main routes; renting a car gives you the most freedom
• Currency: Romanian Leu (RON) — Romania is not in the Eurozone; prices are among the lowest in the EU (a good restaurant meal with wine: ~€10–15 per person)
• Language: Romanian — a Romance language (it sounds like Italian spoken with a Slavic accent); English is widely spoken in cities and tourist areas, less so in rural regions; French is also surprisingly common among older Romanians
• Best for: Wildlife enthusiasts (the Carpathians are Europe’s best place to see large carnivores in the wild), medieval history lovers, hikers, and anyone seeking an authentic Eastern European travel experience that feels genuinely underexplored

Romania is located in south-eastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula. It is a coastal state, washed by the Black Sea. It borders with Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria. With an area of ​​almost 240,000 square kilometres it is the largest Balkan State.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Aleksandar Cocek

The landscape of Romania is formed mainly with mountains and forests. You can find numerous mountain ranges here, in all the northern, central or western part of the country. If you like the beach life, Romania has several great seaside resorts to offer.

Romania has recently been a popular destination mainly for tourists from Central Europe. They are coming here due to low prices but also for a wild, beautiful and vast nature. With the rising standards of living and quality of service, Romania is becoming an interesting travel destination also for the people from UK, France and other Western European countries.

In Romania you can explore the original culture and respect for traditions.

Many residents of this country are still very faithful, and in some small villages you may find women in traditional costumes, hurrying to Sunday mass. In these villages can be seen the original wooden architecture with beautifully carved gateways. The Romanian uniqueness is associated primarily with the size of the country and with a relatively high percentage of rural population living in isolation deep in the mountains sometimes over 2,000 metres above the sea level.

If you come to Romanian cities, you can no longer expect so cheerful and happy people, but here is perhaps more interesting to watch the remains of one of the worst and most specific European dictatorships of the 20th century. Everything is still evident in the ruined monuments or monstrous apartment buildings, next to which you can often see cows or other livestock.

So if you are interested in exploring the magical mountain ranges and the life in the villages Romania is the right choice for you!

View Romania – country of Dracula in a larger map

Have you followed Dracula’s trail through Transylvania, hiked the Carpathians, or discovered the painted monasteries of Bucovina? Share your Romanian adventures in the comments! 🇷🇴

Explore all our Romania travel guides — from the Transylvanian citadels to the Danube Delta.