Balkanology :: Explore Southeast EuropeDisclaimer: These pages are not actively maintained, and some of the practical information on the site is out of date. I am working on a new version of the site that will focus more on my photos and memories of travel in Southeast Europe, and less on practical details that too easily become obsolete. In the meantime, please treat the information here with caution.
Romania :: Links
The sites listed on this page are specifically about Romania. Many of the more general sites listed in the Overview of the Balkans are also useful for planning a trip to Romania.
Travel Information
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Romania Tourism
Official tourist board site.
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Romania In Your Pocket
A comprehensive guide to Bucharest, with smaller guides to Braşov, and the ski resort of Poiana Braşov. As with most IYP guides there is plenty of useful insider information.
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Alpinet
Hiking is taken seriously in Romania, and this is one serious hiking website. Maps, satellite images, news of current trail conditions, details of mountain cabane, photos, descriptions of the marked trails in each mountain region - you could spend hours here. It's all in Romanian, but if you have ever learned any Latin-derived language you can probably get the general idea fairly easily.
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Romania and Moldova Travel Guide
Lonely Planet author Leif Pettersen has a web site of his own with lots of information about Romania and Moldova. He aims "to to provide an exhaustive travel planning resource for these two mysterious and rarely visited countries".
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Sinaia
Information about Sinaia and the Prahova valley - as well as accommodation details, you can find out about hiking trails or ski slopes depending on the time of year you will be visiting.
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Sibiu/Hermannstadt Tourism
Braşov Travel GuideGuides to two of Transylvania's most-visited cities.
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Cluj Guide
An introduction to Cluj-Napoca compiled by a frequent visitor to the city. Probably the only guide that tells you where to find angry doughnuts.
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Retro Youth Hostel, Cluj Napoca
As well as accommodation, this hostel in Cluj organises tours to nearby attractions such as Turda Gorge and the Bear Cave.
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High Class Hostel, Suceava
As well as details of the hostel, this site has information about the surrounding region, in particular tours to the Painted Monasteries.
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Transylvania Uncovered
This site is mainly intended to promote tours of Romania, but there is a lot of information here that could also be useful to independent travellers. The 'Special Interests' section includes some very detailed pages about rail travel in Romania. Despite the site's name it is not limited to Transylvania.
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Romanian Monasteries
Extensive information about the monasteries of Southern Bucovina and Maramures. Covers the famous Painted Monasteries and many others as well. In addition to well-illustrated descriptions of monastic art, the site includes information about accommodation near the monasteries.
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Ecotours Viseu de Sus
Information about the Vaser Valley forestry railway, and other attractions in the Maramureş region.
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Retezat National Park
Piatra Craiului National Park
Bicaz Gorges and Hasmas Mountain National ParkEnglish-language guides to three of Romania's national parks, including descriptions of hiking trails.
Transport and Practicalities
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CFR - Romanian Railways Timetable
This link allows you to skip the badly-designed main CFR site and go straight to the domestic train timetable. Although you enter a specific date for a timetable enquiry, the results will show all trains for the relevant route, even if they only run on three days of the year. You therefore need to pay close attention to any flashing red lights in the "restrictions" column. Several cities have multiple stations, and you won't be given any clues as to the most appropriate one. For Bucureşti and Timişoara, the "Nord" station is normally the best option. Full details of fares are provided.
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CFR - Romanian Railways
This is the main CFR Passenger Rail site. The home page takes ages to load over a slow connection, so if you are in an internet cafe in rural Romania you might not want to bother. If you look carefully around the rather messy site there are details of domestic fares per kilometre, a few special offers on international fares, and lots of pages "under construction", including the international timetable. If you are just looking for the domestic train schedule, use the previous link.
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RegioTrans
RegioTrans is a small private train operator. Most of their services are on branch lines rarely used by tourists, although they have recently started running a daily Bucharest-Braşov-Sibiu train.
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Autogari
Thankfully the online bus timetable keeps things nice and simple: an input box for the place of departure, another for the destination, what more do you need? The system doesn't seem to include shorter routes (e.g. Braşov to Bran), but it's useful nonetheless - I wish I had known about this site when I was in Romania during a train strike.
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TAROM
Carpatair
Blue Air
Bucharest International AirportTAROM is the national carrier; Carpatair has a network of both domestic and international routes from its base in Timişoara; and Blue Air flies from Bucharest to various European destinations.
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Youth Hostel Romania
HI Hostels in Romania - 18 at the last count. The front page, with stunning originality, invites us to Discover the Legend of Dracula.
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Rural Tourism
ANTRECBoth site have extensive listings of guesthouse and farm accommodation in rural Romania.
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Includes visa information.
From the Travel Pages
Trail of the unexpected: Easter in Transylvania
The Independent, 03 April 2010Timişoara and the new face of Romania
The Guardian, 26 January 2010Trail of the unexpected: Ceausescu's Bucharest
The Independent, 30 May 2009City Slicker: Bucharest
The Independent, 19 April 2009There's more to Transylvania than Dracula
The Independent, 01 March 2009The complete guide to Transylvania
The Independent, 10 January 2009If you go down to the woods today (Bear-watching in Transylvania)
The Telegraph, 18 November 2008Living in the land of Dracula?
Irish Times, 25 October 2008The perfect budget eco break?
Sunday Times, 18 May 2008The villages where time has stood still (Transylvania)
The Observer, 18 May 2008Instant Weekend ... Bucharest
The Observer, 30 March 2008A highway to heaven (The Transfagarasan Highway on a motorbike)
The Observer, 9 March 2008Get your teeth into Transylvania
Sunday Times, 27 January 2008Stranger than fiction (Transylvania
The Guardian, 3 November 200748 hours in Bucharest
The Independent, 1 September 2007Down by the Danube Delta
Sunday Times, 18 August 2007Once bitten, twice smitten (Through Romania by train and hitch-hiking)
The Independent, 26 June 2007Lost in Transylvania
The Guardian, 12 May 2007Let's do the time warp again (Sibiu)
The Independent, 6 May 2007Instant Weekend: Bucharest
Sunday Times, 04 March 2007Pelicans crossing Romanian Rivers (Birdwatching in the Danube Delta)
Sunday Times, 25 February 2007Shab Fab (Buchurest)
Wizzair Magazine, November 2006Drac's Back (Transylvania)
Wizzair Magazine, November 2006On safari in the deepest Danube
The Times, 13 August 2006On the trail of Dracula (Rural Transylvania)
The Times, 13 May 2006Bucharest: A chequered past adds intrigue to a Bohemian city
The New York Times, 25 December 2005Beyond the forest (Transylvania)
The Guardian, 20 October 2005Romania's Last Peasants (Maramures)
The Times, 13 October 2005Get to Bucharest before the EU does
The Times, 31 August 2005Narnia on horseback (Horse riding in Transylvania)
The Independent, 16 July 2005Water World (Danube Delta)
The Independent, 18 June 2005Countless delights (Transylvania)
The Guardian, 11 June 2005Ceaucescu's Folly (Transfagarasan Highway)
The Guardian, 23 April 2005Lost corner of Europe (Villages in Transylvania)
The Independent, 15 May 2005
Background
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Sapte Seri - Your Digital Guide
The online version of Bucharest's entertainment listings magazine; they also have information about quite a few other cities in Romania.
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Nine O'Clock
Romania's daily English-language newspaper.
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Dacia 1300: My Generation
Memories of Romania in the Communist era - The "Story" section is in both English and Romanian. I was particularly touched by the idea of Romanians trying to pick up cross-border TV signals, tantalised by the colour and glamour of Bulgaria. Yes, Bulgaria.