DESTINATION ROMANIA

Horse-drawn carts jostle for space against fast cars whose drivers are talking money on mobile phones; farm workers watch Baywatch courtesy of satellite dishes standing in the rear yard of their medieval farmhouse. Romania is clawing itself forward, slowly and surely sloughing off the remnants of the Ceausescu era. The transition is not easy, and for some it's downright painful. In the middle of the picturesque scenery and the headlong rush to development where the money is fast and the suits Armani, parts of the country are being left out. But in 1996 a neocommunist government was voted out and replaced by one talking about genuine reform, so the country is not without hope.

Romania has majestic castles, medieval towns, great hiking and wildlife, and the cheap skiing of much of the 'undiscovered' former Eastern Block. And the Romanians, despite being among Europe's poorest people, generally haven't cottoned on to the scams and ploys so common elsewhere to separate travellers from their money. You'll be floored at how different Romania is, but you'll almost certainly see signs that it's chasing the dreams of the rest of the West.

Map of Romania (16K)

Facts at a Glance
Environment
History
Economy
Culture
Events
Facts for the Traveller
Money & Costs
When to Go

Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Activities
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Recommended Reading
Lonely Planet Guides
Travellers' Reports on Romania
On-line Info

Facts at a Glance

Full country name: Romania
Area: 237,500 sq km (91,700 sq mi)
Population: 23 million
Capital city: Bucharest (pop 2 million)
People: Romanians (89%), Hungarians (6.9%), Gypsies (1.8%), Germans, Ukrainians
Language: Romanian, Hungarian
Religion: Romanian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant
Government: Republic
President: Emil Constantinescu
Prime Minister: Radu Vasile

Environment

Oval-shaped Romania is the largest eastern European country apart from Russia and Ukraine. It lies on the Black Sea and, moving anticlockwise from the southwest, shares borders with Bulgaria, Yugoslavia (Serbia), Hungary, Ukraine and Moldova. The forested Carpathian mountains account for one third of the country's area; another third is covered by hills and tablelands full of orchards and vineyards; and the final third comprises a fertile plain where cereals, vegetables and herbs are grown.

If people didn't prosper under Ceausescu, bears did! He allowed no-one but himself to hunt them, the result being that the Carpathian mountains are now home to 60% of Europe's bears. Some 40% of Europe's wolves also live there, along with stag, wild boar, badger, deer, fox, and the green woodpecker, jay and grey owl. Romania's main drawcard for twitchers is the Danube Delta, home to 60% of the world's small pygmy cormorant population, the white grey egret, bee-keeper and white-tailed eagle. The protected Delta has the largest unbroken reedbed in the world. The Carpathian mountains boast the least spoilt forests in Europe, rich in beech, sycamore, maple, poplar and birch. Some 1350 floral species have been recorded in the Carpathians, including the yellow poppy, Transylvanian columbine, saxifrage and edelweiss. Romania has 11 national parks, including the Retezat mountains in the Carpathians, and more than 500 nature reserves.

You don't go to Romania for the weather. The average annual temperature is 11°C in the south and on the coast, but only 2°C in the mountains. Romanian winters can be extremely cold and foggy, with lots of snow from December to April. In summer there's usually hot, sunny weather on the Black Sea coast. The majority of Romania's rain falls in the spring, with the mountains getting the most, the Danube Delta the least.

History

Ancient Romania was inhabited by Thracian tribes. In the first century BC, Greece established the state of Dacia there to counter the threat from Rome. Dacia fell to Rome in 106 AD, becoming a province of the Roman Empire. Faced with Goth attacks in 271 AD, Emperor Aurelian decided to withdraw the Roman legions south of the Danube, but the Romanised Vlach peasants remained in Dacia, forming a Romanian people. By the 10th century, small Romanian states emerged, and their consolidation led to the formation of the principalities of Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania. From the 10th century the Magyars spread into Transylvania and by the 13th century it was an autonomous principality under the Hungarian crown. In the 14th century Hungarian forces tried and failed to capture Wallachia and Moldavia.

Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries Wallachia and Moldavia offered strong resistance to Ottoman Empire expansion. During this struggle the prince of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes (known as the Impaler, because he rarely ate a meal without a Turk writheing on a stake in front of him), became a hero; he later became associated with Dracula. Another heroic figure at this time was Moldavian prince Stefan cel Mare, whose name now appears on countless street signs in Romania and Moldova. Transylvania fell to Ottoman control in the 16th century, and after this Wallachia and Moldavia paid tribute to the Turks but retained their autonomy. In 1600 the three Romanian states were briefly united under Mihai Viteazul, prince of Wallachia, after he joined forces with the ruling princes of Moldavia and Transylvania against the Turks. Unity lasted only one year, after which he was defeated by a joint Habsburg-Transylvanian force, and then captured and beheaded. Transylvania came under Habsburg rule, while Turkish suzerainty continued in Wallachia and Moldavia until well into the 19th century. In 1775 the northern part of Moldavia, Bucovina, was annexed by Austria-Hungary. This was followed in 1812 by the loss of its eastern territory, Bessarabia, to Russia. After the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-29, Ottoman domination over the principalities finally came to an end.

After 1848 Transylvania fell under the direct rule of Austria-Hungary from Budapest, and ruthless Magyarisation followed. In 1859 Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected to the thrones of Moldavia and Wallachia, creating a national state, which was named Romania in 1862. Carol I succeeded him in 1866, and in 1877 Dobruja became part of Romania. Romania was declared a kingdom in 1881, with Carol I as king. He died at the start of WWI and was succeeded by his nephew Ferdinand I who, in 1916, entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente. His objective was to liberate Transylvania from Austria-Hungary. In 1918, Bessarabia, Bucovina and Transylvania became part of Romania.

After WWI, numerous political parties emerged in Romania, including the Legion of the Archangel Michael, better known as the fascist Iron Guard. Led by Corneliu Codreanu, this party dominated the political scene by 1935. Carol II, who had succeeded his father Ferdinand I to the throne, declared a royal dictatorship in 1938, and all political parties were dissolved. In 1939 he clamped down on the Iron Guard (which he had previously actively supported) and had Codreanu and other legionaries assassinated. In 1940 the USSR occupied Bessarabia, and Romania was forced to cede northern Transylvania to Hungary by order of Germany and Italy. Southern Dobruja was also given to Bulgaria. These setbacks sparked off widespread demonstrations, and the king called in General Marshall Ion Antonescu to help quash the rising mass hysteria. Antonescu forced Carol to abdicate in favour of his 19-year-old son Michael, and then imposed a fascist dictatorship with himself as conducator (leader). In 1941 he joined Hitler's anti-Soviet war. In 1944 with the Soviet Union approaching Romania's border, Romania switched sides.

The Soviet-engineered return of Transylvania to Romania helped the Moscow-backed communists win the 1946 elections. A year later King Michael was forced to abdicate, and a Romanian People's Republic was proclaimed. A period of state terror then ensued, in which all pre-war leaders, prominent intellectuals and suspected dissidents were rounded up and imprisoned in hard-labour camps. In the late 1950s Romania began to distance itself from Moscow, pursuing an independent foreign policy under Gheorghe Gheorgiu-Dej (1952-65) and Nicolae Ceausescu (1965-89). Ceausescu condemned Soviet 'intervention' in Czechoslovakia in 1968, earning him praise and economic aid from the west. If his foreign policy was skilful, his domestic policy was inept and megalomanical. Most of his grandiose projects (the construction of the Danube-Black Sea 'Death' Canal and the behemoth House of the People in Bucharest, and systemisation) were expensive failures. His Securitate (secret police) kept the populace in check, recruiting a vast network of informers. The advent of Mikhail Gorbachev in the late 1980s meant that the USA no longer needed Romania, and withdrew its 'most favoured nation' status. Ceausescu decided to export Romania's food to pay off the country's mounting debt. While Ceausescu and his wife Elena (his first deputy prime minister) lived in luxury, his people struggled to live, as bread, eggs, flour, oil, salt, sugar, beef and potatoes were rationed; by the mid-1980s meat was unobtainable. In 1987 protest riots in Brasov were crushed. On 15 December 1989, as one communist regime after another collapsed in eastern Europe, Father Laszlo Tokes spoke out against Ceausescu from his Timisoara church. That evening a crowd gathered outside his home to protest at the decision of the Reformed Church of Romania to remove him from his post. Clashes between the protesters and the Securitate and army troops continued for the next four days. On 19 December the army joined the protesters. On 21 December Bucharest workers booed Ceausescu during a mass rally and street battles between army troops and Securitate and the people began in the capital. The following day the Ceausescus tried to flee Romania, but were arrested. They were tried by an anonymous court, and executed by firing squad on Christmas Day.

It is now believed that members of the National Salvation Front, which took over government of Romania after Ceausescu's death, had been plotting his overthrow for months before the December 1989 demonstrations forced them to act earlier. Initially a caretaker government, it was elected to power in 1990, led by Ion Iliescu. Student protests against its ex-communist leadership were crushed when 20,000 coal miners from the Jiu Valley were brought in to stage a counter riot. The miners were drafted to Bucharest again a year later to force the resignation of reform-minded prime minister Petre Roman. Iliescu and the National Salvation Front were reelected in 1992, but rampant inflation, unemployment, and allegations of government corruption, meant that in 1996 Iliescu was voted out in favour of Emil Constantinescu, leader of the reform-minded Democratic Convention of Romania. Since his election, inflation has fallen, steps have been made to improve social benefits, and there have been attempts to shelve grievances between ethnic minorities, and improve relations with Hungary. However, his main achievement to date is giving the Romanians hope. Fewer young Romanians are fleeing their homeland, preferring to make the most of promised future opportunities.

Economic Profile

GDP: US$33 billion
GDP per head: US$1473
Annual growth: -3%
Inflation: 3.3%
Major industries: Agriculture, manufacturing
Major trading partners: Germany, Italy, France

Culture

Bucovina's painted monasteries were the first in the world to be adorned with frescoes on the outside. Painted in the 16th century, these frescoes also went beyond the confines of religious art, conveying political as well as religious messages. Painting on glass and wood, a traditional peasant art, has been widespread in Romania since the 17th century and remains popular today. Romanian literature draws heavily on the country's rich folklore heritage coupled with its turbulent history as an occupied country inhabited by a persecuted people. In the 15th century an oral epic folk literature emerged, and writings in the Romanian language took shape in around 1420. Modern literature emerged in the 19th century. Romania's best known writer internationally is playwright Eugene Ionesco (1912-94), an exponent of the 'Theatre of the Absurd'. Literature became a tool of the communist party from 1947 onwards. Since 1990 many works have been published attesting to the horrors of the communist period. Folk music and dancing have long been popular in Romania. Couples dance in a circle, a semicircle or a line. Modern gypsy music has absorbed many influences and professional gypsy musicians play whatever village clients want.

Romanian is closer to classical Latin than it is to other Romance languages, and the grammatical structure and basic word stock of the mother tongue are well preserved. Speakers of French, Italian and Spanish won't be able to understand much spoken Romanian but will find written Romanian more or less comprehensible. Romanian is spelt phonetically so once you learn a few simple rules you should have no trouble with pronunciation. Romania is the only country with a Romance language that does not have a Roman Catholic background. It is 86% Romanian Orthodox, 5% Roman Catholic, 3.5% Protestant, 1% Greco-Catholic, 0.3% Muslim and 0.2% Jewish. Unlike other ex-communist countries where the church was a leading opposition voice to the regime, the Romanian Orthodox Church was subservient to and a tool of the government. Today it is hierarchical, dogmatic and wealthy. Romanians are extremely hospitable. They will welcome you into their modest homes, feed you until you burst, and expect nothing in return other than friendship. Don't rebuff it.

Those who live to eat will find life pretty dull in Romania. Restaurants tend to offer the same things with tedious consistency: grilled pork, pork liver, grilled chicken, tripe soup and greasy potatoes. Romania's most novel dish is mamagliga, a hard or soft cornmeal mush which is boiled, baked or fried. In many Romanian households, it's served as the main dish. The other mainstay of the Romanian diet is ciorba (soup). The sweet-toothed won't starve: typical desserts include placinta (turnovers), clarite (crepes) and saraille (almond cake soaked in syrup). Romanian wines are cheap and good. Tuica (plum brandy) and palinca (distilled three times as much as tuica) are mind-blowing liqueurs taken at the beginning of a meal. Noroc! (Cheers!) Avoid the ubiquitous Ness, an awful instant coffee made from vegetable extracts, and try cafea naturala, a 'real' coffee made the Turkish way, with a thick sludge of ground coffee beans at the bottom and a generous spoonful of sugar.

Events

Romania has a juicy calendar of folklore festivals. Numerous smaller ones remain unpublicised, preserving their authenticity but making them very difficult for the traveller to attend. Regular festivals include the Whit Sunday Szekely Pilgrimage, the largest traditional Szekely folk and religious festival of the year, in Miercurea Ciuc. The Fundata Fair, a traditional folklore fair originally held for shepherds to meet their future wives, is at Fundata near Bran in June. July sees International Chamber Music Festival concerts in Brasov and Bran. In August is Medieval Days, a two week medieval arts, crafts and music festival in Sighisoara and the Hora de la Prislop, a wild dancing festival on the Prislop Pass. The Sambra oilor is a major pastoral festival to mark the coming down of the sheep from the mountains, held in and around Bran in September, and in December there's the De la Colind la Stea Christmas festival in Brasov.

Facts for the Traveller

Visas: US citizens with valid passports have the luxury of being able to visit Romania visa-free for 30 days. All other western visitors need a visa, obtainable in advance at a Romanian embassy or upon entry to Romania.
Health risks: Rabies, typhoid and encephalitis are present in Romania; vaccinations should be considered.
Time: GMT/UTC plus two hours
Electricity: 220V, 50 Hz
Weights & measures: Metric (see the conversion table.)
Tourism2.83 million visitors a year

Money & Costs

Currency: Romanian leu (plural: lei) (L)
Relative costs:

Budget meal: US$5
Moderate restaurant meal: US$5-10
Top-end restaurant meal: US$20 and upwards
Budget room: US$20-40
Moderate hotel: US$45-90
Top-end hotel: US$130 and upwards

Accommodation will be your biggest expense in Romania. Cheap accommodation is scarce in Bucharest. Expect to pay at least US$25 for a double room with shared bath in any hotel within walking distance of the centre of most Romanian cities and towns. Accommodation in private homes in the countryside starts at US$10 a night, including a home-cooked breakfast. The cost of dining is rising - Romanians can't afford to eat out, so most restaurants are geared to 'rich foreigners'. In Bucharest it's tough to eat for less than US$5 per head, not including alcohol. Eating out is cheaper elsewhere, and a bottle of good Romanian wine can be as little as US$1.50. Seeing a film or play costs about US$1, entrance fees to museums are about 20 cents. Public transport is dirt cheap by western standards. US$1.70 will take you approximately 100km by bus or comfortable express train. Petrol is around 40 cents a litre.

It's easy to cash travellers cheques in Romania, but not very easy to replace stolen ones. Only American Express has an office that issues replacements in Bucharest. Cash-dispensing ATMs accepting Visa/MasterCard are becoming increasingly widespread in Romania. Credit cards are widely accepted in hotels, restaurants and shops. They are essential for hiring a car, unless you want to pay cash up front. Marked, torn or very used notes will often be refused at exchanges. Ensure whatever currency you bring is in good condition.

Tipping is not common in Romania, though you should always round up the bill to the nearest 500 lei. Some bartering, but not much, goes on at flea markets. Taxi drivers drive a hard bargain, so always haggle.

When to Go

May and June are the best months to visit, followed by September and early October. At these times, you can visit the medieval painted monasteries in southern Bucovina, and enjoy them minus the tourist hordes. Spring and autumn are also the best times for birdwatching in the Danube Delta. Romania has harsh winters, when tourism is centred on the ski resorts like Poiana Brasov and Sinaia. Snow lingers as late as mid-May, and the hiking season doesn't begin in earnest till June. The resorts along the Black Sea coast start filling up in late June and stay packed until mid-August.

Attractions

Bucharest

Romania's capital - named after its legendary founder, a shepherd called Bucur - lies on the Wallachian plains, between the Carpathian foothills and the Danube river. In the 1930s it was known as `the Paris of the East'. Since then, earthquakes, WWII bombing and Ceausescu have combined to destroy much of its prewar beauty.

In the 1980s Ceausescu bulldozed 7000 homes and 15 churches in historic southern Bucharest to build a Civic Centre. The focal point of what locals dubbed 'Ceausima' is the ginormous 12-storey House of the People, intended to be the largest building in the world - it's actually the second, after the Pentagon. Ceausescu - who was executed just as it neared completion - intended it to house the president's office, central committee and all the state ministries. The Iliescu government did not know what to do with this white elephant - many people wanted it demolished - but in 1994 decided to use it to house the Parliament and to host international conferences. There are guided tours, so you'll get a chance to gawp at the ornate 1000-room interior as well as the mesmerising exterior.

For a taste of the old, head for central Bucharest, where the 16th century Old Court Church contains beautifully preserved frescoes. The George Enescu Museum displays the musician's manuscripts and personal belongings. Also here is Romania's very own Raffles, the Athenee Palace Hotel, centre of early 20th century decadence, and the meeting place of Olivia Manning's characters in The Balkan Trilogy. It has just had a US$50 million facelift and is the city's classiest and most expensive hotel. In western Bucharest you'll find Ghencea Civil Cemetery, final resting place of the Ceausescus. Nicolae's grave is quite ornate and decorated with flowers and candles, but Elena is apparently less revered by those who still mourn their overthrow. Their son Nicu (Transylvania boss, drunkard, playboy and one-time partner of the Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci) is buried close by.

Bucharest offers a wide range of accommodation options, including private rooms, university campuses, hostels and hotels. The main places are in the centre or around the main train station (Gara de Nord). Bucharest has seen a rapid influx of flashy, upmarket, expensive restaurants offering international cuisine, but it is still easy to track down traditional Romanian cooking in central Bucharest. This area is also the focal point for nightlife: you'll find plenty of entertainment here, including bars, nightclubs, theatres and cinemas.

Brasov

Brasov, a medieval Saxon town surrounded by verdant Transylvanian hills, is one of Romania's most visited places. It was in Brasov that the first public opposition to the Ceausescu regime occurred - in 1987 thousands of disgruntled workers, angered by wage cuts, long hours, and rationing, took to the streets demanding basic foodstuffs. Ceausescu's response was to call in the troops (three people were killed) and cut rations even further.
Brasov's main attraction is the Black Church, said to be the largest Gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul. The church's name comes from its blackened appearance following a fire in 1689. Many people use Brasov as a base for visiting nearby attractions. The main magnet for tourists is Bran Castle, commonly known as 'Dracula's Castle', 30km (18.6 mi) south of Brasov. Despite popular myth, the castle has no links with Vlad Tepes, and, with its fairytale turrets and whitewashed walls, it's not exactly menacing. Less touristy and more dramatic is Rasnov Castle, en route to Bran Castle from Brasov. The ski resorts of Poiana Brasov and Sinaia are also within easy reach by bus or train from Brasov. Plenty of local and international buses and trains stop at Brasov.
Sighisoara
Like Brasov, Sighisoara is a Saxon medieval town surrounded by hills in Transylvania. But it is more beautiful and less hyped than Brasov, and has a greater amount of perfectly preserved medieval buildings. For many, its great drawcard is the Dracula connection - within the walls of the medieval citadel you'll find the house in which Vlad Tepes was born in 1431 and reputedly lived until the age of four. It is now a bar and restaurant.
Sighisoara's other main sights are also inside the citadel walls, with its nine surviving towers. The clock tower, a history museum and the Church of the Dominican Monastery, which became the Saxons' main Lutheran church in 1566, are all worth seeing. And don't miss climbing the 172 steps of the covered stairway to the Gothic Church on the Hill. Just 4km (2.48 mi) north-east of Sighisoara is the village of Albesti, home to the Petofi Sandor Museum, which commemorates the Hungarian poet who died in battle here in 1848. Sighisoara is well serviced by both local and international bus and train services.

Timisoara
Timisoara, in the Banat region close to the Hungarian border, is world-famous as the place where the 1989 revolution began. Numerous memorial slabs to those people who died in the fighting are encrusted in walls on streets around the town. Most are still honoured with fresh flowers and lavish bouquets. The Tokes Reformed Church, the flashpoint of the revolution, is south of the town centre. Other main sights include the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, which are in the town centre on opposite sides of Piata Unirii, Timisoara's most picturesque square. Timisoara is serviced by international buses, though there are few bus connections to other Romanian towns. The city is serviced by plenty of international and domestic trains. Some international flights go to Timisoara.

The Black Sea Coast
In Spain it's Benidorm, in Australia it's the Gold Coast - and in Romania the sun-sea-sand-and-sex brigade head for the Black Sea Coast. Constanta, Romania's largest port and second largest city, is the main transport hub for the Black Sea Coast, and the gateway to other resorts. International soccer fans may feel compelled to pay a visit, as this is Gheorghe Hagi's home town. The beaches are dirty and crowded, but the town itself is picturesque and has some excellent museums. Mamaia, an 8km (4.96 mi) strip of beach north of Constanta, is Romania's version of Palm Beach, with 61 hotels containing a total of 27,000 beds that fill up between mid-June and August. If you like lying on overcrowded beaches listening to blaring pop music, head 17km (10.54 mi) south of Constanta to Eforie Nord. Other beach and blaring music resorts are Neptun-Olimp and Constinesti. And if you think the music's bad, imagine lying on the beach listening to one of Ceausescu's speeches blaring from the loudspeakers, the order of the day until the revolution - not the best cure for a hangover. In summer, Constanta is accessible by charter flight from European destinations, and by ferry from Istanbul. Buses connect Constanta with other Black Sea towns. Constanta is well serviced by bus and train.
Off the Beaten Track

Fagaras Mountains
The Fagaras mountains, in the centre of Romania, form part of the Carpathians and stretch for some 75km (46.5 mi) south of the main Brasov-Sibiu road. The mountains are are peppered with more than 40 glacial lakes, the highest of which is Lake Mioarele at 2282m (7484 ft). The famed Trans-Fagarasan highway cuts through the Balea valley across the mountains from north to south, a mountain pass which is said to be the highest road in Europe. The Balea tunnel, cutting between Romania's highest mountains - Mount Negoiu (2535m; 8314 ft) and Mount Moldoveanu (2543m; 8341 ft) - is 845m (52.3 mi) long. The Fagaras mountains offer the most spectacular hiking in the country, with well marked trails and an abundance of wildlife. The main drawback is the difficulty in getting there. The trailheads are 8km (4.96 mi) to 15km (9.3 mi) south of most train stations along the Brasov-Sibiu line, and the region is poorly serviced by bus. The main access point to the trails is Victoria, which you reach by getting off at the train halt 7km (4.34 mi) north at Ucea. If you have a car, follow the Trans-Fagarasan Highway to Poienari Castle, just over the border in Wallachia. This was built for Vlad Tepes, and is regarded by Dracula buffs as the real McCoy. You climb 1480 steps to reach it from the side of an hydroelectric power plant below.
Scornicesti
Welcome to Nicolae Ceausescu's birthplace. Here in Wallachia, the dictator's Romania-wide systemisation scheme began in 1988, when villagers' homes were bulldozed and replaced by 10-families-to-a-kitchen apartment blocks. Afterwards, a gigantic football stadium was added to the concrete montage - a present from the president to his home town. Gee, thanks, Mr President! Amazingly enough, the bulldozers did not make their way to Ceausescu's childhood home which is now the main attraction here. It's at the northernmost end of the village and is not officially open to visitors - but the women in the kiosk opposite will sell you a 50 cents ticket, escort you down the path, and leave you to face the wrath of Ceausescu's sister who lives opposite. Act humble, and she'll invite you inside the two-room house where Ceausescu lived until the age of 11, when he moved to Bucharest to become an apprentice cobbler. Scornicesti is accessible only by car, west of the Pitesti-Craiova road.

Danube Delta
The 5800 sq km (92262 sq mi) Danube Delta, just south of the Ukrainian border, is Europe's youngest land geologically, and a magnet for birds and birdwatchers. Amid this wetland of reed beds and waterways, lily-covered lakes and shifting sand dunes, the Danube River completes its journey from Germany's Black Forest. Just over 14,500 people live on the Delta. Traditional wooden kayaks and rowing boats are the primary means of accessing the Delta's 57 fishing villages. Ceausescu's project to reclaim 38% of the Delta for fish farming, forestry and agriculture was abandoned after the revolution. Today the Danube Delta is protected, and 273,300 hectares (675,051 acres) of it are strictly protected zones, off limits to tourists and fishermen. If you want to see wildlife, your best bet is to explore smaller waterways in a kayak or rowing boat or with a local fisherman. There are no shops, so take supplies with you. And don't forget the insect repellent! The gateway to the Delta is Tulcea, with good bus and train connections. From there you can hire rowing boats and kayaks, or arrange trips with fishermen. You'll need a permit to visit the Delta, which you can get at travel agencies in Tulcea.
Southern Bucovina
The painted monasteries of Southern Bucovina are among the greatest artistic monuments of Europe. The outside walls were painted at a time when northern Moldavia was threatened by Turkish invaders. To educate and entertain the interest of illiterate soldiers and peasants, well known bible stories were portrayed on the outside walls in cartoon-style frescoes. Some frescoes have been badly damaged by 450 years exposure to the elements, but the intense colours - green at Sucevita, blue at Voronet, red at Humor - have been preserved. If your time is limited the Voronet and Moldovita monasteries are accessible by bus and train and provide a representative example of what Bucovina has to offer. To do a complete circuit of all the monasteries on your own requires three days; and it's best to hire a car, though it is possible to trek between the monasteries. Outside the main tourist season, you have a better chance of being able to spend the night in them.
Activities
The Carpathian mountains offer boundless opportunities for hiking, the most popular areas being the Fagaras and Brucegi ranges, respectively south and west of Brasov. Clearly marked trails traverse most of Romanian mountain ranges and lower-lying foothills. The Carpathians also offer some of the cheapest skiing in Europe, the most famous resorts being Sinaia and Poiana Brasov. Sinaia offers the most challenging skiing, while Poiana Brasov is popular with package tours and has the best developed ski school. Romania has some fabulous caves, but many are not open to the public. Those serious about the sport can arrange to go caving by contacting local caving clubs for permission to enter them. Climbing and mountain biking are also popular, along with more tranquil activities like trainspotting, and self-pampering in spas around Eforie Nord and Baile Felix. Animal lovers can watch bears and wolves in the Carpathians and birds in the Danube Delta.
Getting There & Away
Romania is easily accessible, served by buses, trains and planes galore. There are plenty of scheduled flights to Romania from a dozen or so western countries, and, with a single plane change, from a great many more. Most flights arrive at Bucharest's Otopeni international airport. There are also flights to Timisoara and Constanta.
With an unbeatable train service linking Romania to western Europe and Russia, there is little reason to travel to/from Romania by bus. Romania's public bus system is virtually nonexistent while fares offered by the numerous private bus companies operating buses to the west rarely compete with the inexpensive comfort offered by trains. The exception to this rule is Istanbul. The bus (12 to 14 hours) is substantially cheaper and faster than the train (171/2 hours) - and they've banned smoking on it, which is just as well since most Romanians and Turks smoke like the proverbial chimney. There are plenty of trains from western Europe, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Turkey, and Moldova, Ukraine and beyond. Between May and September a ferry plies the Black Sea between Constanta and Istanbul. There's no departure tax when leaving Romania, but you have to show your exit card - that's the wee piece of paper they placed in your passport when you entered the country and which you've probably lost by this stage.
Getting Around
Romania's national airline TAROM flies at least four times weekly between Bucharest and the other major cities. Unfortunately, the airline has a two-tier pricing system, making flights more expensive for foreigners. A single fare is usually around US$50, and returns are exactly double the single fare. Buses are dead cheap and dead slow. It costs about US$2.50 to travel 200km (9124 mi), but buses are infrequent and only one or two buses a day service most routes. Buses are generally used only for outlying villages and more rural areas.
Train has long been the most popular way of travelling around Romania. Trains provide a frequent service to most cities, towns and larger villages within the country. There are five different types of train: personae are so slow that they generally travel with the doors open so passengers can leap on or off when the train is in motion; accelerat are faster, more expensive and less crowded; rapid and expres trains travel reasonably quickly and serve international as well as domestic routes; and inter-city trains are no faster than the others (apart from personae trains) but are twice as expensive and twice as comfortable. Seat reservations are obligatory for all trains (except personae) and this is included in the fare.
Most Romanian roads are best suited to 4WD. They are in poor, potholed condition. Other hazards include horse-drawn carts piled high with hay, cows, pigs, drunkards and playing children! Similarly, if you want to cycle, the potholed roads makes the going tough for anything less than a robust touring or mountain bike. Boat is the only way of getting round much of the Danube Delta. Most towns within Romania have local buses, trams and trolleybuses, and Bucharest has a Metro underground system. Taxis are available in all cities and towns, but can be more expensive for foreigners.
Recommended Reading

The Romanians - a History by Vlad Georgescu is a comprehensive contemporary history of the country.
A History of Romania, edited by Kurt W Treptow and published by the Romanian Cultural Foundation in Iasi, is a hefty tome tracing the history of Romania from the Stone Age to the 1990s, and is worth its weight in lei.
Kiss the Hand You Cannot Bite: the Rise and Fall of the Ceausescus by Edward Behr provides fascinating background to the 1989 revolution.
Dan Antal's autobiography Out of Romania offers startling (and witty) insights into the hardships and cruelties encountered by a youth on the 'wrong side' of the Securitate.
The extraordinary cult following that has grown up around Bram Stoker's Dracula novel, and its association with Vlad Tepes is expounded in In Search of Dracula: History of Dracula and Vampires by Raymond McNally and Radu Florescu.

Lonely Planet Guides

Romania & Moldova
Eastern Europe on a shoestring
Eastern European phrasebook

Travellers' Reports
Click here for the latest (but unverified) travellers' reports on Romania

On-line Info

Take the subWWWay to Romania

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