I’ve been on a personal planning session for an ultimate trip to Romania.  I’ve spoken to no one, done research exclusively on the web, and have come to a greater understanding of how I should handle a future trip to Romania.  The date is not set, but it is definitely on my short list.

Why Romania?  It isn’t one of the top places the average American wants to go, and maybe that’s why I’d like to go there.  The American dollar goes a long way where the average Romanian makes $14K a year.

Romania is probably about as big, if not a little bigger than the states of Kentucky and Tennessee put together ( see map above).  I can’t imagine seeing everything in a week.  It might take a week and a half or two trips to see everything.

My entry point would be Bucharest, the sprawling capital.  But before I would go anywhere in Bucharest, I’d probably want to fly domestically within Romania since I’d already be at the airport upon arrival.

My choice for domestic flight would be the northeastern town of Suceava.  The airport there has only a few domestic services, but I see there is a car rental there, which helps me in seeing the main attractions in the area – the Painted Monasteries.

What’s the big deal about these monasteries?  They have been nominated as UNESCO  World Heritage sites.  They are located in picturesque tranquil villages which makes it great for photography.

These Monasteries are off the beaten track and for many, there isn’t an easy way to get there, without joining a tour. There are two exceptions to this rule – the Humor Monastery – which you can catch a bus from the Best Western in Gura Humorului – and the Voronet Monastery which is an hour and a half walk from Gura Humorului.

The rest of the monasteries I’d see via car.  That would mean doing something I’ve never done before, that is…drive in Europe.  I realize people do it all the time, but I am still somewhat apprehensive about it.  I’ve seen those dash cam videos of Russian car crashes.  I’ve also seen the usual horse and wagon sharing the road with automobiles in rural Romania courtesy of Google Street view.  I’d just have to take it nice and slow through curvy mountain roads.

The western most monastery, the Moldovita Monastery, is 3 hours away from the other set of attractions in the area, the Wooden Churches of Maramures in northeastern Romania. While not as exciting as the Painted Monasteries, I feel that since I’m in the area with a car, I should at least try to see some of these churches. And most of all I’d like to see the Merry Cemetery (also in the area).

After seeing these churches I’d head to Cluj-Napoca where I would turn in my rental car and use trains and buses to make it to other larger cites.  I’d estimate this would take me between 2 and 3 days to cover all of this. I’d try to see the sites in Cluj-Napoca including Saint Michael’s Church.

From Cluj-Napoca, I’d catch a 3 hour train to Sibiu, well preserved medieval city.  Also I’d try to see Sighisoara, a walled old town, before eventually getting to Brasov to visit Bran Castle.  Then on to Bucharest for a couple of days of sightseeing before flying back.

It would be daunting and would likely take an extended stay so as not to feel rushed….or broken up in two trips.