🇷🇴 Europe
Romania mixes legendary castles, the Carpathian mountains and the medieval towns of Transylvania with a lively capital and prices that surprise you by how affordable they are. It is one of those European destinations that still feel authentic and waiting to be discovered.
Romania is one of those European destinations that still feel authentic and waiting to be discovered. It mixes legendary castles (including the one that inspired Dracula), the Carpathian mountains, medieval Transylvanian towns with walls and towers, villages where time seems to have stopped, and a capital, Bucharest, that is lively and full of contradictions. Add to that painted monasteries, wooden churches, the Danube delta and prices that surprise you by how affordable they are within the European Union. For a Latin American traveller it is a cheap and fascinating gateway to Eastern Europe, far from the most beaten tracks.
The country revolves around Bucharest, the capital, in the south. To the north lies Transylvania, the tourist heartland, with Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara and the castles of Bran and Peles, plus the Transfagarasan mountain road. Further north are the Maramures region, with its rural traditions intact, and Bucovina, with its painted monasteries. To the east, the Danube delta, a bird paradise where the river spills into the Black Sea. A typical trip combines Bucharest with several days around Transylvania and its castles.
Two things matter for the traveller: since 1 January 2025 Romania has been a full member of the Schengen area (there are no longer checks at its land borders with the bloc), but it has still NOT adopted the euro, so the Romanian leu (RON) is still in use. The best of the country is its combination of wild nature, medieval heritage and low prices; what surprises people is how varied and authentic it is, with a rural life that in many corners still runs as it did a century ago.
The local currency is the Romanian leu (RON), and although Romania is part of the European Union it has not adopted the euro yet, so it is best to work in lei. Cards are accepted without trouble in cities and larger shops, but it always helps to carry some cash for villages, markets and transport. ATMs are everywhere and usually give a better rate than the exchange desks at the airports.
Full converter for RON →Bucharest Henri Coandă (OTP) has a direct train to Gara de Nord: about twenty to twenty-five minutes, with departures every forty minutes around the clock (the M6 metro line to the airport is not expected until 2028). Cluj (CLJ), Timisoara (TSR) and Iasi (IAS) serve the rest of the country. CFR trains are cheap and fairly slow, so on several routes the coaches save you time. For Transylvania, the castles and the Saxon villages, a car is the best option; the Transfăgărășan, the country's most famous road, is only open from June to October and it is worth checking conditions before you drive up.
The best time to visit Romania runs from May to September, when the weather is pleasant, the days are long and everything is open. Summer (June to August) is high season, with lively cities, the Carpathian trails accessible and the Transfagarasan road open (it only works when there is no snow, roughly July to October); the heat is moderate in the mountains and considerably stronger in Bucharest and the south. May, June and September are usually the best balance between good weather, nature at its peak and fewer crowds.
Winter (December to March) is cold and snowy, but it opens the ski season at resorts such as Poiana Brasov and Sinaia, cheap compared with the Alps; on top of that, the snow-covered castles of Transylvania have a special charm and the cities set up Christmas markets (the one in Sibiu is among the loveliest). Spring and autumn bring beautiful landscapes and low prices. If your plan includes the Transfagarasan or high mountains, aim for summer without question, because the rest of the year they are closed or impassable.
Romanian cooking is hearty, homemade and dirt cheap, with Balkan, Ottoman and central European influences. The most typical dish is 'sarmale' (cabbage or vine leaf rolls filled with meat and rice), almost always served with 'mamaliga' (a maize polenta that replaces bread). Try also 'mici' or 'mititei' (grilled meat sausages, a bar classic), 'ciorba' (a very popular sour soup), and for dessert 'papanasi' (fried dough with sour cream and jam). To drink, 'tuica' or 'palinca' (plum brandy) and good local wines, little known abroad.
Eating in Romania is among the cheapest in Europe. A full meal at a homestyle restaurant costs just 8 to 13 USD; a plate of mici with a beer, a little more; and a local beer, 2 to 3.50 USD (verified July 2026). In the old town of Bucharest and the tourist areas of Transylvania prices go up a bit, but they are still affordable. The usual tip is 10% when service is not included, and rounding up is customary.
Romania is a safe country to travel in, with low levels of violent crime and a worse reputation than it deserves. The main things to watch are pickpockets in busy parts of Bucharest and on public transport, the occasional taxi that overcharges (use apps such as Bolt or Uber, or taxis with a visible meter, and avoid the ones waiting outside the airport) and minor scams aimed at tourists. The usual precautions you would take in any European country are enough. One thing specific to the countryside: in rural and mountain areas there are loose shepherd dogs and, in the Carpathians, bears, so get informed before you go hiking.
No vaccines are required to enter and health standards are acceptable, although the public health system is more basic than in Western Europe. Tap water is drinkable in the cities, though many people prefer bottled for the taste. If you are going hiking, watch out for ticks in spring and summer. Always take out travel insurance. The single emergency number is 112, free from any mobile (verified July 2026).
Romania is one of the cheapest destinations in the European Union, ideal for tight budgets. A backpacker gets by very well on around 35 to 50 USD a day; a mid-range budget, with a simple hotel and eating out, runs to about 65 to 95 USD; and a comfortable trip with good hotels and restaurants rarely goes over 150 USD a day (verified July 2026). Those figures do not include the international flight from Latin America, which almost always means one or two stopovers in Europe.
For reference (July 2026): a bed in a hostel dorm costs between 12 and 20 USD; a simple double room, from 35 USD; a meal at a homestyle restaurant, 8 to 13 USD; a beer, 2 to 3.50 USD; a city transport ticket in Bucharest, around 0.70 USD; and many attractions (churches, historic centres, trails) are free or extremely cheap. Famous castles such as Bran or Peles charge admission, but a modest one. This is a country where your money goes much further than in Western Europe.
The language is Romanian, and here is good news for the Latin American traveller: it is a Romance language, a cousin of Spanish, Italian and French, so many words are understandable or guessable (reading a menu is easier here than anywhere else in Eastern Europe). English is fairly widely spoken among young people and in tourism in Bucharest and Transylvania, less so among older people and in the countryside. Romanians are hospitable and warm, proud of their culture and with strong Orthodox and rural traditions. A 'bună ziua' (good morning) or 'mulțumesc' (thank you) always goes down well.
Plugs are type C and F, with 230 V and 50 Hz, so from much of Latin America you will need an adapter (and you should check that your device is dual voltage if it is 110 V). Connectivity is very good and cheap (Romania has some of the best internet speeds in Europe): go for an eSIM or a local or European prepaid SIM, which works across the whole bloc since Romania is part of the EU. Two tips from someone who has been there: renting a car pays off enormously for getting the most out of Transylvania, the castles and the mountain roads, though drive carefully on secondary roads with carts and animals; and carry some cash in lei, because although cards are accepted in the cities, in villages and markets cash still rules.
Romania is a geographical and cultural oddity: an island of Latin speech in the middle of a sea of Slavic, Hungarian and Turkish peoples. Its name says it all — România comes from romanus, 'Roman' — and points to a precise founding episode: the conquest of Dacia by the emperor Trajan between the years 101 and 106, when the legions crossed the Danube, razed the Dacian capital and colonised a land rich in gold. Out of the mixture of Roman colonists and the Daco-Getic population there arose, according to the Romanian national thesis, a people who went on speaking a Romance language on the shores of the Black Sea and in the Carpathians long after Rome abandoned the province. That origin is also the country's great historiographical debate, because Hungarians and Romanians have argued for centuries over who was in Transylvania first.
On that ancient root a history of shifting borders and neighbouring powers was built. In the Middle Ages three Romanian lands emerged: the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, south and east of the Carpathians, and Transylvania, inside the Hungarian crown. The two principalities were caught between the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburgs and Russia, and survived by paying tribute to the sultan. From that era comes the country's most famous and most distorted figure: Vlad Țepeș, the Impaler, a real prince of Wallachia whom Bram Stoker's novel turned into Count Dracula. The union of Wallachia and Moldavia in 1859, the independence wrested from the sultan in 1877-1878, the reign of Carol I and, above all, the Great Union of 1918 — which added Transylvania, Bessarabia and Bucovina — gave shape to modern Romania. The twentieth century brought the worst: the dictatorship of Antonescu allied with Hitler and the Romanian Holocaust, and then four decades of communism that culminated in the delirious regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, brought down in the bloody revolution of December 1989. Today Romania is a democratic republic, a member of NATO and of the European Union since 2007, that still carries the scars of that past.
Read the full history of Romania →Pick a region and open each destination to see what to do, prices and how to get there.
These are the sources we cite most across this country's guides, with how many times each appears. Hard data —tickets, opening hours, requirements, transport— comes from the official source and carries the date we checked it. Restaurant and hotel picks come from guides and reviews, and we say so on each page.