I had heard about Therme Bucuresti, Europe's largest wellness and relaxation centre, but that the spa comes at a fraction of the costs of a regular spa in the UK, from many social media sources. I was haggled up from an extreme day trip to a proper holiday, by my partner, something I am very grateful for because we had a wonderful time travelling around Romania by train.
In the end, we travelled from Bucharest to Sinai to Brașov and then back to Romania. The below is what we did and what I recommend for other Romanian adventurers.
Day One: Sunday 2 March. Birmingham to Bucharest.
I took a 3h15 Ryanair flight from Birmingham International Airport (BHX) to Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport (OTP), arriving into Bucharest for 11:35am in local time. On arriving, there was a number 100 bus waiting just outside the airport to take passengers to the city centre, a journey of 30 minutes at a cost of 51p.
After arriving into the city, the first stop was for some grub. I went directly to Caru’ cu bere and I strongly recommend. The building is vaulted in a Neo-Gothic style, decorated with flowers, stained glass, mosaics and adorned with beautiful woods. It looked like you were eating inside a church! I recommend booking because it can get quite busy- I had maybe a 40 minute standing wait for a table. But the food was wonderful, with plenty of traditional foods and their own locally brewed beer on draught. There was an additional surprise too, with a quartet of string instruments serenading the restaurant! A really bustling and beautiful environment. I got a local beer on draught and a traditional bean and smoked meat soup in a bread bowl for the grand total of £9.41!
After lunch, it was check in time. The accommodation sent me a message at 1:20pm with an access code for the front door. This was a nice surprise because it has said online that check in was 3pm. Unfortunately, due to you receiving a code to check in, there appeared to be no luggage storage available, despite it saying so online. The accommodation was very centrally located in old town, with great bus access too (8 minute walk) and decent train access (40 minute walk). It had the most amazing free-standing bath, bath robes and slippers supplied free of charge and a mini bar supplied with a couple of beers, a couple of Fantas, a couple of cokes and some snacks- all for free. The only disadvantage was noise from the street outside and the noise of running water whenever others used their facilities but the trick is to be so tired from adventuring that you don’t even notice!
Bellies full and rucksacks empty, it was time for a little wander around Bucharest, a self-made walking tour. Included on the walk were: Palace of Parliament, CEC Palace, National Museum of Romanian History, Stavropoleos Church, Manuc Inn, Carturesti Carusel (an Instagrammable book shop), National Bank of Romania, University Square, Macca Villacross Passage, CCA, The Umbrella Passage (a narrow street with umbrellas suspended above you), Revolution Square, Royal Palace and Romanian Athenaeum.
My thoughts on Bucharest were that it is a very underrated place to visit. Despite having a rough itinerary planned, beautiful buildings I had not heard about, cropped up all over the place. It is a lived-in city and so naturally there is rubbish and graffiti but there was also a lot of beauty to be found too.
- Hotel: Vilacrosse Boutique Inn
- Day One Spend: £20.62
- Bus 51p
- Lunch £9.41
- Cake and coffee £10.70
Day Two: Monday 3 March. Bucharest to Sinaia to Brașov.
A train 8:24am to 9:50am from Bucharest North to Sinaia kicked off the most intense travel day of the holiday. Thankfully, there was a Luca on what felt like every street to full the journey with cheap pretzels, coffee and assorted snacky bakery goodies.
The train experience in Romania overall was absolutely fine. The stations did not tell you about delays so I recommend making an account on CFR and booking your trains on here, the official train website. Through your booking, you could easily look up your train and see what delays are expected. On one train there was a 30 minute delay, while others ran to time. The trains had toilets available but did not seem to have facilities where you could purchase food or drinks. They had no wifi but the signal was strong throughout the journeys. The seats were comfortable and, at my time of travel, carriages were relatively quiet. It could be difficult to find the correct carriage (they had a piece of paper stuck to the inside with the carriage numbers on), especially if the train was awaiting additional carriages to be added. Tickets were inspected by officers on all the trains travelled on and inspectors wore very official and smart-looking uniforms. At one point, I was approached by a man with a clip board with ID attached to it and a photo of a child- this is a scam and he was asking for money. Say no firmly and he should walk away. The train journey could at times be more bumpy than trains in the UK but overall I found the experience quite similar, although much cheaper in Romania!
On arrival into Sinaia, the first anticipated stop was the cable car up to the top of the mountain. I was following the road signs for “Sinaia Gondola” and promptly got us lost! These signs are for cars only and you will end up hiking half the mountain if you intend to follow them! Instead of “Gondola Sinaia”, head to “Telecabina Sinaia” (106100 Sinaia, Romania). There should be a steep incline from the station and then a flat walk through downtown, an overall walk time of 17 minutes and not a 40 minute hike up a mountain!
I purchased the gondola tickets online on the official website but it was a little confusing to know which was the correct ticket. I purchased the tickets “Sinaia-Carp Up&Down”. In Romanian, this was written as “Urcare+Coborare Sinaia-1400-2000 Carp”. This consisted of a first gondola from Sinaia to 1000-1400m (the mountain mid point) and then a second gondola from 1000-1400m to 14000-2000m (carp or the mountain peak). To me, the gondola I took looked identical to a cable car. I would recommend checking the Facebook page of the cable car company to see the opening hours because it opened hours before I had expected it to (from times on the official website) on the day I visited. One thing to note is that the tickets were very difficult to scan on the ticket machines. If possible, I would recommend printing the tickets.
I thought the cable car journey was worth it because the views from the cars themselves were breath-taking. On the first cable car, it was a journey shared with many others but on the way back it was easy for us to take a solo cable car, which was nice- that alone made the journey to the top worth it. The view from the mountain itself however was better on the lower site than the top, just because of cloud cover on the day of travel. It was nice to sit at a restaurant on the top, huddled in the warm with a hot chocolate, watching the skiers and snowboarders take off. Both skiers and people there just for the views used the same cable cars. If going to the top, remember appropriate clothes and shoes for snowy weather! It was -6 on my visit! Also don’t forget sunglasses and suncream- even though it is so cold, it is blinding and the sun reflects strongly!
In addition to the cable car, in Sinaia another stop that was planned was to see Peleș Castle. I already knew it would be shut because it does not open on Mondays or Tuesdays, but I was disappointed to also find that it was being renovated on the outside. The castle was hidden behind scaffolding. The walk from the castle back to town via the photo spot for Peleș Castle and water viel was quite nice, however.
My overall view of Sinaia is that it is a pretty little mountain town. It is very hilly to wander around but the cable car makes for a nice trip and it is something a little different to do while in Romania. I would recommend it as a quick stop for a visit but not an overnight visit.
After a quick stop at Restaurant Snow, a highly rated restaurant in Sinaia (I especially recommend the papanași, which were giant doughnut-like Romanian deserts, delicious and far cheaper than they had been in Bucharest), we headed to our train 4:55-5:55pm Sinaia to Brașov.
Once in Brașov, after a short bus journey from the train station and into old town, it was time to check in to our luxurious accommodation! We stayed at the beautiful Safrano Palace, which was right on the town square where the Pied Piper released the enchanted children of Hamberg! The room was very fancy, fit for royalty and completed with stately furniture, including a chaise lounge. There was a view overlooking the square and continental and cooked breakfast included.
That evening, a lovely drink was had at Musik Café. It was a great find! The bar was full of a spooky eclectic mixture of decorations on every wall, very Transylvanian. It really reminded me of the Ruin Bars found in Budapest. I had a shot of a local spirit (blueberry paliska) and a local beer for £3.65! Night time was also a great time to see the Brașov sign up on the hilltop.
- Hotel: Safrano Palace
- Day Two Spend: £49.98
- Breakfast £1.91
- Train Bucharest to Sinaia £8.15
- Cable car £19.83
- Cake and coffee (on top of the mountain) £4.81
- Lunch £10
- Train Sinaia to Brașov £1.63
- Drinks £3.65
Day Three: Tuesday 4 March. Brașov to Bran Castle to Bucharest.
After a bit of a lie-in the breakfast included in the accommodation, it was time to have a self-guided walking tour of Brașov. This included: The White Tower, The Black Tower, Catherine Gate, Strada Sforii (a tiny alleyway), The Black Church and a quick nip to Transylvania Bakery for a chimney cake to eat at Piața Sfatului. Unfortunately, both The White Tower and The Black Tower were shut during the visit but The White Tower offered beautiful views across Brașov, despite not climbing to the top of the tower itself.
My thoughts on Brașov was that the Old Town was very nice and picturesque. It is what you think of when you think of Transylvania, with the medieval architecture and little cobbled alleyways. I would visit again to visit the catacombs and caves if they were opened (they were shut during my visit). While it was a small place and could be seen in one morning, it would be a nice place to spend a few days relaxing, just drinking coffee and watching the world go by.
After the morning in Brașov, I called a Bolt (slightly cheaper than an Uber) to Bran Castle. To take the bus, we would have had to take one bus from Old Town to Autogara 2 then a second bus (which only runs hourly) to Bran Castle. Due to time constraints, I planned to take a Bolt there and the bus back later, to better maximise the time in the day.
The best view of Bran Castle could be seen from “Panorama view of the Castle Hill” at Strada General Traian Moșoiu 73, Bran 507025, Romania. At the foot of the hill there were nice views of the castle but from the higher up vantage point, the views were amazing! A warning though, the cliff hill to get up in a steep scramble, which is not for the faint hearted! Nice views could also be had from Bran Park, through a heart statue.
After the cliff scramble (!), it was on to visit the merchandise sellers at Bran Castle itself before heading to the bus stop. The bus stop is currently marked on Google Maps as “Bran Bus Station” and is actually a Pepsi Fast Food shop. If you look carefully, there are paper timetables attached to the outside of the shop. A warning though, the bus drivers do not accept card, only cash. There are some ATMs at Castle Bran but lots of them had reviews that unsolicited charges had been made from their account after using these machines. Another warning is that the bus only goes as far into Brașov as Autogara 2 i.e. not into the main bus station near Brașov Train Station. It looked very tight for time to catch a second bus so I opted to take another Bolt to the train station.
Thoughts on Bran Castle was that I was glad I visited because it was high up there on my list of things I wanted to see in Romania. It seemed a shame to visit Transylvania and not Bran Castle. I had already heard that the Castle was not worth going inside of so instead focused the afternoon of seeing the best viewpoints for the outside. I think Bran Castle is worth an afternoon, especially with the Peleș Castle exterior currently being disrupted by renovation works. The whole place does seem to go dead after the castle closes so I would not recommend an overnight stay. I would actually recommend visiting on a coach tour and not solo because the transport was a little tricky and I did not spot much to see beyond the touristy parts.
I made it back to Brașov Station just in time for the train, Brașov to Bucharest North 5:58pm to 8:42pm. Once back at Bucharest, it was time to check back into the accommodation and have a nice long bath to scrub off all the mud from the cliff scramble!
- Hotel: Vilacrosse Boutque Inn
- Day Three Spend: £25.64
- Chimney cake £2.41pp
- Bolt from Brașov to Bran Castle £11.84pp
- Bolt to Brașov Station £1.33pp
- Train Brașov to Bucharest £10.06
Day Four: Wednesday 5 March. Bucharest Spa.
A nice reward after so much travel, spa day! Another quick pretzel breakfast before grabbing the 100 bus from Bucharest town to OTP airport. One transfer later (to the 447 bus) and we were at the spa! The buses in Bucharest had contactless payment (although sometimes this did not work and came up with an error message) and each payment lasts for 90 minutes, enough for the bus transfers. Overall, it was a 50 minute bus journey and ran very regularly. The buses from the spa ran until 11:30pm (the spa shuts at 11pm and facilities close at 10:30pm). I had read reviews online that recommended getting there for the 10am opening time. I was very surprised to stay there until the 11pm bus!
I recommend bringing with you flip flops or slippers (to be kept in your bag and not on your feet when entering the spa or they will make you rent new ones), a bikini or swimwear (to be kept in your bag and not on your person when entering the spa), towel (you could just sneak in the one from your hotel), sunglasses (it got very bright in the outside pools), suncream (for if you want to lounge on the sunchairs outside), a hidden bottle of water or two (this is not allowed but water is expensive at the spa and you will get dehydrated easily so will be forced to buy it otherwise), a cheap waterproof watch so you can keep the time of any activities you would like to go to and a book to read if you want to chill by the side of the pool a little. Bags were not checked when I visited. While I brought in a robe, I did not think it was necessary because it was warm in the building so I did not wear it. I also brought goggles but there was not a pool suitable for serious swimming so these went unused too. You were not supposed to take photos but some did, some got told off and others did not. When in the sauna, you were to keep all areas of your body- your feet included- on your towel. Just be sure to read the rules before entering each area.
The first thing I did after entering, changing and storing our belongings in a locker was to place some items on a chair, a base for the day. Then it was time to scope out the full spa to decide what to do first.
My opinion on the spa is that it was fantastic, 10/10. There was so much choice and variety, even a giant waterslide area and not just relaxing spas. If I could change one thing it would be to have free tap water but even without this, it was an amazing day. The reviews I had read online were mostly very negative, about the spa being overcrowded and, at nighttime, turning into a party zone. I am not sure if it is because I visited on a Wednesday or because it was March during my stay, but I had the opposite experience. It was calm, it was relaxing and it was wonderful. At an access all areas for an entire day cost of £28pp it was also very cheap. We did not bother queueing for massage treatments on arrival and instead stumbled upon many of the free treatments provided, including a mud mask, a salt treatment, almond cream and an ice experience. I do recommend getting to the activities 5 minutes early- many of the popular ones get full and entry is not allowed after the start time. Timetables of the day are provided and are advertised on TVs inside the spa but clocks were few and far between. The time could be accessed in the turnstiles, where you scanned your spa watch for access, which was quite handy. I think these free activities were more than enough, I do not even feel like I would have had time in the day for a massage, I had so much to do! Overall, I strongly recommend. Go do it! And get the all access, all day ticket too!
- Hotel: Vilacrosse Boutque Inn
- Day Four Spend: £48.02
- Breakfast £1.40
- Bus 51p
- Spa food and drinks £46.12
Day Five: Thursday 6 March. Bucharest to Birmingham.
One last quick breakfast and then the bus to catch the flight 11:45am to 1:45pm Bucharest to Birmingham, sadly ending our Romanian train adventure.
- Day Five Spend: £1.51
- Breakfast before flight £1
- Bus 51p
Overall, I really enjoyed Romania and this little Romanian adventure. It is a very beautiful country. The people are very friendly and nice. There is a lot more to explore there so I will be back. I would like to visit the South, the coastal areas. I would also be interested in visiting Râșnov Fortress. There is no need to get an Interrail pass because the trains are so cheap. Food, accommodation etc are also cheap. While some areas are not very suited for tourism, it is relatively easy to get around. It was very easy to navigate as an English speaker. An enjoyable trip and one I would recommend to others!
Costs
- Flights: £65.63
- Airport Parking: £20.27pp
- Hotels £93.96
- Hotels in Bucharest (3 nights): £66.42pp
- Hotel in Brașov (1 night): £27.54pp
- Travel £34.54
- Trains £19.84
- Taxis £13.17
- Buses £1.53
- Activities £47.91
- Cable car £19.83
- Spa entry £28.08
- Food £91.41
