Transylvania is an area in Romania. It is a land full of castles, vampire legends, mountains, and citadels. Taking a road trip through the Transylvania countryside in the summertime is like driving through a fairy tale land. Our family has been to many places and explored all sorts of locations, and we often take road trips and enjoy driving around. The drives around Transylvania have been a highlight for our family, and we encourage anyone who is able to try do a road trip around Transylvania.
While we will detail a week-long, 7-day road trip, you could easily spend ten to fifteen days exploring here. There are so many sights to see, and as you drive down the roads you can take in the beauty of Romania.
Before we get into some of the amazing things you can see around Transylvania on a road trip, it is important to know if it is safe to travel with kids?
Is Romania Kid Friendly / Is it Safe for Kids?
Yes, it is safe to travel around Romania with kids! Romania as a whole surprised us with how friendly the people are with children. Every country has a different culture surrounding how they interact with children, and we were a bit unsure how things would be in Romania. However, once we were there the warmth and friendliness shown to us and our children was amazing.
Sometimes people can get overwhelmed when a family with 4 kids comes barreling into a store or a campground. Through all our interactions around Romania, we were welcomed and treated with respect.
Is the Transylvania Area Safe to Dive Around?
Most of the Transylvania area is very safe to drive around. We were able to rent a car in easily so we could drive around. Do be safe and adhere to the rules, make sure you have a valid international drivers license. We have rented cars in many counties using our United States drivers license only and have not had an issue. When we rented in Romania, we had to show proof of an international drivers license. We obtained ours online very easily here.
In Romania you will find the traffic drives on the right side of the road. For those coming from United States or other right side countries that makes it easy. If you are coming from a left side of the road country, expect to have to adjust.
In Romania and the Transylvania area the roads are very well maintained. Driving was smooth, and getting around with Google Maps; or another online map service, was easy.
On the road trip we have planned out below, there is a lot of mountainous driving with switchbacks and steep roads. We rented a manual vehicle. A mistake unless you have a preference for them! It was very annoying on the mountainous part of the drive, specifically the Transfagarasan Highway!
7 Day Road Trip Itinerary
Destinations
Where will this 7 day road trip around Transylvania go and what will you be able to see and do as a family? You will be doing a loop around the center of Transylvania. Your main stops on this road trip will be starting and ending at the city of Brasov, Bran which is known for the vampire legend, the Transfagarasan highway for out of this world views, Turda for its mining history, and the cute citadel city of Sighisoara.
Duration
On this Transylvania road trip, we will just outline what a week (7 days) would look like. But like we mentioned above, you could easily spend more time in each place if you choose. I would not recommend trying to do this trip itinerary any faster as it will be far too crammed. If you have less time to give, then just pick what looks most interesting.
Best Age for Kids
There is much to see outside of the car window, along with history and legends. Our kids were 6, 8, 11, and 13 when we took this trip and they were fantastic ages to take in all that they were seeing and learning.
If your kids are good traveler in the car we would suggest that even younger would be fine. However, toddlers and babies have difficulty seeing out of car windows. We would not recommend this itinerary for that age as they wont get much out of it.
Our family believes that you cannot build travel stamina without traveling. So getting those babies on road trips is beneficial even if they don’t get anything from the trip itself!
Total Drive Time
This road trip is not too long. The point is to see the places. The destinations are spaced out in such a way that maximizes your time at the location and minimizes the drive time.
To get through this road this it is approximately 10 hours total on the road. Remember, one destination on this road trip is to the Transfagarasan highway itself. The total drive time on this road trip is getting to each destination only. As the Transfagarasan destination is the drive, the amount of time you spend on this drive is not added to your drive time. The more time you spend on this beautiful road adds to your time in the car.
Best Time to Road Trip Transylvania
This trip needs to be completed during the summer months as the Transfagarasan highway is only open that time of year. You can check their official website for exact dates that it is expected to open this year. The roads are not open during the winter.
If you omit the Transfagarason highway you could do the other part of the road trip anytime of the year, but we can’t speak more highly of the Transfagarason highway so we don’t recommend leaving it out! If you road trip in the winter you will also have to be dealing with icy roads and much colder weather. Summer is very beautiful weather and is what we recommend.
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Brasov, Romania
Begin your Transylvania road trip in Brasov, the capital city of Transylvania. If you already have a vehicle that is great, but if you are going to rent from Brasov then you have to get there first.
Brasov is a short 2 ½ hour train ride from Romania’s capital city of Bucharest. The train station in Brasov connects to other cities around eastern Europe as well.
Main Activities and Highlights: Brasov Cable Car
Our favorite attraction in Brasov was taking the Tampa Cable Car (Telecabina Tampa) to the top of Tampa Mountain. Brasov is known for having a large sign with the city name on a mountainside overlooking the city. It is at the top of the Tampa Cable Car that the Brasov sign looks out over the city of Brasov.
There is also a path through the forest up the mountain if your family is up for the hike.
The cable car runs both directions up and down the mountain, but you can choose whether your family wants to take it both ways or if you want to hike one direction. The cost is 20 lei for a one-way trip and 35 lei for a round trip. Hiking up or down is free of charge. Our family really enjoyed hiking down. Walking down is more fun than walking up! Especially when you are hiking with kids!
The town of Bran is just 30 kilometers west of Brasov. We recommend driving over to Bran the first night, so that you can get an early start into Bran Castle on Day 2.
Day 2: Bran
Wake up and get over to Bran Castle when it opens at 9 AM. It will probably be the most busy sight you see on your Transylvania road trip due to the high number of tourists that come through.
Even though our family loves off the beaten path adventures, we chose to include Bran Castle because it is a castle completely decorated with 19th century furniture, as well as including the full explanation of the legend of Dracula. Our kids loved learning about the Dracula legend.
If you are interested in exploring other castles along your path this week, read our post on three of the different castles we checked out and the pros and cons of seeing castles in different stages of use.
Main Activities and Highlights: Bran Castle
In learning about the legend of Dracula in the Transylvania area, the best place to visit is Bran Castle. Though historians have figured out that Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) was not actually located in Bran Castle, it still holds as the most popular attraction to learn about the history and the legend.
Bran Castle has everything you need in a tourist attraction – the souvenir shops, the cafes, the gardens, and the tours. We recommend taking your time to go through the rooms to learn as much as you can. We had to let several tours pass us by while we were there, so that we could stay for as long as we wanted.
We also found that once we left the castle and began walking around the castle grounds, we were away from the main tourist population and had much of the space to ourselves. The view of the castle from behind is really spectacular.
Accommodation
We recommend staying the night in Bran, as much of the next two days will be driving along the Transfagarasan highway. If you want a place within walking distance from the castle you can check out Bran 99. You can get your own townhome, and it is walking distance from the castle and in the middle of everything. Queens Heart Guesthouse is also very close to the castle for a little fancier option. We were tent camping and chose to stay in Vampire Camping Bran. This was a lovely campground and was a short drive from the castle.
Day 3-4: Transfagarasan Highway
Leaving Bran, you will drive on flat plains for about 1 ½ hours before beginning your ascent into the Transfagarasan mountains. From the plains, you can see the snow up on the mountains. After 1 hour of steep climbing through forests and zigzagging on the mountainside, you will arrive at Lake Balea. Here you will find pockets of snow, trails to hike, market stalls, and views of the mountain and beautiful glacier lake.
Main Activities and Highlights: Transfagarasan Highway and Cable Car
The Transfagarasan highway (7c) is an attraction of its own. We stopped many many times to look at views and take pictures. We also saw a bear on the side of the road at one point! You cross the tree line about halfway up and then you get your first glimpses of the quintessential Transfagarasan highway.
Feel free to check out our full blog post on the Visiting the Transfagarasan Highway.
The main stop on the Transfagarasan highway is at Lake Balea. Our favorite adventure once we got to the top, was taking the Lake Balea cable car (Balea Lac – Telecabina). The cable car runs between Balea Lake and Balea Waterfall down the mountain.
Cost
100 Ron per person - Adult
60 Ron per person - Child
It costs 100 Ron per person (children are 60 Ron) to take the cable car there and back (round trip). You can check out their website. You can visit the hotel and restaurant at the bottom, along with souvenir and snack shops and then take your return trip.
You can stay at one of the hotels along the road or try your hand at camping for the night of Day 3.
On Day 4, you can see the rest of the Transfagarasan highway and then continue on your way to the town of Turda.
This is your longest drive day with Turda being about 3 hours drive away from Lake Balea. We recommend getting to Turda and staying the night there, so you have a full day to spend at the salt mine in Turda.
Accommodation
If you are wanting a place to stay that has some of the most beautiful views on the planet then I would highly recommend staying at the Cabana Bâlea Lac. Situated right at the peak of the drive, it is an ideal location to stay if you have the budget. It was out of our budget to stay at as we were camping, but we all wished we could stay there!
We opted to stay at Transfăgărăşan Camping which is located just past the peak and situated in between a small valley on the descent on the other side. It offered amazing views on the other side of the range and proved to be quite chilly at night (high elevation) but below any snow. Transfăgărăşan Camping was very good for budget travelling.
Right next to it was a cute hotel by the name of Complex Balea. Much more reasonably priced than Cabana Balea Lac, this small hotel would be a wonderful place to stay at. A cold stream runs next to the road and is fun to feel how fresh and cold the water is!
Day 5: Turda
Turda is a city mostly known for its industrial use, so the city center is not something we recommend spending a long time in unless you just want to view daily life in the city. However, there are two attractions that are worth spending time at – Turda Gorge (Cheile Turzii), a natural attraction, and Salina Turda, a salt mine. Turda Gorge (Cheile Turzii) is a limestone canyon that is very scenic and offers some beautiful hikes. Our family was very curious to visit the salt mine and learn about that as we’ve not gotten an opportunity in a place like that before. We highly recommend a visit!
Main Activities and Highlights: Salina Turda Salt Mine
The salt mine was a great destination for the whole family! There are two sections in the salt mine. An educational section and an entertainment section. We first visited the educational section which took us through the history of the mine and how they excavated the salt out of the mine from the past. There were signs explaining the process. We especially enjoyed learning how they used to use horses in the mine.
After learning the history and process of the salt mining, we went into the largest cavern. This cavern is 13 stories high and is the entertainment section of Salina Turda. You can take a boat in the water at the base of the cavern, or ride a ferris wheel in the center of the cave. There are various other activities to try out – something for all age kids!
It was also very cold in the salt mine, which our kids enjoyed. They loved seeing the salt patterns on the walls of the caves. An unexpected fascination some of us had was in the regrowth of the salt around the salt mine. You can see evidence that the salt is continually growing over time by how it is growing onto and over the signs, stairs, and artifacts all around the mine.
One thing to note about going into the mine with kids – there is only one elevator which takes you up and down the 13 floors. It is very crowded with a long line. We preferred to walk the stairs, but there are A LOT of stairs! Very narrow stairs.
Read here for a more detailed run down on the Salina Turda Salt mines.
Accommodation
We got to Turda without any accommodation figured out. There was campground we were interested in looking at, but when we drive to it was obvious that it would not work for a family. There was a crowd of people drinking and having a bit too much fun. We quicky looked for other options and ended up in an amazing campground for families. It was a family-owned campground and the couple who ran it was thrilled to have children staying there. You can find them on Google Maps under Camping De oude walnoot. We just showed up without prior booking. It looks like a fenced house when we drove up, but they had a trampoline and pool that were allowed to use, and plenty of seasonal berries and fruit on the property that we were allowed to eat. A total highlight!
If you are looking for a non-camping experience that is near the mines you can have a look at Pensiunea Edy Turda. They are situated around an 8-minute drive from the mines.
After finishing at Salina Turda Salt Mine, you should continue on your Transylvania road trip to your next destination. Drive about 2 hours to Sighisoara, so you are ready to explore on Day 6.
Day 6: Sighisoara
Main Activities and Highlights: Sighisoara Citadel
Sighisoara is one of our family’s favorite places in Eastern Europe! We highly recommend you spend time exploring this town and specifically the citadel, which is a walled area in the city.
The citadel is built up on a hill. It has all the makings of a town straight out of a fairy tale – cobblestone streets, watch towers, gardens, and wooden shuttered pastel houses. It costs nothing to enter and walk through.
It is easy to spend a day exploring. There are signs around town marking the names of towers, churches, and famous buildings. There are little restaurants and souvenir shops to explore. The back alleys were our favorite, as people still lived real life there with beautiful flower gardens and working shops, while still having the quaint village look of a time gone by.
Read on if you would like more details on Discovering Sighisoara with Kids: A Fairy Tale Town.
We recommend staying in the town of Sighisoara one more night before finishing your Transylvania road trip tomorrow.
Accommodations
One of the cutest spots you can stay in Sighisoara is along one of the best photo spots along the citadel. It is called Boutique Hotel von Graf. If you can swing staying, we would recommend it! Another great option in the citadel is the Casa Saseasca. It is situated very near the main square within the citadel.
If you wish to stay away from the citadel and be in the newer main part of town there are plenty of places to stay. Hotel Villa Franca is very near to the citadel, and because you are not up on the citadel the prices are much more reasonable. Once again we opted to go camping and the camping spot was a bit outside of town to the south. It is called Camping Curtea Larga. It had a large field for camping and picnic tables. It also had hot showers and a stove that we could use. That is awesome! It ended up being only about a 15-minute drive to the citadel.
Day 7: Back to Brasov
It is a quick return trip to Brasov, about 120 kilometers, which should take you less than two hours to drive. Brasov has some lovely parks to check out – we played for a long time at Parcul Aerotec, a playground inside the European Council Square in downtown Brasov.
You can also swing by the Black Church, a gothic church that got its name from a fire that burned through it in the 1600’s. It is quite unique and worth a visit but will cost 25 Ron for adults and 15 Ron for students (free for children under 7).
Accommodations
We chose to stay about 30 minutes outside of Brasov because the Heaven Camping Resort Bran campgrounds had crazy good amenities. It was suited for RV’s as well as tents, but it had a cafe on site as well as options to purchase wine and store your things in a fridge if you needed. It is actually situated almost right in between Bran and Brasov, so it would work as accommodation for both locations if you liked it!
If you desire to be closer to the cable car and center of Brasov then you can always see if places such as Superb Historical Center Brasov or John Residence Aparthotel Brasov with Parking Option could work for your family. Both of those accommodations in Brasov are apartment style.
We have found apartment style accommodations work very well when you are traveling with a family.
Top Highlights for Families
Favorite kid-approved attractions
We loved exploring attractions that were so different from places we had been before. The salt mine was a great learning experience for all of us as we had never seen a salt mine before.
We loved trying snacks along the way. Our favorite was definitely the deep-fried dough called Langos, which comes with different toppings.
For meals, we found that the cheapest and easiest meals were the Kaufland Supermarket Grill. Kaufland Supermarket is a supermarket chain around Europe and many of the towns around Transylvania have at least one supermarket in their area. We could get some fruits and veggies from inside the supermarket and then buy meat from the grill. There are tables and stools where you can eat next to the grill.
Parent Tips
Packing for this Transylvania road trip would need to include a few warmer pieces of clothing as you not only enjoy the summer temperatures of Transylvania, but you also enter the mountains and see snow, as well as the cold of the salt mine.
Final Thoughts
We very much enjoyed this road trip around this beautiful part of Romania. As we mentioned at the beginning, it was a highlight for our family. The people of Romania are amazing with kids and there is so much to see and do.
If you want to experience much of what Transylvania has to offer as a family, this really is the way to do it. You really increase the flexibility of your itinerary by having your own wheels instead of choosing the combination of trains/buses + walking. The Transylvania area is set up for having your own vehicle. There are a lot of places would be very tiresome to get to without a vehicle on this road trip. When you travel with kids there is a time to take public and walk and a time to drive. This was a driving one.
As a family that usually chooses public transport over rental cars, we were really glad to have chosen the car for this area of Eastern Europe. We would not have gotten to see nearly as much without renting a vehicle.
During our time in Albania we felt that we did not need a vehicle and walking was best. And feel free to check out all our other posts on Romania.