There is something undeniably magical about Transylvania. A land where misty mountains, medieval castles, and charming villages seem straight out of a fairy tale. We spent a week exploring the region, and while many know it as the home of Count Dracula, there’s so much more to see and do here.
The idea for this trip started taking form as we got invited to a wedding, held in the heart of Transylvania, Romania. I have to admit that Romania had never really been on my list of countries to visit and I’m ashamed to say it is a country I formerly knew very little about. But as we started doing a bit more research on what to see in the area, we soon decided to make a holiday out of hit and road trip through Transylvania. And what a road trip it was!
Below is our 8-day itinerary for the trip, starting in Sebeș, Transylvania, and ending in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. We went in late August, and the weather was a bit mixed - the first part of the holiday was very hot with temperatures in the mid 30s, but as we went further into the mountains, the temperature dropped down to around 20°C.
Transylvania road trip with a toddler at a glance
Getting to Transylvania
Day 1: Sebeș and Alba Iulia
Day 2: Red Ravine and Sibiu
Day 3: Sibiu to Sadu
Day 4: Bear watching in the Făgăraș Mountains
Day 5: Cisnădie and Bran Castle
Day 6: Brașov
Day 7: Peleș Castle and Bucharest
Day 8: Therme Bucharesti Spa
Getting to Transylvania
The wedding was held in the city of Sebeș, about 45 mins west of Sibiu and 1h30 south of Cluj-Napoca. We flew into Cluj-Napoca (or just Cluj, as it is often referred to) the day before as the flight times were a lot more reasonable, and then drove down.
If you have more time, you could definitely spend a night or two in Cluj, as I’ve been told it’s a vibrant city that is rich in both culture and history, and the unofficial capital of the region. There are also Alternatively, you could fly to Sibiu as it would save you a bit of driving.
I would have really liked to go to Sighisoara and the neighbouring villages there, but we felt it would be too much driving for our then nearly 2-year-old daughter, so that will have to be next time for us, but an alternative route could be to skip Bucharest and do a circuit of Transylvania instead.
Day 1: Sebeș and Alba Iulia
We started the day by visiting the nearby town Alba Iulia, about a 20-minute drive from Sebeș. This small but historic town is famous as the place where the Great Union of 1918 was declared, uniting Transylvania with Romania. At its heart lies the Alba Carolina Citadel, a star-shaped fortress built in the 18th century, which beautifully blends Roman, medieval, and Baroque influences.
We spent a few hours here exploring the citadel, including the beautiful Crowning's Cathedral with its surrounding gardens. As there was a film festival in Alba Iulia this weekend, there were some events happening in town. We some men riding horses in 18th century wigs and tricorne hats, and although I couldn't understand much of what was going on as it was all in Romanian, it created an exciting atmosphere (and my daughter loved watching the horses!). There was also a market selling local crafts and delicacies, and we finished off with lunch in the impressive Pub 13, a restaurant situated inside the fortress wall.
When we returned from Alba Iulia, we took some time to explore Sebeș. We took a stroll through the cobblestone streets of the Old Town, past the 14th-century Evangelical Church and the impressive Sebeș Fortress. Though there isn't a huge amount to do here, it's a charming town, and the fact that there were hardly any tourists here made it feel very authentic.
As today was the day of the wedding, the rest of the afternoon was spent getting ready for and then attending the wedding. I won’t say too much about the wedding itself here as it probably deserves a post of its own, but I’ll say one thing - Romanians sure know how to throw a party!
Where to stay: Hotel Leul de Aur
Day 2: Red Ravine and Sibiu
We had a slow morning today nursing our hangovers with brunch at the hotel with the rest of the wedding party.
In the early afternoon, we started making our way to Sibiu, and stopped at Râpa Roșie (the Red Ravine) on the way. Râpa Roșie is an unusual geological formation sculpted by nature over millions of years. It gets its name “the red ravine” from the dramatic red and orange hues of the rock, and the cliffs are adorned with unique formations such as sharp spires, columns, and deep gullies, creating a breathtaking, almost alien landscape.
Our daughter was asleep in the car, so we took it in turns to view the ravine. For the best view of the ravine, you can hike up a path to the side where you can access viewpoints at various heights. I only went up to the first point, which was only a couple of minutes walk, and you could easily bring kids this way.
You can also walk all the way up to the ravine, which I would highly recommend as you get to view the rocks up close. It was a bit trickier getting here however - the path was slippery with loose stones, as well as some steep ascents and descents (I wore Birkenstocks which is not recommendable!). There is a part at the end where the path is very narrow and there’s a sheer drop to one side, so I don’t think this hike would be suitable for children, at least not young ones (I was very happy I didn’t attempt this with my daughter). It only took about 10-15 mins getting here, so it is doable taking it in turns if you wanted to go here without kids.
We spent just under an hour here as we were keen to hit the road before our daughter woke up, but you could probably spend a bit longer and explore some of the viewpoints a bit further up.
The drive from Sebeș to Sibiu was just under an hour in total, including the detour to Râpa Roșie, and we arrived at our accomodation mid-afternoon.
Sibiu is a Saxon city, dating back to the 12th century. It has retained much of its medieval character, with cobblestone streets, well-preserved defensive walls, and picturesque squares like Piața Mare and Piața Mică. We stayed in a lovely Airbnb right on the Piața Mare, which was perfect for exploring the city.
We didn't do too much exploring today as our daughter was already quite hungry, so we got some food for her in one of the restaurants by the Piața Mare, and then let her have a run around in the square (she particularly loved playing with some water fountains in the middle - very happy our accommodation was close by so we could change her out of her soaking wet clothes afterwards!).
In the evening, we met up with some friends who had booked a lovely spot for dinner called Hochmeister delikat'essen - really good food and delicious local wines, highly recommend!
Where to stay: Apartment Green
Day 3: Sibiu to Sadu
We spent most of the morning and early afternoon wandering around Sibiu, getting lost in the maze-like cobblestone streets and admiring the medieval charm and Gothic architecture. I particularly liked the eye-shaped roof windows in all the buildings (the "Eyes of Sibiu") - it felt like the city was constantly watching us! Most of the streets had little to no traffic, so our daughter could easily walk by herself and enjoyed running around and exploring.
There are a few places of interest that are worth exploring (they’re all quite near each other so we stumbled upon most of them by chance), including the Lutheran Cathedral of Saint Mary, the OrthodoxCathedral and the Bridge of Lies (legend has it that if someone tells a lie while standing on the bridge, it will collapse! Try it at your own risk).
If you’re visiting in the summer, get an ice cream from one of the many ice cream stands dotted around the city as you walk around, and when you need a break, have lunch or a drink on Piața Mare or Piața Mică. If you're visiting in winter, Sibiu is famous for it's Christmas market, and there are also places where you can ski nearby, so that's an option too!
After a day of exploring, we headed to the small village of Sadu, about 30 minutes from Sibiu, where we were staying for two nights in the amazing The Island Tiny House.
This place was honestly such a gem, and turned out to be one of the highlights of our whole trip. The tiny house is located in Maria and Raul’s lovely big garden, with a gorgeous view of the mountains behind (which is the first thing you see from your bed when you wake up in the morning!). As they had a son a few years older than our daughter, there were some swings and a climbing frame in the garden our daughter could play with (though she mostly preferred running around amongst the apple trees and playing with the friendly house cats), and Maria even brought us some toys and books.
Just as we arrived, a herd of buffalos came walking down the dirt road, right past us, really adding to the countryside feel. This was apparently a real highlight for my daughter as she still to this day will talk about those buffalos!
For dinner, we cooked a nice meal outside which we enjoyed with a view, and then finished the day with a dip in the hot tub under the stars, after putting our daughter to bed.
Where to stay: Elysian Fields - The Island Tiny House
Day 4: Bear watching in the Făgăraș Mountains
After a delicious breakfast, we hit the road heading for the Transfăgărășan Highway, often referred to as the "Road to the Sky". This is one of Romania’s most spectacular and iconic roads, winding through the breathtaking landscapes of the Carpathian Mountains. It crosses the majestic Făgăraș Mountains, the highest range in the Carpathians. It is also a popular area for wildlife spotting, especially brown bears.
It’s not hard to understand why it has been named “the best driving road in the world” with its dramatic switchbacks, steep gradients, and stunning panoramic views. At the highest point you'll find the glacial lake, Lake Bălea, after which the road continues down towards Vidraru Dam and Lake.
We were originally thinking of going here on the way to Brașov, but ended up doing it as a day trip from Sadu instead - I would highly recommend taking a day out to explore this area as it involves quite a lot of driving and you are going to want to make lots of stops on the way to take in the incredible scenery!
From Sadu, it took us about 45 minutes to get to the start of the mountain pass, and then another 45 minutes to get to Lake Bălea. Here you will find several hiking trails, as well as food stalls and stands selling snacks and souvenirs, so this is a good place to take a break. We then continued on towards Vidraru Lake and the Vidraru Dam, which is where you are most likely to spot wild bears as they cross the road to get to the water. We saw a total of 17 bears, including 8 cubs, and some of them would come up really close to the car, to the point where we rolled up our windows, just in case. It was an incredible and unique experience! (Unfortunately, our daughter was asleep for most of the bear spottings...)
One thing I will say though is you do spend a lot of time in the car, which can be tough for little ones. We tried to include lots of stops and then make the most of our daughter’s nap time. We did drive past a playground where we would have stopped had our daughter not been sleeping at the time - this was about 15 mins from Lake Bălea driving towards the dam.
We got back in the late afternoon, tired but happy, and enjoyed another dinner in the garden and a hot tub dip under the stars before calling it a night.
Day 5: Cisnădie and Bran Castle
After another delicious breakfast, we said goodbye to Raul and Maria (and of course, the cats!) and then made a move. As the day before involved a lot of time in the car, and we had about a 3 hour drive to get to today’s destination, we wanted to make sure our daughter had enough time to play and burn some energy before hitting the road, so we went to a small village nearby called Cisnădioara where we found a playground for our daughter to have a play. There is also a fortified church which you can visit (for a fee), but we opted against it to allow our daughter more time to play.
We then went to the neighbouring village of Cisnădie, which is slightly bigger than Cisnădioara and provided a good lunch spot (we also drove past what looked like a really fun playground, which would definitely have been a better place to take our daughter! Oh well - she was happy regardless).
We left Cisnădie when it was time for our daughter’s nap and started heading towards Bran, where we were staying for the next two nights. This was another beautiful drive through lush green mountains, and our daughter was able to sleep for most of the drive. Bran is a small town near the city of Brașov, and most famous as the home to the famous Bran Castle, known as the Dracula Castle. Whether or not there is actually a connection between the castle and Vlad the Impaler (the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula) can be disputed, but the castle is definitely worth seeing, with its dramatic appearance and mysterious atmosphere.
You can pay to go inside, however we decided to skip this and instead went to a place where you can view the castle from a distance. If you are feeling adventurous, you could also hike up the small mountain for an even better view of the castle.
We only spent a short amount of time here as we were keen to get to our accommodation for the night. Although we were only meant to be 20 minutes away from our destination, there were some roadworks happening and it ended up taking more like 45 minutes. As frustrating as this was, it was all worth it when we reached our place for the night - a wooden cabin on a hill with panoramic views of the mountains. Though it wasn’t very far from places like Bran and Brașov, you really felt at one with nature, so it was the perfect spot to unwind after a day of exploring.
One of the highlights of this place were a couple of horses in a horse pen right next to the cabin. Very conveniently, our daughter’s favourite animal at the time was horse, so she absolutely loved watching the horses. We had some apples and carrots that we fed them (though our daughter was a bit too scared to feed them herself). There were also a few friendly cats that would come up for a cuddle.
Where to stay: Cabana doi mesteceni
Day 6: Brașov
Today it was raining for the first time on our trip, and we spent most of the day (when it wasn't raining) seeing what Brașov had to offer. Brașov is another historic city founded by Saxon settlers in the 12th century. It is the 6th most populous city in Romania and most famous for is old town with well-preserved Gothic architecture.
Wander through narrow, cobblestone streets, where you’ll find charming cafes, artisan shops, and hidden courtyards. The famous Black Church is well worth a visit if you’re a fan of history and architecture, it’s the biggest Gothic church in Romania and gets its name from the blackened facade, caused by a fire in the 17th century. The church is also home to a collection of 100 Ottoman rugs, the largest collection in Europe.
We had some traditional Romanian food for lunch, then walked around for a few hours before finishing with a coffee while our daughter slept in the pram. We were planning on exploring places nearby, such as Rașnov citadel, or take the cable car up to the mountain resort of Poiana, but as it was about to start raining, we decided to take it easy and instead found a lovely playground in the woods near Rașnov for our daughter.
When we got back to the cabin, we spent some time with the horses and the cats (we’d picked up both sardines and carrots in the supermarket so it was feeding time at the zoo!), before having a nice and quiet evening playing cards and reading a good book, listening to the sound of the rain agains the roof.
Day 7: Peleș Castle and Bucharest
Today was the final stretch of our road trip - taking us all the way down to the Romanian capital of Bucharest, where we had two nights before flying back home. We had been informed that there would be heavy traffic on the way with delays of up to 50 minutes, so we prepared a packed lunch to save on time. Without traffic, the route was meant to take approximately 3 hours in total, but it ended up being closer to 4.
We made a few stops on the way - first at the playground in Rașnov where we had gone the day before so our daughter could burn off some energy, and then at Peleș Castle, a lavish summer palace from the 19th century. Unfortunately, much of the facade was under construction when we were there, so the castle was largely covered in scaffolding, but it was still a worthwhile stop, with a nice walk up to the castle through a wooded area and the castle is in a lovely green setting in the hills.
There were also several food stands here so we grabbed some food for the road before going back to the car.
We arrived in Bucharest late afternoon, and checked into our Hilton hotel, right in the old town of Bucharest. As it was nearly dinner time, we went for a short walk to find somewhere to eat nearby, and after a nice meal, we walked around the Old Town.
Bucharest is often nicknamed “Little Paris” and you can clearly see why, with its Belle Époque architecture and elegant boulevards. The old town is very lively, and although it was fun walking around and exploring, it has a big nightlife scene and is a popular spot for hen do’s and stag do’s, so if I went back with my daughter, I would probably stay in a quieter area as we could hear music playing from our hotel room until the early hours, despite our room being on one of the top floors in the quietest part of the building (according to reception).
We ended the night with a drink in the famous restaurant Caru' cu bere, known as the oldest restaurant in Bucharest. I had read some mixed reviews beforehand, mainly about the food, so we decided to just go for a drink rather than a meal. The restaurant was founded in the late 19th century and the neo-Gothic building features impressive interiors of stained glass windows, intricately carved wooden panels and spiral columns, and vaulted ceilings.
After sitting there for a while enjoying our drink and playing with our daughter, some dancers wearing traditional Romanian dress came out and started dancing to Romanian folk music, inviting others to join after a while. Our daughter absolutely loved this (she will still have us put Romanian folk music on at home and have us dance around in our living room) and it was a really fun way to end the evening!
Day 8: Therme Bucharesti Spa
For our last day in Romania, we had booked to go to Therme Bucharesti Spa, one of the largest and most luxurious thermal wellness and entertainment centres in Europe.
The spa is divided into three main areas: Galaxy - a massive water park for families with 16 slides, a wave pool and play areas for younger children, The Palm - a tropical oasis for relaxation and Elysium - a premium wellness centre and spa. We booked to go to Galaxy (open to all ages) and The Palm (open to children under the age of 3), as Elysium is for adults only.
The spa was great fun for all of us, though the kids slides were strictly from the age of 3, and you're not allowed to go with your child on your lap, so that's something to be aware of if you're visiting with younger children. There was however plenty for our daughter to do, especially since we had access to both Galaxy and The Palm, and we took it in turns so both me and my husband could have some time relaxing in the steam rooms and a go on the big slides (yes, we are just big kids, really).
There were a few different restaurants and cafés for lunch, which didn't actually cost a fortune, and pool bars for those wanting a drink. We chose to do a half day here (4.5 hours) and head back when it was time for our daughter's nap, though they did have pods with mattresses and a cover you could pull down where we saw kids having a nap, so that's an option too if you wanted to do a full day here and your child still naps. The price for 2 adults for 4.5 hours was around 250 lek ( note that this doesn't include towels or slippers, so these you need to bring yourself).
In the afternoon, we explored a few other areas of Bucharest, walking past impressive buildings like the Parliament House and the Romanian Athenaeum. We had been recommend a place for dinner which I would highly recommend going to if you get the chance - it's called Sera Eden and it's situated in a large garden with a greenhouse in the middle. You can sit either inside the greenhouse or at tables scattered around in the garden. The food here was delicious (and massive portions, too!), and the garden setting was perfect for our daughter to run around when she got bored of sitting still. I would recommend booking a table, especially if you're planning on going on a weekend - we were lucky to find a table outside, but I think that was only because we arrived early (around 6pm).
We left content and happy - the perfect way to end a perfect trip!
Top things to note
Bring lots of layers - Temperatures can vary, especially if you're going further up in the mountains, so make sure to bring warm layers, even if you go in summer!
Beware of bears - Transylvania is home to one of the largest populations of brown bears in Europe, so be careful if you're planning on hiking while you're here.
Pack extra baby food & snacks - Though cities will have big supermarkets, in more rural areas it might be harder to find things like baby food and snacks, so make sure to stock up, especially for long journeys.
Bucharest can get rowdy - As mentioned earlier, the Old Town in Bucharest had a very lively nightlife, and although it shouldn't deter you from going, I would suggest staying in a quieter area if you're travelling with children, especially if you're there on the weekend.
Bring a light pram - A lot of cities and towns in Transylvania are made up of cobblestone streets, so a lightweight pram is advisable.
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