:-: updated :-:

I was wondering that myself, but MrHalliday is a seasoned deal-runner so I posted what he did.

BAMAT, I'm not sure if you're spending your time in AMS or OTP, so I had to guess.

Happy travels, everyone!

Share Cab downtown
 

Anyone interested in sharing a cab from the airport downtown ("spre centru in Romanian) on Sunday May 27th. If so, PM me. We are a party of two so we could share with one or two others. We are going to the Marriott at Piata Unirii area.

Well, I leave at the end of the month, so I'm more than happy to meet up if anyone's in Vienna May 27 - May 30 or in OTP May 30 - June 1. I still haven't worked out my OTP details but I'll probably end up renting a car and driving around Romania.

Bowgie's Trip Details for Calendar (5/22 to 6/6)
 

The OPT Yahoo! trip calendar already has the YVR/AMS/OPT legs correctly listed for Mr. & Mrs. Bowgie, so I'm posting this again just for the sake of addiing hotel and intra-Europe legs:

5-23 LAX to YVR UA8472 (AC)
5-23 YVR to OPT (via AMS) KL682 and KL1361
5-24 OPT Intercontinental Hotel
5-25 OPT to BUD (Wizz Air)
5-25 thru 5-28 Kalvin House in BUD
5-28 BUD to TGM (Targu Mures on Wizz Air)
5-29 thru 5-30 Casa Legenda in old Sighisora
5-31 thru 6-1 Brasov
6-3 OPT Intercontinental Hotel
6-4 OPT to AMS KL1358
6-4,5 AMS A-Train Hotel
6-6 AMS KL681
6-7 VYR to BLI (Amtrak)
6-9 SEA to LAX UA1175

I need some feedback folks; I have a total of 6 nights in early Aug. in Romania and thanks to the IC deal really can't change the last two nights. I kind of want some time in Bucharest to get over the jetlag, etc and am holding space at Marriott at present. However, am thinking about booking at least the middle 2 nights at the Hotel Ambient in Brasov and wondered if anyone has stayed there. Is Brasov a good choice to get out of Bucharest and see some sights? Are there many castles nearby and is it easy to arrange tours? I've heard Bran Castle is a bit of a let down once you've seen it but are there any other better sights/castles to substitute it with? Is 2 nights in Brasov too short?

I'd appreciate some feedback as I've got to make some decisions that I've been putting off for a while.

:-: updated :-:

Bowgie, that's quite an itin. Have fun!

I hope someone can help tcook out with some info. If not, did you try the Trip Reports thread?

Hi folks,

I'm arriving in Bucharest on June 8th, staying until the 10th. Interested in hotel recommendations. The JW Marriott looks lovely but I'm an Engineer, not a Tycoon! US $330 a night, ouch.

The Intercontinental looks nice as well - and "only" € 127 a night for a basic room. Then I looked up the exchange rate and that's now $172 (thanks Dubya!). Erm ... ouch.

Any other decent options? Like in the $100 - $150 range or so?

If it matters, I should note that I expect to collapse upon arrival for a good 12 hours (I'm flying LAX-YVR, then YVR-MSP/MSP-AMS/AMS-OTP in one go!), hopefully get up in time to spend 12 hours on an all-day sucker countryside tour from 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM, collapse again and leave the next afternoon.

Also, has there been any consensus on OTP-to-hotel travel, do I just take this 783 bus into town and hail a taxi from there to the hotel d'jour? (And pray the cabbie will understand a scribbling of hotel name and address)

Brasov - Perhaps?
 

The Marriott and Hilton are both superior properties, although the location of the Hilton is arguably a bit better; however, their prices are inflated relative to the general economy.
Brasov is wonderful. Quite trendy, yet a pleasant juxtaposition with its historic characteristics.
My son and I bunked in at the Capitol for 3 nights, which is affiliated with the Aero.
It was adequate but the only decent breakfast occurred on the first day when a large bus of tourists from Germany encamped. Thereafter, the buffet evaporated, dependent upon the diminishing number of guests.

The Ambient looks fine and it is only a couple of blocks away.

Bran castle is a bit of a dud but it was suitably Transylvanian when we walked up with the wind blowing fiercly and with a bit of a chill. Basically, it is a 5 minute "castle."

Peles Castle is only 30 km. or so away and is truly sensational and there seems to be a decent castle in Rasov which is 10 minutes away.

The ski resort is only 15 minutes by express bus and is also moderately interesting, but great for hiking, it would appear.

We took a taxi back from Brasov to our hotel near OTP for about US55.00 including tip.

It is about 145-150 km. and takes 2 hours and 15 minutes or so.

There are some good Italian restaurants in Brasov clustered near the square - generally, Romanian food is not great and the ordering by the 100g. is "work."

Have fun!

I agree with most of what you said. The only thing I wouldn't necessarily recommend is taking the cab from Brasov to OTP. You can take train to Bucharest and from there a cab or a bus to OTP, but if you'd rather not deal with that, it's understandable.

The Peles castle is in a place called Sinaia. There are several cool things about Sinaia and there are frequent trains from Brasov. There's also another smaller caslte close to Peles, it's called Pelisor and I think it's definitely worth seing. If you're there eat at the Serb's Tavern - good food, HUGE portions, decent wine... the whole deal.

I could recommend a few places in Bucharest. There isn't a lot of cool stuff to see; I do know some good restuarants and such. I'll even be there 6/3-6/14 and 6/23-7/4.

Oh, and I definitely recommend taking the 783 bus from the airport into the center and from there a cab. (Although if you're staying at Intercontinental you don't need to because it stops there.) Avoid the "Fly Taxi" cabs.

6/2 CVG-DTW NW2971
6/2 DTW-AMS NW68
6/3 AMS-OTP KL1359
6/14 OTP-AMS KL1390
6/14 AMS-LIS KL1697

I'm still playing around with the rest of the trips and dates; I'll post more when I know for sure.

How much is the train? I'm wondering for 3 persons whether it might be cheaper and faster to take a cab if it is only $55?


Perhaps Sinaia would be an alternative to Brasov for a couple of nights away from Bucharest? Seems like a town with a lot of interesting history and culture.


We will be in Romania July 2 to 7 (Northwest forced us to make other travel plans while they were refusing to allow inbound flight changes, so we are probably stuck with those dates). Staying at the Intercontinental Bucharest July 5 and 6 and possibly July 2. Recommendations much appreciated, and maybe we can catch you somewhere along the line someplace?


We get in on the midnight express flight from Vancouver and don't know what the heck we are going to do for the 8 or 10 hours it is going to take for everything to open up in town (or maybe there's an overnight train to somewhere on which we could get a little shuteye?). Very reluctant to reserve a hotel ahead of time for that night because that leaves you stuck with a big bill for nothing if you don't end up making it for the night plus the chance of being walked at 2 or 3 am when you finally get there is very unappealing. Just not worth it. So how late / how early does the "783" bus run? Wondering whether we will have an alternative to trying to navigate through the hordes of shyster cabbies to find an honest one (at least that's what it sounds like it will be like).

How in the heck are you doing this? :confused: Northwest told me absolutely no changes of any kind any time for any reason.

mcrt, are you available to post florin's itin to the calendar? If not, I can a week from now. TIA

I'm not on the mistake fare; it's basically business travel and a vacation to Portugal in the middle.

It depends on what train you take. It looks like the most expensive train (the IC - intercity) 3 tickets (2nd class, which is fine) come up to some $40-45. This is where you can check out info about the trains. You might be better off taking a cab, but consider 2 things: (1) not all cabs are willing to take you that far and the price is just something you negotiate - $55 is not a fixed rate. (Tip: if you negociate in $ as opposed to lei, that throws the off a bit and gives you a better leverage;)) If you do this, ask around first, give yourself some time. (2) Sinaia-OTP can take 2 hours but it could also take longer. During the summer a lot of people from Bucharest hit the mountains, mostly on weekends. The trip has taken me over 4 hours once (due to traffic). You should be ok if you don't head back to OTP on a Sunday afternoon.

Sinaia is on the way from Bucharest to Brasov (very close to Brasov). It does have some interesting history and is in general a very relaxing place. You can also do some hiking, and summer is a great time to be there. A couple of days there should be very nice. There are lots of trains that go between Sinaia and Brasov and it's a short ride. You could plan to stay in Sinaia and if you get bored or want to see something different you can always go and spend an afternoon in Brasov.

I should be there possibly 6/23-7/4. It's a business trip so I won't have too much time on my hands but a dinner or something should be doable. If you stay at the Intercontinental there's an excellent Turkish restaurant close by called Golden Falcon (5 minute walk). I, for one, love that place!

I take it you arrive to OTP on the KL flight that lands at 12:30 am? The bus definitely doesn't run that late. The last one out of there leaves at 10:30 or 11:00 (I think). You're at the mercy of FlyTaxi... it's not THAT bad tho. They're 'crooks' because they won a very dubious bid to have exlusive rights at OTP, and the prices are very high compared to other cabs (you pay 3-4 times more to/from the airport). Otherwise they're ok. They may try to rip you off if you don't have Romanian currency. There are ATMs in the airport, use those. Exchange rates at OTP are awful. A fare to Intercontinental may be something like $30-40 (not sure tho). Speaking of ATMs... you should always have cash with you in Romania. Not all places take CCs and the lines or POS' are down often enough to require a backup plan.

There should be plenty of overnight trains. Assuming you get to the train station around 2am, you should be able to get a trip somewhere. I would stay away from P or A trains (the slow, crappy ones). I suppose it's just a matter of looking up the schedule and finding a convenient RT.

Thanks for the rail website. I just might spend all 4 nights I have available in Sinaia and maybe rail it to Brasov for a visit one whole day.