Romania Hostels

Don't go to Bucharest in winter -- it could be depressing. But in spring and summer, with all the old buildings and villas -- often real palaces -- in the shade of kind of a forest of old trees, it gets really romantic. It's a city for walking, discovering narrow, leafy backstreets; getting lost in old, quite chaotic, but charming quarters. You can't compare it with any other big city in Europe.

I visited Romania, including Sighisoara in Oct.'05 and was surprised with how friendly everyone was throughout my entire two week trip. Romanians are very polite, hard working people.

Bucharest is a unique city with lots to offer... let's not forget it was once known as the "Paris of the East". True, not all parts of Bucharest are luxurious, but the culture, welcoming people and great architecture makes it worth while.

Bucharesty is not much to see as tourist site, but man do they have a night life!!! Get to know people and u will absolutlly love it!!!

Ah, Sighisoara. Just an absolutely phenomenal place to be lazy, relax, and meet some interesting locals. The locals in Sighisoara (and Romania as a whole) were the nicest people I met in my life.

Bucharest is the ugliest, most depressing, most boring large city I have ever visited. I cannot understand how in the world anyone can call this city "the Paris of Eastern Europe" -- it's the biggest misnomer I've ever heard. There are a handful of splendid buildings in the city center around Piata Universitate but everything else in between is pure squalor. The only truly interesting sight is the big Palace, built by Romania's last dictator Ceausescu, which really impressed me by its monumental size and beautifully decorated interior. Having travelled through other eastern European countries, I found food prices in Bucharest relatively high. Inexpensive restaurants are very hard to come by. If you want to have a good time and live on a low budget, visit Sofia, which is a very charming city with a great night life and lower prices.

Bucharest is a good place to visit. I've spent some time in there and it was very nice. I also visited other capitals in the eastern Europe, and though Bucharest is not as spectacular as Budapest in architecture of buildings, it has its good parts. It's not very organized and still has a few problems with the cleaning of the streets, but most certainly you don't go there to inspect the city. You go to visit and have fun. And fun you'll have. If you don't find tourist info, ask people and they'll help. Almost everyone speaks English and is very helpful. They'll tell you where you should go and what you should stay away from.

I spent time in Bucharest and other parts of Romania in the early 1970s while working there for a U.S.-based cultural exchange program. Even though under Communist rule, the city was clean, safe to walk around at all hours, with no thieves and beggars. With freedom comes responsibility -- I visited again in 1996 and was appalled at the amount of garbage in the streets and the fourfold increase in traffic. The people that I interfaced and worked with during the '70s were fantastic -- I have many good memories and mental photographs of those times.

Brasov is just fantastic. A town with charm and much flair. The people are (like many Romanians) are very hospitable, nice and helpful. Explore Sinaia (Peles castle), Rasnov, the fortified churches of Prejmer and Harman. And if possible don't miss Sighisoara, the medieval town two hours from Brasov. It's great there. Or just stay in Brasov. I myself could stay there forever!

I urge anyone is planning to go to Bucharest to stay well away. It’s damp, smelly, thieves, beggars, insects and bad sanitation (I mean real bad).

Brasov is a very nice city but if you are really an winter sports fan or even addict, you might wanna try Prahova Valley resorts such as Sinaia- with Peles Royal Castle and sports-oriented Predeal with a good sky-run and quad-bikes at your disposal. You can find a lot of people there with general english, french, spanish speaking skills. And beware of the vilas, lodges behind the main church- they don't provide reliable info on their actual accomodations. Try those near the sky run.