The major advantage of going skiing in Romania is that it is ridiculously cheap compared to, say, skiing in the Alps. Having said that, some places are becoming more expensive as they are getting increasingly popular and the ski slopes around Brasov are probably the most expensive in the country - but still a great deal cheaper than Western European resorts.

While Brasovis the most popular ski town and the best-known internationally there are a number of other places right across Romania where you can go. I can only really speak for two smaller places in the north that I've skied - Gura Humorului and Vatra Dornei - both of which are on the small side in terms of ski resorts. At Humor you will find a single 1.5 slope (called 'Partia Soimul') that has a chair lift taking you up to great views over the foothills of the Carpathian mountains. The slope is well kept with snow machines used overnight and it's also floodlit so you can ski in the winter evenings. Humor is a small but very pretty little town and there are plenty of hotels around the ski slope and several bars and restaurants in the town - be sure to visit the historic monastery. The area is also great for hiking and fishing in the river - when it's not frozen anyway. At the slopes you will pay £2/hour to rent all the skiing equipment you need and £2 for the ski lift. There is an on-site mountain rescue team should you get into trouble.

Vatra Dornei is a much bigger town an hour and a half's drive to the west of Humor. It's resort has several kilometres of red runs and there are five lifts. The prices are about the same as those stated above for Humor, perhaps a pound or two more expensive, but it's at a higher altitude so you're better off in terms of snow. There are a number of ski schools in Vatra that offer lessons in English from around £10 an hour. There is a handy little beginners' slope here as well so it's a good place to go if you're just starting out. There are lots of restaurants, bars and hotels in Vatra and it's a town that is really geared-up for tourism - although there seem to be few international visitors. You can expect to find a hotel from £10-15 a night quite easily (possible less) and you can have a great meal in a restaurant for £5 no problem.

There are so many other places to go skiing in Romania - the best website to look at to find out more and plan your trip is ski-in-romania.com - it's in English and lists all the slopes in the country, showing them on a map. Bulgaria is fast becoming popular for skiing too - but it's worth remembering that many of the Romanian slopes have received EU funding in recent years for redevelopment, so they're well maintained and facilities are usually modern. The best time to go to Romania is late December to February/March - depending on the weather and exactly where you choose to go.

Happy skiing!
Add Comment
 
 
Here are some handy tips on how to get about in Romania without paying more than you need to or getting into problems...

Train

Trains are operated by the state-owned CFR and there are basically two types of train in Romania - 'Inter City' (also called 'Rapid') and 'Personal'. Inter City trains tend to be modern and, obviously, a lot quicker whereas 'personal' trains are usually older trains serving shorter, slower or more remote routes. Second class on an Inter City train is comfortable enough with allocated seating, plugs for your laptop, tables etc. But these trains are probably the most expensive way to travel so if your looking to save money on long journeys you might want to consider taking a coach (see below). On the other hand, the 'personal' trains are very cheap but can get crowded and journey are very slow.

Booking tickets can be done online in English (you'll need to register first) at https://bilete.cfrcalatori.ro/vanzare/loginuser.aspx - but generally your better off going to a train station because pricing is quite confusing and you don't always seem to get the same discounts online as you do at the station. Then again, if you don't speak Romanian and don't have access to a friendly Romanian who will buy your tickets for you then buying online might best! Sleeper trains are also available for longer journeys and couchettes are normally 6-bed compartments... cosy, to say the least.

Some general tips for traveling by train - don't take too much luggage, often there's not a lot of space! Look out for the station names because they're not announced and often there are not even many signs at the stations so you can easily miss your stop if your not careful. The Inter City trains have a buffet section but it's expensive so give that a miss. Lastly, the one main advantage of traveling by train is that you get some great views, especially through mountainous regions, so have a camera at the ready!

Coaches

This is by far the cheapest way to travel over long distances in Romania, with a student discount sometimes you can pay the equivalent of less than £10 to travel almost the entire length of the country. You can normally take more luggage on a coach too and get to places that aren't served by trains. However coaches are unpredictable in many ways, usually departure times are adhered to but your journey time will be unpredictable so take a train if your in a hurry. There are no toilets on the vast majority of coaches and they can get very crowded - even to the point where people are standing. On longer journeys you'll probably make several stops but make sure you stay near the coach because it won't wait for you!

Coaches can be taken from the various coach stations (autogari) in Bucharest and other towns and it's definitely a good idea to get tickets in advance either by going to the station or calling the driver/company. Autogari.ro provides good information in English.

Taxis

Coming from Western Europe you'll find that taxis are very cheap in Romania - even in Bucharest a journey of 5-10 miles will cost you a few pounds at the most, provided you follow some basic rules. Firstly, never take a taxi from the airport! The guys waiting at the airport door will rip you off big-time. In fact, anyone offering you a taxi is probably going to rip you off so it's best to just ignore them and walk on by. If you can, take public transport from the airport (best option), if not then pre-book something online or take a short walk to the nearest ordinary taxi rank.

The taxis you want to look for are the yellow Dacia Logans with the tariff written on the door (around 1.39 RON at the time of writing). Larger cars are more expensive (twice that price) but might be necessary if you've got a lot of luggage because the Logans are quite small and often they have LPG tanks in the boot! When you're in the taxi make sure the guy is using the metre on the normal tariff and not taking some bizarre, round-the-houses route. Refraining from speaking English or acting like a total tourist is also advisable, although I've never actually had a bad experience - usually they're a cheap and easy way to get about.

In Bucharest I would recommend Taxi Cobalcescu (website in English) - you can pre-book over the phone and the taxis are cheap and come on time.

Metro, Buses & Trams

Public transport is even cheaper still, with journeys costing literally pennies. In Bucharest you can buy re-loadable cards for the buses and trams which you then validate every time you make a journey (look out for the little red machines) just like 'Oyster' cards in London. Pick up/top up these cards from the little kiosks near stops in the streets. The Metro is probably the least confusing mode of transport for those not familiar to Bucharest - here's a map - it's run by a different organisation though so tickets are separate.

In other cities you can normally buy tickets from the conductor on the bus. A single journey is usually around 1-3RON, which is 20-60 pence. Note that bus stops can be quite hard to spot, they're sometimes just little red plaques fixed to lamp posts. Timetables are either non-existent or not adhered to, but in the day buses are frequent enough for it not to matter (there are also night buses in Bucharest - check out ratb.ro for more info on public transport in the Romanian capital).
Add Comment
 
 
We are in Romania for Christmas and one of the first things we noticed when we got off our overnight train at 4am Christmas morning was that the Christmas decorations here are really impressive. Where we were living in the UK last year was described as the most miserable town in the UK because the local Council refused to spend any money at all on decorations. Given that we are in a town in Romania of a similar size that clearly has far less money to spend on such things the difference is remarkable.

There are children's playgrounds set up, ice skating rinks, a stage in the centre of town where traditional music and dancing has been going on and a Christmas market full of traditional products (and mulled wine... always a winner!). Here are some examples of the decorations and festivities that we've seen in the towns we have visited so far. In the next posts we'll put up some info about traditional food here and also the best places to go skiing.
Add Comment