Welcome to Cluj-Napoca, Romania! Cluj Napoca is the largest city in Transylvania and also the most modern town in Romania. Your tour starts here because the airport in Cluj Napoca is close to Maramures and it receives many international flights. The airports in Maramures and Bucovina are small and they usually receive only domestic flights. Just a small part of them are international.

But Cluj Napoca is worth visiting because you have many things to do here. The gourmet restaurants and funky pubs in the city centre are opened in old buildings full of history. Pick up your car from the airport and go first to check-in. After you check in at your hotel, you can explore the city, visit the important attractions and enjoy the local cuisine in Cluj. You will spend the night in a hotel close to the city centre.

Accommodation: hotel in Cluj Napoca

After a delicious breakfast at your hotel, it’s time to start your ride in the northern part of Romania. Drive for almost 3 hours and you will arrive at Oradea, another modern city in Romania. Oradea is famous for its Art-Nouveau architecture.

Not only its interesting buildings but also the beautifully restored citadel attract each year more and more tourists. Once you arrive here, explore the city, visit the citadel and enjoy its modern atmosphere. The detailed itinerary you will receive when you book the tour, will reveal to you what is a must-see in Oradea. Spend your night at a city-centre hotel.

Accommodation: hotel in Oradea

Leave Oradea behind and after a few hours of driving, you will arrive in Sighetu Marmatiei, Maramures county. Before that, stop in Sapanta to visit the Merry cemetery, a cemetery like no other in the world, with funny messages and colourful crosses.

This is a highlight for any trip to Maramures. After you check in at the hotel in Sighetu Marmatiei, go and visit the communist prison in the city centre and learn more about those dark times. The ex-prison is today a museum telling the story of those who were oppressed by the communist system.

Accommodation: Hotel in Sighetu Marmatiei

Maramures is famous for its wooden churches and well-preserved traditions. On this day you can visit a UNESCO heritage site that is over 300 years old – Barsana monastery. This place is famous for its tranquillity.

The other 7 monasteries in Maramures are UNESCO heritage sites, but they are spread all over the region. The Maramures tourism is developed around them. You will enjoy the ride through green woods and old villages, so go and visit another wooden church: the one in Desesti, smaller than Barsana.

In the afternoon, on the way back to Sighetu Marmatiei, you can have a walk in the traditional village of Breb. Here you will see why everybody falls in love with this region. You can stop to admire the unspoiled nature around you and the big wooden gates, a symbol of the place. If you are lucky, you can even spot people in traditional costumes!  Go back to Sighetu Marmatiei because you will spend the night at the same hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel in Sighetu Marmatiei

Winter is one of the best moments to visit Maramures. Read here about other things to do in Romania in winter.

Another historical province in Romania waiting to be discovered in Bucovina. So, wake up early and before crossing the mountains in Bucovina, stop in Viseu for a 100-old steam-train ride. Almost every Maramures tour should include this stop. This way, you will go deep into the woods and explore the wild Vaser valley.

In the evening you will arrive in Gura Humorului, a small town in the Bucovina region, where you will stay for 3 nights.

Accommodation: hotel in Gura Humorului

Romanians are known to be a religious nation, so a big part of their heritage are the churches built hundred years ago. In Bucovina, you will visit three painted monasteries, UNESCO heritage sites, and considered works of art: Sucevita, Moldovita and Voronet. All the Bucovina monasteries tours arrive here and you will see why. Some are built like fortresses, others impress with their bright colours. Visit these beautiful churches in Bucovina and discover their colours found nowhere else in the world. They still intrigue the scientists, making them wonder:” How were they made?”.

Accommodation: hotel in Gura Humorului

Even though tourism in Bucovina is based on its beautiful, colourful churches, the area has other things to offer to its visitors. Spend you next day of your trip to Bucovina exploring Suceava, a medieval city with a beautiful citadel. The citadel’s interior was partially restored and today it is open to the public. You can also have lunch here, in Suceava. In the afternoon, on the way back to your hotel in Gura Humorului, take a detour and visit the Cacica salt mine. You will spend the night in Gura Humorului.

Accommodation: hotel in Gura Humorului

Pack your bags because it is time to come back to Transylvania. After a delicious breakfast at your hotel, go to Vatra Dornei, a beautiful mountain resort in Bucovina. Here you can take a walk on the mountain paths, enjoy the fresh air and admire the amazing landscapes. Next, go to Transylvania, on the Borgo pass. Its name may sound familiar because this is where Bram Stocker placed the Dracula castle in its famous novel, Dracula. You won’t find any vampires here, just some beautiful views. On the way to Cluj-Napoca stop on the Colibita lake shore. In the evening, you will arrive in Cluj.

Accommodation: hotel in Cluj Napoca

If you depart in the afternoon, use the morning to visit to take a last walk on the streets in the old town. Hope you have enjoyed your trip to Bucovina and Maramures, it is time to say “Goodbye, Romania!” and go to the airport in Cluj Napoca, in time to catch your flight. But don’t forget that you can always come back for other holidays in Maramures and Bucovina!

Curious to know more about Transylvania and its medieval history? Read the article Where is Transylvania?