Two days is enough for exactly one thing beyond arrival: Peles Castle. Land in Bucharest, sleep one night, then ride the train north to Sinaia and back. Skip the Old Town crawl this trip. Want more Transylvania? See the 3 day , 5 day , or 7 day versions of this route. Book these before you go Peles and Pelisor timed entry slots , mandatory booking online since June 2025, capped at 2,000 and 1,500 visitors a day A central Bucharest hotel on Booking.

Two days is enough to hit Bucharest’s two biggest stories: the Ceausescu-era Palace of the Parliament and the 1989 revolution that ended his regime, then a proper Old Town night to see why the city has such a cheap, unpretentious reputation. This version stays entirely inside the city, no Transylvania castle side trip, that’s a different itinerary. For more depth, see the 4 day version of this same spine. Book these before you go

Three days buys Bucharest as a base for two real day trips: Peles Castle at Sinaia, then Bran Castle and Brasov as one long round trip. You stay in the capital both nights. Only got two days? Drop day 3 and see the 2 day version . Got more time? The 4 day and 7 day routes push further into Transylvania. Book these before you go Peles and Pelisor timed entry slots , online booking mandatory in peak season, capped at 2,000 and 1,500 visitors a day Bran Castle tickets , especially for a weekend visit A central Bucharest hotel on Booking.

Four days is where this trip stops being a round-trip slog. Do Sinaia from Bucharest, then relocate to Brasov for a real overnight instead of racing Bran and Brasov in one exhausting day. Only have 3 days? See the 3 day version . Want Sighisoara too? Jump to the 6 day or 7 day routes. Book these before you go Peles and Pelisor timed entry slots , book online before a summer trip, capped at 2,000 and 1,500 visitors a day Bran Castle tickets for a weekend visit A Bucharest hotel for night 1 A Brasov hotel for nights 2 and 3 , book the Old Town area if you want to walk to the Black Church Day 1: Arrival and the Old Town at night Land at Henri Coanda Airport (OTP), take Express Bus 100 (about 3 RON) or the direct rail shuttle to Gara de Nord (20-25 minutes).

Four days extends the same spine as our 2 day version : Days 1-2 cover the Palace of the Parliament, the 1989 revolution sites, and the Old Town, and Days 3-4 add the Village Museum’s rural architecture, Cismigiu Gardens, and Bucharest’s Belle Epoque boulevards. Still no Transylvania castle side trip here, that’s a genuinely different logistics problem covered in our Bucharest guide instead. Book these before you go Palace of Parliament tour: phone booking mandatory, at least 24 hours ahead, no online sales, passport or ID required, rules on cic.

Five days buys a proper two-night stay in Brasov instead of a one-night dash, room for Rasnov Fortress and the mountain resort of Poiana Brasov alongside Peles and Bran. Only have 4 days? Cut the second Brasov day and see the 4 day version . Ready for Sighisoara too? The 7 day itinerary adds the overnight extension. Book these before you go Peles and Pelisor timed entry slots , book online before summer, capped at 2,000 and 1,500 visitors a day Bran Castle tickets A Bucharest hotel for night 1 A Brasov hotel for nights 2 through 4 Day 1: Arrival and the Old Town at night Land at Henri Coanda Airport (OTP), take Express Bus 100 (about 3 RON) or the direct rail shuttle to Gara de Nord (20-25 minutes).

Five days extends the same spine as our 4 day version : Days 1-4 cover the Palace of the Parliament, the 1989 revolution sites, the Village Museum, and Cismigiu Gardens, and Day 5 adds a full day at Therme Bucuresti, the giant thermal spa complex just outside the city. Still entirely city-based, no Transylvania castle detour. Book these before you go Palace of Parliament tour: phone booking mandatory, at least 24 hours ahead, no online sales, passport or ID required, rules on cic.

Six days is the shortest window that fits Sighisoara properly. Peles and Bran come first from a Bucharest and Brasov base, then you push on to the Saxon citadel for one overnight before the long ride home. Only got 5 days? Skip Sighisoara and see the 5 day version . Want a buffer day in Bucharest at the end? Take the 7 day itinerary instead. Book these before you go Peles and Pelisor timed entry slots , book online before summer, capped at 2,000 and 1,500 visitors a day Bran Castle tickets A Brasov hotel for nights 2 and 3 A Sighisoara guesthouse for night 4 , inside the citadel walls if you can get it Day 1: Arrival and the Old Town at night Land at Henri Coanda Airport (OTP), take Express Bus 100 (about 3 RON) or the direct rail shuttle to Gara de Nord (20-25 minutes).

Six days extends the same spine as our 5 day version : Days 1-5 cover the Palace of the Parliament, the 1989 revolution sites, the Village Museum, Cismigiu Gardens, and a full Therme spa day, and Day 6 adds the quieter Cotroceni and Primaverii neighborhoods plus an honest look at the National Museum of Romanian History. Still entirely city-based. Book these before you go Palace of Parliament tour: phone booking mandatory, at least 24 hours ahead, no online sales, passport or ID required, rules on cic.

Seven days is the full loop: Peles and Pelisor at Sinaia, Bran Castle and Rasnov Fortress from a Brasov base, an overnight in Sighisoara, and a buffer day back in Bucharest so the flight home doesn’t ride on a delayed train. Tighter on time? The 6 day version drops the buffer day; the 5 day skips Sighisoara entirely. Book these before you go Peles and Pelisor timed entry slots , book online before summer, capped at 2,000 and 1,500 visitors a day Bran Castle tickets A Brasov hotel for nights 2 and 3 A Sighisoara guesthouse for night 4 , inside the citadel walls if you can get it Day 1: Arrival and the Old Town at night Land at Henri Coanda Airport (OTP), take Express Bus 100 (about 3 RON) or the direct rail shuttle to Gara de Nord (20-25 minutes).

Seven days extends the same spine as our 6 day version : Days 1-6 cover the Palace of the Parliament, the 1989 revolution sites, the Village Museum, Cismigiu Gardens, a full Therme spa day, and the Cotroceni and Primaverii neighborhoods, and Day 7 is a deliberately loose wrap-up day before departure. This is a city-only week, if you want to bolt on the Transylvania castles, our Bucharest guide has that trip mapped separately.

Bucharest runs on the leu (RON), not the euro, even though Romania has been fully in Schengen, land borders included, since 1 January 2025. That mismatch alone trips up a lot of trip planning, so get it settled now: price everything here in RON, expect roughly 4.55-4.6 to the US dollar and 5.2 to the euro in 2026 (check same-day, the leu has been genuinely volatile), and enjoy the fact that Bucharest is one of the cheaper capitals left in the EU.

Nobody flies into Bucharest for Bucharest. You land here because it is the cheapest, best connected base for the actual prize: Peles Castle glittering in the Carpathians, Bran’s overhyped towers, and the Saxon streets of Brasov and Sighisoara. Pay in lei (RON), not euros, Romania kept its own currency even after joining full Schengen in 2025. Budget two days minimum for Sinaia alone, six or seven if Sighisoara’s medieval citadel is calling.