Best of Romania & the Danube Delta — Self-Launched

Fly or train into Bucharest and check into a hostel or budget pension near Piața Universității or the Old Town (Lipscani). Skip the Hotel Minerva and save £40+ a night. Spend the late afternoon wandering Lipscani's crumbling-chic streets, the Stavropoleos Monastery courtyard and the National Museum of Romanian History if you have time. Dinner at a local bistro (ciorbă de burtă or mici with mustard) — expect £7-9. Read up on Romanian rail (CFR) and bus timetables tonight and buy tomorrow's tickets online at cfrcalatori.ro.

🚌Airport bus 783 from Henri Coandă to Piața Unirii (~£1.50) or 20-min taxi/ride-hail (~£8)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget pension near Lipscani/University Square (~£20)

• →Bucharest Old Town walk
• →Stavropoleos Monastery
• →National Museum of Romanian History (optional, ~£5)

Take an early CFR train from Bucharest Gara de Nord to Sinaia (~1h40, £4-6). Drop your bag at a pension, then visit Peleș Castle and Pelișor Palace (combined ticket ~£10; closed Mondays). In the afternoon take the local bus or a cheap ride-hail over to Bran (~£6-8 shared minibus) and tour Bran Castle (~£9). Walk 20 minutes out to Moieciu de Sus and stay in a family guesthouse — dinner of sarmale, mămăligă and red wine for around £12. If you have energy, the easy forest loop above Moieciu (6km, 300m ascent, 2-3h) is a lovely sunset option.

🚌CFR train Bucharest–Sinaia ~£5; local minibus/bus Sinaia–Bran ~£2; short shared taxi to Moieciu ~£3

🛏Rural guesthouse in Moieciu de Sus (~£25 B&B)

• →Peleș Castle & Pelișor Palace
• →Bran Castle
• →Easy Bucegi foothills forest walk (6km)

Bus or train from Bran to Brașov (~40 min, £1.50). Explore the medieval old town — Black Church (£3.50), the narrow Rope Street, Catherine's Gate and the Tâmpa cable car if the views tempt you (~£4). After lunch take the train Brașov–Sighișoara (~2h, £5) and climb the covered Scholars' Staircase to the Church on the Hill for the classic orange-roof view. Late afternoon continue by train Sighișoara–Bistrița (~3h, £7) and stay in a 3* pension in Bistrița's Saxon square.

🚌Local buses and CFR trains Brașov–Sighișoara–Bistrița, total ~£14

🛏Guesthouse or 3* budget hotel in Bistrița (~£25)

• →Brașov old town & Black Church
• →Tâmpa viewpoint
• →Sighișoara citadel and Scholars' Staircase

This is the one leg where the group coach really helps — Bistrița to Maramureș by public transport means a train to Sighetu Marmației (~4-5h via Beclean/Jibou, £8) then local buses. Alternative: club together on a shared minibus/transfer from Bistrița (~£25-30pp for a group). From Sighet, bus to Săpânța and walk the famous Merry Cemetery (~£1.50 entry) with its carved, comic epitaphs. Stop at Bârsana Monastery, the tallest wooden church in the region, and its serene gardens. Sleep in Borșa or Vișeu de Sus in a pension (~£22).

🚌Train/bus Bistrița–Sighet ~£8 plus local buses ~£5 (or shared minibus ~£28)

🛏Pension in Borșa or Vișeu de Sus (~£22)

• →Merry Cemetery, Săpânța
• →Bârsana wooden monastery
• →Rodna Mountains foothills scenery

Book the Mocănița forestry steam train from Vișeu de Sus direct (cffviseu.ro, ~£18-22 for the return to Novat; book ahead in summer). It grinds up the Vaser Valley beside loggers' rafts and river crossings — one of Europe's last working forestry railways. From Novat either walk back along the tracks (10km, mostly flat/downhill, ~2.5h) or take the moderate ridge hike over to Moisei (16km, 600m ascent, 5-6h — check weather and carry water). Evening in Vișeu de Sus with a beer and local grilled meat.

🚌Mocănița steam train return ~£20; walking otherwise

🛏Pension in Vișeu de Sus (~£22)

• →Mocănița narrow-gauge steam train to Novat
• →Vaser Valley walk or Novat–Moisei ridge hike
• →Moisei village

Morning on the Borșa chairlift up into the Rodna Mountains (~£5-7 return) for an easy ridge walk (5-6km, 2-3h, max altitude 1,416m) — wildflower meadows and views into Ukraine. Then head east into Bucovina: bus Borșa–Câmpulung Moldovenesc (~2h, £4) and onwards by minibus to Moldovița. Visit the UNESCO Painted Monastery of Moldovița (~£2.50) — the 1537 Last Judgement fresco is extraordinary. Overnight in Sucevița or Moldovița village in a farmstay with home-made cheese and țuică.

🚌Chairlift ~£6; buses/minibuses Borșa–Câmpulung–Moldovița ~£8

🛏Village farmstay/pension in Sucevița (~£24)

• →Borșa chairlift and Rodna ridge walk
• →Moldovița painted monastery
• →Shepherd's hut cheese tasting (if you pass one)

Visit Sucevița Monastery first thing (its exterior frescoes are the best preserved in Bucovina, ~£2.50), then walk the forest trail to Putna Monastery (16km, ~5h, mostly easy with one short steep climb) or take the local bus via Marginea, stopping at a black-pottery workshop (~£3). Putna is the burial place of Stephen the Great — don't miss the museum. Late afternoon bus Putna–Rădăuți and train Rădăuți–Bacău (~4h, £8), or a shared minibus. Sleep in Bacău city.

🚌Local bus Putna–Rădăuți ~£1.50; CFR train Rădăuți–Bacău ~£8

🛏Budget hotel/pension in Bacău (~£22)

• →Sucevița Monastery
• →Sucevița–Putna forest hike (16km)
• →Putna Monastery & museum
• →Marginea black pottery workshop

Early train Bacău–Bucharest–Tulcea or the direct-ish Bacău–Brăila–Tulcea route (~7-8h total, £12-15) — an unglamorous but very Romanian travel day. In Tulcea, book a 2-night floating pontoon/houseboat package direct with one of the local operators (Floating Hotel Anda, Delta Nature Resort alternatives, or smaller family pontoons — roughly £60-75pp per night full board in a twin berth, cheaper if you share). Board in the late afternoon, dinner on deck as the channels narrow.

🚌CFR trains Bacău–Tulcea ~£14

🛏Berth/cabin on a Delta floating pontoon, full board (~£70)

• →Tulcea waterfront
• →Board Delta pontoon
• →Sunset on the Danube channels

Full day on the water in the pontoon and small rowing/outboard boats with a local guide (included in your package). Expect pelicans, herons, egrets, cormorants, warblers and — if lucky — white-tailed eagles; May-June is peak breeding season. Stop at a remote Delta village such as Crișan or Mila 23 for a fisherman's lunch and to see the lipovan Russian Old Believer communities. All meals onboard. Bring binoculars (cheap ones are fine) and mosquito repellent.

🚌Pontoon and small boats (included in package)

🛏Berth/cabin on the floating pontoon, full board (~£70)

• →Birdwatching by boat
• →Remote Delta village visit
• →Fishing village lunch

Final early-morning cruise back through the reeds to Tulcea, with lunch onboard before docking around midday. Take the afternoon train Tulcea–Bucharest (~4-5h, £10) or a minibus to Constanța and a faster InterRegio if timings suit. Check into a Bucharest hostel again and eat dinner in the Old Town — try Caru' cu Bere for the interior even if you only have a beer.

🚌Pontoon cruise included; CFR train Tulcea–Bucharest ~£10

🛏Hostel dorm or budget pension in Bucharest (~£20)

• →Morning Delta cruise
• →Final onboard lunch
• →Bucharest Old Town evening

Book the Palace of Parliament tour online or by phone ahead of time (~£10, bring your passport — it's the world's heaviest building, and worth the slightly surreal experience). Afternoon at the open-air Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum in Herăstrău Park (~£3) with its transplanted wooden churches, windmills and peasant houses — the perfect recap of everything you've seen in the countryside. Self-guided walk through the historic centre, Cismigiu Gardens and the Communist-era Civic Centre. Optional: a free walking tour (tip-based, ~£5).

🚌Metro and trams day ticket ~£1.50

🛏Hostel dorm or budget pension in Bucharest (~£20)

• →Palace of Parliament tour
• →Village Museum
• →Cismigiu Gardens
• →Free walking tour (tip-based)

Breakfast, then airport bus 783 or a ride-hail to Henri Coandă for your flight home. If you have a late flight, Therme București (the enormous spa north of the city, ~£15-20 for 3 hours) is a brilliant way to end a walking-heavy trip.

🚌Airport bus 783 ~£1.50

🛏—

• →Therme București spa (optional)