The Carpathian Mountains are quite famous, and many foreigners, when hearing of Romania, think of idyllic rocky landscapes and beautiful mountain villages. In part, they know the essential, but when you want to enter into details, things are not as simple as they appear. First hand, Romania doesn’t had a functional transportation network, regardless of the region we are speaking. However, to give a niched example, I’ll move to Prahova Valley, and it’s surroundings, like Poiana Brasov, or Bran – Moieciu. In theory, Prahova Valley is very accessible from Bucharest, or from Brasov, but even if there are only 170 kilometers between the cities, the road transport is tricky. There is no highway from one side to another, and nor is there a high-speed railway. You can find some trains which travel faster, slight than two hours from Bucharest to Brasov.
Prahova Valley, easiest accessible, from Bucharest, by train
However, none of them stop in Sinaia, Busteni, Azuga or Predeal, the main attractions on Prahova Valley. In theory, you can take an IR (Inter Regio) and reach one of these in less than two hours from Bucharest, which is by far the best travel time, even if the average speed is around 60 – 70 km / hour. Not bad, it is one of the best parts of railway in Romania, but far from the 21st Century standards. In any case, we need to stick to this. Because by car you can spend countless hours in traffic, because of the blockages. With a train, it should be easier, yes. The problem is that Romanian trains, most of them, are very old and unreliable, and there are good chances for one to break down and wait without understanding why and until when countless hours. From my experience, though, this is still less risky than to be stuck in a traffic jam.
Be aware of bears!
It is very seldom that you will hear / see information in a Romanian train, even in Romanian, let alone English, and also you need to rely on other tourists for information, so be careful to check yourself, best way by Maps or similar. Now, let’s go the mountains themselves, and some tips of how you can enjoy them. To me, the best way is either to run in a trail contest, or to just glance their peaks from a generous balcony. From where? Hard to tel. Let’s take it one by one. First, let me explain why I didn’t mentioned any hike possibility. They are quite popular in Romania, but so are the many bears which can cause problems. Don’t get me wrong, I love bears, I like we have them in our woods, but the number is not inly left unaccountable, but many people fed them, so this is why they are not too afraid of people, many of them.
2,500 meters is not much, but just enough
If you want to go hiking in the Bucegi Mountains, just be careful. Have whistles, bear sprays and stay in as big as possible groups. Bears usually attack when with cubs, or when they feel threatened, as you might know, and being such big animals, people’s chances become slim. I know that joke that you don’t need to outrun the bear, but to outrun the slowest of the group, but I guess this really seems funny when not on a mountain trail. This is why I prefer to look at them, at the mountains, only from far, or to participate to running events, when, because of the very loud noises, bears stay far away. Romanian mountains go as high as slight over 2,500 meters. This is not a lot, if you compare them with many places, but in a way this kind of altitude is just ideal for becoming accessible by many categories of people. Truth being said, it is not that hard to climb at 2,500 meters, if you have a decent stamina, and correct approach.
Winter, the worst time to go hiking in Romanian mountains!
The approach… this is one of the second problem here. Many people go unprepared climbing, either when we are talking about their shape, apparel, or just way of locomotion. Unfortunately, there is a lot of motorized propulsion on the mountains, some allegedly illegal. Also, there are a lot of hikers who risk going in winter when it is particularly dangerous, because of tons of snow, and the associated of high avalanche risks, of course. A very good example to see how things are going in these regards, you might want to watch this film, “Tata mută munÈ›ii”. Pure Romanian story. 🙂 Given this, again, especially in the winter, you should better admire the mountain peaks from distance. It is really the best choice. So what about during summer, if you just want to walk on the mountain peaks and feel safe?
Twisting tale to Fagaras Mountains Edge
I’ll switch gear from Prahova Valley and jump to Fagaras Edge. Now, to get here, the best way I can advise is to start from Balea Lake Cabin. It is a good place to stay, for Romanian accommodation standards even great, and at 2,000+ meters, the landscape is splendid. You can access this location either by road, thru Transfagarasan, where you also might catch huge traffic jams, especially because of people who stop and pose the… side road bears. The other option would be a cable car, but still you need a car ideal, until there. Considering I didn’t access that by now, I won’t insist on this mean of transportation, but I will imagine you’ll hire a car to explore also the Transfagarasan experience. 🙂 It is deserved, even if it can be annoying. 🙂 From here, in theory, you can access the two highest peaks in Romania: Moldoveanu and Negoiu.
You need one full day for a round trip to Moldoveanu from Balea Lake
Since they are, though, in separate directions, a normal fit hiker can tackle them in, maybe, four days. From Balea to Moldoveanu there are 14 kilometers which can take around 10-11 hours. Then, if you leave early in the morning, you can reach the peak, and return to a place to camp for the night, then back to Balea, where ideally you sleep. The next day, if you push, a bit, the paddle, you might go a round trip to Negoiu and back, as there are 18 kilometers return. However, this is very unlikely, given the previous two day’s effort. Now, I am recommending this hike because I know the trail, and it is (almost) impossible to meet a bear in front of you. Saying almost, because in August 2024 one actually reached Negoiu peak, and ran away scared thru the narrow paths. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but the threat can be real.
I would pick Busteni
Now, going back to the “easier” reality from Prahova Valley, let’s mention why you should be very careful here. The problem with the so called idyllic towns here is that they are crossed by a very busy and polluted road, unlike a civilized European country… Sinaia can be partly charming, but I don’t like too much the accommodation here, because of several regards. I’m not planning to give any name, but my main recommendation is to use Booking if you want to stay here, and ideally seek a local’s home, with a good rating. Generally, you have better chances of a good experience. Switching a few kilometers North, Busteni must be the ideal place to admire the Bucegi Peaks. This is, actually, my favorite place to stay. You can easily find a local accommodation with balcony which gave you a 360 degree view towards the high peaks.
Predeal, higher than Chamonix, but…
Speaking about this, in 2025, even if I participated at a trail run in Predeal, around 10 kilometers further North from Busteni, we’ve preferred to accommodate here (in Busteni) for the view. The town, themselves, look deserted, I would say even awful. Predeal even worst. The village is at 1049 meters of altitude, higher than Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, but instead of borrowing something from the French town, the place remained stuck in the early ’90. Without any logic, aesthetics or plan. All seem the same, but at least in Busteni you have the mountains to make you forget about the impossibility to go for a walk. The main road is a hub of air pollution, while the narrow side streets are a permanent threat of you encountering bears, especially if the evening is covering the location. Azuga’s location is not even very close to the train station, being situated perpendicular on the transportation hub, in the opposite direction of the Bucegi mountains.
Switching paths
I wouldn’t bother to go here, apart from an intention to participate at Azuga Trail Race, a beautiful mountain run, which I have attended already three times. 🙂 To me, the only logic options here are either Sinaia, for it’s partial cultural heritage, and Busteni, for the landscape. But in part, they will also disappoint you. The expectations shouldn’t be high, because the stakes are not… Brasov, on of the city hubs in Romania, has it’s charm, but if your purpose remain “the mountain”, as you saw in the title, you might want to consider going south-west to Bran or Zarnesti. I have mentioned in the title Poiana Brasov, which is essentially a suburb of Brasov, but that is a place about which I’m not even tempted to share details because to me, it is not attractive by any means. Especially since I could pay less for a New Years five nights package in Svolvaer, Norway, at a five star hotel. Can you imagine? 🙂
Bran, a disappointment for me
Is then Bran attractive? You might have heard of it, yes. Because Dracula’s Castle. A fake legend and myth, but which can leverage some curiosity from abroad. I’ve only been here in depth in 2025, and discovered how disappointing it really is. Again, the main part is cut by a very air-polluted traffic-jammed packed road, so the only way to enjoy a bit the fresh country & mountain air is to divest your walk thru a secondary road. Indeed, this is a good idea, but you don’t have anything special to see. Maybe only the undeveloped reality of a country which claims that things are getting better and better. Very old cars with their tires full of cow manure disturb, from time to time the silence of the surroundings. It is a rural reality, everything raw. But it is not something you would want to visit, apart from having some specific interests. In general, apart from this, you can find in this kind of villages a lot of kitsch, odd odors, and a lot of horse powered carriages – truth being said, these can be find also near Bucharest. To me, Bran is for comming, taking a picture in front of the nice castle, and then proceed further.
You may want to try Cheile Gradistei
If you insist and want to get a glimpse of the region, Moieciu can be a better option, especially Cheile Gradistei resort. You could experience some Romanian authentic everything here, and if you want a hotel in the region, this is the one I can recommend with half convincing. I didn’t like it too much, but neither can I say that I wouldn’t spent one or two night there, for its surroundings and experience. But the cheat code I have for Romanian mountains is a bit parallel with Bran and Moieciu, and you can even access it by train, from Brasov which, for me, is an advantage. OK, the train is almost a wreck, but it is bearable, you know. Welcome to Zarnesti! Honestly, this is, maybe, the place in the Romanian Carpathians I like the most. The village is far from being properly explored and taken care of, but it looks even better than Sinaia, I would say.
Zarnesti, my favorite spot from this part of the Romanian mountains
The fact that it is not crossed by a main road helps. It has a side road, and that proves to be ideal. It is also the gate entry to Piatra Craiului Natural Park. One of the most loved and feared, both alike, places in the Romanian Mountains. Don’t expect Zarnesti to look like in the Alps, or the Dolomites, but it is surprisingly chic, especially in the center. Clean, welcoming, quite taking care of, comparing to the rest, but still behind to normal standards. I am not sure how the Piatra Craiului Mountains should be tackled, because I only did this, by attending MPC (Maraton Piatra Craiului) three times, but this involves only a small crossing, and rounding the peak, not reaching it. I’ve heard it’s quite nasty to tackle it by foot, so I can’t advise anything as such. However you can enjoy it from the distance. This really is a region which you can explore by foot and enjoy the purity of nature.
As a conclusion for the mountains experience
Of course, this is only a region from all Romania’s Mountains, but here there are the highest peaks, and most accessible part, that is, because going to Bucovina or Retezat, that is another story, and I absolutely don’t advise you to reach them from Bucharest, because the journey can be endless. 🙂 If you wish the pure mountain experience, Balea – Sinaia – Busteni – Zarnesti is more than enough to explore. Again, by summer, or in its vicinity. To go by winter, you can, yes, but only as a spectator, 100%. At least this is what I would do. And what I am doing, in fact. 🙂