Maramures and Bucovina
 

Hi Hubbers,

Tootling off to Romania from Turkey this June with the aim of exploring Maramures and Bucovina. Anybody out there with advice on places to stay and must sees? Got a rough route planned out courtesy of Lonely Planet and Rough Guide but would love to hear from any Hubbers with first hand experience.:scooter:

Cheers,

Dicky

In Maramures, specifically Barsana, not to be missed:

Romanian Monasteries - Maramures - Barsana - Pictures, Information

This Barsana Romanian Orthodox monastery also has a separate
B&B/ small pensione attached to it, a nice overnight, and the nuns
serve local dinner in a separate dining facility.

Thanks CourtFisher for taking the time. A very interesting sight. Going to be exploring the fortified churches of Transylvania too.

Cheers,

Dicky

There is a lovely small dirt road leading from Carlibaba northwards through quaint little rural villages and then east to Putna. There is one of those fantastic forest monastries of north-east Romania. In Viseu de Sus is one of the last narrow gauge steam railways still in use, mainly for transporting logs, but usually one coach for visitors. Definitely a must-see. In Borsa I remember a beautiful road going north along a small river into the mountains...

Oh, don't miss the funny graveyard in Sapanta near the Ukraine border.

Be there
 

Hi,

I just travel around at the beginning of may, nice area.
What kind of bike do you use in this trip ? It is a very nice road between Iacobeni (Bucovina) and Borsa (Maramures) but in a very poor condition. I was traveling with a naked bike (yamaha xjr 1300) and despite the nice view I was cursing non stop.
If you are interested in history (communist in this case) I also recommend Sighet Memorial in Sighetu Marmatiei.
Depending on when are you coming in Romania I suggest to check if Transfagarasan or Transalpina are open, normally both are closed until 1 july but if the wether is good they open them faster. Those to roads are the best way to cross the mountains and Transfagarasan is very close to fortified churches from Transilvania.

In Bucovina you can check also the painted monasteries.
I confirm the info about narrow gauge train from Viseu de Sus is quite an experience an you can sleep over night in the railway station in a train :)


All the best
Andrei

ps. be aware that in Romania in some areas (most of them) there are street dogs. They are not dangerous (in general :)) but they are barking at the bike. .. they are not biting, but can be annoying.

Hi pppandrei,

Thank you very much for the info. We will be on a Yamaha XT660R, deliberately for the road conditions.

We went to Romania ten years ago and experienced the stray dogs then. I clipped one on my 1150GS and the ensuing tankslapper was not fun:( We have the same problem here in Turkey.

I'm adding your tips to my map:thumbup1:

All he best,

Dicky