Is Romania Worth Visiting? Our Family Road Trip Review
Is Romania worth visiting with kids? Read our honest family road trip review covering Transylvania, Bucharest, castles, costs and what we’d do differently.
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12/19/202615 min read
If you're wondering is Romania worth visiting with kids, our answer after a seven-day family road trip is 100% yes. We travelled through Romania during October half term with our 10-year-old son Joshua and were genuinely surprised by how much there was to see, how affordable the trip was and how well it worked for a family holiday.
This review is for families considering a Romania family holiday from the UK, particularly during October. We hired a car and combined Bucharest, Transylvania, castles, medieval towns, a salt mine, a thermal water park and the Iron Gates into one road trip.
It wasn't perfect. We planned too much driving, parking could be frustrating and many of Romania's headline attractions aren't specifically designed for children. But the combination of Dracula at Halloween, beautiful autumn scenery, unusual experiences and excellent value made this one of our most memorable family road trips.
Where useful, I've included links to hotels, tours and attractions we personally used or would consider ourselves. Some may be affiliate links, meaning we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
What You'll Find in This Romania Family Review
Quick Answer: Is Romania Worth Visiting With Kids?
Yes. We think Romania is absolutely worth visiting with kids, particularly families looking for something different from the usual European city or beach break.
From the UK, the flight to Bucharest is only around three hours, and once there we found a huge variety of experiences, from Dracula's Castle and medieval towns to thermal pools and underground salt mines.
As Tourists we found Romania both safe and very good value. Our entire seven-day October half-term road trip cost around £2,600 for the three of us, including flights, accommodation, car hire, food, fuel and attractions.
Our quick verdict:
Good for families? Yes
Best age? We'd say primary school age upwards
Good for October half term? Excellent
Expensive? We thought it offered great value
Easy to drive? Yes, although distances add up
Safe? We felt comfortable travelling as a family
Biggest highlight? Bran Castle at Halloween
Biggest mistake? Trying to cover too much in seven days
Would we go back? 100%
→ Planning an October trip specifically? Read Is Transylvania at Halloween Worth It? Our Honest Family Review With Kids for why we'd choose this time of year again.
Why We Chose Romania for an October Family Holiday
We wanted somewhere different for October half term.
We'd seen photographs and videos of Romania's castles and salt mines, and once we realised that UK half term coincided almost perfectly with Halloween in Transylvania, the idea became difficult to resist.
Visiting Dracula's Castle at Halloween sounded like exactly the sort of thing Joshua would remember.
The more we researched, the more variety we found.
There were medieval towns, castles, mountains, unusual hotels, salt mines and thermal pools. It also appeared considerably more affordable than many other European destinations during a school holiday.
We enjoy road trips as a family too, so Romania gave us an opportunity to hire a car and explore independently rather than stay in one resort for a week.
What we underestimated was how far apart everything is.
If you're researching a Romania family road trip, I'd recommend being much more selective than we initially were.
Enjoying walking the streets of Basov
Visiting Bran Castle A.K.A Dracula's Castle in Bran
What Are the Must-See Places in Romania for Families?
Romania has far more to see than we'd appreciated before planning our trip.
It's particularly known for its medieval towns, castles, Carpathian landscapes, fortified churches, historic villages and Transylvania's Dracula mythology.
For families, however, I'd avoid simply collecting famous sights.
A better first trip would concentrate on the main places in Transylvania, Bucharest, Sinaia, Bran and Brașov, then add other destinations depending on how much time you genuinely have.
Bucharest
Bucharest makes the obvious starting or finishing point if you're flying from the UK.
There are kids museums, parks, historic areas and restaurants, but the attraction we'd particularly recommend with children is Therme Bucharest.
After several days of castles and sightseeing, giving Joshua three hours of water slides and warm thermal pools probably earned us a considerable amount of parental goodwill.
→ Read Bucharest With Kids: Things to Do, Day Trips, & Family Travel Tips for how we'd plan your time in the capital.
→ Considering Therme? Read our Therme Bucharest Review: Is Therme Galaxy Worth It With Kids?
Therme water park, pool and spa in Bucharest
Palace of Parliament in Bucharest
Where To Stay in Romania With Kids
Short on time? These are our top family hotel picks from our Romania road trip, chosen for location, family space and how well they fitted our itinerary:
From our visit, our top picks were:
Casa Chitic Brașov – best for exploring Brașov and visiting Bran and Peleș Castle. We chose a family apartment in the Old Town, giving us plenty of space and easy access to restaurants and the main sights on foot.
Havens Treehouse – best for a memorable family stay in Transylvania. The woodland setting gave Joshua something completely different from the castles and city hotels and helped break up our road trip.
Continental Forum Sibiu – best for a convenient overnight stop in Sibiu, particularly if you're continuing west through Romania rather than making Sibiu the focus of your trip.
Orhideea Residence & Spa Bucharest – our pick for Bucharest with kids. The apartment-style accommodation gave us more space, while the pool, spa and parking worked particularly well at the end of our road trip.
Casa 9 Villa & Spa – best for Danube views and relaxation at the Iron Gates, with family accommodation, spa access, free parking and meals available. 7 minutes drive from the Rock Sculpture of Decebalus.
Our overall pick? If you're planning a shorter Romania family holiday, I'd prioritise Bucharest and Brașov, then add one unusual countryside stay to break up the sightseeing.
→ Looking for accommodation? See Where to Stay in Transylvania With Kids: The Best Family-Friendly Places to Stay, where we go into more detail on our research and where we actually stayed.
Sinaia and Peleș Castle
Sinaia is an easy place to incorporate when travelling north from Bucharest towards Bran.
The big attraction is Peleș Castle, which looks like something from a fairytale.
For Joshua, the armour and weapons were much more interesting than the ornate royal rooms, so we kept the interior visit fairly quick.
→ Read Is Peleș Castle in Romania Worth Visiting? Our Honest Family Review for tickets, parking and whether we'd bother going inside with kids.
Inside Peles Castle
Outside of Peles Castle in Sinaia
Bran and Dracula's Castle
If you're visiting Romania around Halloween, Bran would be very high on our list.
At Halloween specifically, Bran Castle transforms the attraction with live actors, special effects and darker spaces.
This wasn't simply another castle.
For Joshua, it became a proper adventure and probably the strongest memory he took home from the trip.
→ Read Is Bran Castle Worth Visiting at Halloween? for what the experience was really like.
Inside Bran Castle at Halloween
Bran castle at Halloween
Brașov
Brașov would be our first-choice base in Transylvania with kids.
It gives you a beautiful Old Town, restaurants, markets and the Tâmpa cable car while keeping you within reach of several major family attractions.
A family-focused Romania guide also recommends using Brașov as the main Transylvania base rather than constantly changing accommodation, which is something we'd seriously consider if repeating the trip.
→ Read Brașov With Kids: Things to Do, Day Trips, Castles & Family Travel Tips for what we'd prioritise.
Sibiu
Sibiu is attractive and easy to explore on foot.
We enjoyed visiting, but if I'm being completely honest, I wouldn't consider it essential on a short family itinerary.
If you only have seven days, I'd rather spend another night around Brașov than drive to another city simply to tick it off the list.
→ If it does fit your route, see Sibiu With Kids: Things to Do, Day Trips, Castles & Family Travel Tips.
Waffle cone treats in Basov
View over Brasov from the cable car
Are the Iron Gates Worth Adding to a Romania Family Trip?
Yes, but not necessarily to a seven-day October road trip.
The Iron Gates show you a completely different side of Romania, with the Danube forming the border with Serbia and running through dramatic mountain scenery.
Our boat trip to see the Decebalus Rock Sculpture was excellent.
But this is exactly where itinerary discipline matters.
If you have 10–14 days, I'd strongly consider adding it.
With seven days, I would now spend those nights elsewhere.
→ Read Iron Gates Romania: Is a Danube River Cruise Worth It? if you're deciding whether it deserves the additional drive.
Iron Gates Natural Park
Iron Gates boat trip in southwest Romania
What Are the Best Things to Do in Romania With Kids?
A successful Romania family trip needs a bit of balance.
Many of the country's major attractions involve history, architecture and sightseeing, which is great for adults but can become repetitive for children.
We deliberately mixed those with experiences designed to capture Joshua's imagination.
Visit Romania's Castles
We visited three very different castles.
Bran Castle won for Joshua, largely because we'd visited during Halloween when the entire experience had been transformed around Dracula.
Peleș Castle was probably the most beautiful, particularly from outside.
Corvin Castle provided the strongest medieval-fortress atmosphere. Joshua was strangely fascinated by the historic torture displays, which perhaps isn't something I should examine too closely!
For a one-week trip, I'd prioritise Peleș and Bran because they're much easier to combine.
Explore Medieval Towns
The towns were surprisingly successful with Joshua.
In Brașov, he enjoyed wandering around the market stalls, investigating 3D-printed trinkets and discovering just how many opportunities Romania presents for buying ice cream and waffles.
The Tâmpa cable car gave the sightseeing an element of adventure too.
This is why I'd avoid spending every day inside castles and museums. Sometimes simply wandering around a town with no particular plan works better with children.
Stay Somewhere Unusual
One of the things that helped break up our itinerary was choosing accommodation that became part of the experience.
Our Transylvania treehouse stay gave Joshua the opportunity to play outdoors and build a wooden den rather than spend another evening inside a conventional hotel.
Hotels can be part of a family holiday rather than merely somewhere to sleep.
Visit A Salt Mine
Romania has several salt mines that families can visit, so you don't necessarily need to travel all the way to Salina Turda like we did. Romanian salt mines vary considerably, but many combine huge underground chambers with play areas and other visitor facilities.
We chose Salina Turda, which is the most spectacular option if you're already travelling through north-western Transylvania. Its enormous underground chambers have been turned into a visitor attraction with boats and leisure activities. Joshua loved it, although we found it became a substantial detour from our route.
If you're keeping your trip closer to Bucharest, I'd consider Slănic Prahova Salt Mine instead. It gives you the experience of exploring a Romanian salt mine without adding the long drive north to Turda, making it a more practical option on a shorter family itinerary. Romania also has visitor salt mines at Ocnele Mari, Cacica and Târgu Ocna, so I'd choose based on the route you're already taking rather than automatically heading for Turda.
→ Read Is Salina Turda Salt Mine Worth Visiting? Our Extremely Honest Family Review before adding it to your itinerary.
Other Family Attractions Around Brașov
If we'd spent longer around Brașov, there were several other activities we'd have considered, including Dino Parc Râșnov, the Libearty Bear Sanctuary, Brașov Zoo, Paradisul Acvatic and Parc Aventura Brașov.
Dino Parc alone has more than 130 life-size dinosaur reconstructions, playgrounds and interactive experiences, making it a much more deliberately child-focused stop than another historic castle.
→ For a deeper look at everything we'd consider, see Best Things to Do in Romania With Kids: Family-Tested Attractions.
Staying in Havens treehouse in Transylvania
Salina Turda salt mine
What Food Do They Eat in Romania? Is It Easy With Kids?
If you're wondering what to eat in Romania with kids, don't worry. Alongside traditional Romanian food, we found plenty of familiar options, including McDonald's, KFC, pizza, pasta, bakeries and sandwich shops, so feeding Joshua was never particularly difficult.
For quick lunches, our favourite discovery was LUCA bakery. It was inexpensive, easy to grab on the road and had plenty of hot and cold options. Joshua particularly liked the șnițzel baguette, which became one of his go-to lunches.
That said, I'd definitely encourage kids to try some local food too. Romanian meat dishes were particularly good, and Joshua enjoyed far more of the traditional food than we'd expected.
Hotel breakfasts were also remarkably similar everywhere we stayed. Expect cereals, fruit, yoghurt, cold meats, cheese, toast and pastries, usually with some hot options such as eggs and hash browns. Sausages, bacon and baked beans were less common, so don't necessarily expect a full English-style breakfast.
Our one struggle? Vegetables. We ate noticeably fewer vegetables than we normally would at home. Between road-trip lunches, grilled meat, potatoes and quick meals, our week wasn't exactly a nutritional masterclass.
Overall, though, we found places to eat in Romania with kids very easy to find. There's enough familiar food for fussier eaters, while still giving families plenty of opportunities to try Romanian dishes along the way.
Deciding what Romanian dish to pick!
Grabbing lunch at Luca bakery
Our Romania Family Road Trip Route: What Is There to See?
Our complete route was ambitious.
We combined: Bucharest → Peleș Castle → Bran Castle → Brașov → Sibiu → Salina Turda → Hațeg → Iron Gates → Bucharest
Across the week, we drove 1,173km.
And knowing what I know now, I wouldn't recommend replicating our itinerary exactly in seven days.
The Iron Gates were beautiful, and our Danube boat trip to the Rock Sculpture of Decebalus was excellent. But reaching the region added several hours to an already busy road trip.
In October, it was also very much the off-season there. Several restaurants and facilities had closed, whereas Bran and Brașov were much busier because of Halloween.
For a first seven-day family holiday, I'd keep things tighter: Bucharest → Sinaia → Bran → Brașov → optional extra stop → Bucharest
That would significantly reduce the driving while still delivering the experiences that made us love the trip.
→ Our One Week Romania Family Road Trip Itinerary with interactive map shows the key stops, distances and driving times so you can build your own route rather than copy ours blindly.
Black Church in Basov
Corvin Castle
Is Romania Expensive for Families?
We thought Romania offered excellent value.
Our complete seven-day family road trip cost £2,614.63 for two adults and one child, including:
Flights
Accommodation
Car hire
Fuel
Food
Attractions
Parking
General spending
That's around £872 per person.
And we weren't trying to travel as cheaply as possible.
We prioritised family rooms, good locations and interesting accommodation. One night was in a treehouse, while our Iron Gates hotel included a family room, river views, spa access and meals.
Some things were particularly inexpensive compared with what we'd expect to pay in the UK. Restaurants, parking and several major attractions represented good value.
Other costs, particularly fuel and some tourist-area accommodation, were closer to what we'd pay at home.
→ Read Is Romania Expensive to Visit? Our Real 7-Day Family Trip Costs Shared for every category of spending.
Bran Castle set up for kids at Halloween
Inside Bran Castle at Halloween
Is Romania Easy to Travel Around as a Family?
We found driving in Romania surprisingly straightforward.
The main roads were generally in good condition, navigation was simple with Google Maps and having a car gave us complete flexibility around Joshua.
The issue wasn't road quality.
It was distance.
Romania is larger than it looks when you start dropping pins onto Google Maps. Many attractive places appear relatively close together but can still involve 1.5–3 hours behind the wheel.
Traffic can increase those times considerably, particularly around Bran and Brașov.
Parking was the other surprise.
It felt as though everywhere charged for parking, although individual charges were relatively inexpensive. Our total parking spend for the entire seven days was only around £20.
With kids, I'd keep:
Snacks in the car
Drinks available
A charger handy
Downloaded entertainment on tablets
Comfortable clothes
Enough spare time that toilet stops don't cause stress
→ Read Is It Safe to Drive in Romania? Our Real Family Driving Experience for the roads, parking and everything we'd do differently.
Central Sibiu
Navigating parking in Basov
Is Romania a Good Country to Visit?
Yes, and it surprised us how much we liked it.
Before travelling, Romania wasn't somewhere we'd heard many families talk about as an obvious holiday destination.
After visiting, I couldn't really understand why.
There's enough history and culture for adults, but also enough unusual experiences to keep children interested if you build the itinerary carefully.
The important bit is carefully.
Don't create seven days of castles because Romania has lots of castles.
Don't create seven days of driving because the map makes everything look close together.
Mix the sightseeing with pools, cable cars, markets, unusual hotels and downtime.
That's when Romania really started working for us as a family.
Is Romania Safe to Visit With Kids?
We felt comfortable travelling around Romania as a family.
We drove through major cities, small towns, mountain roads and rural areas without encountering anything that made us personally feel unsafe.
That doesn't mean abandoning the usual precautions you'd take anywhere.
In cities and around busy tourist attractions, we'd still recommend keeping valuable items secure, knowing where you're walking after dark and using established parking areas and reputable accommodation.
For us, safety simply wasn't one of the problems we encountered on the road trip.
The much bigger practical challenges were traffic, parking and trying to fit too much into the week.
Kids amusements at Salina Turda salt mine
Torture exhibit at Corvin Castle
Who Is a Romania Family Holiday Best For?
I think Romania works particularly well for families with school-aged children.
Joshua was 10, and that felt almost ideal.
He was young enough to completely buy into Dracula, castles and unusual accommodation, while being old enough to cope with longer sightseeing days and car journeys.
Romania Is Great For
Families with children roughly 6+
Tween and teenage families
Families who enjoy road trips
Castle lovers
Families who like history and outdoor scenery
Parents looking for something different
Families wanting good-value European travel
October half-term trips
Romania May Not Suit
I'd think twice if your family:
Hates long car journeys
Wants a resort-style holiday
Needs constant child-focused entertainment
Wants guaranteed warm weather
Dislikes changing hotels
Wants beaches and pool days every day
You can absolutely build a much slower Romania holiday, but our road-trip format was naturally active.
Halloween feel around Bran
Halloween in Bran Romania
Final Verdict: Is Romania Worth Visiting With Kids?
Yes. We'd return to Romania without hesitation.
We went looking for an unusual October half-term destination and came home genuinely surprised by how much we'd enjoyed it.
The biggest highlights weren't necessarily what I expected.
I knew I'd enjoy the castles, but I hadn't anticipated how beautiful the autumn landscapes would be. I didn't expect such pleasant October sunshine. And I certainly didn't expect Bran Castle to go quite as far as it did with the Halloween experience.
Seeing how much Joshua enjoyed Dracula's Castle probably sealed it for us.
Would I plan the exact same trip again?
No.
I'd slow everything down, cut the Iron Gates from a seven-day itinerary and spend longer around Brașov and Transylvania.
But would I recommend Romania with kids for October half term?
Absolutely.
For families looking for an affordable European road trip with castles, medieval towns, beautiful scenery and experiences that feel genuinely different, Romania is one of the most interesting family destinations we've visited.
plan your TRIP TO Romania
If you’re planning your family trip to the Transylvania region of Romania, these guides will help you pull everything together:
About Plan Family Escapes
We’re a UK-based family sharing real, experience-led travel guides based on trips we’ve taken with our school-age son Joshua across destinations like Lapland, Turkey and India.
Everything we share is based on what we’ve personally experienced — with honest advice on what actually works when travelling with kids, focusing on making family travel easier, more comfortable and genuinely enjoyable.
