Eurotrip ideas (Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia & other)

Hola aventureros! ✈ Where next?

About 5 years ago we decided to go to Romania (our homecountry) by car (from England) instead of flying there, this way we can actually see more places and make it a roadtrip.

Although is not cheaper to go by car (a lot of people asked this), we seem to enjoy the journey more than the actual destinations so driving gives us that opportunity to stop where and where we want.

Every year we make the journey to/from Romania more interesting, trying different routes to tick more places off our ‘to see list’. We like exploring other countries’ foods, drinks and cultures.

In this post, I want to tell you about some of the places where we’ve been so far and are worth sharing (in random order); click on the photos for full quality. Sorry if it’s a long post 🙂

Vienna (Austria)

Our first trip ever as a couple was at the beginning of 2009 to Vienna (and Budapest) and since then we returned to Vienna on two more occasions, one of them being last summer. You can never get bored of Vienna – with Prater, Schonbrunn and the city centre to explore. A nice accommodation we stayed at which I totally recommend and not very far from the city centre was Hotel Imlauer (about 6 minutes drive from the Stephanplatz).

Hallstatt (Austria)

Driving about 3h and 3min from Vienna you get to Hallstatt – now this is a place that I was reading about on the internet for years (even seeing it as a screensaver on the TV) until we actually got the chance to visit last year. Hallstatt is a small picturesque town known for its production of salt, tourism and being an UNESCO World Heritage Site. I cannot describe the feelings that you get when you are there, the fresh air and calming vibe and the jaw-dropping views of the Alps.

Cologne (Germany)

We went to Cologne this year and we really enjoyed the vibe there. Cologne (also known as Koln in German) is the 4th most populous city of Germany, the medieval Catholic Cologne Cathedral is the 3rd tallest church and tallest cathedral in the world; Cologne is also famous for Eau de Cologne which has been produced in the city since 1709 and ‘cologne’ has since became the generic term.

Nuremberg (Germany)

We went to Nuremberg in 2018 last time, it’s a historic and vibrant city and is the second largest city of the German state of Bavaria, representing a popular destination for tourists.

Lecco, Como Lake and Milan (Italy)

Our Godparents live close to Milan and we’ve visited them a few times on our way to/from Romania, we enjoyed the detour (sometimes chose the route through Chamonix – France; other times through Switzerland; both have great views). I won’t say much about Milan because is very well known, Como & Lecco are amazing, both in Lombardy region offering great views of the lake and very nice walks.

Prague (Czech Republic)

We went to Prague a few times now, summer and winter (last time in January this year) and it’s truly amazing during both seasons. In the winter it has a lovely Christmas market which we’ve managed to see this year just in time before it ended. The people, the city, the surroundings and the foods are amazing. We’ve discovered a nice accommodation about 50 minutes distance from Prague, where we stayed last time (photos included – 2nd row), called Hotel Mandat, with nice views of the river Vltava and fresh air.

Bratislava (Slovakia)

We’ve been to Bratislava twice, once in the summer and again in the winter. Now, I do not want to sound ignorant but I didn’t know much about Bratislava and what it can offer before we actually got there and were very impressed with how clean Bratislava is and how polite and nice are its people. Bratislava is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Bratislava Castle, Slavin war memorial and Veza restaurant are a must see. From the Slavin war memorial hill you can enjoy some nice views of the city and the castle. I’ve also included photos of the Veza restaurant (2nd row) which is inside the Kamzik Television Tower, where you can enjoy panoramic views of the city, also the drive through the forest to get to the restaurant is amazing.

Budapest (Hungary)

Budapest is such a nice and well-known touristic destination on the Danube river, which offers awesome views day and night. The night view of the Hungarian Parliament building is amazing and something else that we’ve noticed is that the city doesn’t sleep at night 🙂

Bolata Bay, Dalboka Mussel Farm and Nessebar (Bulgaria)

Bolata bay is a small bay in the Northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, about 50 minutes drive from the Romanian border (Vama Veche), very close to the Cape Kaliakra (another amazing place where we didn’t get the chance to go on this occasion but planning to go in the future). Bolata bay has a very nice sandy beach with green-blue-ish clean water. The bay is not very busy and you can enjoy the sea in peace and quiet. Totally recommend the Dalboka Mussel Farm, it was the first time in my life when I had mussels and they were very good and nicely done, the Dalboka Mussel Farm is a place that I would go back to many times and wouldn’t get bored of its views and menu.

Nessebar is about 7h distance from our hometown in Romania (Craiova) and is so worth the drive. Nessebar reminds me of Greece, it has some resemblance to the greek towns and water. We were amazed by it and will return to visit again in the future. Nessebar is a town/ancient city in the Burgas Province on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast with cobbled streets in the old town, nice beaches (largest being Sunny Beach) and ruins from the Byzantine era. Due to the city’s richness of historic buildings, Nessebar became an UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stayed at Baratero Mar Nero Apartments with access to the pool and would totally recommend the place.

Tuzla beach, Enisala Fortress and Dobrogea Gorges (Romania)

Tuzla Beach is not a very known beach in Romania but it’s becoming more popular now. Instead of going to overrated seaside places nearby such as Costinesti for example, would say Tuzla is worth it, it has crystal turquoise water (on the Cochilia beach where we spent most of the time there were no algae but where we went to take some nice shots with the drone there were plenty of algae in the sea; I would say it all depends on the time of the year and the mood of the sea, haha).

Enisala Fortress is the only medieval fortress from Dobrogea that survived the Turkish-Russian wars from the 19th century. Once you reach the top you can admire the beautiful landscape and its wildness.

Dobrogea Gorges are some of the oldest rock formations in Europe (limestones dating back to Mesozoic period) which acquired different shapes in time, reminding of the fact that once Dobrogea lied on the bottom of the sea.

Cantacuzino Castle & Peles Castle (Romania)

Cantacuzino Castle, situated in Busteni (Transylvania region), has a great architecture of historical and artistic value. Now being well known as one of the filming locations of the Netflix series Wednesday in 2022.

Peles Castle is a neo-renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains constructed for King Carol I, near Sinaia (Transylvania region), not too far from Cantacuzino Castle (15 minutes drive).

Sohodol Gorges (Romania)

Sohodol Gorges are located in Gorj County (south Romania) presenting impressive wild landscapes of the Valcan Mountains alongside the river. Near Sohodol Gorges you can find the accommodation that we stayed at called Casa din Padure (Forest House) which offers a sauna, outdoor pool, outdoor jacuzzi, fishing facilities, and all-inclusive (depending on your requirements).

I hope you enjoyed my post! Let me know if you’ve been to any of these places or planning to go.