Our backpacking travels began in Bucharest, Romania in the middle of March. We spent three days here exploring the European city before embarking on a trip across Asia.
We hadn’t experienced much of Eastern Europe before except for Krakow, Poland so we were eager to go even further east to see another new spot in Europe before leaving the continent.
The main reason we stopped off in Bucharest, was because it made our flight to Dubai a lot cheaper by stopping off here for a few days. You could stop for a few hours and have a connection, but since we were in no rush, it made sense to stop and see Bucharest for a few days.
Below you’ll find our travel guide for spending three days in Bucharest, Romania. Including where we stayed, where we ate and a list of things to see and do.
How we got there
To get to Bucharest, Romania we took a 9am flight from London Stansted with Ryanair into Otopeni, a 30 minute drive from Bucharest city centre.
We were only flying one way, which made our flight a little cheaper but looking online today for a Monday in April, flights start at £25.
When we landed, we took a public bus into the city centre which cost us £0.52 each and took around thirty minutes, changing buses again once we got into the city centre to then take us (and our very heavy backpacks) closer to our hotel.
Where we stayed
We stayed at Hotel Trianon, very close to the city centre and next to a gorgeous and well-maintained park.
I have a separate blog post reviewing our hotel stay which you can find here, but to quickly summarise, we had a lovely stay although the hotel was a little bit dated.
However, we were only paying £30 per night, so couldn’t complain too much as it was great for our backpacking budget.
Everywhere we ate in Bucharest, Romania
I’ll give a quick overview to all the places we ate in Bucharest (note that we were on a backpacking budget, so unfortunately I can’t give details on the brunch scene in Bucharest) as I’ll be writing a more detailed blog post about this soon.
1. Luca
Bulevardul Unirii 27, București 040103, Romania
We ate from Luca a lot. At least once a day. It’s a hole-in-the-wall pastry outlet, serving very cheap savoury and sweet pastries. It’s a small chain in Bucharest, and we made the most of these when walking around the city and needing a little pick-me-up to keep us going as we wandered.
From Romanian-style sausage rolls to pretzels to jam filled dough, these snacks averaged at around 50-70p each, so we even had them for breakfast on our final morning.
2. Terasa Obor
Strada Oborul Nou, București, Romania
Mici sausage is probably the most beloved street food in Bucharest. It’s small sausages without casings, served with a lot of mustard and a bread roll.
We trekked out to Obor Market on the metro to find the most famous mici spot, Terasa Obor and had three mici sausages each with a bread roll and the famous mustard. Definitely worth trying as I thoroughly enjoyed!
3. Caru’ cu Bere
Strada Stavropoleos 5, București 030081, Romania
For our first evening meal, we headed to Caru’ cu Bere, a traditional Romanian restaurant where you can sample local food and during the day, be entertained with Romanian-style dancing and music.
I had soup in a bread bowl, because that’s what I seem to order now when I’m in Eastern Europe and himself tried some pork and polenta. Very traditional.
4. Vatra
Strada Ion Brezoianu 19, București 010131, Romania
For our second evening meal, we tried another traditional Romanian restaurant called Vatra. Like Caru’ cu Bere, the interiors were very traditional and in the style of old-Romania which was very cool.
We both ordered schnitzels and shared a side of chips and veg. For all that this meal was, it was delicious. These were the best chips we’ve had in a restaurant in a very long time and even the roasted veg was amazing. Highly recommend!
5. The Mango Tree (at Therme Spa)
Calea Bucureşti 1K, 077015, Romania
The final place that we dined in Bucharest was at Therme Spa (more on this in a second) as we spent the evening here from 6pm onwards.
The Mango Tree was inside the spa and robes were provided so you could sit down and eat. It was an Asian-style restaurant and we had some noodles and a stirfry. The portions here were huge and the food very tasty. If you’re visiting Therme Spa, I’d definitely recommend eating here.
8 things to see and do in Bucharest
Again, this will be a short overview as I’ll be writing a separate blog post in more detail, but see a list below of things to see and do in Bucharest, Romania:
- Carturesti Carusel Bookstore (one of the prettiest bookstores I’ve ever seen)
- Therme Spa (the largest thermal spa in Europe – check out my viral Instagram Reel here)
- Umbrella Alley (Pasajul Victoriaget)
- Palace of Parliament (the second-largest administrative building in the world after The Pentagon)
- Arcul de Triumf (Bucharest’s own version of the Arc de Triomph)
- Cismigiu Gardens (this was the park by our hotel and made for a really nice morning walk)
- Pop into some churches (the paintings cover the ceilings and walls and are stunning)
- Obor Market (you’ll need to take the metro, but something to see and you’ll find the best mici here!)
Therme Spa, Bucharest
I had to write a small paragraph dedicated to Therme Spa as we spent a whole evening here on our final night in Bucharest.
It’s the largest thermal spa in all of Europe, with sister locations dotted around other European cities including Milan. A very relaxing evening with a very large adult-only heated pool with jacuzzis, a swim-up bar serving cocktails and a swing door inside the pool that leads you to an outdoor pool.
The spa also offers many saunas of varying temperatures with different benefits, a sauna with a cinema and salt baths, UV light chairs, steam rooms and more. You could easily spend all day in here.
Top tips for Bucharest
The local currency of Bucharest is the Romania leu, which as of the 9th of April 2024, £1 GBP will get you 5.79 RON.
We were able to pay by card/contactless everywhere except for Terasa Obor where we had the mici sausage as they accepted cash only. There were ATMs inside the market next door.
Public transport in Bucharest was incredibly easy and we took buses and the metro almost everywhere that wasn’t walkable. Bus journeys cost 52p and the metro the same. If changing onto another bus, this didn’t cost any extra. We tapped onto both using Apple Pay.
How much we spent in Bucharest, Romania
For three nights stay, our hotel cost £90.96
Our flights to Bucharest (one way with luggage) cost us £89.66
We spent £199.42 on food, drinks and coffees (includes food at airport and shop snacks)
We spent £4.16 on transport (buses and trains)
Therme Spa cost us £35.80 for three hours
In total, for three nights/four days in Bucharest, we spent £420, around £55 each per day including accommodation and flights.
Hopefully you found this guide for Bucharest, Romania useful! I’ll have a YouTube vlog coming soon, as well as additional blog posts and a full PDF guide.
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