Bucharest to the Castles: 5 Day Itinerary
Five days keeps the 4-day route intact through Brasov and adds Sighisoara, the genuine medieval Saxon town where Vlad the Impaler was actually born, a stronger claim than anything Bran can offer. The catch is the return trip: the direct train from Sighisoara to Bucharest runs about 6 hours, which this version has to spend on your last afternoon. The 6-day itinerary fixes that by giving Sighisoara a full second day and a calmer finish.
Book these before you go
- Peles Castle timed entry slot at bilete.peles.ro before you leave Bucharest
- Brasov hotel for one night
- A Sighisoara or Brasov hotel via the same Booking.com search
- Train tickets at cfrcalatori.ro , book the Sighisoara to Bucharest leg a day or two ahead
| Day | Focus | Travel time | Daily cost (RON) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, Old Town | OTP to center, 25 to 50 minutes | 150 to 250 |
| 2 | Sinaia, Peles and Pelisor | Train, 1h25 to 1h30 each way | 250 to 350 |
| 3 | Travel to Brasov, Bran Castle | Train 2.5 to 3h, taxi 30 to 45 min | 300 to 450 |
| 4 | Brasov old town, travel to Sighisoara | Train, about 1h15 | 250 to 350 |
| 5 | Sighisoara, return journey begins | Train back to Bucharest, about 6h | 200 to 300 |
Day 1: Landing in Bucharest, not staying long
Rail shuttle from Otopeni to Gara de Nord runs about 6.50 RON. Settle into an Old Town hotel, eat mici and a beer, and go to bed early, the trains start early too.
Day 2: Sinaia, Peles and Pelisor castles
Sinaia is 1 hour 25 to 1 hour 30 by train. Peles Castle (100 RON) and Pelisor (30 RON) cover the day. Back to Bucharest for the night.
Day 3: Travel to Brasov, then Bran Castle
Train to Brasov, 2.5 to 3 hours. Check into a Brasov hotel, then taxi or bus a further 30 to 45 minutes to Bran Castle, 120 RON adult, a real fortress carrying a Dracula story invented for tourists in the 1970s. Overnight in Brasov.
Day 4: Brasov’s old town, then on to Sighisoara
Morning in Brasov: the Black Church, Council Square, and Sforii Street. Afternoon train to Sighisoara, about 1 hour 15, into a genuine UNESCO-listed medieval citadel. Check in, walk the clock tower square, and find the house traditionally identified as Vlad the Impaler’s birthplace, a documented claim that Bran cannot make. Overnight in Sighisoara.
Day 5: Sighisoara, then the long ride home
Spend the morning inside the citadel walls, the colored houses and the covered wooden stairway are worth the slow pace. By early afternoon, start the roughly 6 hour direct train back to Bucharest; there is no faster option, and this is the one day this itinerary asks you to spend mostly in transit.
Is Sighisoara worth a 6 hour train each way
Yes, for what it actually offers: a genuinely preserved Saxon citadel and a real, if still debated, claim to Vlad the Impaler’s birth house, stronger evidence than Bran’s marketing-built connection. The honest tradeoff is the train time itself. If losing a full afternoon to travel bothers you, the 6-day version turns this into an overnight stay with breathing room on both ends.
Should you rent a car instead of taking the train to Sighisoara
Only if you also want Poenari Fortress or plan to explore Saxon villages off the rail line. For Sighisoara alone, the direct train is simpler and the historic center is fully walkable once you arrive, so a car mostly adds parking logistics without saving real time.
Buy your Sighisoara to Bucharest train ticket the moment you arrive in Sighisoara, not the morning you leave, the direct services are limited to a handful a day.