Tours & Day Trips in Bucharest

Bucharest is a great base for exploring Romania. Within a few hours' drive you can be in a royal castle, a mountain village, a vineyard or on the beach. Below are the best day trips from Bucharest with our local guides, followed by our tours inside the city.

Best day trips from Bucharest

All our day trips start from your hotel in Bucharest. Drive times below are one way and can vary with traffic, especially on Friday and Sunday afternoons.

Peles Castle, Bran Castle & Brasov (2–3 hrs)

This is the classic day trip from Bucharest, and for good reason. Peles Castle in Sinaia, the summer home of Romania's first king, is the most beautiful castle in the country and only about 2 hours away. *Bran Castle*, the one sold as "Dracula's Castle", is about an hour further. The day ends in *Brasov*, with its medieval Council Square and the Black Church.

Big bus tours run this route too, but you get to each place with everyone else. Our private day trip to Peles, Bran and Brasov runs at your pace, with the real history and no Dracula clichés.

Mogosoaia Palace & Snagov Lake (30–45 min)

The closest and most relaxed escape from the city, and a weekend favourite with locals. Mogosoaia Palace is a 17th-century palace by a lake, built in the Brancovenesc style, with gardens that are lovely to walk around. Not far away, Snagov Monastery sits on a small island in Snagov Lake. Legend says it's where Vlad the Impaler, the real Dracula, is buried.

A good choice if you only have half a day, or don't want long hours in a car: Mogosoaia Palace & Snagov Lake tour.

Dealu Mare wine region (~1.5 hrs)

Romania is one of Europe's biggest wine producers, and Dealu Mare is one of its best regions. It's a stretch of hills north of Bucharest with family wineries and modern estates. You'll taste local grapes like Feteasca Neagra and Tamaioasa Romaneasca where they're grown, with views over the vineyards.

Book our premium wine tasting trip in Dealu Mare. We drive, you taste.

Bike & wine in the Bucharest countryside

If you'd rather earn your wine, this trip combines easy cycling through the countryside with a winery visit and tasting. It suits active travellers who want a day out of the city that isn't spent on a bus: bike & wine tasting trip.

Transfagarasan Highway & Poenari Castle (~3–3.5 hrs)

The Transfagarasan is the mountain road Top Gear called "the best road in the world". It climbs over the Fagaras Mountains in hairpin bends up to Balea Lake. On the way you pass *Poenari Castle*, the ruined fortress where Vlad the Impaler actually lived (1,480 steps to the top!), and *Curtea de Arges Monastery*.

The high part of the road is normally open only from 1 July to 31 October, depending on snow. It's a long day, but a spectacular one: road trip to Poenari Castle & the Transfagarasan.

7 Stairs Canyon & Cantacuzino Castle (~2.5 hrs)

Want the mountains without the castle crowds? 7 Stairs Canyon near Brasov is a narrow gorge you climb on metal ladders next to waterfalls. Add Cantacuzino Castle in Busteni, with its views over the Bucegi Mountains, and you have a day trip most visitors to Romania never hear about: 7 Stairs Canyon small group tour.

Hiking in the Bucegi Mountains (~2–2.5 hrs)

The Bucegi are the closest high mountains to Bucharest, and the plateau is home to the Romanian Sphinx and the Babele rock formations. With a cable car up and a guide who knows the trails, it's a full mountain day without needing to be an expert hiker. You can do it in 1 or 2 days: Bucegi Mountains hiking trip.

The Black Sea: Constanta & Mamaia (~2.5 hrs)

Constanta is the oldest city in Romania, built on the ancient Greek port of Tomis*, and its Art Nouveau Casino on the seafront is one of the country's most photographed buildings. Next door, *Mamaia is Romania's best-known beach resort. On the way, you'll cross the Danube on the historic Anghel Saligny Bridge.

A good one in summer, but also out of season, when the old town is quiet: day trip from Bucharest to the Black Sea.

Slanic Prahova Salt Mine (~1.5–2 hrs)

One of the biggest salt mines in Europe, with huge underground halls carved out over decades of mining. It's an easy add-on on the way to the mountains.

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria (~2.5–3 hrs)

Cross the Danube into Bulgaria to see the medieval capital of Veliko Tarnovo and its Tsarevets Fortress. Add the UNESCO rock-hewn churches of Ivanovo on the way.

Longer trips from Bucharest

Some of Romania's best places are too far for a day trip. If you have more time, these start from Bucharest too:

• Danube Delta (2 days): Europe's best-preserved river delta and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, about 4 hours from Bucharest. You need at least one night to see it properly by boat. 2-day Danube Delta & birdwatching tour

• Transylvania (3 days): a day trip to Brasov and Bran isn't really Transylvania. Three days lets you see Sighisoara, the Saxon villages and Sibiu as well. 3-day best of Transylvania tour

Guided tours in Bucharest: see the city with a local

Bucharest is a city of contrasts: Belle Epoque villas next to communist blocks, Orthodox churches hidden behind apartment buildings, hip bars in old merchant houses. It's easy to walk past the best parts without knowing they're there. Our local guides show you what's behind the facades. Pick the tour that matches what you're curious about:

• Communist history: the complete communism tour with the Palace of Parliament & Ceausescu's villa, a communist walking tour or the Museum of Communism, an apartment frozen in the 1970s.

• First time in Bucharest: the essential walking tour of the Old Town & Revolution Square.

• Architecture & hidden stories: the Little Paris tour, Untold Stories of Bucharest and the street art & architecture tour.

• Food & drink: the street food & farmers' market tour and the craft beer & nightlife tour.

• Active & outdoors: the panoramic bike tour and a walk through Vacaresti Natural Park, a wild urban delta in the middle of the city.

Looking for something different, or want to combine a few of these? All our guides are locals, so contact us and we'll put together a custom tour.