Bucharest to the Castles in 6 Days on a Budget
Six days: Peles, Bran, and a proper overnight in Sighisoara
Six days over the 4-day plan buys you the trip Bran and Brasov alone can’t give: an actual overnight in Sighisoara, a genuine medieval Saxon citadel a further 3.5-4 hours past Brasov, too far for any single-day add-on. Shorter on time, the 4-day version covers just Sinaia and Bran. The full 7-day plan adds a second Brasov stay to break up the return trip. Every price below comes from the Bucharest guide .
| Day | Focus | Rough spend (2 people) |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrival, OTP transport, free Old Town walk | 150-250 RON |
| Day 2 | Sinaia: Peles and Pelisor castles, train to Brasov, overnight | 500-650 RON |
| Day 3 | Bran Castle, Brasov old town, train to Sighisoara, overnight | 450-600 RON |
| Day 4 | Full day in Sighisoara’s UNESCO citadel | 250-400 RON |
| Day 5 | Travel day back to Bucharest (direct train, roughly 6-6.5 hours) | 150-250 RON |
| Day 6 | Flex morning in Bucharest, departure | 100-200 RON |
Book these before you go:
- Peles/Pelisor timed-slot tickets : the 2,000/day cap at Peles routinely fills on summer weekends.
- Bran Castle tickets : buy online rather than risk the walk-up line in July or August.
- A Brasov guesthouse : old-town rooms near the bus station book out first.
- A Sighisoara guesthouse : a small citadel town with limited beds in peak season.
- Your Bucharest hotel : lock in the arrival and final-night rooms together.
Day 1: land in Bucharest, spend nothing but shoe leather
OTP connects to Gara de Nord by direct airport train, about 6.50 RON and 20-25 minutes past a short shuttle bus to the platform, or Express Bus 100 for roughly 3 RON to Piata Unirii. Settle into an Old Town or Gara de Nord-area room, then walk Lipscani’s cobbled streets, free, before dinner: sarmale, mici and ciorba run 60-100 RON per person at a mid-range spot. Use Bolt or Uber rather than a street taxi outside the airport, that’s the one genuine overcharging risk in the whole trip.
Day 2: two castles at Sinaia, then up to Brasov
A CFR train from Gara de Nord reaches Sinaia in roughly 2 hours, tickets around 25-50 RON one-way, booked at cfrcalatori.ro . Peles Castle costs 100 RON adult (25 RON student), Pelisor 30 RON adult (7.5 RON student), and both run a timed-slot system since June 2025 with hard daily caps, reserve your slot before you leave Bucharest if traveling in summer. Continue by train to Brasov, another 30-60 minutes, roughly 2.5-3 hours total from the capital, and check into a Brasov old-town guesthouse for the night.
Day 3: Bran Castle, Brasov’s Black Church, then east to Sighisoara
A local minibus or a short Bolt ride from Brasov’s bus station reaches Bran in under an hour. The castle costs 120 RON adult, 60 RON child (5-17), 90 RON senior, 80 RON student, hours 9:00-19:00 May-Oct. Be plain about the “Dracula’s Castle” tag: it’s 1970s marketing, Bram Stoker never visited Romania, and Vlad the Impaler’s link to Bran is thin. The castle earns its price regardless, a real 13th-century fortress with genuine royal history. Back in Brasov, walk the Black Church and Rope Street for free, then take an evening train onward to Sighisoara, a further 3.5-4 hours, checking into a citadel guesthouse late.
Day 4: a full day inside Sighisoara’s medieval walls
Sighisoara is a genuine UNESCO-listed Saxon citadel, and unlike Bran, its Vlad the Impaler connection is real and far less contested: a house inside the citadel walls is traditionally identified as his birthplace. Spend the day walking the fortified old town, the Clock Tower, and the covered stairway, all low-cost or free, then a second night in the same guesthouse before the long trip back.
Day 5: the travel day back to Bucharest
Direct trains from Sighisoara to Bucharest run roughly 6-6.5 hours, a genuine travel day rather than a sightseeing one, so treat it as a rest day with a book and a packed lunch rather than something to rush. Arrive back in the capital by evening and check into your original hotel or a new budget room near Gara de Nord.
Day 6: a flex morning, then departure
Use the morning for a last Old Town coffee or the Palace of Parliament tour if you booked it by phone at least 24 hours ahead (60 RON adult, passport required). Otherwise, head to OTP with time to spare.
Is Sighisoara worth adding two extra days for?
Yes, if the honest Vlad-the-Impaler story interests you more than Bran’s marketing version. Sighisoara’s citadel connection is genuinely documented, not invented for tourists, and the town itself is a real medieval streetscape rather than a single castle building. The tradeoff is two travel-heavy days, roughly 10 hours of train time total, so it only makes sense once you’ve already committed to six days or more.
Book the Sighisoara guesthouse before you leave Bucharest, not after you reach Brasov, it’s a small town with a genuinely limited bed count in July and August.