Don’t sleep on Romania
If you are looking to fill your passport with more stamps and want to stretch your US dollar, or whatever currency you use to book your airfare, then listen up.
I had planned a trip on points (30,000 points + $175 in taxes, on Airfrance in September 2022) for the end of August 2023. The original plan was to fly to Athens, Greece via Paris France.
The plan was to enjoy Greece for nearly two weeks, but two to three months prior I decided to stretch my hotel stays and points and fly to Romania.
You may be asking, why in the world, would I leave a perfectly beautiful country, with beautiful beaches, history that makes your mouth water and beautiful, friendly people to head to a country that once was communist and poor?
The great question here is why not? I started doing research for hotels on points.
I was able to secure a five star hotel for 5 days and four nights with IHG properties in the heart of the city center of Bucharest.
If you know anything about planning trips abroad, and are lucky enough to have learned the travel points game you know what I am talking about. If you don’t know what all this means, then let’s connect as traveling as a wannabe billionaire on a budget is now a thing and can be learned with discipline and money management.
Flying to Athens I certainly had to make the best of the time I would be in Greece and that is exactly what I did prior to my adventure to a new country I didn’t know much about. I wanted the ease of a beach destination without having to spend hours on a ferry or hop another flight. This is where I decided to choose Poros.
I did some research about Poros and as a result of some digging I found that Poros would be a convenient and less costly choice then other islands such as Mykonos or Santorini.
The choice that I made was surely a good one as Poros didn’t disappoint and for less than the cost of an arm or a leg I was able to rent an airbnb and stay beach side. Not only did I get to stay beach side, but I also could walk downstairs to the lovely owners restaurant to order whatever I fancied. Now wouldn’t you call that convenience?
Upon returning on the ferry from Poros, Greece I made my way to the Athens airport for an afternoon flight. I hopped the flight on Aegean airways and landed in Bucharest, Romania. Upon landing I quickly learned that Uber partners with taxis so you don’t get unfair rates around the city. I was blown away to see that a 30 minute taxi/Uber ride only cost $15. In any other city using the Euro as currently this would be nearly double. I knew that evening that I made the right decision.
Upon arriving to my hotel, Intercontinental Athenee Palace I really knew I was going to live like a queen for the time in Romania. I entered the hotel to be welcomed by lovely staff and marble pillars and sparkling chandeliers. I couldn’t believe I was staying for five days in a five star hotel just for signing up for an IHG credit card. (For more information on how I hacked this hotel for free, click this link).
It was dinner hour so I asked the front desk of a nearby restauranyt and they recommended Mama which was a local establishment with Romania cuisine. This also did not disappoint and my belly was full and heart happy. Could it get any better?
Oh it sure could! The following day I learned about the International Music festival known as the George Enescu festival. I stumbled upon the national theater which was about 500 feet from my hotel and began chatting with an employee, later to find out we could not go in this mysterious popular building because of the symphony/music festival. The employee told me I could enter the building if I wanted to see a concert, so moments later I hopped online to the site and purchased a ticket for $44 USD. What? Was this really happening?
I ventured around the city for a few hours, taking in all the beautiful architecture and sights and seens, until it was show time. To my hearts content I was blown away by this symphony orchestra, that it nearly brought me to tears. I realized how lucky I was to experience such a show and at a mere cost of $44, for which in other cities would not have happened.
My travels continued to other parts of Romania outside of the city. I visited Pele castle, Transylvania, also known as the home to dracula’s castle, Brasov, a beautiful German inspired city hours north of Bucharest and so much more. I could go on and on in this blog, but I think it’s best I add a continuation on all the places I visited.
Have I convinced you to book a ticket to Romania yet, or add a new stamp to your passport?
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