Transylvanian Trek Overview
- 3 Countries: Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. Optional side trips to Serbia, Poland, and Ukraine.
- Ride the famous Transfăgărăşan and Romania's highest pass, the Transalpina
- Discover great roads Carpathian mountains.
- Take a step back in time.
Tour Romania with the Beachs
Transylvania—a place that brings to mind mystery, folklore, legends, and of course, Dracula. It is also the location of the Transfăgărăşan, the pass described as “the most amazing road we have ever seen” by the guys on the TV Series Top Gear.
The cabal—to get to, and ride the Transfăgărăşan. The method—a motorcycle ride to discover all that is good between Budapest, Hungary, and Brașov, Romania. The association—motorcyclists with a keen sense of adventure and curiosity.
This itinerary explores places hidden from Western eyes for decades on its way through Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and a tiny sliver of Poland. A ride across the border into Ukraine, and another side trip to Serbia are possible.
Riders will find countries rich in local folklore, with magnificent cultural and historical heritage. September is a favorite time to travel through these mountains as a brilliant pallet of fall color fills the horizon.
Buda and Pest, on the Blue Danube
Appropriate decadence might be the term for hopping off an international flight and slipping into a thermal bath upon your arrival in Budapest. It certainly would be appropriate, as travelers have been taking the waters here since Roman times. What better way to relax after a few hours in the air?
Suburban Buda and its historic castle district offer medieval streets and houses, museums, caves and Roman ruins. The dynamic Pest side boasts the largest parliament building in Europe and riverside promenades, flea markets, bookstores, antique stores and café houses. This is a big city—the largest in Hungary. The historical sections are not so big as to be overwhelming. In fact, they are sized perfectly for a day's exploration.
A Folk Group Performing In Budapest
Monday is a day to ride, and to discover the Hungarian countryside. In less than 20 miles we are riding in pastoral farmland, enjoying easy roads and becoming familiar with our motorcycles.
Pass through villages that have seen a stream of armies over the centuries. In addition to the Turks, the Tartars, Habsburgs, and Russians have all invaded and occupied Hungary. The national anthem describes the Hungarians as "people torn by fate.” They have persevered, and exist today while the "conquers" have faded or disappeared.
To The Mountains!
Moving away from Budapest it doesn't take long before we cross into another country. Slovakia, half of the former Czechoslovakia, sits like a beacon on the northern horizon. Having emerged from its frumpy, communist-era cocoon and joined the EU, this little known area awaits discovery.
The High Tatras are the reason we head this way. This magnificent area has been designated a National Park—in two countries! Containing the highest peaks in Slovakia, Poland, and the entire Carpathian mountain chain, the Tatras offer the best motorcycle roads of either country.
Slovenia's Tatra Mountains, our playground for a short time
Košice, the last stop in Slovakia, has one of Europe's most special historic districts. This was the first settlement in Europe to be granted its own coat-of-arms. In town locals predominate, and carry on as if the downtown is simply where they live, vs. the idyllic setting that it actually is. It is rewarding to spend time wandering among the grand buildings and parks of the city center, with Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Art Nouveau architecture vying for attention.
The routes to Košice allow plenty of options. If the natural beauty of the Tatras have captured you, take a morning walk around the lake. Enjoy a lake-side lunch and take the short route to Košice. You will easily arrive in time to relax a bit before dinner. Have a hankering to putter about Košice in the afternoon? Take that same short route, and arrive with plenty of time to discover the city. Or enjoy one of the longer rides around the Tatras, maybe take a side trip into Poland for lunch, and then carry on to the night's accommodation. On a tour with the Rob & Gretchen you may do it your way!
Across the Plain
Contrasts! From the mountains we ride across Hungary's breadbasket, the Great Plain. Wheat fields stretch as far as one can see to the west and the south. The rural roads have light traffic, and the day is one of easy riding. Best of all, it ends with our arrival in Romania!
The international borders - Hungary to Slovakia, Slovakia to Romania - are obvious. Not simply because there are still formal border stops, but because it is different on the other side.
Traffic on the road near Satu Mare, Romania
Romania and Transylvania
The next few nights are spent in Transylvania. We will visit UNESCO protected medieval cities, salt mines worked from the middle ages, and ride through villages with historical ties preceding the Romans.
Transylvania is one of the most beautiful natural regions in Europe, dotted with picturesque, medieval fortress towns and monasteries. Here you find old villages where people live exactly as they did a hundred years ago. Decades of Communism changed the cities but did little to alter the pastoral countryside.
Our overnights on the tour have been alternating between cities and rural settings. The double overnight in Colțești is rural Romania at its best.
An old wooden church in the hills near Mount Piatra Secuiului
The tranquility here may be exactly what is needed to create that "perfect" day. If more exploring is in line with your idea of a motorcycle vacation, visit the remarkable salt mines in nearby Turda, or the old section of the city of Cluj-Napoca. Or head up one of the numerous gravel tracks into the mountains and explore centuries-old traditional buildings miles from anywhere!
Colțești's parish church, in the shadow of Mount Piatra Secuiului
It is difficult to move quickly through this land. The roads don't allow it, and somehow it feels wrong. This is a slow moving place where everything operates on a different standard. It doesn't take long to get used to it, and to wonder if it is—maybe—the best pace.
Fortified Churches
From the mid 12th century Saxons occupied Transylvania, and these 'newcomers' developed a unique fortification as defense against Ottoman raids. Today the Saxon fortified churches project power and protection in secular and sacred ways. One of the finest examples of a Saxon church lies in the center of the village of Bietan, so to there we go. Not only for the impressive church, but for the authentic Transylvanian hospitality we will enjoy in the even smaller neighboring village of Copșa Mare. This is just another of those magic stops that make the Transylvania Trek so special.
The Transylvanian Alps - the high roads!
We move south to the border of the Romanian states of Transylvania and Wallachia, and ride the Transylvanian Alps, the ranges of the Southern Carpathians. It is here that we have come to play on our modern machines. The country’s highest road, the Transalpina, or “King’s Road,” is one of our targets. Another is Top Gear’s favorite, the Transfăgărăşan. Nicolae Ceaușescu, post WWII dictator of Romania, built the Transfăgărăşan Road at great cost in the early 70s. The Transalpina was rebuilt beginning in 2010. We conquer them both, one on the way to, and one on the way from, Brașov.
Take a break in Brașov
Our double overnight in Brașov gives us time to ride a variety of other great, coiling roads, to enjoy stunning landscapes, and ride through pristine old mountain forests.
This is Wallachia, the Romanian State south of Transylvania, and the countryside of Vlad the Impaler. A foe to the Saxons who established Brașov, Vlad is a hero to some Romanians, a villain to fans of Bram Stroker’s Dracula. On Mt. Tampa, within full sight of the fortified city, wooden stakes were driven through Vlad's Saxon prisoners who might take days to die an agonizing death. That is but one gruesome side of the city's history.
Today the old part of town is a delight. The pedestrian area around one of the largest Gothic houses of worship in the world, the Black Church, is the perfect place to kick back and people-watch. Once again most of those around you are locals. Romania isn't overrun by tourists, which makes our extended visit seem even more like a discovery.
Wrapping it up - back to Budapest
Over the next three days our general direction is west, on the return leg to Budapest. That requires crossing the Hungarian Plain once again, so the mission of the route planner is to maximize the good riding as long as possible. We are happy to report that mission accomplished!
Departing Brașov those who want a longer ride could traverse the Transfăgărăşan in the opposite direction. Those who prefer a shorter day will enjoy miles of fun roads between Brașov and Sibiu, a Romanian city nothing short of a jewel. After a walk about town it is time to get back on the bikes and cross the mountains once more to our destination, the spa town of Baile Gore.
From Baile Gore the recommended ride is, of course, the twisties of the Transalpina. This day of great contrast (that seems to be the theme for this entire adventure, doesn't it?) begins high in the Transylvanian Alps and ends at the Romanian / Serbian border near the Danube Gorge, known as the "Iron Gate." Sitting on the river's edge watching huge river barges simply disappearing into this impressive gorge is quite an experience.
Magnificiant scenery on the Romania's Transalpina.
Timișoara
Our last day in Transylvania is spent on quiet back roads through tiny villages. Often it seems that we have the area to ourselves. Following a day of great rides through one of Romania's National Parks, we ease back into "modern" civilization with our overnight in Timișoara, the 2021 European Capital of Culture. It was here, in 1989, that the Romanian Revolution began. 3 days later the revolutionaries declared it the first city free of Communism in Romania. Affectionately known as "Little Vienna," Timișoara's city center is a treat for the eyes. Colorful buildings on every side of the many town squares will leave you with great memories of this, our last Romanian city.
Heading to work in Wallacia.
The very last day on the road crosses the Hungarian Plain and ends where this adventure began. The riding is easy, the roads are rather straight, and there is time to review the last two weeks, time to sort out the contrasts, to memorize the high points, and to absorb the cultural discoveries.
Join us and ride the Carpathian Mountains as they curl across Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Ride a little harder and add another 3 additional countries to your "been there" list. Experience traditional hospitality, discover beautiful countryside and explore historic towns. It's all a part of Beach's Transylvanian Trek.