Next you continue east toward Corvin Castle, with one of the trip’s more unexpected sights along the way: sand dunes sitting some 500 miles from the sea. The following overnight stop sets you up perfectly for Romania’s mountain masterpieces, starting with the Transalpina (AKA the “Devil’s Path”), the country’s highest road. The next day is all big views and high passes across the Transylvanian Alps, where wildlife is part of the landscape — Romania is home to around a third of the wild bears and wolves in continental Europe. Not long after, you take on the unforgettable Transfăgărășan Highway, a standout highlight of the entire ride and a road once hailed by Jeremy Clarkson as “one of the best roads in the world… like all of the bends of all of the racetracks in the world joined together”, as you make your way to Brașov for two nights.
Brașov gives you a chance to slow the pace in a medieval town tucked into the Carpathian Mountains, famous for its Saxon walls and ancient Gothic church. Spend the day exploring on foot, or stay in the saddle with an extra loop out to the mud volcanoes in Berca or the bear sanctuary a short distance from your hotel. When it’s time to move on, you ride north to the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler (the real-life inspiration for Dracula) and have the option to visit a working salt mine, before crossing the Transylvanian mountains to Cluj-Napoca - a vibrant city with around 2,000 years of history, and your final night in Romania.
