Bulgaria and Romania travel tips.

[Minnie]

Hi all , we are currently in Greece and are going to drive back through Bulgaria to visit our son for a couple of days who is in Sofia , then drive on through Romania. We realise we can’t stop in Hungary , but can anyone advise on routes and places to stop en route through these countries. ?
Heard a few horror stories about staying in certain places.
we have never driven that way before , we came via Italy
Any advice would be appreciated

 

[suavecarve]

Someone just joined from Bulgaria.

If anyone can remember the name might be worth tagging.

Have search for "sofia" within the last 3 weeks

 

[Decaf]

Great little site in a village setting, nearby shop. Very helpful owner, but be careful with his home brew Pilinka.

Camping Turul - Remetea 8, 417410. Remetea. Ro. Tel +40744296308. www.campingturul.ro
It's on the ACSI app but not in the book. Not open during winter.

 

[Minnie]

Someone just joined from Bulgaria.

If anyone can remember the name might be worth tagging.

Have search for "sofia" within the last 3 weeks

Someone just joined from Bulgaria.

If anyone can remember the name might be worth tagging.

Have search for "sofia" within the last 3 weeks

thanks. I’ve just searched£ Sofia and only come up with a car park scam some poor people suffered in Bulgaria

 

[Minnie]

Great little site in a village setting, nearby shop. Very helpful owner, but be careful with his home brew Pilinka.

Camping Turul - Remetea 8, 417410. Remetea. Ro. Tel +40744296308. www.campingturul.ro
It's on the ACSI app but not in the book. Not open during winter.

Thanks I will look at that now
Didn’t know there were any acsi sites there !

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[suavecarve]

Sapper0144
Heres your fella !

 

[Minnie]

Sapper0144
Heres your fella !

Cheers !!! Sent him
A message

 

[Riverbankannie]

There was alse a couple stuck in Romania and they detailed their travels home - I’ll have a search.

 

[Minnie]

There was alse a couple stuck in Romania and they detailed their travels home - I’ll have a search.

Oh I saw that. Yes they were stuck a while i think.
They were going to Athens but never made it. X

 

[Riverbankannie]

Found it,

Athens via the Balkans & Back in 99Days

T'n'D Well we, Terry (she who thinks she should be obeyed) 'n' Dennis (who Terry would say never obeys) are almost ready to undertake our trip we are both nervous and excited at the prospect, any tips and tricks would be appreciated. We no longer consider ourselves newbies, (but still novices...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Dennisad

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[Minnie]

Found it,

Athens via the Balkans & Back in 99Days

T'n'D Well we, Terry (she who thinks she should be obeyed) 'n' Dennis (who Terry would say never obeys) are almost ready to undertake our trip we are both nervous and excited at the prospect, any tips and tricks would be appreciated. We no longer consider ourselves newbies, (but still novices...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

Dennisad

Thanks so much !!

 

[Minnie]

Cheers !!! Sent him
A message

Been in touch with him thanks , he has been very helpful !

 

[SMB]

We stopped at this place for a couple of nights just on the outskirts of Sofia, secure location and very helpful staff who organised taxis for us. Screenshot is taken from p4n app:

 

[bobnick]

Don't know camp sites as when we were there we were hoteling. Bulgaria.
2 Places that are very much worth having a look at, 1. Bansko. 2. Plodiv. Thinking there must be sites around.
My eldest son who lives in Dubai is married to a Bulgarian girl so we have been many times.

 

[SMB]

After leaving Sofia we stayed at Camping Veliko Tarnovo which was excellent and the town itself has a fortress and is very nice. We didn't spend too much time in other places on the way back from Greece as we were behind schedule but Camping Turul in Romania was very good as well. Poland is an interesting place if you are considering travelling back that way, pm me if you need any more info

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[Minnie]

We stopped at this place for a couple of nights just on the outskirts of Sofia, secure location and very helpful staff who organised taxis for us. Screenshot is taken from p4n app:

That’s really helpful Thankyou will look at that.
we were just concerned about leaving the van while we go off for the day. Thanks for the other info as well. We hope to enter Bulgaria in the next 7 days or so

 

[Minnie]

Don't know camp sites as when we were there we were hoteling. Bulgaria.
2 Places that are very much worth having a look at, 1. Bansko. 2. Plodiv. Thinking there must be sites around.
My eldest son who lives in Dubai is married to a Bulgarian girl so we have been many times.

thanks. My son said Plovdiv is lovely. Not sure yet how long we will have , but thanks for the info.

 

[Mike4727]

Hi Minnie, you will enjoy your transit thru Bulgaria, I have lived here for 15 years on the Black Sea coast near Varna and travelled most of the country by now ! The scenery is spectacular in places, the people are friendly and helpful and the cost of living much lower than western Europe. Plenty of campsites of all levels and wild camping no problems ( with normal considerations ) I doubt if you will be visiting this side of Bulgaria but if you need any help with anything here just contact me anyway, happy travels.

 

[Gaston aires]

We were going to Romania, but decided to remain ere.

 

[Minnie]

Hi Minnie, you will enjoy your transit thru Bulgaria, I have lived here for 15 years on the Black Sea coast near Varna and travelled most of the country by now ! The scenery is spectacular in places, the people are friendly and helpful and the cost of living much lower than western Europe. Plenty of campsites of all levels and wild camping no problems ( with normal considerations ) I doubt if you will be visiting this side of Bulgaria but if you need any help with anything here just contact me anyway, happy travels.

Thanks so much for that Mike. we will be entering Bulgaria in the next 7 days.
we have found a place to park up near Sofia then Will be heading north to Romania.
we would love to visit Varna area but not enough time on this occasion unfortunately.
Aftter Sophia we aim to stay around vidin just Before the border. I’ll let you know if we have any questions. Thsnks again Nicola

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[Dennisad]

Hi Minnie
Just seen thread, to be honest as we were stranded near Sibiu not sure if we can be much help, do you have a rough route through Romania.
I see someone has mentioned Veliko Tarnovo, had we made Bulgaria it was on the list.
I keep a log of where we have been and what we thought about it.
If you need anything just ask.
Cheers DnT

 

[Minnie]

Hi thanks for replying. I followed your trip with a great deal of Interest and was so glad you got home safely.
we actuallyhave just entered Romania via viiden we are currently heading north towards Timisoara. We thought we would stay near this area overnight and then try and do Hungary and Austria in one go.
which route would you recomend through hungry into Austria. Is it better to enter through Arad ? Also do you know anywhere to stop before Hungary so we can set off early in the morning ? Regards Nicola

 

[Dennisad]

Hi Nicola/Minnie
Hope this reaches you in time to help.
We crossed the border from Romania at Vama Nadlac border point on E68 and into Hungary at the border location known as at Nagylak 1.

The night before we stayed at Park4Night place - Free Parking at Lake Ghioroc Beach, Toilets/Showers 317135 Ghioroc, Co-ords 46.149091,21.580390 Beautiful Place, all restaurants were closed at the time (Covid) but toilets open, not sure about showers.

Plenty of places to eat if they are open, large car parking area easily able to park for the night, no services. Car Park was a bit noisy late night until about 1am, as we parked close to beach. But you can park a good distance away where I would think it wouldn't be quiet so noisy.

It took about an hour to reach the border from Ghioroc Beach. The other place we considered was on Searchfor sites (recommended by our host in Saliste), a camp site only a couple of miles further away from border called Route Roemenie, 46.133639, 21.59837, Miniș, Comuna Ghioroc, Județul Arad, Romania, 317137 Showers, elec, - Site was closed.

We had to Transit through Hungary, only allowed to drive on Motorways and stop at services, we stayed overnight Moson Mol Petrol services a few miles from Austrian Border. Left Mosom Mol Service Station the next day and transitted through Austria to Munich, German. Stopped Studentensstadt ParknRide just outside Munich, Metro 1 min walk. Don't have co-ords for ParknRide. Great to visit Munich. Ghioroc Beach to Mosom Mol Service 289 miles, Mosom to Studentensstadt 350 miles.

Hope this helps and gets to you in time safe journey.

DnT

 

[KiwiKampers]

Romania was my favourite country to tour when we went around Eastern Europe about 7 years ago. Some of the municipal camping grounds were rather primitive and not particularly clean back then, but fortunately wild camping was easy. The best camping grounds were run by Dutch families and were generally in smaller towns. I believe they were set-up by Dutch missionaries who originally went into Romania after the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu and helped to improve the appalling orphanages.
I recommend a visit to the Merry Cemetery in the village of Săpânța, in Maramureş county. Every headstone had a story about the deceased buried beneath it. Take your camera.
Be prepared to have your van shaken into submission by the pot-holed roads and don't offer to give a lift to the very nice ladies with very short skirts.

 

[Minnie]

We stopped at this place for a couple of nights just on the outskirts of Sofia, secure location and very helpful staff who organised taxis for us. Screenshot is taken from p4n app:

We stayed there !! As you said perfect for visiting Sofia. Thanks for the recommendation. X

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[Minnie]

Romania was my favourite country to tour when we went around Eastern Europe about 7 years ago. Some of the municipal camping grounds were rather primitive and not particularly clean back then, but fortunately wild camping was easy. The best camping grounds were run by Dutch families and were generally in smaller towns. I believe they were set-up by Dutch missionaries who originally went into Romania after the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu and helped to improve the appalling orphanages.
I recommend a visit to the Merry Cemetery in the village of Săpânța, in Maramureş county. Every headstone had a story about the deceased buried beneath it. Take your camera.
Be prepared to have your van shaken into submission by the pot-holed roads and don't offer to give a lift to the very nice ladies with very short skirts.

ha ha ha. We have spotted those ladies !!! Didn’t know what they were doing at first . I think on balance the Romanian roads are way better than the Bulgarian. They were a nightmare. We met by chance a Romanian guy who owns a motorhome rental business when we were staying in Olympia.
he very kindly linked us up with the Romanian equivalent of Motorhome fun and gave us plenty of routes to drive with stops.
unfortunately we are having to cut short our tour for now but we will certainly be back as soon as possible to explore what looks like amazing country.We want to drive on the famous road through the mountains he said it’s fine for motorhomes !
Thanks for the info !

 

[Minnie]

Hi Nicola/Minnie
Hope this reaches you in time to help.
We crossed the border from Romania at Vama Nadlac border point on E68 and into Hungary at the border location known as at Nagylak 1.

The night before we stayed at Park4Night place - Free Parking at Lake Ghioroc Beach, Toilets/Showers 317135 Ghioroc, Co-ords 46.149091,21.580390 Beautiful Place, all restaurants were closed at the time (Covid) but toilets open, not sure about showers.

Plenty of places to eat if they are open, large car parking area easily able to park for the night, no services. Car Park was a bit noisy late night until about 1am, as we parked close to beach. But you can park a good distance away where I would think it wouldn't be quiet so noisy.

View attachment 427452

It took about an hour to reach the border from Ghioroc Beach. The other place we considered was on Searchfor sites (recommended by our host in Saliste), a camp site only a couple of miles further away from border called Route Roemenie, 46.133639, 21.59837, Miniș, Comuna Ghioroc, Județul Arad, Romania, 317137 Showers, elec, - Site was closed.

We had to Transit through Hungary, only allowed to drive on Motorways and stop at services, we stayed overnight Moson Mol Petrol services a few miles from Austrian Border. Left Mosom Mol Service Station the next day and transitted through Austria to Munich, German. Stopped Studentensstadt ParknRide just outside Munich, Metro 1 min walk. Don't have co-ords for ParknRide. Great to visit Munich. Ghioroc Beach to Mosom Mol Service 289 miles, Mosom to Studentensstadt 350 miles.

Hope this helps and gets to you in time safe journey.

DnT

Thanks so much for that info.
we stayed the night at a lovely nature park near Arad. We are now on the A1 heading towards the border. We will follow your routes. Thankyou x

 

[KiwiKampers]

ha ha ha. We have spotted those ladies !!! Didn’t know what they were doing at first . I think on balance the Romanian roads are way better than the Bulgarian. They were a nightmare. We met by chance a Romanian guy who owns a motorhome rental business when we were staying in Olympia.
he very kindly linked us up with the Romanian equivalent of Motorhome fun and gave us plenty of routes to drive with stops.
unfortunately we are having to cut short our tour for now but we will certainly be back as soon as possible to explore what looks like amazing country.We want to drive on the famous road through the mountains he said it’s fine for motorhomes !
Thanks for the info !

The "famous road through the mountains" is a must do! It's called the Transfăgărășan (aka DN7C and the Transylvanian Alps). Jeremy Clarkson called it the best road in the world. It is stunning. Perfectly navigable in a motorhome but it will take you a while because of all the hairpin bends. Plenty of wild camping spots but make sure you have an empty toilet cassette and grey waste tank. Our journey through the pass coincided with a major public holiday in Romania and there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people pitching tiny tents along the route. Absolutely no facilities so I suspect the mountain streams were contaminated with giardia (sp). We were the only motorhome for miles and we felt very conspicuous camped alongside the tents but no one gave us any grief. In fact, they invited us to sit with them beside their camp fires even though we couldn't understand a word they said.
Thank you for bringing back such happy memories.

 

[Minnie]

The "famous road through the mountains" is a must do! It's called the Transfăgărășan (aka DN7C and the Transylvanian Alps). Jeremy Clarkson called it the best road in the world. It is stunning. Perfectly navigable in a motorhome but it will take you a while because of all the hairpin bends. Plenty of wild camping spots but make sure you have an empty toilet cassette and grey waste tank. Our journey through the pass coincided with a major public holiday in Romania and there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people pitching tiny tents along the route. Absolutely no facilities so I suspect the mountain streams were contaminated with giardia (sp). We were the only motorhome for miles and we felt very conspicuous camped alongside the tents but no one gave us any grief. In fact, they invited us to sit with them beside their camp fires even though we couldn't understand a word they said.
Thank you for bringing back such happy memories.

Well that’s the one we had planned ! He said it was brilliant , so sad we couldn’t do it this time due to family commitment We are definitely going to go back ASAP possibly not in the winter though

 

[KiwiKampers]

If you go in the winter I think you might need snow chains! Also thermals!

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