Travel Flying to Romania
The best time to book your flight is about 3-4 months in advance of travel. Contrary to popular belief, buying international tickets too long in advance may not get you the best deals. Check out this link that gives you detailed information about the best time to book your flight and other good tips.
1 US Dollar = 4.6 RON (LEU). Your US dollars will go a long way in Romania. We recommend you bring some cash to Romania when traveling from the US, however you will find better exchange rates in Romania. Our recommendation is to bring a few hundred US dollars in cash because you will be able to change them to RON for cheaper in Romania as opposed to exchanging them in the USA. It is best to have the ability to cash out more cash when/if needed but not necessarily to walk around with a bunch of cash on you. You should also bring a few credit cards, VISA and/or MasterCard only.
We use a variety of websites to book our flights the cheapest way possible. If cheap flights are important for you as well, here are some of the websites we use most to find the best deals:
- https://skiplagged.com
- https://skyscanner.com
- https://cleverlayover.com
- https://nextvacay.com
- https://google.com/flights
Tip 1: We do recommend using Google Flights to check the dates when the flights are the most affordable so you have an idea what days to book your flights for. Example: Wednesday flights are cheaper than Fridays.
Tip 2: Round Trip flights are cheaper.
Tip 3: Ignore all of the above if “cheap” is not on the list of priorities 🙂
There are several ways to get to Timisoara, Romania with just one stop. We recommend flying from a major airport into any of the following cities to connect to Timisoara:
- Paris
- London
- Rome
- Berlin
- Frankfurt
- Munich
Tip 1: Usually flights to Paris and London are the cheapest paths to get to Europe from the US regardless of what city you are flying from, but not the most convenient to get to Timisoara.
Example: Los Angeles to London is $452 Round Trip from July 15th to July 22nd
If you choose cheap flights once you are in London or Paris etc. you will have to switch to Inter-European flights and you will have to claim your checked in bags and check-in again with the European company.
Example: You landed in London Heathrow International (Intercontinental) Airport from the USA. Timisoara is 2 hr 30 min away. You will need to take a shuttle to a different airport, London Luton Airport. The shuttle is located in the airport and it will take you right to Luton Airport. Once at the London Luton airport (the airport is fairly small) the flight to Timisoara is about 2h 30min. The flight typically costs about $150-$250 round trip.
Tip 2: If convenience is what you are looking for we recommend flying with Lufthansa straight to Timisoara via Munich or Frankfurt(this is the route we will take). Although more expensive there will be no switching in between airports, claiming your bags and re-checking in, Lufthansa will take your straight to Timisoara via Frankfurt or Munich and you will pick up your checked in bags in Timisoara.
Things to keep in mind:
- In order to get the best deals you will need to buy two round trip tickets. For an example one ticket for flying Denver to London (9 hr) and another from London to Timisoara (2 hr 30 min)
- For the flights from US to the major European cities like London or Paris, we normally use Google Flights to find the best days to fly and then get the best ticket price via the previously mentioned sites like skiplagged.com, skyscanner.com, and cleverlayover.com.
- For the flights from European cities like London or Paris to Timisoara, Romania we typically use wizzair.com.
- WizzAir is a low-cost airline company that charges $$ (more than necessary) for baggage, seats and check-in at the airport. Please make sure you check their rules carefully, they can be pretty tricky. The best deal is to get your bags and seats in advance and check in online, otherwise they will make you pay for check-in. They also only allow only one single personal item for free, make sure you check the dimensions.
- Shuttles from Heathrow Airport to Luton London can be booked here.
- Shuttle from Paris Charles De Gaulle Intercontinental Airport to Paris Beauvais Intra-European Airport are here.
Ideally we recommend arriving in Timisoara about two days in advance.
Example: If you leave Denver on Thursday July 27th, you will arrive in Timisoara the next day Friday, July 28th. You will lose a day going into Europe but gain a day going back.
If you decide to stay at the Villa Trevi (the resort where the wedding is taking place, our recommended hotel choice) either a free shuttle will pick you up and drop you off at the airport or we will. Uber, taxi, public transportation or rental cars are all available options, however our recommendations are that you stick to Uber or public transportation if you are tired of walking :). Below are some details in regards to each option:
- Best option: Uber, easy to use, safe and pretty cheap. Around $15-$25 per trip. Check out the Uber estimator link for more details.
- Economical option: Public transportation. Slow but safe, cheap but not the most clean would be the best way to describe the public transportation in Romania. Please check out this link for more details.
- Least preferred option 1: Taxis. Although pretty safe as well, taxi drivers don’t really make a lot of money in Romania and they take advantage of their customer’s ignorance to drive them around unnecessarily just to get the extra cash. We would personally not recommend getting a cab, unless you know the Romanian language, otherwise you will deal with drivers trying to hustle you for extra $$$
- Least preferred option 2: Car rental. First thing to keep in mind is that most cars in Romania are manual as opposed to automatic cars, however there are automatic cars available for rental, except they are not the norm, they are the exception so you will pay extra $$ for an automatic car. While car renting is the most convenient option, we do not recommend renting a car for several reasons: the Romanian drivers are pretty aggressive and the roads are not necessarily the best. Another reason for not renting a car is that there is absolutely no tolerance to having alcohol in your blood, so no drinks for you the day that you will drive your rental car (you are on vacation, who likes that?!). Ideally you should get an International Driving Permit if you choose this option but you may get away without one. Last but not least, if you get pulled over and they know you don’t speak the language, we wish you good luck :). For more info in regards to renting a car in Romania please check out this link.
Oh yeah! There is a nine hour difference between MST time and EETZ(Eastern European Time Zone). Try to stay awake on the plane to sleep at night when you arrive to help recover from the jetlag faster; it can take a couple days to adjust with the new time zone.
Example: If it is 10pm MST Thursday in Denver it will be 7am EET Friday in Timisoara and 5am BST (British Summer Time) in London.
You will need a valid active passport. If you have never traveled outside the USA, here is the info on how to get a passport.
Since Romania is part of the European Union, you will NOT need a VISA to travel to Romania. Just grab your valid US passport and you should be set. If you don’t have a US passport but you have one from another country, please check this link to see if you need a VISA or not.
There are no current COVID restrictions in Romania.
Hotels Staying in Romania
You can book the hotel at anytime, however it is ideal that you book your hotel after you have booked your flights.
For the guests that have already confirmed they are staying at Villa Trevi, we have already reserved and confirmed the rooms. There are many more great accommodations in the area for additional guests. We will have a free shuttle for the ceremony and reception to transport you.
PS: If you need any help with booking a hotel do not hesitate to hit us up. We are always happy to help!
- Pack light clothes, light rain coat (just in case), comfortable shoes, flip flops etc
- Hiking shoes, fleece, comfortable hiking pants (If your are interested to see more of Romania; Dracula’s Castle, The Carpathian Mountains etc.)
- Swimsuit and sun screen
- Outlet converter/power adapter
- Summer hat and sun glasses
July through August is the best time to visit Romania. It’s at its warmest, making it prime time to travel.
Pack light clothes and pack comfortable shoes because Timisoara is all about enjoying the city while walking. Just like any other European city, we love our walks! With a temperate-continental climate the weather average in July/August in Timisoara is about 85° F. Very rarely do we have rain this time of summer but maybe a light rain coat won’t hurt. One more thing, the weather is a bit humid in the summer, keep clothing breathability in mind.
For more info in regards to the weather in Romania check out this link.
Witness Our Union Religious Ceremony
The Wedding Religious Ceremony will be held at the Timișoara Orthodox Cathedral. Perhaps the most iconic sight in all of Timisoara. It’s massive height and size makes the Cathedral viewable from neighborhoods situated at far distances throughout the city. Read more about the interesting history behind this iconic cathedral here.
The Wedding Religious Ceremony will begin at 4pm on Sunday, July 30th, 2023. The ceremony will be around an hour long. Please arrive a little early and be prepared to stand for the duration of the ceremony.
The attire will be formal.
Example Men: suit and tie
Example Women: formal dress; fascinators for religious ceremony optional
Celebrate with Us Reception
The Wedding Reception will be held at Villa Trevi Resort & Spa in Timisoara, Romania.
Address:
Nr. 203, Bazoșu Nou, 307351, Jud. Timiș, România
Phone: +40 757 017 075
E-mail:Â office@villatrevi.ro
The Wedding Reception will start at 6PM on Sunday, July 30th, 2023. There will be a session of photos after the religious ceremony and before the reception. Romanian wedding receptions last about 10-12 hours so be prepared to dance and have a good time but also have a comfortable pair of shoes handy. At midnight Romanians are just getting started 🙂 We expect the band and the DJ to play until 5am, so expect a lot of music and dancing your legs off.
The attire will be formal.
Example Men: suit and tie
Example Women: formal dress
If you are vegetarian or you don’t consume a specific meat, have gluten allergies, other dietary restrictions or simply do not drink alcohol, please just let us know at least 2-3 weeks before the wedding reception so we can make the proper arrangements with the chef.
Timisoara Visiting the City
We love Timisoara for many reasons. Here is a link to get some ideas of what to do while visiting.
Here are some nice places to eat in Timisoara:
Enjoy! Pofta buna!
To give you an idea what to expect when visiting Timisoara, here is a link to prices that you will have to pay for food, taxi, groceries, and more.
You can find a brief summary of Timisoara’s history here.
Romania Visiting the Country
Interested in seeing more of Romania? Glad you asked! We figured that if you are coming all the way to Romania for our wedding, we must be special to you 😛 Therefore, Cory and I decided to take a vacation around Romania right after our wedding day and we would love if you can join us to see a bit more of Dracula’s country. Nope, that is not our honeymoon but it will definitely be fun!
Our plan is to take a six day tour with those interested around Romania by leaving Timisoara on August 1st, the day after recovering from the wedding! We are also planning on at least one day at the Untold music festival. During this time we are planning to visit some popular spots in Romania you’ll enjoy seeing.
Please let us know asap if you would like to join, so we can get an accurate shuttle quote for all of us, as well as secure enough hotel rooms.
Our current itinerary is below with links for more info on each location:
- 08/01 Timisoara & departure
- 08/01 Corvin Castle
- 08/02 Sibiu
- 08/02 Salina Turda
- 08/03 Cluj
- 08/04 Untold Festival (Cluj)
- 08/04 Sighișoara
- 08/05 Dracula’s Castle & Peles Castle
- 08/06 Brasov & drive back to Timisoara
- 08/07 Timisoara Flight back to the USA or join us somewhere else in Europe to extend your trip!
Let us know if you have any questions!
Corvin Castle
Peles Castle
Salina Turda Salt Mine
Cluj
Untold Festival
Sighisoara
Dracula’s Castle (Bran Castle)
Sibiu
You can find a brief summary of Romania’s history here.