Women are beginning to realize that men are unnecessary, especially when it comes to traveling. That’s why more and more women are
choosing to explore the world alone without being bogged down by companions who can’t afford bucket-list trips or can’t take the time off to spend a month abroad.
Ladies, it’s imperative to do your research and speak to our professionals before embarking on your adventure. You should be conscious of the unique cultural situations and safety concerns inherent within each destination. No matter how smart and fit you are, one poor decision could mar a perfectly good holiday. So keep in mind these simple tips and precautions to ensure a safe and enriching journey.
Before you leave, share your itinerary with the folks back home. Let them know where you’re planning on going, even if nothing is set in stone. Set up regular check-in times, and be in touch when you get to each new location.
Pack light and try to dress like a local. A quick way to call attention is by bogging yourself down with suitcases. It’s also hard to keep track of more than one bag, increasing the chances of one growing legs and disappearing. Bring items you can easily carry and keep track of.
Since you are traveling solo, stash your cash all over. Make sure you have a few stockpiles spread throughout your bag, on you, or in your purse. Cash is universal, so having a little extra in a hidden pocket or a shoe can mean the difference between walking back to your hotel and taking a taxi at the end of the night through unfamiliar streets.
When you get to your location, don’t be afraid to talk to the locals and make friends. Find out what the area is really like, but be cautious. Don’t give out too much information about where you are staying or who you are traveling with. Use “we” when you are referring to your travel companions if you find yourself in uncomfortable conversations.
Tipping should be easy: you receive good service, so you leave a little money to show your appreciation of said service. It’s not that simple though. Tipping is not a standardized practice, and everyone has different ideas on who gets what.
Traveling outside of familiar borders only adds to the complex tipping question. Are you somehow embarrassing yourself or the staff by leaving a little extra, or are you not leaving enough? You can also use this quick reference guide below to get a good idea of what to leave for great service.
Tipping guide
Bellman/Baggage Porter: $1-2 per bag, more if extremely heavy
Bartender: $1 per drink or 15% of final bill
Concierge: $5-10 each time you receive personal assistance
Cruise (busboy): $2 per person/per day*
Cruise (cabin steward): $4 per person/per day*
Cruise (waiter): $4 per person/per day*
Doorman/Hailer of Taxis: $1
Housekeeping/Maid: $2 per day
Room Service: 15%
Shuttle/Bus Driver: $2 per person
Taxi Driver: 10-15%
Tour Guide (short tour): $2 per person for a half-day tour, $3 for full-day tour
Tour Guide (long tour): $3-8 per person per day
Valet Parking Attendant: $1-2
Waiter: 15-20%**
* Some cruise lines include gratuity in their fares. We’ll let you know when we book your cruise.
** In Europe and Asia, some restaurants automatically add a “service charge” and do not expect tips. Don’t be afraid to ask your waiter if this charge is included.
Dreaming of taking a Big Trip in 2016 but finances a bit tight? Well, take a look at the following destinations.
Magic, thrills and adventure, yes. But for the budget-conscious globe-trotter, what’s equally important is that these are places where your dollars will stretch a long, long way. As a travel writer, I’m lucky enough to have experienced all 10–but I’d love to revisit every single one as a vacationer.
Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Vietnam packs a lot into its borders. Highlights include misty Halong Bay with its fairytale seascapes of limestone outcrops and islands; the Mekong delta with its floating markets; the old Vietcong tunnels at Cu-Chi near Saigon–now officially known as Ho Chi Minh City. (Don’t worry about getting stuck: one tunnel has been specially widened for westerners.) Backpacker beds are exceptionally cheap, but decent hotels often cost less than $40. A filling bowl of pho bo beef noodle soup or six seafood spring rolls is less than a dollar. In local hangouts, Saigon Export beer costs 40 cents a bottle.
For the ultimate traffic tale to tell the folks back home, head for Hanoi’s old quarter. Any attempt to cross the road turns into a heart-racing adventure. Not only are you contending with psycho-cyclos (rickshaw bicycles), there are thousands of motorbikes and scooters whose riders regard a red traffic signal as a suggestion rather than an instruction. Best place to experience the utter chaos is from within a cyclo rickshaw.
The southernmost of the Baltic States, visitors usually couple Lithuania together with Latvia and Estonia. However, you can easily spend a week in Lithuania alone. Quirky cities like Vilnius and Kaunas are steeped in art, music and historical curiosities…mushroom-scented woods and farmers riding on haycarts…mysterious sites steeped in pagan traditions…the windswept sands of the Curonian Spit where you can beach-comb for amber.
Mid-June would be a great time to go. A national holiday in Lithuania, the old pagan festival of Rasos marks the summer solstice. It’s an all-night affair with singing, dancing, bonfire-leaping, hunting for “magic” ferns, and floating garlands down rivers. Despite some serious alcoholic partying, most people manage to stay awake to greet the sunrise. As for prices, how about $2.54 for three potato pancakes with smoked salmon and sour cream and $1 for a glass of Svyturnys beer?
From the laid-back colonial city of Granada, you can do a lot in a week in Nicaragua: tackle volcanoes…take Spanish lessons…visit Masaya craft market and also the villages where rocking chairs, hammocks, and pottery are made…explore the Selva Negra’s cloud forests and coffee plantations…chat with expats in the beach surfing town of San Juan del Sur…go to colonial Leon, where you might get to meet indigenous Indians.
Settling into a rocking chair with a cold Victoria beer is a pleasure that generally costs under $1 and spending more than $7 on a meal is difficult. The Alhambra Hotel on Granada’s main square costs a mere $30 a night.
India is beyond fascinating, beyond anything you’ll ever experience elsewhere. The easiest introduction to this teeming country is the seaside state of Goa. Baking below a tropical canopy of banana, coconut and mango trees, this drowsy world of Arabian Sea beaches, backwaters, and spice-laden breezes is stamped with more than a few reminders of Old Portugal. You’ll find sunrise yoga on the beach, full massages for $8, dolphin trips for about $6, and colorful hippie markets.
Including four beers, two people can eat in a beach shack for under $10. And if you want to cut your expenses to the bone, there’s accommodation in simple beach chalets for as little as $8 a night.
Famed for its port wine lodges (yes, they do offer free samples), Porto is Portugal’s second city. An historic Atlantic trading port, its warren of laundry-hung alleys plunges down to a waterfront of boats, nets and fish restaurants. Sheets of cod (bacalhau) hang outside grocery stores with original art nouveau tiled facades; the church of Sao Francisco has a gold leaf interior that would make King Midas salivate. Don’t miss the Bolhau food market or the Torre dos Clerigos, Portugal’s highest belfry tower. From the top, you’ll get great views over the jumbled cityscape of churches, bridges and red-roofed houses.
By EU standards, the price of dining, accommodation, and public transport throughout the region is astounding. Trains and buses are an affordable way to make exploratory day-trips along the coast and into the interior of terraced vineyards and green river valleys. Don’t miss Braga and the thousand-stepped stairway of Bom Jesus church. On holy days, some pilgrims tackle these steps on their knees.
After its split from Serbia, Montenegro is Europe’s latest holiday hot spot–and also the world’s newest independent nation. Along with three-course meals for $7 and rooms in private houses for $10, you’ll find a land of craggy mountains with a switch-backed Adriatic coastline of bays, beaches and villages of pale gray stone. The sea sparkles like blue topaz and medieval walled towns with crumbling fortresses and palaces are often emblazoned with the winged lion emblem of the Venetian Republic.
Now paint in monasteries slotted into mountain crevices and fishing villages of red-tiled roofs and deep-green shutters. Roman mosaics…olive groves…water-lilied lakes…deep canyons and the mighty Boka Kotorska, Europe’s southernmost fjord…the border town of Ulcinj with its minarets and tales of pirate slave-trading.
The Alps? There’s no denying that Switzerland is one of the most scenically gorgeous countries on earth. But unless you’re armed with an expense account, I can promise you that exploring its mountains, lakes and medieval towns will wreak havoc on your finances.
Winter or summer, neighboring Austria has just as much of the alpine wow factor…plus the city splendors of Vienna and Salzburg. And it’s a lot less expensive than you may think. For example, in the Tyrolean village of Fendels, you could rent a furnished apartment for two in a chalet next spring for as little as 175 euro ($230) per week. Surrounded by hiking trails, Fendels village makes an excellent base–the Tyrolean Oberland is close to the borders of Switzerland and Italy. (Go to the Austrian Tourist Board’s web site at http://www.tiscover.at and you’ll find plenty more self-catering accommodation at similar prices.)
A melting-pot of Malay, Chinese and Indian culture, Malaysia offers up powder white beaches and virgin rainforest teeming with wildlife; the bustling capital of Kuala Lumpur and the historic port city of Malacca; inexpensive seafood and inexpensive spa pampering; sailing, snorkeling, diving, fishing, golf and island-hopping.
With a distinct Chinese flavor, one of Malaysia’s star turns is Georgetown, capital of Penang island. You come across snake temples, arcaded shophouses and tiny workshops specializing in mahjong tiles and dice; kong-teik craftsmen who make funerary paper artifacts; fish getting dried like laundry in the open air. On the Weld Quay waterfront, around 2,000 fishing families live in rickety wooden dwellings on the Clan Quay jetties.
On the Greek island of Crete, Chania is one town that it would be criminal to miss. Crete’s former capital, its history goes back 5,000 years. In the Old Town’s skinny alleyways you’ll find icon workshops…lyres hanging in dusty musical instrument repair-shops…bursts of white jasmine cascading from archways…cats snoozing on balconies…the unlikely sights of a pencil-thin minaret above church towers and a mosque squatting on the waterfront.
Strung with garlands of colored light-bulbs, Chania’s old Venetian harbor at dusk truly is the stuff of romance. The water shimmers in waves of crimson, sapphire and emerald, the Venetian lighthouse sends out its beady wink, and stalls do a steady trade in pistachio nuts. Alleys that were afternoon-silent become thronged with locals taking the volta–the evening stroll. Even in July and August, you’ll find studio apartments here for under $40 a night…plus you can eat well for $10.
Prague teems with tourists but few people realize what the rest of the Czech Republic offers. One of its regions is Bohemia, blessed with a spellbinding mosaic of castles, frescoed houses and Rapunzel-style turrets straight from a sword-and-sorcery tale. At Cesky Krumlov you can peer into a medieval bear pit complete with bears. Sedlec, a suburb of Kutna Hora has a chapel entirely decorated with human bones, right down to its chandelier.
Many towns have stoupas…lofty “plague pillars” adorned with chained devils. They commemorate deliverance from the plagues, which swept Europe during the Middle Ages. Then there’s Karlovy Vary, the oldest of Bohemia’s grand spa towns. With spa water bubbling up all over town which visitors can collect for free, it’s a gorgeous place of baroque buildings in sugar-plum colors, flowery parks, and shops glittering with Bohemian crystal.
Cruises are an exciting way to see the world. In between ports, there’s no shortage of shows, dining and pool time, so it doesn’t really matter what your room is like right? Wrong. While you don’t think you’ll spend much time in your room, you will need time to rest, recover and reenergize for the next day. And while most modern staterooms are extremely comfortable, having a balcony in your room is essential. Here’s why:
Greet the sun each morning. It’s nice to have your morning coffee in your bathrobe. It’s nicer to have your morning coffee in your bathrobe on your own private balcony in the middle of an expansive body of water. With your own private outdoor space, you can leisurely enjoy your morning routine, or evening routine, or just some peace and quiet.
Enjoy the scenery. Drink, dine, dance and rekindle your romance in your own personal outdoor space while taking in spectacular views of the open ocean.
Fresh air. A warm sea breeze cures what ails you, and you’ll have access to plenty of it in your balcony room. It’ll freshen your room and give you the chance to air out clothing, which could be wet from exciting excursions.
Water sounds are relaxing. The sounds of the lapping ocean water lull you to sleep each night, or you can enjoy an afternoon timeout to clear your mind.
Alleviate illness. If you experience sea sickness or claustrophobia, having a view of the horizon or a little outdoor space can be a life saver.
Each all-inclusive resort comes with its own special mix of specialties. Some are focused on romance, catering to couples who came to connect. Others are family oriented, providing a well-balanced diet of adventure for all ages.
The key is finding the right mix of fun and relaxation, and whether that mix includes multiple pools, a private beach, water sports, kid and teen centers, family rooms, nearby attractions, indulgent spas, championship golf and fine dining options.
Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing the perfect all-inclusive resort for you and yours:
Where to Go
Paradise can be found in many locations, and each will have an all-inclusive resort nearby. If a picture-perfect beach lapped by turquoise waters is the one ingredient you can’t live without, set your sights on the idyllic islands in the Caribbean. If you want to explore your locale a bit more in depth, then chose a resort near grand attractions, such as Jamaica where you can go hiking up Dunn’s River Falls, or Cozumel, where nearby Mayan ruins are waiting to be explored. Other resorts are on or near championship-quality golf courses, offering packages that include a few rounds.
When to Go
Like all popular holiday spots, summer, spring break and Christmas are peak times for all-inclusive resorts. Going at those times may be the most convenient for your schedule, but be prepared to deal with more fellow guests. Also, June through November is technically hurricane season in the Caribbean, so lower-priced packages come with a slight risk. Don’t worry; many resorts offer weather guarantees, giving you credit for a future stay if a hurricane is on path to disrupt your dream vacation. And we also have several travel insurance options.
How Much
The cost of an all-inclusive package can seem high at first glance, until you take into consideration all that the package provides. Included in the cost of your stay is typically all meals, premium drinks, numerous sports and activities, social functions and often tips. Some resorts pride themselves in telling guests to bring little or no cash, for it’s not needed as long as you stay inside the resort.
Mention Romania and people immediately think of Dracula and a mid-evil country. But this beautiful country is quickly becoming the hidden jewel of Eastern Europe.
The name "Romania" comes from the Latin word "Romanus" which means "citizen of the Roman Empire."
Official Name: Romania
Location: (Southeastern) Central Europe
Time Zone: Seven hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time (GMT + 2)
Area: 92,043 sq. miles (238,391 sq. km) - a little larger than the state of Minnesota
Population: 19,942,000 (March 2014)
Largest cities: Bucharest (1,883,400), Iasi (322,000), Cluj Napoca (309,000),
Timisoara (303,000), Constanta (298,000), Craiova (295,000), Galati (286,000),
Brasov (275,000), Ploiesti (224,000), Braila (205,000), Oradea (196,400).
Romania's population lives in 320 cities and towns and 12,956 villages.
Official Language: Romanian
Currency: Leu (RON) ( plural Lei )
Climate: Temperate, four distinct seasons, similar to northeastern USA
Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is Romania's capital and largest city, as well as the most important industrial and commercial center of the country. With 2 million inhabitants in the city proper and more than 2.4 million in the urban area, Bucharest is one of the largest cities in Southeastern Europe and is the 6th largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after London, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Paris.
Bucharest has reasonable connections with most European capitals and with the largest cities in Romania, but it can be difficult to find a direct flight to Bucharest from outside of Europe or the Middle East. The city is also reached by a large number of low-costs flights, mainly from destinations in Italy and Spain as well as from some major cities in Germany, France, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Hungary, Turkey, Austria, Israel etc. All scheduled flights, including those operated by low cost airlines, land at Henri Coandă International Airport (IATA: OTP)
Transylvania is the largest region of Romania and probably the best
known one. The meaning of the word "Transylvania" is the land beyond the forest. The region is a place with abundant history and multicultural
convergence. Transylvania is rich in myth and misty medieval sites:
there about 100 castles and fortresses and about 70 fortified churches.
Romania's greatest and best preserved castles and fortresses are to be
found here. But for the more curious traveler, there are many small
villages with old houses and fortified churches.
As Transylvania is
circled by the Carpathian mountains there are a lot of mountain forests
and hiking or climbing possibilities. All over the Carpathians there are
great national parks. In the center of Transylvania there are green
hills and rivers. Most big cities are very western Europe like, and the
infrastructure is generally good, making it easy for travelers.
Transylvania was first referred to in a Medieval Latin document dating from 1075. The ruins of Sarmizegetusa Regia – the capital of Dacia (present-day Romania) prior to the wars with
the Roman Empire – are located in Hunedoara county - central Transylvania.
Travel to Transylvania by train or bus
There are several daily trains and buses from/to Bucharest and other major cities in Romania to Transylvania region.
Main train stations in Transylvania: Alba Iulia, Bistrita,Brasov,Cluj Napoca,Medias,Miercurea Ciuc,Sebes, Sfantu Gheorghe, Sibiu,Sighisoara,Targu Mures
Transylvania is home to some of Europe’s best-preserved medieval towns, most notably Brasov, featuring Old Saxon architecture and citadel ruins; Sibiu with its cobblestone streets and pastel-colored houses, and Sighisoara, adorned
with a hilltop citadel, secret passageways and a 14th century clock
tower. Tiny shops offer antiques and fine hand-made products by local
artisans and artists.
Bran Castle
Visitors to Transylvania will also encounter stunning castles such Bran,
near Brasov, - a Gothic fairy-tale structure, often associated with Vlad Dracula, the inspiration for Bram
Stoker’s Dracula. In close proximity to Brasov and Bran are the fortified churches at Harman, with its massive 13th Saxon towers, and Prejmer, the largest fortified church in Southeastern Europe.
The 15th-century Corvinilor Castle, the most beautiful in Transylvania, located nearby Hunedoara,
has a sumptuous Knights Hall – that can be used for functions or
parties, as well as towers and buttresses reminiscent of the medieval
times.
Vlad Țepeș: "Vlad the Impaler" AKA (Vlad) Dracula.
The real Dracula, Vlad Tepes, nicknamed (Vlad the Impaler) was a Romanian prince and military leader. He
fought bravely against the invading Turkish army in the mid 1400's. Vlad was born in Sighișoara in the winter of 1431.
Reputation for cruelty
Vlad Tepes - 1560
As
the cognomen "The Impaler" suggests, his practice of impaling his
enemies is part of his historical reputation. During his lifetime, his
reputation for excessive cruelty spread abroad, to Germany and elsewhere
in Europe. The name of the vampire Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897
novel Dracula was inspired by
Vlad's patronymic and reputation.
Cruelty
was common in the Middle Ages, but Vlad's ways were the ultimate. He
would decapitate people and post heads along roads like sign posts and
would boil people alive.
His deeds were reported in popular
pamphlets in Germany, reprinted from the 1480s until the 1560s, and to a
lesser extent in Tsarist Russia. A typical German pamphlet from 1521
gives numerous examples of lurid incidents, such as the following:
He
roasted children, whom he fed to their mothers. And he cut off the
breasts of women, and forced their husbands to eat them. After that, he
had them all impaled.
Impalement was Vlad's preferred
method of torture and execution. Here he would insert a wooden stake
into the rectum up to the shoulder blade painstakingly to avoid all
major organs. Slowly these poor souls would writhe in pain until death
some 48 hours later.
Hundreds were impaled at a time
and posted looking like a forest of humans on a stick. It was
physiological warfare at its best as it drove fear into the hearts of
all his enemies.
Contrary to the novel, he was
bloodthirsty, but not a vampire. Rumors spread that he drank blood and
ate human organs. This led to led to the fictional idea of vampirism.
Vlad died at age 40. No one is sure how or where his headless body is
buried.
Transylvanian Cities to Visit:
Brasov
Brasov
Brasov is located in the hilly terrain of
Transylvania and is a good place to visit. Located in the center of the
country, Brasov is surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains. The city is a
resounding example of old world Romania with an ancient center city
square and little cafes throughout.
The real appeal of
Brasov is the surrounding land. Unspoiled, the mountains surrounding
Brasov are full of little villages and surrounding forests. In this
area, you’ll find bears, wolves and other threatened animals roaming
freely. On top of this, the land is ripe with outdoor activity
opportunities such as skiing, hiking, camping, hunting, rock climbing
and parachuting. While all of this exists in other travel destinations,
there is no tourist trap feel in Brasov.
Sibiu
Sibiu
Sibiu was the largest and
wealthiest of the seven walled citadels* built in the 12th century by
German settlers known as Transylvanian Saxons. The riches amassed by
its guilds paid for the construction of both impressive buildings and
the fortifications required to protect them.
Sibiu’s Old Town retains the grandeur of its earlier days
when rich and powerful guilds dominated regional trade. Like
Sighisoara and Brasov, it has a distinctly Germanic feeling. Sections
of the medieval wall still
guard the historic area, where narrow
streets pass steep-roofed 17th century buildings with gable overhangs
before opening into vast, church-dominated squares such as Great
Square and Little Square.
Sibiu is a pedestrian-friendly city with two easily accessible levels: the Upper town, home to most of Sibiu's historic sights, and the Lower town,
lined with colorful houses on cobblestone streets and bounded by
imposing city walls and defense towers overlooking the river Cibin.
Sighisoara
Birth Home of Vlad Dracula
Founded by Transylvanian Saxons during the 12th century, Sighisoarastill stands as one of the most beautiful and
best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. Designated as a World Heritage
Site by UNESCO, this perfectly intact 16th century gem with nine
towers, cobbled streets, burgher houses and ornate churches rivals the
historic streets of Old Prague or Vienna for atmospheric magic.
It is
also the birthplace of Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes (Vlad
the Impaler), ruler of the province of Walachia from 1456 to 1462. It
was he who inspired Bram Stoker's fictional creation, Count Dracula.
If you visit Sighișoara and you're hungry you can actually eat food at
the place where Vlad Dracula was born. The Vlad Dracul Restaurant is located in the heart of the Sighisoara
near the Clock Tower. The restaurant has a capacity of 120 guests and 70
seats on the terrace. Besides international cuisine, you can also enjoy
traditional Romanian cuisine, such as “Prince Dracula Food” with
Transilvanian palinka drink.
Vlad Dracula Restaurant
Vlad Dracula's house is just one of the many attractions here. Others include the Church on the Hill with its 500-year-old frescoes, the 13th century Venetian House and the Church of the Dominican Monastery, known for its Transylvanian renaissance carved altarpiece, baroque pulpit, Oriental carpets and 17th century organ.
Places to explore in Transylvania
Some of Europe’s best-preserved medieval towns: Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara
Bran Castle (also known as Dracula’s Castle), built in 1377
Rasnov Fortress – built in the 1300s by the Teutonic Knights to protect Transylvania against the Tartars and the Turks
The Saxon fortified churches at Biertan, Calnic, Harman, Darjiu, Prejmer, Saschiz, Valea Viilor, and Viscri - all designated by UNESCO as World Heritage sites
Transylvania’s finest art museum – the Bruckenthal Palace in Sibiu
Marginimea Sibiului, an area northwest of Sibiu home to more than 18 traditional villages
The Museum of Glass-Painted Icons in Sibiel, the largest of its kind in Europe
The city of Hunedoara with its 14th-century Gothic Corvinilor Castle
The Dacian Fortresses at Sarmisegetuza (UNESCO World Heritage List)
The Moti Land (Tara Motilor) on
the Ariesi Valley - moţi is the name given to the inhabitants of this
region. They live in scattered villages at altitudes up to about 4,265
feet and have preserved their century-old traditions and lifestyle.
The Apuseni Mountains with Scarisoara and Focul Viu glaciers, Chiscau Bears’ Cave and Vartop Cave as well as other 400 caves.
Bran Castle
Bran Castle - Also called Dracula's Castle is in a town called Bran, at
20 km near Braşov. The best ways to get there are by bus or by car on
the European Road 574 (E574). The bus for Bran leaves from the Autogara 2
(Bus terminal 2) about every half hour for the whole day. You have to
buy the ticket on board and it costs 7 RON each way (as of 05.12.2011).
You can arrive to the Autogara 2 from the centre if you take the bus
number 12 from Livada Poştei or the Teatrul Dramatic stations (departs
every half hour), or from the train station if you take one of the buses
23 or dashed 23 (23 barat or 23B; it has a 23 written on in, with an
oblique dash on the number). Note that buses 23 and dashed 23 are not
stopping at the main terminal located in front of the train station. In
order to take them, you need to walk to the boulevard in front, through
the right as you're exiting the train station, where you'll see the bus
sign and other people waiting for their buses. After you get on, descend
at the fourth stop, which is right next to the football stadium. Once
you are in Bran follow the tourists through a street full of stands
selling things for tourists. The castle is now a museum open to
tourists, displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie.
Tourists can see the interior individually or by a guided tour. At the
bottom of the hill is a small open air museum park exhibiting
traditional Romanian peasant structures (cottages, barns, etc.) from
across the country. As of May 2013, the entrance fee was 25 lei (€5.5)
for an adult, non-professional photo fee included in the ticket. From
the top of the fortress you can see the mountains in a superb panorama.
Carpathian Mountains
The
Carpathian Mountains are visually stunning. While there are attractions
throughout the mountains, such as Bran Castle, don’t try to simply
visit a particular place. Instead, rent a car in Brasov or hire a driver
and just go for a ride. The scenery is so overwhelming it is hard to
describe. You’ll drive down and up into gorges that seem endless, see
rivers bombing down mountain sides and see animals only found in
National Geographic documentaries. Go for this drive and I guarantee you
will be blabbering about it for at least five days.
Traditional food
Transylvania's cuisine displays a variety of flavors with
dishes spiced with thyme, red pepper or tarragon. Meats, such as
pork, mutton, veal, are among the most popular ingredient in
Transylvania’s cuisine. The soups, to which sour cream and egg yolk
are ofted added, also include flour dumplings or homemade pasta.
Romania is one the world’s leading producers of cabbage (varza). Make sure you don’t leave the region without trying the delicious “Varzaa la Cluj”
– the Romanian version of lasagna - prepared from several layers of
finely shredded cabbage (fresh or sour) and minced pork or veal mixed
with rice and bacon and baked in the oven.
Despite the many things written about this part of Romania, Transylvania is one of the most romantic regions in the country, so if you plan to travel with your partner, you will discover firsthand why it is a special place for couples.
Transylvania offers the visitor interesting attractions such as ski resorts hiking trails, parks, museums and medieval towns each with their own unique story. But if you're looking to celebrate Halloween in a special place in Europe, Transylvania is definitely that place to be. You don’t even need to wear garlic.
Women are beginning to realize that men are unnecessary, especially when it comes to traveling. That’s why more and more women are 
