Dracula's Lair & Royal Castles: Exclusive Romania Day Tour

Be aware that the trip to Brasov and the two castles is close to 4 hours each way. We went on a Thursday, and left at 7:20 in the morning and returned at close to 11:00. Our guide Matai, Matthew, was very knowledgeable and experienced. He gave us a good tour of the city as we were departing Bucharest. He then respected our time and let us nap as we entered the countryside. There were two well planned rest stops, one each direction. The castles themselves were very well preserved. It was obvious that this is a major tourist destination, but the prices were to actually not that bad, and in some cases better than we had seen back in the city. Brans Castle was fully decorated for Halloween events while we were there. Take your time and read the plaques in each room. The lower rooms were dedicated to the royal family, and still had their furnishings. As you went up higher in the castle, it was obviously dedicated to the rumors and romance surrounding the Dracula novel. The countryside was amazing. We hit it late fall and there was plenty of color in the trees. Snow capped mountains in the distance added to the beauty. It is a long day, but worth the time and money.

We had Peter (driver) and Matthew (guide), lovely clean mini coach, very clean, lovely and warm - pick-up very smooth. This is a looonnnnggggg day out - 14 hours in total, I think it was worth it to see Bran Castle alone and personally would've rather had a trip straight there and back. We didn't get Peles Castle tickets and although we could hear people talking about buying them on the coach we weren't asked if we had any until we were already there - the tour guide then said 'if you have tickets follow me, if you don't we'll meet you back here' would have been nice if when we got on the bus at the start of the trip we were asked if we had our tickets. Anyway..... was a bit gutted, but as it turns out we had a hot chocolate and cake looking at the stunning scenery. Loved Bran Castle, was exactly what I hoped for, the tickets to get in are so cheap and there was a large tourist market below which we loved. If you have mobility issues this is not a tour for you, fairly steep hills and lots and lots of steps. Another strange thing we found was that we didn't want to drink too much as the public toilets had ridiculous queues - the first stop we made I was in the queue for the whole 15 minutes stop, but didn't even get the chance to go as the bus was leaving. Last stop was Brasov, looked great, but we only had an hour so we grabbed something quick to eat and went to the toilet and that was about it, think it was billed that we would have a walking tour, but this didn't happen. All-in-all a great day, but 10 hours on a coach is not for me.

This 12 hour tour lasted 14.5 hours, and I barely had time to get a smash burger in Brasov at an uncrowded restaurant. The bulk of the tour was spent in the van.

It’s a long day. Gas station stop for bathroom break is a nightmare. 6 big tour buses and two bathrooms. Women queue was 50-60 in line. Horrible

The trip was lovely & the tour leader (Laura) & driver (Alex) were great. We loved Peles Castle & Braşov, Bran Castle a bit less. It is very crowded, which of course can’t be controlled by tour operator.. all in all a wonderful day!

Laura was an excellent guide; very knowledgeable and friendly. Needing a day out of Bucharest to explore Transylvania is the perfect activity

Really enjoyable day. Our guide Serban was very knowledgeable, helpful and had a great sense of humour. It is a long day but worth it to see Transylvania and the sights. We were lucky as the queues for the castles weren't too long. Would book with this company again.

The guide was excellent. The only thing that I will recommend is buying your tickets in advance for Pele castle, you will find no availability if you try to get them there. It was extremely frustrating not being able to see the inside.

Probably the most painless way of seeing everything but not pain free. Overall, recommended but prepare yourself for 6-7 hours in the coach. Download an audiobook, video, bring a power bank and prepare to nap. Bran castle captures the attention but pales in comparison to the other sights. Our guide, Romeo, had truly encyclopedic knowledge providing non-stop commentary for hours on nearly everything , famous and historic, to curiosities and the banal. Like a cruise director, he also tried to help pass the time with jokes, stories, quizzes and Romanian music. Would recommend that people buy tickets to the attractions as it is not included and not everyone understood that.

Long day, but amazing day trip. The tour guide was really informative and entertaining. A really amazing restaurant for a late lunch in Brasnov. Traffic was really bad on the way back, but that was not the tours fault.