Day 2: Bucharest to Brașov
Train · About 2½–3 hours
Compare CFR and Softrans for the selected departure. Add local travel between each room and railway station.
Compare this journey8 days from Bucharest and Brașov to Bulgaria
Connect Bucharest and Brașov with Veliko Tarnovo and Sofia, using seven nights and separate travel and admission costs.
Eastern Balkans · Published planning example
- Duration
- 8 days
- Travel style
- Backpacker
Day-by-day itinerary
Open a day to read the plan and its spending notes.
-
Day 1Settle into Bucharest
BucharestReach your accommodation, then choose a short Calea Victoriei or old-town walk according to the arrival time. Eat nearby and keep a more distant museum for a full day. Sleep in Bucharest.
Chosen daily plan: €22 for one bed, €19 food, €4 local travel and €5 extras. Add paid visits, excursions, airport journeys and intercity tickets separately. Replace the allowances with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €50.00
-
Day 2Train to Brașov and an easy afternoon
Brașov
Brașov, Romania Compare CFR and Softrans for a suitable train, allowing around 2h30–3h plus station transfers. Leave bags before walking around Council Square. Visit the Black Church only if you have time before last admission; its adult ticket is 30 RON. Sleep in Brașov.
Chosen daily plan: €22 for one bed, €18 food, €4 local travel and €5 extras. Add paid visits, excursions, airport journeys and intercity tickets separately. Replace the allowances with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €49.00
-
Day 3One castle outing from Brașov
BrașovMake Bran the main excursion, with a return journey and a 120 RON standard adult castle ticket. Optional experiences cost extra. Leave the late afternoon for a meal or short town walk instead of adding a sunset mountain climb after a long day. Sleep in Brașov.
Chosen daily plan: €22 for one bed, €18 food, €4 local travel and €5 extras. Add paid visits, excursions, airport journeys and intercity tickets separately. Replace the allowances with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €49.00
-
Day 4Return to Bucharest before the border journey
BucharestTake a suitable morning train back to București Nord and reach your room. Choose a park walk or a visit that fits its actual opening hours. Confirm tomorrow’s coach station and keep the booking and travel documents ready. Sleep in Bucharest.
Chosen daily plan: €22 for one bed, €19 food, €4 local travel and €5 extras. Add paid visits, excursions, airport journeys and intercity tickets separately. Replace the allowances with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €50.00
-
Day 5Cross from Bucharest to Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria Take the booked Bucharest–Veliko Tarnovo coach from the exact station on your ticket. The advertised minimum is 4h10; allow more time for the selected service and road conditions. Reach your accommodation before a short walk and meal. Romania and Bulgaria share the Schengen area. Sleep in Veliko Tarnovo.
Chosen daily plan: €20 for one bed, €18 food, €3 local travel and €5 extras. Add paid visits, excursions, airport journeys and intercity tickets separately. Replace the allowances with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €46.00
-
Day 6A full day in Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko TarnovoUse a suitable part of the day for Tsarevets, with €7.67 standard adult admission. Allow for slopes, uneven ground and the walk from your room. Spend another part of the day around the old streets, with time for a meal and a break. Sleep in Veliko Tarnovo.
Chosen daily plan: €20 for one bed, €18 food, €3 local travel and €5 extras. Add paid visits, excursions, airport journeys and intercity tickets separately. Replace the allowances with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €46.00
-
Day 7Coach to Sofia and a relaxed first walk
SofiaBook the westbound coach and allow roughly three to four hours before the city transfer. After leaving your bags, choose a central walk or one paid visit if its hours fit. The cathedral crypt’s Christian Art Museum is a separate €10 adult ticket, with a €2 Thursday tariff. Sleep in Sofia.
Chosen daily plan: €22 for one bed, €18 food, €2 local travel and €5 extras. Add paid visits, excursions, airport journeys and intercity tickets separately. Replace the allowances with your bookings.
Estimated day spending: €47.00
-
Day 8Leave Sofia without squeezing in another excursion
SofiaCheck out, store bags if needed and choose a short walk or meal only if departure allows. For the airport, the metro serves Terminal 2 and a free shuttle connects the terminals. Include the full journey, waiting and check-in time. No hotel is included after today.
Chosen daily plan: €0 for one bed, €18 food, €2 local travel and €5 extras. Add paid visits, excursions, airport journeys and intercity tickets separately. Replace the allowances with your bookings. No hotel night is included on this day.
Estimated day spending: €25.00
Seven nights before departure from Sofia
Spend one night in Bucharest, two in Brașov and another in Bucharest. Continue to Veliko Tarnovo for two nights, then Sofia for one. Day eight ends in Sofia and includes no further hotel night. Check the final departure before choosing the westbound coach and room dates.
The first four Romanian days keep the recently reviewed route and allowances. Give Bran its own excursion from Brașov and return to Bucharest the night before the southbound coach. This avoids combining a Romanian rail connection with the international departure on the same morning.
Allow time for the road journey into Bulgaria
Use the exact departure and arrival stops on the Bucharest–Veliko Tarnovo booking. The route advertises a minimum of 4h10, but the actual service and road conditions determine arrival. Leave the first Bulgarian afternoon for reaching your room and a short walk.
Romania and Bulgaria are both in Schengen. The crossing does not restart the usual short-stay allowance. Carry the documents required for your nationality and status, even when there is no routine internal border stop. The entry guide explains the shared day count.
Put the fortress on a full day
Tsarevets costs €7.67 for a standard adult visit. Choose a suitable part of the day for the slopes and exposed grounds, and check last admission before setting out. Leave time afterwards for the old streets, a meal and a break.
Continue to Sofia by a dated coach, allowing around three to four hours on the road. Make the first city walk flexible. If you want the Christian Art Museum in the cathedral crypt, its separate adult ticket is €10, or €2 on Thursday. Check the opening hours rather than treating the church and crypt as one visit.
Keep the spending clear
The daily subtotal is €362.00 for one traveller, using seven individual-bed nights and the meal, local-travel and extras allowances below. The first four Romanian days total €198; the Bulgarian days now have fresh, explicit chosen allowances. Day eight includes no room after departure.
Add the actual train and coach tickets, airport journeys, Bran excursion and selected admissions. Keep Romanian purchases in RON until applying your booking's exchange rate and fees; Bulgaria uses EUR. Do not add the same journey again because it appears in both the day text and a route card. Replace the bed allowances with the full accommodation bookings.
If the trip needs to be shorter
Travel from Bucharest straight to Veliko Tarnovo and leave Brașov for another visit. Keep the nights on either side of the longer road journey. If your flight from Sofia is early, add a night there instead of trying to reach the airport directly from Veliko Tarnovo.
Swipe to follow the full route.
Loading the map...
Journeys between stops
How to get from one stop to the next. Journey times are approximate; use the ticket and timetable links to choose a departure for your travel date.
Day 4: Brașov to Bucharest
Train · About 2½–3 hours
Choose the southbound service to București Nord and reach your room before preparing for tomorrow’s coach.
Day 5: Bucharest to Veliko Tarnovo
Bus · From 4 hours 10 minutes
FlixBus advertises fares from 70.98 RON and a minimum journey of 4h10. Match the booked station and allow for road delays and the final hillside transfer.
Compare this journeyDay 7: Veliko Tarnovo to Sofia
Bus · About 3–4 hours
Use the dated westbound coach and reach your Sofia room before choosing a short first walk. Confirm your departure stop with the operator.
If you have fewer days
With fewer days, travel from Bucharest directly to Veliko Tarnovo and keep enough time in Sofia before departure.
Make this trip cheaper
Compare your room and daily spending choices in the cost calculator. Check each journey fare, including local transfers, and count tickets covered by a pass only once.
Make the itinerary fit your trip
Change the days in each city, leave out stops, and update the estimate without changing the published itinerary.