When researching about Romania, one of the tourist attractions we were most excited to see was Bran Castle. Whilst looking up information about taking a day trip to Bran Castle, we came across quite a few posts suggesting that you combine both a trip to Bran and Rasnov in a single day trip. I am so glad we took the advice of the internet hive mind, and visited Rasnov, because I may have enjoyed Rasnov Citadel even more that Bran Castle (shhhhhhh).

We took the bus from Brasov to Bran (saw Bran Castle) and then hopped back on the bus to Brasov that drives through Rasnov along the way. The trip was about 30 minutes and cost 3-5 lei (depending in which order you see Bran and Rasnov).

The local bus we took left from the central bus station in Brasov, which is a quick 15 minute walk away from the historic city centre of Brasov. We arrived at the bus station and walked around until we saw a bus that had a sign for Bran displayed in the window.

You pay the driver, and he gives you a tiny receipt (small change is great to bring).

Knowing when to get off the bus is the trickiest part. We put our destination into the app Maps.me, and followed where we were on the map so that we knew what stop to jump off the bus at. If you ask  the driver, he might be able to tell you when to get off the bus, but we didn’t want to risk him forgetting.

Maps.me can be used on your phone without data or internet connection!!!!!

Once you arrive in Rasnov, there are two ways by which you can make your way up to Rasnov Citadel. Firstly, you can walk. We decided to take the funicular (because fun is right there in the name). The funicular ride cost 12 lei return, and we didn’t have to wait in line at all to get on the next lift up!

 

At Rasnov Citadel, the entrance fee for an adult is 12 lei. I am unsure about student discounts or other discounts. We opted to be our own tour guides, and set off to explore the grounds.

 

We visited Romania in early November, so there were very few tourists at the Citadel with us. I can imagine that it would get quite busy in the summer. The other amazing thing about visiting in early November was that we saw the autumn leaves changing colour on the mountain tops.

 

If you have more time, spending a night in Rasnov would be pretty neat. There looked to be a lot more to see in Rasnov than we had time for.

Here is a video we made about Rasnov Citadel: