Best time to visit Transylvania

Winters in Transylvania can be quite romantic with horse drawn carriages and snowy alpine trails making classic Christmas scenes to accompany a flask of plum brandy. Autumn is equally impressive, with harvest soups and Halloween activities combining with a firework display of foliage as well as chances to spot wildlife whilst out walking. Summers can get really hot, especially in cities like Brasov and Sibiu, so it’s probably better to give them a miss or visit higher areas for a fresher alternative. The best time to visit Transylvania is late April as you’ll have the pick of the flowers whilst avoiding the May rains.

Laura Vesa, tour leader of our travel partners Transylvan, recommends her favourite spring festival: “There’s an annual festival in Maramures that is believed to stimulate the earth’s fertility and ensure a good crop. Over a dozen well-dressed young men (flacai) decorate wooden yokes, that were once used by the village bulls, with flowers, leaves, ribbons and bells. They then take the decorated yokes to the village’s chosen ploughman before he ploughs the first field of the season. After he finishes he is taken from the field on the shoulders of the flacai before they circle his house three times and ritually bathe him in the nearest river or well. A party with traditional music and dancing follows. Udatoriul in Surdesti takes place on the second day after Orthodox Easter, and Tanjaua in Hoteni is usually on May 10th.”