Day Trip to Sinaia, Romania
Sinaia is a small town in Romania’s Prahova Valley along the Bucegi Mountains, perfect for a day trip from Bucharest or Brasov. It is also known as “The Pearl of the Carpathians” because it is considered the most beautiful mountain resort town in Romania. Today, Sinaia is most well-known for its 17th century monastery and 19th century castle built by King Carol I. It’s also a popular mountain resort destination for hiking and skiing. You can easily spend a couple days in Sinaia if you’re going to do some outdoor adventuring. But Sinaia can also easily be visited in a day trip.
How to get to Sinaia
Sinaia is a little over 1 hour from Brasov and 1 hour and 45 minutes from Bucharest. You can get there by car, train, or an organized group.
Rent a car
At the time of this article, you could rent a car from Brasov for as little as €33/day (https://www.autorentbrasov.ro/) and from Bucharest for as little as €25/day (https://www.klasswagen.com/).
You can also take a cab or Uber. We generally recommend Uber since it’s usually more cost effective and you can check the price ahead of time. At the time of this article, an Uber from Brasov to Sinaia was approximately RON 228.55 ($47) and an Uber from Bucharest to Sinaia was approximately RON 478.73 ($99). You can check Uber prices here.
Take a train
The most affordable option is to take the train. Trains seem to be readily available and run all hours of the day/night. So, there’s no need to purchase them in advance. Seats are available for First or Second Class. First Class seats are just a little roomier since they seat 3 across instead of 4 across. When we went, Second Class seats were 16 lei/person and First Class seats were 29 lei/person. We opted for First Class seats since they were still very affordable and provided a little extra comfort.
Brasov, Bucharest, and Sinaia all have more than one train station. So be sure to select the one closest to where you are staying. There are two train stations in Sinaia, Sinaia and Sinaia Sud hc. If you’re just going up for a day trip, you’ll want to select Sinaia Station since it is closer to Sinaia’s main attractions. The Sinaia Sud hc station is further south and you’d probably only get off here if you plan to stay at a hotel closer to this station. You can check train times and buy tickets through the CFR Calatori website.
Organized day trip
Another option is to book an excursion through something like Tripadvisor or Viator. If your home base is Brasov, just search “Brasov Peles Castle” or “Brasov Sinaia.” If your home base is Bucharest, search “Bucharest Peles Castle” or “Bucharest Sinaia.”
Most organized tours from Brasov combine Sinaia or Peles Castle with other activities, like Bran Castle, a monastery, or Brasov’s Old Town. You can find tours of Peles Castle and Caraiman Monastery for approximately $60-65/person; tours of Peles Castle, Bran Castle, and Rasnov Fortress for approximately $70-75/person; and a tour of Sinaia and Brasov for $130/person. With these tours you are paying for a guide and transportation to and from your hotel or Airbnb. They do not include entry to the castles/fortress. So you will still have to pay for tickets when you get there.
Most organized tours from Bucharest combine Peles Castle with Bran Castle and Brasov. I found some organized group tours for approximately $50/person and private tours from $125-160/person.
Be sure to check the group size when booking excursions. Sometimes the cheaper tours are more affordable because they take larger groups, which may or may not be the type of experience you’re looking for.
Sinai Day Trip Itinerary
8:45-9:45 – Take a morning train from Brasov or Bucharest to Sinaia. We took the 8:45 train from Brasov to Sinaia and arrived around 9:45. If you’re leaving from Bucharest and want to follow this timeline you’ll have to leave about an hour earlier.
9:45-10:20 – Hike 2.4 km from the train station to Peles Castle (35-40 minute walk). It took us about 35 minutes and we even stopped along the way a couple times to take pictures of the park and the castle as we approached.
Peles Castle
10:30-12:30 – Tour Peles Castle.
Peles Castle is by far the biggest tourist attraction for Sinaia. If you only do one thing on your day trip to Sinaia, this is it. It’s an exquisite neo-renaissance palace built by King Carol I between 1873 and 1914. The castle covers 3,200 square meters and has 160 rooms. It’s probably one of the most beautiful palaces I have ever seen, with so much detail and craftsmanship in every corner.
The Main Hall was probably my favorite room. It opens up to all three levels of the palace, is covered in rich, dark sculpted wood, and has a beautiful spiral staircase and stained-glass roof that can be opened up to let in the sun and fresh air.
Some of my other favorite rooms were the Throne Room, which is almost entirely gold, the Princely Apartment, also decorated in white and gold, and the Dining Room, which can seat 26 guests. The palace also had rooms inspired by other cultures, like a Turkish tea and hookah room, a medieval armory room, and a library.
You’ll find richly carved wood and stained-glass throughout the entire home, as well as crystal chandeliers, elegant tapestries, cordoba leather-covered walls, and giant stone carved and marble fireplaces. And the outside of the palace is just as beautiful, with frescos lining the walls of the courtyard where you enter and a fountain and stone sculptures in the garden.
Tour Options
There are 3 tour options for Peles Castle: Basic, Optional Tour I, and Optional Tour II. The Basic Tour is only for the ground floor. Optional Tour I includes the ground floor and floor I. Optional Tour II includes: the ground floor, floor I, and floor II. We found 2 hours to be sufficient and we even did the most comprehensive tour package.
Visiting Hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday: 09:15 – 18:00 (*only the ground floor is open)
Wednesday: 10:00 – 18:00
Thursday – Sunday: 9:15 – 18:00
Tickets for Peles Castle are as follows:
Basic Exhibition
Ground floor
Adults – 50 lei
Seniors – 25 lei
Students – 12.5 lei
Euro Card <26 – 12.5 lei
The last entry for the basic exhibition is at 17:15
OPTIONAL TOUR I
Ground floor + Floor I
Adults – 100 lei
Seniors – 50 lei
Students – 25 lei
Euro Card <26 – 25 lei
The last entry for optional tour I is at 16:30
OPTIONAL TOUR II
Ground floor + Floor I + Floor II
Adults – 150 lei
Seniors – 75 lei
Students – 37.5 lei
Euro Card <26 – 37.5 lei
The last entry for optional tour II is at 15:45
You can find more information on the Peles Castle on the Peles National Museum website.
Lunch
12:30-1:30 – For a nice break during your Sinaia day trip, have lunch at Carol Gastro Bierhaus located right in the Peles Castle complex. Carol Gastro Bierhaus is a German/Hungarian restaurant serving things like bean soup, goulash, schnitzel, pork knuckle, sausages, and more. We each had the chicken schnitzel and ordered mayonnaise and garlic sauce to make our own aioli to dip it in. The German potato salad was also pretty good. You can check out their menu and photo gallery on their website .
Pelisor Castle
1:30-2:00 – Tour Pelisor Castle.
Pelisor Castle was built between 1899 and 1902 by King Carol I for his heirs, King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. It is smaller and not as elaborate as Peles Castle, but is definitely still worth the visit during your Sinaia day trip. Like Peles Castle, Pelisor Castle has a neo-renaissance exterior, but has a more modern, art nouveau interior with celtic and byzantine elements.
One of my favorite features of the exterior are the colorful tiled roofs on its two towers, which reminded me of The Name of Mary Catholic Church in Novi Sad, Serbia. My favorite rooms at Pelisor Castle were The Gilded Room and Queen Marie’s Sitting Room, which it’s said she actually helped design.
The Gilded Room has a stunning vaulted ceiling with a celtic cross skylight at its center, the walls and ceiling are covered with thistle leaves and painted entirely gold, and sets of arched stained glass windows line the exterior walls. Though not quite as elaborate as The Gilded Room, The Sitting Room also has a vaulted ceiling and a beautiful gold archway with marble columns at its base. The Hall of Honor was also quite beautiful, with oak-lined walls and stained-glass ceiling. Last, but not least, be sure to check out the ceilings in all of the rooms, because every single one of them appears to be unique.
Visiting Hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday: closed
Wednesday: 10:00-17:00
Thursday – Sunday: 9:15 – 17:00
Tickets for Pelisor Castle:
Adults – 30 lei
Seniors – 15 lei
Students – 7.5 lei
Euro Card <26 – 7.5 lei
You can find more information on the Pelisor Castle on the Peles National Museum website.
2:00-3:00 – Walk back down the hill to Sinaia Monastery and stop at the gate by La Tunuri for a picture and another view of Peles before you say goodbye.
Sinaia Monastery
2:30-3:00 – Visit Sinaia Monastery
Sinaia Monastery was built in 1695 by Prince Mihail Cantacuzino after traveling to Nazareth and Jerusalem. This is pretty easy to fit into any Sinaia day trip. The monastery consists of two courtyards and two churches, the Old Church built when the monastery was founded and the Great Church built in 1846, as well as a museum. The Old Church has a Byzantine and Brancovenesc style, with carved stone columns and religious frescoes covering the walls and ceiling, which are still mostly original.
The larger Great Church has a Brancovenesc and Moldovian style, taller carved stone columns, and a gold fresco interior. The monastery is still functioning today and has approximately 13 monks. The southern wing of the monastery to the right of the entrance was originally built as a guest house for travelers passing through the region and was later used as a summer residence by King Carol I until Peles Castle was completed. Today it is a museum and holds the title as the first religious museum in Romania. The museum houses the earliest Romanian translated Bible, dating back to 1668, as well as other religious artifacts.
Visiting Hours:
Summer: 08:00 – 18:00
Winter: only open upon request
You can check out more on Sinaia Monastery on their website .
Castelul Stirbey
3:00-3:30 – Castelul Stirbey
Castelul Stirbey was built in 1875 as the former residence of Princess Alina Stirbey and General Emanuel Florescu and is the oldest civil building in Sinaia. As you approach the stone building, you’ll see a circular terrace with twin towers on either side, twin steps circling from the terrace to the ground, and iron lions at its base. Today, the former residence is a museum, hotel, and cafe. The museum covers the life of Princess Alina, the city’s history, communism, and winter sports in the area, plus natural history. It also has a small photo gallery and theater that plays images of the surrounding mountains and cultural events. While this visit was informative, for our day trip to Sinaia, we probably would substitute the casino instead (more info below).
Tickets:
Adults: 20 Lei
Seniors: 15 Lei
Students: 15 Lei
Children <15: 15 Lei
Sinaians: 10 Lei
You can check out more on Castelul Stirbey on their website.
3:30-4:00 – Get gelato/sorbet from Sweet Mountain. Tony had mango and raspberry sorbet. I had cheesecake gelato with raspberry sorbet, which hit the spot. The perfect combination of fruity creamy goodness!
4:00-4:30 – Take a short walk through Dimitrie Ghica Park. Walk by the fountain, Casino Sinaia, and Hotel Palace (more on those below).
4:30-5:00 – Take the train back to Brasov or Bucharest. We headed back to Brasov on the 4:37pm train.
Additional Activities
Sinaia Casino
History
Sinaia Casino, located on the northern end of Dimitrie Ghica Park, was built from 1911-1912 by King Carol I and was loosely inspired by the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. When it first opened, the casino served as a social and entertainment venue where the wealthy elite could drink, gamble, listen to music, and dance the night away under crystal chandeliers. The casino apparently became quite popular during its height, hosting 600-800 people a night. It operated from its inauguration until 1947, when the communist party banned gambling in Romania.
The casino was subsequently used as a space for the Red Cross, the House of Culture of the Trade Unions, the city’s library, cultural events, and concert performances.
Today
Today, it serves as an International Conference Center and tourist attraction. The casino hosts several events, theater, and concert performances throughout the year, and tourists can visit the former casino rooms, as well as permanent and temporary art exhibits.
The casino is divided into two levels for tours, the main level and the secondary level. On the main level, visitors can tour the casino’s Grand Foyer, Theater Hall, Mirror Hall, Baccarat Hall, and more. The 198 sq. meter foyer opens to both levels, with a giant skylight at its center, and connects the various rooms of the casino. The impressive Theater seats 400 guests and is known for its architectural beauty and acoustics. It also holds the piano Romanian composer George Enescu played at the casino’s inauguration in 1913. Mirror Hall, as its name suggests, is surrounded by large mirrors resembling arched windows and has stunning architectural details, including a stained-glass ceiling. And the oval-shaped Baccarat Hall is lined with arched windows with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.
The secondary level has been transformed into the Royal Art Gallery with both permanent and temporary art exhibits featuring over 500 works of art from Romanian artists. While we only saw the outside, from what we learned, we’d recommend fitting into your day trip to Sinaia.
Tours:
Wednesday-Sunday: First entry 10:30, Last entry 16:30
Tickets:
Art Gallery
Adults: 10 LEI
Seniors, Students, Children <15, Groups >20, Individuals with Disabilities: 5 LEI
Main Casino + Art Gallery
Adults: 20 LEI / ADULT
Seniors, Students, Children <15, Groups >20, Individuals with Disabilities: 15 LEI
Groups of 10-20: 17 LEI
Family Card 1 (2 adults + 1 child age 6-15): 40 LEI
Family Card 2 (2 adults + 2 children age 6-15): 50 LEI
Children <6: Free
Main Casino + Art Gallery + Sinaia Museum + Stirbey Castle
Adults: 30 LEI
Seniors, Students, Children <15, Individuals with Disabilities: 25 LEI
Art Gallery + Sinaia Museum + Stirbey Castle
Adults: 25 LEI
Seniors, Students, Children <15, Individuals with Disabilities: 20 LEI
You can find more information about Casino Sinaia on their website.
George Enescu Memorial House
The George Enescu Memorial House is devoted to the life of Romanian composer George Enescu and is located in his childhood home. The museum takes about 20 minutes to visit and is about a 25 minute walk from the train station. If you’ve got the time and you’re staying later in Sinaia, you could add this to your day trip.
Hours:
Monday-Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday-Sunday: 10:00 – 17:00 (entrance until 16:30)
Tickets Purchased at the Museum:
Adults: 20 Lei
Seniors: 10 Lei
Students: 5 Lei
Euro Card <26: 5 Lei
Individuals with disabilities: 5 Lei
Online Tickets:
Adults: 11 Lei
Seniors: 5.5 Lei
Students: 2.75 Lei
Euro Card <26: 2.75 Lei
Camera fee: 33 Lei
Guided Tours:
In Romanian: 50 Lei
In English or French: 100 Lei
Audio guide: 5 Lei / person
*Guided tours must be requested 24 hours in advance.
For more information, visit the George Enescu Memorial House website.
Muzeul Rezervației Bucegi (Bucegi Reserve Museum)
The Bucegi Reserve Museum is a small museum located in Dimitrie Ghica Park and consists primarily of life size dioramas of plants and animals found in the Bucegi Mountains. Very easy to visit during a Sinaia Day Trip, but another thing that would not necessarily be on our priority list.
Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday-Sunday:
9:00-17:00 (Oct. 1 – Apr. 30)
9:00-19:00 (May 1 – Sept. 30)
Tickets:
General tickets: 8 Lei / persson
Children, Students, Military, and Groups of 10 or more: 4 Lei / person
Free: people with disabilities and children under 3 years old
You can check out more on the Bucegi Reserve Museum on their website.
Ride the Gondola(s)
If you’d like some pretty views of Sinaia and the mountains, you could easily add a ride on the gondolas to your day trip. The Sinaia gondolas provide 360-degree views of the surrounding Carpathian Mountains and are the highest reaching gondolas in Romania, reaching a total height of 2050 meters. There are two different gondolas you can take. Gondola Sinaia starts in the Furnica neighborhood and travels 1000-1400 meters. And for an even higher view, you can ride Gondola Carp, which travels from 1400-2000 meters.
Hours:
Gondola Sinaia:
Wednesday – Monday: 09:00 – 18:00
Tuesday: 12:00 – 18:00
Gondola Carp:
Wednesday – Monday: 09:30 – 17:30
Tuesday: 12:00 – 17:30
Tickets:
Gondola Sinaia or Gondola Carp
One-way adults: 35 Lei
One-way children: 27 Lei
Round-trip adults: 60 Lei
Round-trip children: 40 Lei
Gondola Sinaia + Gondola Carp
One-way adults: 60 Lei
One-way children: 35 Lei
Round-trip adults: 95 Lei
Round-trip children: 60 Lei
You can find more information on the gondolas here.
Sinaia Train Exhibition
The Sinaia Train Exhibition is a short 1 minute walk from the train station. The first train station in Sinaia was built in 1913 exclusively for the royal family and their guests. The museum consists mainly of model villages, trains, and cars. They also have toy trains for children to play with, making it a good place to take kids as you wait for a train back to Brasov or Bucharest.
Visiting Hours:
Daily: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Cost:
Adults: 10 Lei
Children: 7 Lei
At the time of this article, the exhibit was temporarily closed, but hopefully it will reopen again soon.
Hike to Poiana Stânei or Stancile Franz Josef
Poiana Stanei or Stancile Franz Josef is a mountain viewpoint 1,300 meters above sea level. It’s approximately 3.7 km from Peles Castle (1 hour walk) and provides stunning views of the surrounding Prahova Valley. Before reaching the peak, you can also check out Rock St. Anne, a stone cliff and cave closer to the base of the mountain. You can find these locations easily on Google maps.
*Note: Business hours and prices may vary over time.