Brasov Day Trip for Bears, Dracula, Castles, and more!
One of the best day trips from Brasov and perhaps the most famous tourist destinations in Romania is Bran Castle–otherwise known as Dracula’s Castle. So of course we had to go!
But while we were traveling from Brasov, we wanted to add more to our day trip than just Bran Castle. Below we’ve included a few highlights that you can easily see in once comfortable and fun day in Brasov.
Our Day Trip from Brasov
We decided to book a full day excursion through a local guide named Vlad (not to be confused with Vlad the Impaler) through a Brasov day trip we found on Airbnb. The day trip was $99/person and scheduled to be 6 hours from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM starting and ending at our place in Brasov. Ours ended up being an hour longer, but he didn’t seem to mind.
Of course you can always rent your own car or find other tours
Here’s what it included:
Transportation (including pick up and drop off at our Airbnb)
Water and a couple fruit/granola bars each
Liberty Bear Sanctuary
Bran Castle
Pálinka Tasting
Rasnov Fortress
*Note: The cost of the excursion was for a driver and guide and did not include tickets to the castle, fortress, or sanctuary.
Libearty Bear Sanctuary
Being at Libearty Bear Sanctuary evoked several emotions. We watched cute bears roll over lazily on their backs, wrestle, and play in the water. And we heard a funny story about a bear named Antony who crashed a wedding and ate all of the couple’s reception food. I’m sure that would be awful the day of, but it’s a funny story to tell later. And our guide said the couple still comes to the sanctuary to visit their little wedding crasher.
But we also heard several sad stories about bears being kept as pets, confined to cages, mutilated, or made to perform for people’s amusement. Some still have lingering PTSD. One spins every time she sees a person in order to receive food. Others that had been kept in cages are so used to living in a small space that they just pace back and forth in a small area even though they’re now free to roam in the sanctuary.
The good news is that Libearty Bear Sanctuary has rescued over 100 bears and is the largest brown bear sanctuary in the world. They also have a deer and wolf enclosure and have rescued stray or injured dogs, cats, horses, donkeys, wolves, foxes, deer, hedgehogs, and birds.
You can read more about the bears and the sanctuary and even adopt a bear on their website.
Important Information
Libearty Bear Sanctuary is open Tuesday-Sunday. Entry hours seem to vary and are only announced 2 weeks before, but generally appear to be in the morning from 9:00AM – 11:00AM.
Tickets Tuesday-Friday:
Adults (25+): 60-65 RON
Students (18-24): 45-50 RON
Children (5-17): 30-35 RON
Tickets Saturday-Sunday:
Adults (25+): 65-70 RON
Students (18-24): 50-55 RON
Children (5-17): 35-40 RON
*Children under 5 years old are not allowed in the Sanctuary.
Bran Castle
Bran Castle, also known as “Dracula’s Castle,” is about 30 minutes outside Brasov. Pretty much all the most popular day trips from Brasov involve Bran Castle. The funny thing is Dracula (loosely based on Vlad the Impaler) never even lived at the castle. In fact, he was actually imprisoned there for 2 months. Bram Stoker simply invented a person and place that best resembled his image of Dracula and Dracula’s castle.
The character Dracula is loosely based on Vlad Tepes. Vlad earned his name impaling people on spikes. In fact, most were his own people. He was a ruthless Walachian leader. The name, Dracula, was inherited from his father, Vlad Dracul (or Vlad the Dragon). And Bran Castle was used as inspiration for Dracula’s castle. Its perch on top of a rocky cliff and formidable appearance inspired Bram when he was looking for suitable castles in Transylvania.
Real History
The actual Bran Castle was built in the 1300s by King Louis I of Hungary as a military fortress and trading post. It had several rulers throughout the years. Its last residents were Queen Maria and King Ferdinand I of Romania. They were gifted the castle by the citizens after Transylvania became part of Romania in 1920. In 1948, the castle was seized by the Communist regime and only returned to descendants of Queen Maria and King Ferdinand I in 2009.
The castle is now a museum, which has sections focused on the history of the castle, rooms decorated as they were when Queen Maria and King Ferdinand I lived there, a torture museum, and information on mythology, like lele (beautiful women who sing and dance for men and make them go crazy), strigoi (ghosts/spirits), and centaurs.
Travel in Time (and Kitsch)
You can also ride Queen Marie’s elevator down to the Time Tunnel. The location of the elevator was originally a well and was transformed into an elevator by Queen Marie in 1930 to have easier access to the royal gardens. The glass elevator takes you down 31 meters from the castle. It ends in an underground 40 meter tunnel which leads out to the surrounding park. As you ride the elevator down to the tunnel, you’re confronted with mythical beings like strigoi, lele, a dragon, and bats. It reminded me a little of the Hogwarts Express Train that takes guests between the 2 Universal Studios parks in Orlando. After exiting the elevator, you enter the time tunnel. The tunnel hosts an interactive multimedia gallery. Different stops depict scenes and figures throughout Bran Castle’s history, like Vlad the Impaler and Queen Marie, who move as you approach them.
After we were done touring the castle, we walked through the little market outside and tried a sausage sandwich and langos (Hungarian fried dough covered with garlic, sour cream, and cheese), which was absolutely delicious!
Bran Castle is high on the kitchiness and touristy scale, but it’s a must-see on any day trip from Brasov.
Important Information
The castle is open Mondays from 12:00PM – 6:00PM and Tuesday-Sunday from 9:00AM – 6:00PM.
Tickets to the main museum are:
Adults: 45Lei (9€)
Seniors (65+): 35Lei (7€)
Students: 25Lei (5€)
Children: 10Lei (2 €)
The Medieval Torture Museum and Time Tunnel are an additional fee:
Medieval Torture Museum: 10Lei (2€)
Time Tunnel: 20Lei (4€)
Palincaria Transilvania
After Bran Castle, our day trip took us to Palincaria Transilvania, a pálinka distillery near Rasnov Fortress, another location not far from Brasov. There, we were given a brief explanation of the distillery process, shown the distillery cellar, and did some pálinka tasting. Pálinka is a strong, twice-distilled Hungarian brandy with 37-86% alcohol, similar to Italian grappa or American moonshine.
Pálinka has a long history in Hungarian and Romanian culture. The first record of pálinka as it is referred to today dates back to 1630. But a similar drink called aqua vitae reginae Hungariae was combined with rosemary and used for medicinal purposes in the 1300s. The drink was used to help treat the queen’s joint pain, which historians believe was likely arthritis. Aqua vitae reginae Hungariae means “Hungarian Queen’s water of life.”
Traditional pálinka is made from plums, but now they make pálinka from many different kinds of fruit. We tried plum, quince, cherry, and apricot, as well as a sour cherry liqueur, which was actually pretty sweet. Palincaria Transilvania also sells Romanian wines and concentrated floral and fruit syrups. Since the pálinka was a little strong for me, we bought the sour cherry liqueur and some raspberry syrup to take home for cocktails.
Important Information
Palincaria Transilvania is open daily from 9:00AM – 5:30PM.
Pálinka tasting is 25 Lei/person.
Rasnov Fortress
Our final stop on our day trip from Brasov was Rasnov Fortress. This fascinating citadel sits high atop a hill in the Carpathian Mountains, approximately 30 minutes from Brasov. It is first mentioned in a document from 1331, but historians believe the original wooden fortress was built in the 1200s by the Teutonic Knights to defend Transylvania from Tatar and Turkish invaders. From the 14th to 17th century the fortress had to be repaired and rebuilt due to several natural disasters and military invasions.
At its defensive height, the fortress had nine towers, two bastions, and a drawbridge. Due to its strong defensive location and fortifications, it is said the fortress only had to surrender once in 1612 when invaders discovered the route inhabitants used to get water. The fortress was designed to be a refuge for local people and therefore resembles a small village with approximately 30 buildings, including a church, chapel, and school.
Today it also has a small museum where you can see medieval weapons, tools, armor, and a skeleton, as well as craft stalls, and gift shops.
Fun fact: The Scorpion King 4 was filmed at Rasnov Fortress, in case you want to add that to your watch list!
Important Information
The fortress is open daily.
Visiting hours:
April – October: 9:00AM – 7:00PM
November – March: 9:00PM – 5:00PM
Tickets:
Adults: 10 lei
Children: 5 lei
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go inside, since it is currently under renovation. But we were able to walk around the outside of the fortress and up to a viewpoint along the fortress wall, which provided a great view of the surrounding countryside.
We think restorations are supposed to be done sometime in 2023. Once it’s done, there are houses, gardens, churches and more to explore inside. We cannot wait to return!
*Please note that excursion details, hours of operation, and pricing may change over time.
Final Tips
- We recommend booking Bran Castle and Libearty tickets in advance. Besides being able to skip the lines, there are limited slots at Libearty, so it’s good to ensure you’re good for your visit!
- You can also easily do this day trip with your own car. Plenty of parking at each of the touristy spots.
- At Rasnov, if you don’t feel like hiking up the hill, you can also take a shuttle that costs 7.5 RON per person. It stops at the adjacent Dino Park before continuing on to Rasnov.
- There are some good food vendors just outside of Bran Castle. We grabbed a bite at Károly Kürtőskalács. They’ve got pretty good chimney cakes and langos if you want to try some fun and delicious (but certainly not healthy) fast food in between visits.
