While searching for cheap flights, which I post onthe blog’s Facebook page (if you haven’t liked the page yet, now’s the time), I found a flight to Craiova for 236 ILS (about 60 euros) per couple for a weekend. Craiova is one of the largest cities in Romania, in the southwest of the country. I called my mother-in-law, who wanted a holiday for the whole family, to suggest they join. Within half an hour, 8 flight tickets were booked. We bought eight flight tickets for under 1,000 ILS (about 250 euros). After that I turned toplanning the trip. The general plan was to rent a car and drive along the Danube. We’d rented a car in advance, and at the airport a representative of the company we booked through was waiting for us with the cars. We’d booked a mini car in the cheapest category but were upgraded to a new car with GPS, parking sensors and a sound system.
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An important tip!!
When booking a car, read the small print carefully and check whether the price you’re paying includes towing, insurance, cleaning and fuel, so you avoid extra charges when you pick up the car.
Everything you need to know about renting a car abroad.
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Accommodation:
Accommodation:We booked our accommodation in advance through Booking.com: a basic 3-bedroom apartment in the town center, with a lovely owner. Tothe apartment’s page on Booking.com.
To compare prices for accommodation in Romania click here.
The route:
Western Romania borders Serbia, and part of the border runs along the Danube, a river that flows through 10 countries across Europe and is about 2,860 km long. The route was planned around the river scenery and the attractions in the area.
Friday:
Decebalus, a Danube boat trip, pizza and a cave.
We drove about 3 hours to the town of Orșova. The drive included several stops for snacks, stretching our legs and a bit of shopping. Along the way there’s a beautiful view: a wide river, picturesque villages, endless greenery and lots of impatient drivers overtaking wildly. Driving in Romania was fairly scary.
The first attraction we stopped at was Decebalus (location on Google Maps). The statue of Decebalus is a rock sculpture about 55 meters high, carved into the rocky bank of the Danube.
There are a few souvenir and food stalls, and boats offering trips in the area. We booked a trip on a small motorboat for six people for 150 lei. The trip was magical, with spectacular scenery, and we stopped at two magical caves. The first is Veterani Cave, which costs 6 lei, but when we arrived there was nobody at the ticket desk so we went in. In the second, bigger cave you can walk a trail inside, but because we arrived late we didn’t have time to do the walk.
The boat trip passes a beautiful monastery, Mraconia.
We only got back to the apartment at 22:00 and looked for somewhere to eat dinner, and discovered that all the restaurants in town were already closed. There was only one restaurant open, and it had almost no dishes left. There’s no nightlife in the town. Overall the town is pretty but very neglected: lots of litter in the streets and run-down parks, but the locals are welcoming and happy to help, even though most don’t speak English. At least we discovered that the supermarket in town is open until midnight (not 22:00 as Google Maps says), so we made up for dinner at the supermarket and already bought groceries for breakfast.
Saturday:
The Bigăr Waterfall, watermills and lots of scenery.
Water mills at Rudăria
After breakfast at the apartment we set off for the village of Eftimie Murgu, for a trail along a river with about 10 watermills on the Rudăria River (location on Google Maps). The access road to the village is problematic, with lots of potholes and narrow stretches, but it’s still worth the drive.
Several mills operate at varying hours; when we were there only one was working. The mill owner explained to me in Romanian (even though I don’t speak it) how the mill works and showed us the process of grinding corn kernels into cornmeal for mămăligă. On the main road several locals were selling cornmeal, honey and fruit.
The Bigăr Waterfall
I’d read about the Bigăr Waterfall long ago, while planning our honeymoon in Eastern Europe, when I was going through lists of the most beautiful waterfalls in Europe. After an hour’s drive from the watermills we reached the waterfall (link on Google Maps). About a five-minute walk from the waterfall there’s a parking lot (free parking) with souvenir stalls, a café and food stalls. Quite a few people stopped there to photograph the waterfall.
Besides the waterfall, you can enter the reserve for 5 lei per person for a 10-minute walk along the river. At the end you reach a small cave that isn’t very impressive. The walk is about 200 meters, uphill. If you’ve already come as far as the waterfall, I recommend doing the walk (it’s shaded and an easy walk with steps).
The plan was also to visit the hot springs at Băile Herculane, but the family was tired of driving, so we decided to go back to Orșova for dinner at the apartment and a good night’s sleep before the last day.
Sunday:
We got up in the morning and, after a walk along the Orșova promenade (a beautiful view, but a rather neglected promenade), packed our bags and set off for Craiova. We wanted to get to Craiova early because the girls wanted mall time (that’s how it is when you fly with 4 more girls).
Drobeta-Turnu Severin
On the way we stopped in the town of Drobeta-Turnu Severin. On a short walk along the promenade we discovered that apart from organized boat trips there are no other attractions such as shops, SUP and so on. From there we drove to the town center, which felt much livelier. There was a fruit and vegetable market in the center, lots of shops and cafés. We were there on a Sunday, and by 14:00 most shops had already started closing. In the town center there’s a beautiful water tower that has been converted into a museum. It’s still being set up, and so far only the fourth and first floors are open. The first floor had a comics exhibition, and the fourth floor had an amazing panoramic view of the town. The town’s rooftops were magical. We were there while the place was still in its trial phase, so entry was free.
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A tip for dog owners!!
There are lots of pet shops in town and prices are very cheap.
We bought Bravecto capsules (against ticks and fleas) for Neska, our dog, for 70 ILS (about 18 euros), compared with 250 ILS (about 65 euros) back home.
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Craiova
This wasn’t my first time in Craiova. My husband and I spent a weekend in the city before our previous trip to Romania; you’re welcome to read about it in the post: A short weekend in Craiova. The first thing I did when we got to Craiova was keep my promise and drive to the mall.
Electroputere Mall:
The mall building itself is neglected, with no air conditioning, but there’s free parking and a huge Decathlon store next to the mall. The mall has shops such as H&M, ZARA and other fashion chains, and a huge supermarket with cheap prices. To visit the mall’s website: click here.
The city center:
After a bit of shopping we went for a walk in the city center, along its beautiful pedestrian street.
