In July 2007 I decided to choose a place where none of my acquaintances were, so that it was not too far, not too expensive to go abroad, but not the eastern country, because I was traveling alone… The choice fell on Romania. Honestly, it was a lot of fun to have the same dialogues before leaving: "Where are you going on vacation? " - To Romania.
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In July 2007 I decided to choose a place where none of my acquaintances were, so that it was not too far, not too expensive to go abroad, but not the eastern country, because I was traveling alone… The choice fell on Romania. Honestly, it was a lot of fun to have the same dialogues before leaving:
"Where are you going on vacation? "
- To Romania.
"Are you visiting Count Dracula? " Well, say hello!
- No, I'm going to the sea….
- What, there is a sea in Romania ?? ? ?
I answer everyone: yes, there is the Black Sea in Romania, and the coast is almost longer than in Bulgaria. Another thing is that this direction is not popular in Ukraine (unlike, for example, the Belarusian neighbors, who can often be found in Romanian resorts). But I decided to become a pioneer for my compatriots - to go and then share my impressions. So, about everything in order.
After a cursory analysis of the offers of Kiev travel agencies, she chose the travel company "Sun World", which transports tourists to different countries, including Romania. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Marina Bordea, who heads this department at Sun World, for her professionalism and kind attitude. It was very nice when they went to meet me, finding the best way to travel (in fact, it's not so easy - to leave Kiev for the Black Sea coast of Romania, because, as I said, from us there is almost no one goes). I was given a train ride to Chernivtsi, and from there - boarding a bus that took tourists from Chernivtsi to Bulgaria. Back, respectively, the bus is a train, and on the way back I had the opportunity to walk almost all day in Chernivtsi. Tiring, but additional impressions. But more on that later.
The Black Sea coast of Romania is a chain of resorts that merge into one another. Minibuses run between them, although hikers (like me, for example) can walk from one resort to another, going to the shops. The resorts are named after Greek gods - Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune, Olympus. I lived in Venus, in the Raluca ** hotel, which has the best impressions. The hotel is built of a ring, in the middle of which and outside - flowers and conifers. The feeling of living in a garden.
The rooms are quite tolerable, the furniture is brand new, all amenities - shower and bathroom, refrigerator, TV with 1 English channel, a very cozy balcony, at the reception - a free safe. The staff is almost all English-speaking, very friendly, not annoying. Sea view from the balcony. Undoubted advantage: there are no discos nearby, which provides silence at night.
The food (I ordered only breakfast) is monotonous, but generally edible. The hotel has only two, in my opinion, disadvantages - the lack of an elevator at a height of 5 floors (good for exercise enthusiasts, but difficult for young children, the elderly and those who carry heavy bags…. ); the second disadvantage is that the pool is open only from 9 am to 7 pm. At five past seven, the employee politely drives all vacationers out of the pool. Personally, I do not quite understand this policy: during the day people have the sea, why swim in the pool? At the same time, for example, I expected to exercise in the morning and swim before breakfast, ie, around 7 am. But no arguments were accepted.
Most of the other hotels in Venus are clearly Soviet-era. Despite the fact that they are probably cheap, I would not dare to go there to rest. It looks like Soviet boarding houses. Raluca ** differed favorably from them.
In addition to it, there were hotels of a higher class, and, accordingly, more expensive. The most presentable hotels are in the resort of Jupiter. The best beach is on Neptune, which is about 15 minutes by bus from Venus. All resorts have a lot of greenery, clean air. At the same time, the beaches differ from each other: in Venus, for example, the water and sand are clean, but streams of hydrogen sulfide rose from the water. Bathing in such water is probably very useful, but more than once I could not stand without a gas mask There is no smell in Jupiter, but it is crowded and almost all the space near the water is occupied by sunbeds and umbrellas (of course, paid). Most of all I liked the beach between Neptune and Olympus - very clean water, a wide strip of sand and sunbeds are not exhibited all at once, but as they are ordered. The sea is mostly shallow, but the water warms up well.
In general, despite all the fears, there was no great heat during all 15 days of my vacation in Romania, in the evening I even had to keep warm. The climate is still different.
Romanian cuisine is disappointing: fatty, highly flavored meat and high-calorie side dishes such as mamaliga (corn porridge), pasta and mashed potatoes are served almost everywhere. Maybe it's just right for a man, but for me, who was hoping to lose weight, such a menu was definitely not suitable. Vegetable salads were quite expensive, and I did not dare to order something like shrimp or mussels, fearing to get a frozen product for big money. In general, the Romanians are very popular salads based on boiled pasta, which is seasoned with some kind of sauce (dishes very different from "salads" in our understanding). From seafood she ate fried anchovies (small sea fish that almost do not need to be cleaned). But fruit in Romania is cheap: excellent peaches at 2.5-3.
5 lei, cherries, apples, plums for about the same price, watermelons and melons - in general, ate all this enough. Amazing pastries are also sold everywhere: donuts, pies, croissants, etc. If you see the Autoservice sign, it is not a car service, but a self-service restaurant (such as our "Two Geese" or "Belly House"). The obvious advantage of such establishments is that you can see the dishes that are offered to you and make an acceptable order, bypassing the language barrier (because not all ordinary catering establishments have a menu at least in English, not to mention Russian).
About money and prices. The resorts have exchange offices everywhere, open from 10 am to 9 pm. The rate for me was: 1 USD = 2.27 lei, 1 Euro = 2.90 lei. Some exchangers may ask you to present a passport. If someone is accustomed to convert all prices into hryvnias, multiply all by 2.5 (for example, 10 lei is about 25 hryvnias), it is convenient for those who are trying to compare prices with us and "them".
Some prices in Romanian resorts:
Bread (they have only white) - 1-2 lei
Package of yogurt 375 ml - 3 lei
Chocolate bar - 2.5-4 lei (chocolate is very good for them)
Portion of ice cream - 1.5-3 lei (even better than chocolate! )
Portion of fried anchovies, 100 g - 2.5 lei
Large salad of fresh seasonal vegetables with cheese and chicken pieces - 8 lei
0.5 liter bottle of water - 2 lei
5 liter water bottle - 5 lei (draw conclusions! )
A pack of cigarettes - 4-6 lei
Swimsuit - from 25 to 90 lei
A pair of shoes - from 40 to 200 lei (quality super! )
Youth clothing (tops, blouses, skirts, shorts, T-shirts, dresses, etc. ) - from 10 lei (insanely sorry that I did not come with an empty suitcase! Things of excellent quality and style are very different from the expensive and flooded our markets expensive and tasteless Turkish junk).
Travel by minibus along all resorts - 2 lei
Travel by bus to Constanta (the nearest major city) - 6.5 lei
Gifts and souvenirs: there are many in all resorts, there are typical for any coast magnets, postcards, figurines, etc. with a marine theme. I liked: multicolored clay cups with fun "cartoon" drawings (bought 4 pieces), bright original jewelry, silver jewelry, bags, wood and vine products.
I would like to say a few words about Constanta. Unexpectedly friendly city about the size of a major district center in Ukraine. Well-established transport (land only), wide streets without traffic jams, lots of greenery. I was in the dolphinarium: I had to wait for a 2-hour queue for a ticket, and then it turned out that the show would start in 3 hours (I used them for a walk around the city). However, the impression of the simple tricks performed in the pool by a dolphin and a couple of seals - John and Lorry - is unforgettable. Maybe it's because I adore animals.
She came out of the dolphinarium, feeling like an enthusiastic child.
The next day I decided to visit the museum-aquarium. The exposition is small, but very beautiful; fascinates a huge pool with marine predators that seem to look you straight in the eye… And the Aquarium itself is located on a beautiful, sun-drenched promenade, over which the air is cut by white seagulls…
There are also several museums and art galleries in Constanta (unfortunately, I didn't have time to get there), a monument to Ovid in the square of the same name, many parks, squares and just beautiful old buildings. In general, the city makes a pleasant impression.
Summing up, I can say: a beach holiday in Romania will like:
a) parents with children (due to the complete safety of both beaches and terrain); however, the road can be difficult
b) people who love solitude (I am one of them).
I liked the feeling: you are lying on the beach, full of people around you, but their communication does not "get" you, because the completely incomprehensible Romanian speech is perceived as a neutral sound background, such as the murmur of a stream. My vacation turned out the way I wanted - I managed to sleep, lose weight, sunbathe, read 3 books and tie a blouse
I do not recommend going to Romania to those who are accustomed to a high level of comfort, as well as people who want to "hang out" - they will be bored.
"Where are you going on vacation? "
- To Romania.
"Are you visiting Count Dracula? " Well, say hello!
- No, I'm going to the sea….
- What, there is a sea in Romania ?? ? ?
I answer everyone: yes, there is the Black Sea in Romania, and the coast is almost longer than in Bulgaria. Another thing is that this direction is not popular in Ukraine (unlike, for example, the Belarusian neighbors, who can often be found in Romanian resorts). But I decided to become a pioneer for my compatriots - to go and then share my impressions. So, about everything in order.
After a cursory analysis of the offers of Kiev travel agencies, she chose the travel company "Sun World", which transports tourists to different countries, including Romania. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Marina Bordea, who heads this department at Sun World, for her professionalism and kind attitude. It was very nice when they went to meet me, finding the best way to travel (in fact, it's not so easy - to leave Kiev for the Black Sea coast of Romania, because, as I said, from us there is almost no one goes). I was given a train ride to Chernivtsi, and from there - boarding a bus that took tourists from Chernivtsi to Bulgaria. Back, respectively, the bus is a train, and on the way back I had the opportunity to walk almost all day in Chernivtsi. Tiring, but additional impressions. But more on that later.
The Black Sea coast of Romania is a chain of resorts that merge into one another. Minibuses run between them, although hikers (like me, for example) can walk from one resort to another, going to the shops. The resorts are named after Greek gods - Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune, Olympus. I lived in Venus, in the Raluca ** hotel, which has the best impressions. The hotel is built of a ring, in the middle of which and outside - flowers and conifers. The feeling of living in a garden.
The rooms are quite tolerable, the furniture is brand new, all amenities - shower and bathroom, refrigerator, TV with 1 English channel, a very cozy balcony, at the reception - a free safe. The staff is almost all English-speaking, very friendly, not annoying. Sea view from the balcony. Undoubted advantage: there are no discos nearby, which provides silence at night.
The food (I ordered only breakfast) is monotonous, but generally edible. The hotel has only two, in my opinion, disadvantages - the lack of an elevator at a height of 5 floors (good for exercise enthusiasts, but difficult for young children, the elderly and those who carry heavy bags…. ); the second disadvantage is that the pool is open only from 9 am to 7 pm. At five past seven, the employee politely drives all vacationers out of the pool. Personally, I do not quite understand this policy: during the day people have the sea, why swim in the pool? At the same time, for example, I expected to exercise in the morning and swim before breakfast, ie, around 7 am. But no arguments were accepted.
Most of the other hotels in Venus are clearly Soviet-era. Despite the fact that they are probably cheap, I would not dare to go there to rest. It looks like Soviet boarding houses. Raluca ** differed favorably from them.
In addition to it, there were hotels of a higher class, and, accordingly, more expensive. The most presentable hotels are in the resort of Jupiter. The best beach is on Neptune, which is about 15 minutes by bus from Venus. All resorts have a lot of greenery, clean air. At the same time, the beaches differ from each other: in Venus, for example, the water and sand are clean, but streams of hydrogen sulfide rose from the water. Bathing in such water is probably very useful, but more than once I could not stand without a gas mask There is no smell in Jupiter, but it is crowded and almost all the space near the water is occupied by sunbeds and umbrellas (of course, paid). Most of all I liked the beach between Neptune and Olympus - very clean water, a wide strip of sand and sunbeds are not exhibited all at once, but as they are ordered. The sea is mostly shallow, but the water warms up well.
In general, despite all the fears, there was no great heat during all 15 days of my vacation in Romania, in the evening I even had to keep warm. The climate is still different.
Romanian cuisine is disappointing: fatty, highly flavored meat and high-calorie side dishes such as mamaliga (corn porridge), pasta and mashed potatoes are served almost everywhere. Maybe it's just right for a man, but for me, who was hoping to lose weight, such a menu was definitely not suitable. Vegetable salads were quite expensive, and I did not dare to order something like shrimp or mussels, fearing to get a frozen product for big money. In general, the Romanians are very popular salads based on boiled pasta, which is seasoned with some kind of sauce (dishes very different from "salads" in our understanding). From seafood she ate fried anchovies (small sea fish that almost do not need to be cleaned). But fruit in Romania is cheap: excellent peaches at 2.5-3.
5 lei, cherries, apples, plums for about the same price, watermelons and melons - in general, ate all this enough. Amazing pastries are also sold everywhere: donuts, pies, croissants, etc. If you see the Autoservice sign, it is not a car service, but a self-service restaurant (such as our "Two Geese" or "Belly House"). The obvious advantage of such establishments is that you can see the dishes that are offered to you and make an acceptable order, bypassing the language barrier (because not all ordinary catering establishments have a menu at least in English, not to mention Russian).
About money and prices. The resorts have exchange offices everywhere, open from 10 am to 9 pm. The rate for me was: 1 USD = 2.27 lei, 1 Euro = 2.90 lei. Some exchangers may ask you to present a passport. If someone is accustomed to convert all prices into hryvnias, multiply all by 2.5 (for example, 10 lei is about 25 hryvnias), it is convenient for those who are trying to compare prices with us and "them".
Some prices in Romanian resorts:
Bread (they have only white) - 1-2 lei
Package of yogurt 375 ml - 3 lei
Chocolate bar - 2.5-4 lei (chocolate is very good for them)
Portion of ice cream - 1.5-3 lei (even better than chocolate! )
Portion of fried anchovies, 100 g - 2.5 lei
Large salad of fresh seasonal vegetables with cheese and chicken pieces - 8 lei
0.5 liter bottle of water - 2 lei
5 liter water bottle - 5 lei (draw conclusions! )
A pack of cigarettes - 4-6 lei
Swimsuit - from 25 to 90 lei
A pair of shoes - from 40 to 200 lei (quality super! )
Youth clothing (tops, blouses, skirts, shorts, T-shirts, dresses, etc. ) - from 10 lei (insanely sorry that I did not come with an empty suitcase! Things of excellent quality and style are very different from the expensive and flooded our markets expensive and tasteless Turkish junk).
Travel by minibus along all resorts - 2 lei
Travel by bus to Constanta (the nearest major city) - 6.5 lei
Gifts and souvenirs: there are many in all resorts, there are typical for any coast magnets, postcards, figurines, etc. with a marine theme. I liked: multicolored clay cups with fun "cartoon" drawings (bought 4 pieces), bright original jewelry, silver jewelry, bags, wood and vine products.
I would like to say a few words about Constanta. Unexpectedly friendly city about the size of a major district center in Ukraine. Well-established transport (land only), wide streets without traffic jams, lots of greenery. I was in the dolphinarium: I had to wait for a 2-hour queue for a ticket, and then it turned out that the show would start in 3 hours (I used them for a walk around the city). However, the impression of the simple tricks performed in the pool by a dolphin and a couple of seals - John and Lorry - is unforgettable. Maybe it's because I adore animals.
She came out of the dolphinarium, feeling like an enthusiastic child.
The next day I decided to visit the museum-aquarium. The exposition is small, but very beautiful; fascinates a huge pool with marine predators that seem to look you straight in the eye… And the Aquarium itself is located on a beautiful, sun-drenched promenade, over which the air is cut by white seagulls…
There are also several museums and art galleries in Constanta (unfortunately, I didn't have time to get there), a monument to Ovid in the square of the same name, many parks, squares and just beautiful old buildings. In general, the city makes a pleasant impression.
Summing up, I can say: a beach holiday in Romania will like:
a) parents with children (due to the complete safety of both beaches and terrain); however, the road can be difficult
b) people who love solitude (I am one of them).
I liked the feeling: you are lying on the beach, full of people around you, but their communication does not "get" you, because the completely incomprehensible Romanian speech is perceived as a neutral sound background, such as the murmur of a stream. My vacation turned out the way I wanted - I managed to sleep, lose weight, sunbathe, read 3 books and tie a blouse
I do not recommend going to Romania to those who are accustomed to a high level of comfort, as well as people who want to "hang out" - they will be bored.
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