The Transfagarasan: A Motorcycle Adventure Through Romania

The Transfagarasan, a spectacular road with many hairpin turns through Romania’s highest mountain range. According to Top Gear, it’s the most beautiful road in the world. Boudewijn and his friends rode it on motorcycles. Let their motorcycle adventure inspire you.

Day 1 - Arrival in Bucharest
Bucharest → Ramnicu Valcea
Distance: 179 km

On Thursday, September 14, we’ll be taking a direct flight to Bucharest. There were supposed to be three of us, but unfortunately one of us has to join us two days later because of a funeral. We arrive in the afternoon in a warm Bucharest. In the taxi on the way to the motorcycles, I immediately take a quick look at the road surface and the traffic… this looks promising. We drive past the Palace of Parliament—what a building! It’s the heaviest building in the world, since it’s made entirely of marble.

When we pick up the rental bikes, we receive a 2013 BMW F700GS and a 2013 BMW F800GS—great bikes for riding in the mountains. We hop on and immediately set out on a long ride. We ride away from our spot and head straight into a traffic jam—in 30 degrees, in the city, and still feeling a bit uneasy on the bike. Not exactly the best start you could hope for…

At some point, the traffic clears up and we can open the throttle for a bit—which feels great when you’ve been practically at a standstill in that heat. After a few hours on the highway, we suddenly feel the temperature start to drop; we’re approaching the mountains. It’s getting dark, the roads are getting windier, but the Romanians just keep driving at a steady pace. Trucks are also moving along at a good speed, so you really have to stay alert on your motorcycle. Around 9:00 p.m., we arrive at our destination, Ramnicu Valcea. We’re exactly where we want to be, with a Romanian beer in hand and a view of the mountains we’ll be tackling tomorrow in daylight.

Day 2 - Transalpina
Ramnicu Valcea → Sebes
Distance: 200 km (+60 km)

Today we’re driving to Sebes, and we’re taking the famous Transalpina route. It’s a beautiful road that runs along a mountain ridge and through the forest, but first we have quite a drive to get there. We drive through wooded areas, small villages, over dams, and enjoy the sunshine. What a beautiful country this is! The roads are good, the people are hospitable, and the scenery is stunning. We’re heading toward a small village before we start the Transalpina; there we can rest for a bit, have lunch, and fill up on gas. We’re almost in the village when we notice that an incredible number of people are living out in nature there—under a tarp or in a tent. It’s really bizarre to see. And the village? It turns out to be just a crossroads. There’s one restaurant, and there’s no place to fill up on gas. Oh no… With only two bars left on the fuel gauge and the toughest stretch in the mountains still ahead… We’ve got a problem.

The nearest village is 30 km away, and you can only get there via a dirt road. Luckily, we manage to get our hands on two two-liter bottles of gas, but it’s going to be a close call whether we make it to the village. A toothless man helps us pour the gas from a jerry can into the bottles. He ends up swallowing half of it, and he’s fine with that. The road to the village is full of gravel and potholes—it’s really hard work, but what a wonderful adventure on these motorcycles!

Okay, two hours later, tanks full, and we can finally start the Transalpina. From shivering all over on the dirt road to velvety asphalt. What a road this is! Dark asphalt, orange lines, and beautiful twists and turns up and down right through the woods—wow… We pass a lake, and it’s already starting to get dark—and cold. Luckily, these bikes have heated grips. Satisfied, we arrive at our destination, where we’re greeted by the lady of the house with gold teeth and homemade liquor. Awesome!

Day 3 - Dracula
Sebes → Bran
Distance: 201 km

We’ve got two days of about 7 hours on the motorcycle under our belts, and you can really feel it in your body. Today we have a short ride of about 4 hours to Bran. We’ll mostly be riding on flat stretches today and avoiding the highway, because it’s much more fun to see all the little villages along the way. Everyone here really drives like crazy. Even if there are four cars in front of you, there’s always someone thinking about passing. Or someone suddenly decides to make a U-turn when everyone else is going 100. Anyway, it’s a nice pace, so we’ll be near Dracula’s castle in no time.

We drive into Bran, and here you see something we don’t come across in other parts of Romania: tourists! Bran Castle is one of Romania’s top attractions, so the town is pleasantly bustling. In Bran, we meet up with our third rider, so we’re finally a full team! Tomorrow, the ride of all rides is on the schedule: the Transfagarasan. But first, we’ll spend the night at our host Marianne’s place. The coffee is undrinkable, but we do feel right at home.

Day 4 - Transfagarasan
Bran → Sibiu
Distance: 263 km

We start the day early, because we have a long ride ahead of us today. Today we’ll be on the bike for about 8 hours, and it looks like bad weather is on the way… We ride out of Bran and head straight into the mountains—it’s truly breathtaking. We ride between two mountain ridges, and there’s so much to see, you don’t know where to look! We have to stop regularly along the way because herds of sheep and cows are wandering onto the road. After 3.5 hours, we arrive at the foot of the Transfagarasan. We enjoy a hearty lunch in Scoreiu and then set off on our journey.

The first part of the ride takes you mainly through the woods, and after half an hour we come to a large reservoir. We continue through the woods, and you’ll start to notice that the landscape is becoming a bit more barren—fewer trees and more rocks. That means we’ve arrived. We ride into the valley and find ourselves facing enormous rock faces. It really gives you an incredibly awe-inspiring feeling. In the distance, we see cars and motorcycles zigzagging their way up the slope. Here we go!

The road surface is pretty good, and the BMW smooths out the minor bumps. It takes a little getting used to at first—since you’re driving uphill, you come to a stop just as quickly. After a while, you get the hang of it: leaning into the curves and keeping up a good pace. Oh, right! I need to enjoy the view. We’re driving uphill through nothing but hairpin turns—beautiful curves—and through tunnels.

As we ride down from the mountain, we notice that it’s getting a bit more humid and the wind is picking up. We ride out of the mountains, and on the road the wind is really strong. The crosswind makes it hard to keep the motorcycle upright. In the distance, we see the thunderstorm rolling in over the mountains, but it’s still dry. When we feel the first raindrop, we decide to stop. The storm blows right past us, and it’s a good thing we stopped—not far from us, it really let loose. Where we stop, a waiter tells us he thinks Eemnes is so beautiful—hard to believe when you live right below the Transfagarasan. But Eemnes really is quite beautiful, too. After half an hour, our day is over; we arrive in Sibiu, grab a quick bite to eat, and collapse into our hotel room—what.a.day.

Day 5 - Just one more time…
Sibiu → Curtea de Arges
Distance: 163 km

We decide not to go around the Transfagarasan, but to take the route again—only this time in the opposite direction. We’ve heard some reports that the route is difficult to navigate because trees and power poles have been blown over—let’s see and find out. Along the way, we run into quite a few Dutch motorcyclists who’ve come this way on their bikes. One group has even been on the road for three weeks—not bad!

Driving the route this way is a completely different experience—so it was a great choice! We take our time at a beautiful spot overlooking the valley. And to think that the dictator Ceausescu built this road by blowing up half the mountain with dynamite—bizarre…

As we drive downhill, we find ourselves back in the forest. And here we see the damage the storm has caused—we really left just in time! Romanians are busy cutting fallen trees into pieces, and power poles are being set upright again. Some sections along the edge of the road have subsided and are cordoned off. We’re taking our time today and stopping at a few beautiful spots. One of them is the reservoir, where we have a stunning view. We drive out of the mountains again and spend the night at the foot of the mountains in a gorgeous spot.

Day 6 - Back to Bucharest
Curtea de Arges → Bucharest
Distance: 154 km

It’s already the last day! This week has flown by, but what an adventure this has been. I highly recommend it to everyone. The country is beautiful and perfect for exploring on a motorcycle. All that’s left for us is the ride back to Bucharest—unfortunately, no more mountains… Just flat roads where you can already see the end. We’ll treat ourselves to an evening in Bucharest, where there’s great nightlife even on weekdays. Romania, mulțumesc (thank you)!