The season to be jolly is just around the corner and it's time Romania shows what it has to offer for the winter holidays: breath-taking views, ski slopes, the rural atmosphere, as well as traditional Christmas food. We’ve made a list of some places you can choose from when deciding where exactly to spend your winter holidays in Romania.

By Irina Popescu

If you love snow and want to have a real winter holiday, the first thing that comes to mind is the Prahova Valley, 2 hours drive from Bucharest. It is the place most Romanians – and foreigners – choose for their winter holidays. If you plan to go there, chose one of the resorts on the valley and book in advance. You should also know that the 2-hour drive to the mountains can take you double or even more as the road is usually very crowded during the holidays. And if you plan to drive yourself, don't forget to equip you car with winter tires, which are mandatory during the winter season (more here).

If you choose the Azuga resort, surrounded by Bucegi and Baiului mountains, you have several ski slopes to choose from: Sorica- medium – 2,100 m length; Cazacu – medium – 1,920 m length; Sorica Sud – easy – 770 m length; La Stana – easy – 910 m length. You can spend Christmas at Maria Azuga Pension, where the price for a 3-days staying is RON 380 per person. Azuga is also a good place for kids due to its easy ski slopes.

Make sure you check the holidays offers as prices usually go up during this period, depending what you want to include in your stay.

Another well-known mountain resort in the region is Sinaia, the oldest touristic resort in Romania, also known as ‘the pearl of the Carpathians’. With altitudes of 770-1000 m and temperatures of -3, -5 degrees in this season, Sinaia is very well known and very popular at this time of the year. Here, for a 3 days stay at Cota 1400 Hotel, located at a height of 1,400 m, you will pay RON 420 per person. You can also check Villa Poem Boem or Hotel Piatra Soimului.

Ski slopes in Sinaia: Valea Dorului – medium – 900 m length; Carp – difficult – 2,500 m; Scandurar – medium – 455 m; Vanturis track- easy – 2350m; -Piramida track – easy - 450 m.

More resorts on next page. 

More resorts on the previous page in the navigation bar down. 

In the same region you can also choose the city of Predeal for a winter holiday full of snow, where you can do some skiing on Cocosul – medium – 2250 m length; Clabucet – medium – 2100 m; Subteleferic – difficult – 1200 m; Clabucet sosire – easy- 800 m; Clabucet varianta – easy – 790 m; Clabucet school – very easy – 200 m; Clabucet 3 – medium; Paraul Rece – medium- 520 m. Moreover, at just 34 km, you can try the ski slopes in the beautiful Poiana Brasov, one of the prefered mountain resorts in Romania. Ski slopes here: Lupului- difficult – 2,860 m; Sulinar – medium- 2,500 m; Drumul Rosu – easy – 4,600 m; Kanzel – difficult – 540 m; Ruia- difficult – 540 m.

Those who want to spend a medieval winter holiday can choose the beautiful Sighisoara city in Romania, located in Mures county. There you can go back in time and dine in a medieval restaurant, lsuch as the one located right in Casa Vlad Dracul. For a 3-days stay for Christmas, Casa Wagner in Sighisoara has a special offer with EUR 137 per person.

Not far from Sighisoara, another city welcomes you with a beautiful Christmas fair all-December, Sibiu, the most important cultural center of Romania’s Transilvania region. If you plan to stay there, check the Hilton Hotel in the city. More about it here.

If you just plan to go in Sibiu to do Christmas shopping, you can continue your trip and spend the holiday in the amazing Maramures area in north-Romania, which is far from the capital city, but at just about 300 km away from Sibiu. Creasta Cocosului, Ocna Sugatag, Valea Vaserului, Mocanita or Manastirea Barsana, are some of the most representatives places to see in the Maramures area. You can also see the Merry Cemetery, a unique colorful cemetery worth visiting for the humoristic stories written on the tombs and crosses.

In case you also want to spend your Christmas skiing, you should chose Cavnic, 32 km from Baia Mare, in Maramures region. Here you can chose from several ski slopes, like Roata 1 – medium – 920 m length, Roata 2 – easy – 1,030 m, Rainer 1 – difficult – 800m, Rainer 2 – difficult – 1,000 m, and Albastra Slope – medium – 2,250 m. You can find more about it here.

More resorts on next page. 

More resorts on the previous page in the navigation bar down. 

However, in case you don’t want to go all the way to Maramures or you’ve already been there, you can make the 32- km trip from Sibiu to Paltinis, a good mountain resort for the ski-lovers. Paltinis is located at 1,442 m in Cindrel mountains. Here, for example, you can spend Christmas with RON 930 per person between December 23 and December 26. Ski slopes: Oncesti 1 – medium – 1,150 m length; Oncesti 2 – easy – 450m; Paltinis Dealul Poplacii – 2,200; Paltinis Santa – 3,000 m; Oncesti Paltinis – 5,000; Gaujoara Paltinis – 3,600 m.

At just 1 km away from Paltinis, at a height of 1,400 m, you can find Arena Platos ski and snowboard resort. Ski slopes in Arena Platos: Platos – 520 m; Panorama Sibiului – 600 m; Poiana Poplacii – 600 m; Arena – 240 m; Soarelui – 640 m. In case this place is the one you choose for the holiday, you should know there is a special offer of EUR 99 that includes 5-days ski pass, 5-days stay at a pension, ski and snowboard equipment, and ski instructors. More information here (in Romania).

Stana de Vale is a treatment resort located in Bihor county, about 550 km away from Bucharest. Here, you can do some skiing on a medium ski slope named Stana de Vale, which has a length of 550 m. Here, tourists can rent an entire lodge with three rooms for RON 225 per day, for a 4-days stay.

Balea is one of the most beautiful places in Romania, with a breath-taking view, so you can take it into account as a perfect place to spend this winter holiday. It is located in the amazing Fagaras mountains, central Romania, and gives you the chance to enjoy sleeping in the only Ice Hotel in Eastern Europe. The Hotel of Ice will be opened on December 25 this year. In case all the rooms in this location are booked, you can still choose a double room in the Balea Lac lodge, with RON 590 per night per person, between December 24 to December 27. You can also try the ski slopes there, namely Balea Cascada slope with a length of 1,400 m, or Balea Cascada Pilonoul 2 – 3,800 m.

Straja is a touristic resort located in Hunedoara county, at a height of 1,445 m in the heart of the Valcan mountains, Jiului Valley. The mountain resorts have a total of 13 km of ski area, divided into seven ski slopes, namely Sfantu Gheorghe – easy – 700 m; Constantinescu – easy – 1,700 m; Lupului – difficult – 520 m; Soarelui – easy – 400 m; Mutu – medium – 1,300 m. Between December 23 and December 26, Montana lodge in Straja has several Christmas offers. For example, for a double room, the price amounts to RON 500 per person. Moreover, if you plan to spend the New Year’s Eve here, a double room can be booked for RON 1,100 per person, between December 29, 2011 to January 2, 2012.

irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

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