Transylvanian Christmas Markets by Air, Rail and Coach with Ledger Holidays. December 2023.

Transylvania Christmas Markets with Ledger Holidays. 

We have been debating a Christmas Markets visit for a while now and when I saw this tour advertised I thought it looked it looked interesting and booked it. At that stage I did not know who the flights would be with, as Ledger had not finalised that information. It turned out to be BA from Heathrow. Due to past experience with BA connecting from Manchester, I decided we would go to London the evening prior to the flight to Romania. 

So yesterday we got a BA flight from Manchester to Heathrow, the flight was due to depart at 17.10. Parking at Manchester Terminal three was challenging, the multi-storey car park was full and it took a while to find a space.

The British Airways check in and bag drop was a mess! The que was massive, only one staff member was trying to check in all the passengers, no one was at the bag drop desk. There were no automated check in machines. We waited over an hour to check in. 

Then at security, there was an issue as the trays were not returning, thankfully our trays were not chosen for further inspection. It seemed that 90% of the passengers bags were allocated for extra security checks.

Terminal three at Manchester very busy, the terminal was originally a designated BA terminal, but now houses Ryanair and LoganAir so it is always packed out.

Our flight was delayed, don’t know why? It was 40 minutes late. As we were not connecting to another flight, this was not a problem for us. But a lot of passengers on this very full flight, missed onward connections. Quite a few of the passengers had already been rerouted, due to the cancellation of an earlier an Air Lingus flight; MAN to Barbados. The passengers had been  re routed and booked on a flight for the next day via London. 

Arriving at Heathrow, the Premier Inn Terminal 5 looked quite new, the room was clean, with a large bed and tea making facilities. 

There was a restaurant at the Premier Inn, but we went to the Pheasant Inn and enjoyed a good meal with great service. 

Day One 

Following a good nights rest, we were up at 05.00 and got a public bus from the hotel to terminal five, the BA terminal. However our flight was not from terminal five, it departing from was terminal three. The Heathrow Express took us to terminal three. Check in and security were quick and very easy,  terminal three was decorated for Christmas and very festive. 

I enjoyed a healthy breakfast at Madam Prunier- tea not champagne 🥂. 

It was a cold foggy morning at LHR, and the aircraft wings had to be de-iced as we taxied to the runway. 

The flight was good, crew also very good, you now get a ‘snack’ ( Flapjack or some Corn based snack) and a small bottle of water in economy on BA European legs. 

Landing at Bucharest, the airport looked new. Getting through passport control was very fast, at the luggage collection point we met the Ledger group leader, Colin: who had flown with us from Heathrow. The local guide, Cecelia met us in the arrivals hall. 

The group was large, 37 of us I think, mostly couples and a few solo travellers. 

The coach took us to the Union Plaza Hotel in Bucharest. The hotel requested passports, and kept them to make photo copy’s. The passports were returned later but this was an unexpected request. 

We were asked to meet in the lobby and went by coach into the Old Town to a historic restaurant with a folklore performance. Dinner and wine / beer was provided and the set meal was OK, but the food that people were having from the al a cart menu looked better. 

The rooms at the Union Plaza hotel were basic, but very clean and modern, there was a sky bar. The 'bar' was really a busy restaurant, but we did enjoy a few drinks at the bar / restaurant. 

Day Two.

Breakfast was served in the sky bar, it was a good breakfast and views across the city.

At 08.45 we went to the railway station to get the 09.30 train to the mountain village of Sinaia, the train arrived at 10.30, we were seated in 'First Class' with comfortable seats. The first part of the journey the scenery was uninspiring, it became more interesting and picturesque as we approached Sinaia.  

A quick walk around the town of Sinai introduced us to this delightful Romanian Ski village. 
We then went up the hill to Peles Castle for a guided tour. 

Peles Castle belongs to the Romanian royal family, and no surprise- they are related to the British royal family. 

After the castle tour it was onto the coach to drive to Brasov, our stop for the next two nights. 

The hotel; The Qosmo Hotel, was not in the centre of Brasov, but it was a gorgeous hotel. It looked new and was very modern, with very complicated electronics to operate the lights!

 Dinner was provided at the hotel, it was good, especially the Pumpkin soup; that was delicious.

Opposite the hotel was a large, modern shopping centre, the shops had really nice clothes in at reasonable prices. We did a lot of Christmas shopping. 

Day Three.

Following breakfast Cecilia accompanied us on a walking tour of the city of Brasov. The city is known as 'The Crown of Transylvania'.  There was a short tour around the city highlights, then an optional longer walk along the city walls, for those who wanted to do it. 

Following a hot chocolate to warm up - it was a bitterly cold day. We explored the Black Church with Cecilia then boarded the coach for the drive to Bran.

Located in the hilly forests of Bran is 'Dracula's Castle' . The castle was built in the 14th Centaury by the Germans, and Bram Stoker made it famous by using it as the setting for Dracula in his novel. 

First we had a very tasty lunch of traditional Goulash in the Queen Marias Tea House located below the castle. Then we had plenty of time to explore the castle itself and check out the souvenir shops.  

Returning to Brasov we went to the Christmas market and enjoyed the mulled wine- it was very strong; I think it was hot brandy!

Day Four 

we travelled by coach to Sighisoara, a Medieval fortress town. The guided walking tour showed us all the sights. We visited the birth place of Dracula, with himself in the coffin!

Back on the coach it was a short journey to Sibiu and we were very pleased that the Continental Hotel was located within the Old Town. 

Dinner was provided by the hotel, it was a buffet, the first on this tour and for the first time there was not a lot of food left by the time we got to it. So we went to a local restaurant in the old town and enjoyed a traditional meal of a tasty, filling soup and cabbage rolls served with sour cream and polenta.  Then explored the large Christmas Market. 

Day Five

Walking from the hotel into the town of Sibiu we had a guided walking tour of the Old Town. 

One of the highlights was attending the Orthodox Church and participating in the St Nicolas day celebration. 

Sibiu is a beautiful town and I was glad that we had a free afternoon to explore, we visited the local markets and climbed to the top of the Clock Tower. 

In the evening the coach took us to a nearby village, Sibiel, where the whole group had a traditional dinner at the home of a local (must be a large) family. Home made Wine / Beer and Plumb Brandy was included. The menu for the traditional dinner was the same as we had the night before; but the restaurants food was better! 

Day Six 

it was a very early start today as the coach left the hotel at 07.00 and took us to Sibiu train station. 

We then got a small local train; only two carriages, that took us on a scenic journey to Calimanesti. sadly the weather was poor, with low cloud so it wasn't the best conditions to enjoy a scenic journey. We then visited the Cozia Monastery and watched an Orthodox service. 

it was then a very long and slow coach journey to Bucharest where we went to the Christmas market in Constitution square 

before checking into the Union Plaza Hotel again. This time we were on the 10th floor in a very large room. 

Dinner tonight was included and was in the Old Town at a traditional restaurant. 

Day Seven

The final day,  another early start as we had a 10.00 booking at the Romanian Parliament Palace / Building.

Emirates Airline New Uniform? 

following the visit, time was given to visit the Christmas market again, but it was very wet in the square so we skipped the market and walked around the Old Town before returning to the coach.

Then it was time for the short drive to the airport to get the British Airways flight to Heathrow. 

The flight arrived late, and so was an hour late into Heathrow, baggage collection was painfully slow. 

It was a rush to get from terminal 3 to terminal 5 for our BA Manchester flight. We just made it!

I enjoyed the Ledger Holiday, the hotels were of a good standard and the food was mostly OK. the driver and local guide were both excellent. 

I felt the itinerary was just a day to long, as day six was a bit of a drag and very drawn out, and I would have been happy to skip the monastery and return from Sibiu to Bucharest on that day, and get the early flight home on the last day. But overall it was a good tour and I would book with Ledger again.