Romania · Carpathians · Premium route guide
Romania Mountain Passes, 8 days from Thessaloniki
Eight days, 2,127 km and the two mountain roads every rider has on their list. The Transfagarasan with its tunnels and hairpins above Balea Lake, and the Transalpina, higher, emptier and for many the better road. The full route on the map, a GPX you can drop into your GPS, and the motorcycle-friendly stays riders have already vetted along the way.
- Distance
- 2,127.1 km
- Peak elevation
- 2,106 m
- Elevation gain
- 14,794 m
- Best months
- Jun–Sep
The route
Romania holds the two most famous mountain roads in eastern Europe, and this tour rides them both in a single trip from Thessaloniki. Out via Sofia and the Danube plain, up the Transfagarasan to Balea Lake, a rest day in Brasov, then home over the Transalpina and the Bulgarian border. The first two days are honest transit; days three to six are the reason you came.
Suggested by StayToRide member Giannis Tkd. If you want the two passes on their own, we have dedicated in-depth pages for the Transfagarasan and the Transalpina. This tour is the full itinerary that joins them into one rideable holiday.
1 verified stay within 30 km of the route. Click a stay pin to see details. Know one that should be here?
Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route, how to load this into your GPS
What you are downloading is a GPX track, a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It is not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zumo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner, new trip from track) if you want turn by turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive, it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it does not re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour, Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these do not read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line, pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~17 m at the base to 2,106 m at the top, 14,794 m of total climbing across the route.
Days 1-2 are the approach. Thessaloniki to Sofia is an easy border hop at Promachonas, and day 2 crosses Bulgaria diagonally to Sibiu. It is long and plain in the literal sense: the Carpathians only rise on the horizon as you reach Transylvania. Treat these as travel days and do not try to make them exciting.
Day 3 is the Transfagarasan. From Cartisoara the road climbs through the trees and then simply leaves them behind: switchbacks on open mountainside, the long tunnel at Balea Lake and the descent past the Vidraru dam to Curtea de Arges. Day 4 crosses to Brasov for a proper rest day in one of Europe's prettiest mountain cities.
Days 5-6 are the Transalpina, Romania's highest road at 2,145 m. From Obarsia Lotrului the climb is long and the top is a high plateau of grass and rock, completely different in character from the Transfagarasan: fewer hairpins, more horizon. Novaci and Targu Jiu bring you down, and days 7-8 retrace the transit home through Pleven, Sofia and Promachonas.
The road, honestly
The Transfagarasan lives up to its reputation in scenery, not in surface: expect patches, drainage channels and, in season, serious tourist traffic. Go on a weekday, early. The Transalpina is emptier, rougher at the edges and more fun on a bike. Both are strictly seasonal.
Bulgarian and Romanian transit roads are fine but require attention, especially at night and around villages. Ride the transit days fresh and early, and give yourself margin at the borders.
When to go
June to September, full stop. The Transfagarasan and Transalpina close with snow, usually from late October until June, and even in June the top can be closed after a late storm. July and August bring the crowds on the Transfagarasan; September is the connoisseur's month.
Fuel, money and borders
Romania and Bulgaria are in the EU and now in Schengen, so border crossings are quick, but carry your documents anyway. Fuel is cheap and frequent everywhere except between Sibiu and Curtea de Arges on the pass itself, so fill up before the climbs. Cards work in towns, cash helps in the mountains.
What to see along the way
- Balea Lake - Glacial lake at 2,034 m, the high point of the Transfagarasan, reached through the famous tunnel.
- Vidraru Dam - 166 m curved dam with a viewpoint and the start of the northern descent.
- Brasov - Transylvanian city under Tampa mountain, the ideal rest day: old town, Black Church, good beds.
- Transalpina plateau - Romania's highest road riding an open grass ridge above 2,000 m for kilometre after kilometre.
- Sibiu - Former European Capital of Culture and the gateway to the southern Carpathians.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for Romania Mountain Passes, 8 days from Thessaloniki
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Sibiu - change it if you're basing elsewhere.
Rentals powered by BikesBooking. StayToRide may earn a small commission - no extra cost to you.
Verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route, no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
- 7.6 km
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