The festival circuit
🎵 Kapital (Jul 3–5) — National Arena, Bucharest. Electronic, pop and hip-hop in the capital. The logical start to a Romanian summer.
🏖️ Beach, Please! (Jul 8–13) — Nibiru beach, Costinești on the Black Sea. Billed as the world's largest hip-hop festival — six days of beach camping and sea-view stages.
🏰 Electric Castle (Jul 16–20) — Banffy Castle, Bontida (25 km from Cluj). A 5-day festival set around an actual 15th-century Transylvanian castle. Genuinely unlike any festival in Europe.
🎆 Untold (Aug 6–9) — Cluj Arena. Romania's flagship festival, consistently ranked among the world's best — 200+ artists, four nights.
The July circuit (~21 days): Kapital → Beach Please → Electric Castle. Arrive Bucharest Jul 1, exit Cluj Jul 21. The full summer (all four) needs a month — worth it if you have the time.
Getting around by CFR train
CFR Călători connects the full circuit. Comfortable InterCity trains with reserved seats and air conditioning — slower than Western Europe but significantly cheaper.
- Bucharest → Constanța (2.5h) — east to the Black Sea for Beach Please. Constanța station is 32 minutes from Costinești (taxi or shuttle).
- Bucharest → Brașov (2.5h) — west into Transylvania.
- Brașov → Cluj-Napoca (3.5h) — through Sighișoara. Shuttle buses run to Bontida for Electric Castle.
- Cluj-Napoca → Oradea (2.5h) — exit to Budapest and Western Europe.
Booking: cfrcalatori.ro. A Bucharest–Cluj ticket costs €10–20. Eurail/Interrail covers CFR; IC seat reservations cost €2–5.
Between festivals: what to see
The gaps between festivals are Romania's secret weapon:
- Bucharest — Wild nightlife, the Palace of Parliament (world's second-largest building), and Herastrău Park. Budget 2 nights.
- Sinaia (1h from Bucharest by train) — Peles Castle, Romania's most spectacular royal palace. Perfect half-day stop.
- Brașov — Compact medieval old town in a mountain valley, cable car up Tampa hill, and day trips to Bran Castle. Budget 2 nights.
- Sighișoara — UNESCO-listed medieval citadel on the Brașov–Cluj rail line. Stop for a few hours.
Planning your trip
Fly in: Bucharest (OTP) is the main hub — Wizz Air and Ryanair from across Europe. Cluj (CLJ) has direct connections to London and Paris, ideal for an Electric Castle or Untold-only trip.
Overland: Budapest → Cluj-Napoca (~5h) covers Eurail/Interrail and is a scenic entry.
Book early: Untold and Electric Castle early-bird tiers sell out in January–February. Accommodation near festival venues goes fast — Costinești for Beach Please is mostly camping (included with some ticket tiers).
Cash: Romania uses the leu (RON), not euros. Festival vendors and rural areas prefer cash.
Plan your Romanian festival summer
EuroTrekker builds the circuit — Cluj, Bucharest for Kapital, then Constanța for Beach Please — with real CFR train connections throughout.