One of my favourite hikes in Brașov is to Poiana Brașov. There are a few ways to get from Brașov to Poiana Brașov: driving, using public transportation, biking or walking.
When wanting to use public transportation, one needs to get to Livada Poștei and from there take bus 20. Livada Poștei is an important bus stop and busses all throughout town lead here. Just remember that for bus 20 one needs a special bus ticket.
In summer it is not so crowded, thus using public transportation or driving up it’s a good experience, but in winter I don’t recommend either. In winter there are many cars going up and therefore traffic gems are a common sight. It’s hard to find parking and one must drive slow because there are people crossing the street or walking on the street. Taking the bus is one option, but these are usually crowded in winter. And with all the extra clothes or winter gear one takes up, it’s also very hot – not a great experience.
That is why walking on the “Drumul Vechi” [the old road] is a good choice all throughout the year. In summer it’s colder than in the city which is great and in winter the snow makes everything look more lovely.
In order to get to this road one may walk all through Schei neighbourhood on the small streets or take a bus to Pietrele lui Solomon [Solomon’s rocks]. One can also drive to Pietrele lui Solomon [Solomon’s rocks], there is a large parking, right next to the final bus stop. It is where the Road to Poiana Brașov starts.
With the bus one needs to get to Livada Poștei and from there take the bus 50. From the train station to Pietrele lui Solomon [Solomon’s rocks] it takes about an hour. Only one ticket is needed and it can be bought though the 24pay app with card – the app needs prior instalment on the phone. At the moment, the bus ticket costs 2.5 lei and it lasts for 50 minutes.
I recently used the public transportation to get from the vicinity of the main train station to Pietrele lui Solomon [Solomon’s rocks] and 50 minutes were enough. The buses were not very crowded and we didn’t have to wait – the timing was perfect.
I recommend using Google Maps before embarking on the journey in order to take the best route for you. In winter, for instance, there is line 100 from the train station which takes one directly to Poiana Brasov.
We got the Pietrele lui Solomon [Solomon’s rocks] and from there went up on the Drumul Vechi [Old road]. From the bus stop one needs to walk back three or five meters and then walk up the only ramp there – it has a barrier at the beginning, blocking cars; people just walk by it.
To get to Poiana Mică it takes about 35 minutes and about an hour, in total, to get to Poiana Brasov. While from Pietrele lui Solomon [Solomon’s rocks] to Poiana Mică the ramp is more inclined, from Poiana Mică to Poiana Brașov it’s even easier to walk. This time I’ve seen families with strollers hiking down on the Old road.
There are many things one can do in Poiana Brașov, from enjoying time in nature to eating langosi (large doughnuts with cheese) or kurtoș or enjoying traditional food at a restaurant or hiking on Postăvarul mountain [or take the cable up]. Truth be told, in winter it looks even more wonderful and it offers opportunities for skiing or other winter sports and activities. The resort is quite popular and it’s not the cheapest place to go.
In this last trip we took this summer three things attracted my attention: (a) paintings one could buy right off the street in the resort’s centre – they were wonderful. One picture with winter in Brașov really caught my eye and I still feel sorry I didn’t get it; (b) there are some businesses where one can shoot with a gun or do archery and (c) a place close to the cable with chairs on the grass from where one could enjoy coffee with a nice view.
One thing that I didn’t know about was how many mountain bikers there are. I saw many impressive mountain bicycles and I can just imagine how nice it’s got to be to go down the mountain. I am not sure I have the courage it takes to do it though.
This year our trip included a coffee and soup on the terrace of Impăratul romanilor and a kurtoș we ate on the way down. On the way back we went to Pietrele lui Solomon as well, in order to walk some more and we got water from the fountain there. We walked all the way home and got ice cream near Șaguna high-school from a well known place.
I enjoyed very much this outing and it was the highlight of the staycation. I can’t recommend enough this hike when staying for more than two days in Brașov. It’s not complicated and it provides one with plenty of fresh air and beautiful nature.
Make today count!
