Budapest to Sofia Adventure — Self-Launched

Land at Budapest Ferenc Liszt Airport (BUD) and take the 100E airport shuttle bus to Deák Ferenc tér in the centre (£2.50, ~40 mins) — don't buy a taxi, the bus drops you right in the middle of things. Check into a hostel or budget pension in District VII or VIII. Spend the late afternoon doing your own orientation walk: Váci utca, the Danube promenade, and the Chain Bridge at sunset. If you're in town on a warm evening, join a free tip-based city walking tour (pay what you like, ~£5) or just wander the ruin bars on Kazinczy utca. Eat goulash and lángos at a cheap self-service canteen (~£7).

🚌Airport bus 100E (~£2.50) plus walking and metro tickets (~£1 each)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse, District VII/VIII (£12–18)

• →Self-guided orientation walk along the Danube
• →Chain Bridge & Buda Castle exterior at sunset
• →Optional free tip-based walking tour

Spend the morning exploring Budapest properly — the Great Market Hall, the thermal baths (Széchenyi or the cheaper Rudas, ~£15), or the House of Terror if you're in the mood for history. Grab a coffee at one of the social-enterprise cafés in District VIII before heading out. In the afternoon travel to Romania: the practical route is an overnight-ish series of buses/trains toward Arad via Szeged or Békéscsaba (Flixbus Budapest–Arad is often £10–15, ~4.5 hrs). Balla Géza Winery sits in the Arad/Miniș wine hills near Păuliș — book a room directly with the winery guesthouse in advance (~£25–30 B&B), and pre-arrange a pick-up or local taxi from Arad (~£12). Evening wine tasting and a traditional Romanian dinner at the winery (~£20).

🚌Flixbus or train Budapest–Arad (~£13), local taxi/pick-up to winery (~£6 shared)

🛏Balla Géza Winery guesthouse, Miniș/Păuliș (£25–30)

• →Great Market Hall
• →Thermal bath soak (optional)
• →Balla Géza winery tour & tasting
• →Traditional Romanian dinner

Breakfast at the winery, then travel on toward Sighișoara. The cheapest reliable route is a bus or train from Arad to Teiuș/Axente Sever and onward to Sighișoara (Autogara lines run this corridor; ~5–6 hrs, £10–14). Alternatively a Flixbus Arad–Sibiu plus a local bus gets you there by evening. Drop your bag at a guesthouse inside or just below the citadel walls (~£20–25). Spend the late afternoon wandering the cobbled upper town: the Clock Tower (free to enter the square, small fee for the tower), the Scholars' Staircase, and the yellow-and-ochre streets. Dinner of ciorbă and papanași in a cellar restaurant (~£10).

🚌Bus/train via Teiuș or Sibiu (~£12)

🛏Guesthouse in the Sighișoara citadel (£20–25)

• →Clock Tower & citadel walk
• →Scholars' Staircase
• →Casa Vlad Dracul (birthplace of Vlad the Impaler)

This is the day the group tour does with a local guide — replicate it by taking a local bus to a Saxon village such as Viscri or Saschiz and walking the lanes: fortified churches, horse carts, haystacks and farm gates. Buses from Sighișoara to Viscri/Saschiz run a couple of times a day (~£1.50 each way); alternatively join a small-group day tour from Sighișoara booked via GetYourGuide or a local agency for ~£35. Viscri's fortified church entry is ~£4. In the late afternoon take the train or bus to Brașov (Sighișoara–Brașov regional trains are ~£4 and take 2 hrs). Check into a hostel or pension in the old town (~£20). Evening on Piața Sfatului.

🚌Local village bus (~£3 return), train Sighișoara–Brașov (~£4)

🛏Hostel or pension near Piața Sfatului, Brașov (£18–22)

• →Saxon village walk (Viscri or Saschiz)
• →Viscri fortified church (~£4)
• →Brașov old town evening

Take local bus 20 or 23 from Brașov's Livada Poștei station toward Bran (about 45 mins, ~£1.50). Bran Castle entry is ~£11 and gets busy — go early. The castle is the 'Dracula's Castle' of souvenir fame (Vlad the Impaler probably never stayed here, but the place is genuinely pretty). Back in Brașov, walk up to the Black Church (~£6), the White Tower and Catherine's Gate, and wander the Schei district. If you want a bigger hike, the cable car up Tâmpa is ~£5 for views over the red rooftops. Big dinner of bulz and grilled sausages ~£9.

🚌Local bus to Bran (~£1.50 each way), walking in town

🛏Hostel or pension, Brașov (£18–22)

• →Bran Castle (~£11)
• →Black Church (~£6)
• →Tâmpa cable car or hike (optional ~£5)

Take the intercity train from Brașov to Bucharest Nord — roughly 2.5 hrs, £8–12 depending on the service. Drop bags at a hostel near the old town (~£18–22) and do your own orientation walk: Revolution Square, the Ateneul Român, the Calea Victoriei, and the vast Palace of the Parliament (book a guided tour in advance, ~£10). The National Village Museum is a great low-cost afternoon (~£4). For dinner, try the Romanian craft-beer spots around Lipscani — a plate of mici and a beer is ~£10.

🚌Intercity train Brașov–Bucharest (~£10)

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel in Lipscani/Universitate (£18–22)

• →Self-guided old town orientation walk
• →Palace of the Parliament tour (~£10)
• →National Village Museum (~£4)

Morning free for a last Bucharest coffee and the colourful Stavropoleos Monastery. Then cross into Bulgaria — the easiest independent route is a Flixbus or Élite/Union Ivkoni coach from Bucharest to Ruse (~2 hrs, £8) and a connecting bus Ruse–Veliko Tarnovo (~2.5 hrs, £6), or a direct bus if one is running that day. Check a booking platform the day before; direct coaches take about 4.5 hrs all-in. Arrive in Veliko Tarnovo and settle into a guesthouse in the old quarter (~£20–25). Evening walk to the Asen's Monument and a first Bulgarian dinner — shopska salad, kavarma and rakia (~£10).

🚌Bus Bucharest–Ruse (~£8) + Ruse–Veliko Tarnovo (~£6)

🛏Guesthouse in Veliko Tarnovo old town (£20–25)

• →Stavropoleos Monastery
• →Asen's Monument evening walk

Start with the Tsarevets Fortress, the hilltop citadel of the medieval Bulgarian tsars — entry ~£4 and worth two hours. Then take local bus 3 or a short taxi (~£4) up to the hilltop stone village of Arbanasi, where frescoed merchant houses and the Nativity Church (~£7) are the highlights. Walk the lanes and stop for lunch with a view. In the afternoon the operator's cycling option can be matched with a bicycle hire in town (~£8 half-day) along the Yantra river gorge — or simply walk the Boris Denev park trail. Back in town, sip a glass of local wine on a terrace over the gorge.

🚌Local bus/taxi to Arbanasi (~£2), bicycle hire (~£8)

🛏Guesthouse, Veliko Tarnovo (£20–25)

• →Tsarevets Fortress (~£4)
• →Arbanasi village & Nativity Church (~£7)
• →Cycle or walk the Yantra gorge (~£8)

Take the bus or train to Sofia — buses from Veliko Tarnovo's Avtogara Yug run several times daily (~3 hrs, £8–10). Check into a hostel or budget hotel near the city centre (~£20–25). Do your own orientation walk: the golden-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (free to enter, crypt ~£3), the Roman ruins of Serdica, Vitosha Boulevard and the eclectic Ladies' Market. Finish with a hearty Bulgarian dinner and a glass of Melnik red (~£12).

🚌Bus Veliko Tarnovo–Sofia (~£9), metro/tram tickets (~£0.80 each)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel central Sofia (£20–25)

• →Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
• →Serdica Roman ruins
• →Ladies' Market & Vitosha Boulevard

Last morning for a coffee on Graf Ignatiev street and any souvenir shopping before heading to Sofia Airport. The metro (Line 1/M4) runs from Serdika to the airport in about 30 minutes for ~£1 — far cheaper than a taxi. Depart at any time.

🚌Sofia metro to airport (~£1)

🛏—

• →Free morning in central Sofia