Bran Castle is famous for being the inspiration for Dracula’s Castle and it feels like it’s one of those things that you just have to do when you visit Romania. The castle has its history, but much of it is fiction. Still, that doesn’t stop all of the tourists from visiting this fortress in this mountains of Transylvania.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Bran Castle.
About Bran Castle
Bran Castle was built in 1377, so it’s a pretty old castle. It’s a fortress that’s perched high on a hill and it’s no wonder why it’s been considered as Dracula’s Castle. However, it should be noted that it’s never been proven that Bram Stoker based Dracula’s Castle on Bran Castle. Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for the character of Dracula, also never lived at Bran Castle.
So why did Bran Castle become known as Dracula’s Castle? Because Romania needed to pick a castle to associate with Dracula for tourism. Bran Castle won and now it is one of the most visited places in Romania.
Tickets for Bran Castle
I highly recommend purchasing your tickets to Bran Castle online in advance. Tickets come with timed entries and by purchasing your ticket in advance, you can guarantee a visit that works in your Romania itinerary.
Additionally, when you purchase your ticket, you’ll have the options of a few add ons. I didn’t add on any of these options and just took the basic ticket to Bran Castle. I don’t feel like I missed out on anything, but you may feel different.
Standard Ticket – This is your basic ticket. It includes entrance into the grounds and the castle itself.
Time Tunnel – For an extra 30 LEI, you can ride the award winning elevator and learn about history.
Torture Exhibition Ticket – For an extra 30 LEI, you can visit the torture rooms at the castle. I was able to peak in to this exhibit through a window and was pretty happy that I saved the money on this. Granted, I didn’t experience the full thing, but it looked kinda cheesy based on what I could see.
Lastly, if you search “Bran Castle Tickets”, several sites pop up claiming to be the official site for tickets. Buy from the official site to get the best prices.
How to Get to Bran Castle
You have a few different options for how to visit Bran Castle and it’s up to you to determine what makes the most sense for your trip to Romania.
By Car
If you already have a rental car, you can drive straight to Peles Castle, park and explore. You’ll still have a bit of walking since there’s no parking directly at the castle, but plenty of people visit Peles and Pelisor Castles by car and park at a paid lot within the town of Bran.
By Tour
For those without a car and who are short on time, I think a guided tour could be the best option. Tours depart daily from Brasov and from Bucharest and typically visit both Peles Castle and Bran Castle.
The biggest thing I’ve noticed when researching though is that you need to pay attention to what’s actually included in your tour fee. Several of the tours offered on sites like GetYourGuide don’t actually include entrance into the castles themselves.
By Bus
I chose to visit Bran Castle independently from Brasov and that meant taking a bus to Bran. There is no train stop in Bran, so you have to take the bus.
Buses depart hourly from the Autogara Station 2. The website seems to indicate that buses will also depart from the bus station next to the train station, but information online seemed to disagree with this. So, to make things easier, head to Autogara Station 2.
Buses leave every hour on the hour and take between 40 and 50 minutes depending on traffic. At the time of writing the bus costs 15 LEI and must be paid in cash to the driver.
When you’re ready to leave, you’ll have to wait at the “station”, which is very close to the entrance of Bran Castle. You can find the spot here on GoogleMaps, but it’s more of a bus stop than actual station. Buses leave every one to two hours at the :40 mark.
Note that when I took the bus back to Brasov, we never stopped at Autogara Station 2 and went to the train station. I wasn’t complaining since that was closer to where I needed to be, but it definitely made me question what the official route actually is.
Tips to Make Your Visit to Bran Castle Better
So, you’ve decided to visit Bran Castle. Here’s just a few tips to make your visit just a little bit better.
Book Your Ticket Early
You can book your ticket online in advance and save time in line when you visit Bran Castle. To be clear, this only allows you to skip the first line at the gates to Bran Castle. You’ll still have to wait in line to enter Bran Castle once you make it up the stairs (unless you purchase a fast track ticket).
While I didn’t see quite the same issues at Bran Castle that I did at Peles Castle, I’d still recommend purchasing your ticket online in advance. It just takes the headaches out of the equation and allows you to plan your day better.
I visited in summer on a weekend and had no problem purchasing my ticket two days before.
Purchase your ticket in advance at the official website. Note that in Romania, I found several imposter websites. They’ll sell official tickets, but it costs more than the official ticket. Save your money and buy tickets from the official site. Reminder that this is the official site for Bran Castle tickets.
Be Strategic About Your Arrival Time
Bran Castle is busy and for that reason alone, I’d try to visit first thing in the morning, which means picking up a ticket for the earliest time slot. However, just because your ticket says 9:00 am, doesn’t mean you can enter Bran Castle at 9:00 am. They’ll let you into the grounds but then they only allow a few people in at a time. So the line backs up.
So rather than waiting in line and then ending up in a large group of people, I’d arrive about a half hour after the start time on your ticket. That allows most people to go through the castle and should give you the opportunity to enter the castle without a line. My hope is that this means that you’ll be able to visit with slightly few people.
No matter when you visit, there will be plenty of other tourists, but you can be strategic to try to minimize the amount of tourists that are surrounding you.
My Visit to Bran Castle
I’ve talked about my own visit to Bran Castle throughout this article, but I want to give just a few more notes for planning purposes. Specifically, I want to talk about some timings for those traveling independently on public transportation.
I took the 8:00 bus from Brasov and we arrived in Bran at about 8:40. This was perfect since I didn’t have to rush to get to Bran Castle and I also wasn’t there too early.
I had a 9:00 am ticket and once I got through the gate, I headed straight to the castle. There’s always going to be a line to enter the castle and it will always be filled with people. You can time your visit a bit, but I went in at about 9:15. It was busy, but I wasn’t dodging tour groups like I was at Peles Castle.
I finished at Bran Castle at about 10:00 am. From there, I walked down the road to a few viewpoints of Bran Castle before catching the 10:40 bus back to Brasov. This was plenty of time for me and I never felt rushed. While I could have stayed in Bran, there were so many tourists by that point that I was happy to head back to Brasov.
It should be noted that I visited on a Sunday so bus schedules were slightly different. It’s worth checking out the up to date timetables for the buses returning to Brasov once you arrive in Bran, just so you have a rough idea of when the bus leaves.
More Things to Do in Bran
Honestly, I didn’t feel like I needed to spend a lot of time in Bran. This town is small and busy with tourists. Despite being in town early in the morning, I could not believe how many people were there and by the time I finished at Bran Castle, I decided that I was just ready to leave.
That said, I was dependent on the bus and I had a bit of time to kill. If you’re like me, I’d recommend walking down the road toward the Queen Mary Chapel. Nearby, you can find some nice views of Bran Castle. I wouldn’t say they are as nice as the views from the grounds of Bran Castle, but there are less people and these views are free.
Final Thoughts
Is Bran Castle touristy? Absolutely, but I don’t think that it means that you shouldn’t visit. With appropriate expectations, you can enjoy a trip to Bran Castle. Besides, it does feel like one of those things you just have to do when you visit Romania.
