Romania & Moldova (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) [Paperback]

Robert Reid (Author), Leif Pettersen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

Discover Romania & Moldova

Ponder whether Bucharest is the 'Paris of the East' at its own Triumphal Arch.
Roam deserted stretches of sand where the Danube meets the Black Sea.
Find out why the keys to 'Dracula's castle' are held by a New York architect.
Enjoy a tipple at the winery where Russia's President Putin celebrated his 50th birthday.

In This Guide

Two authors, 16 months of in-country research, three car accidents, eight road trips slowed by jaywalking goats.
Fully updated information on Moldovan wineries and Transylvanian castles.
The only guidebook to cover Moldova and its autonomous regions of Transdniestr and Gagauzia.
Content updated daily: visit lonelyplanet.com for up-to-the-minute reviews, updates and traveler suggestions.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Best for curious and independent-minded travelers' --Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
* When we update our guidebooks, we check every listing, in person, every time.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travellers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 4 edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1741044782
• ISBN-13: 978-1741044782
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #520,846 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Travel > Europe > Romania & Moldova

More About the Author

Leif Pettersen, a freelance writer, insatiable traveler and semi-professional wino from Minneapolis, Minnesota, worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis for nine years, at times sitting in a stale-aired, underground bunker - required to carry a pager, cell phone and laptop with him 24 hours a day. At age 33, he reinvented himself as a possession-less, world-traveling, freelance writer. He has since traveled through over 40 countries and has lived in Spain, Romania and Italy (he speaks all three languages in descending order of fluency).

Pettersen has been a juggler since he was 12 years old, loves chocolate, hates pickles, types with exactly four fingers, can escape from a straitjacket, and has never taken a writing class.

Pettersen writes for Lonely Planet (he wrote the guidebooks for Romania, Moldova and Tuscany), LonelyPlanet.com, the executive business traveler magazine Global Traveler, MSN, AOL's Gadling.com and more. Pettersen dishes on Romanian pick-pocket tricks, the woes of Italian internet service, and where to find the best pizza in Moldova on his blog, KillingBatteries.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book saved my #$%!, September 20, 2006

By 

R. Cottrell (Philly, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romania & Moldova (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) (Paperback)

This book is great.

Last summer I took my first overseas trip in my life. Being a lazy American, I did no real research and I landed in Bucharest Romania with nothing to fall back on but the 3rd Edition of Lonely Planet's "Romania & Moldova."

I was supposed to meet a friend who was traveling from Russia, but long story short... I was not able to meet up with him until 5 days later. I did not have any travel itinerary but this book allowed me to make the most of those 5 days by myself.
After those first days on my own, I finally met my buddy in Budapest Hungary, but then we traveled back to Romania for another 5 days or so.

The information in this book made it possible for me to have the trip of a lifetime. The only thing wish I did differently was take a Romanian language book with me.
That said, this book was hands down an invaluable asset to me.
I used this book to visit Bucharest, Deva, Hunedoara, Sighisoara, Sibiu and Poienari. (Except for Bucharest
I did not know anything about these towns and cities but this book helped me find them)

Traveling in a country where I could not speak the language and very few people could speak English was a tough experience for me, but this book helped make my trip an awesome adventure.
If I every make it back to Romania, I will be taking this book with me!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Guide to ROmania, February 7, 2008

By 

Rimon A. Toma - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romania & Moldova (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) (Paperback)

I bought this book in 2007 for my 2008 trip to Romania. I was impressed. I was on this trip with my girlfriend who is a native Romanian and live in Romania. Still, the book showed us stuff she wasn't aware of. And in the cities outside Bucharest the book was really specific and perfect. If you follow what is written in this book, you will enjoy this trip 100% and will be using your time effciently.
I have to admit, this book saved us when we were stuck in Sibiu trying to figure out how to go to the next city. Also is has very accurate maps..

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romania the beautifull, November 23, 2004

By 

Teodor Dornea "Teo" (Fairbanks,AK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romania & Moldova (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) (Paperback)

To be upfront with people I'm originally from Romania and thus know a lot about the culture and places. I bought the book to see what somebody else has to say about my home country and I loved it. If you are new to Romania, maybe you don't know where it is, maybe you just heard about it, or something than definately buy the book to see what it's all about. Romania as described here is an "exotic" country with many traditions and fantastic places but not enough visitors.