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<h1>Transylvania, Romania, holiday cottages, villas, apartments, hotels and chalets</h1>
<h2>Explore Transylvania in the heart of Romania, a great base for a winter or summer holiday in the Carpathian Mountains</h2>
<p>The first three things people think about when they hear the word Transylvania are Dracula, vampires and castles, nothing wrong with that but this "Land behind the forest", the direct translation from the Latin words "Trans" and "Silva", has so much more to offer. </p>
<p>Its magnificent mountains and rivers, citadels and castles, stories and legends, people and places are of an incredible beauty. </p>
<p>This region is located right in the heart of Romania. While the Romans called it Trans-Sylvania, the name is Ardeal in Romanian, Erdely in Hungarian and Siebenburgen in German. The latter translates as "seven fortress towns".</p>
<p>Those seven towns (Bistrita, Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Medias, Sebes, Sibiu and Sighisoara) are great survivors. They emerged relatively unscathed following the brutal years of Ceausescu's communist tyranny from 1965 to 1989 and have since been restored to their former imposing elegance. </p>
<p>Any of the seven makes a good base for exploring Transylvania, though Sibiu, Brasov and Cluj-Napoca offer the chance to dine like nobility and sleep in regal surroundings for bargain prices.</p>
<p>As well as the gothic castles and misty mountains of fiction, the real Transylvania has flower-filled meadows, lost-in-time villages, sun-drenched plains dotted with Saxon churches and castle ruins, and family-friendly ski slopes. This complex and exciting region makes a superb holiday destination.</p>
<p>Mountains surround Transylvania. The borders of the region are defined by the swooping crescent-shaped loop of the Carpathians enclosing all but a small stretch in the northwest. Transylvanians love winter sports, and with the arrival of the first snowfall they head for Poiana Brasov, the best-equipped resort in Romania. The slopes suit beginners and intermediates and there are excellent nursery slopes.</p>
<p>South of Brasov, en route to Bucharest, the Prahova Valley holds a clutch of ski resorts. Sinaia, the "Pearl of the Carpathians", boasts a collection of cable cars that sway up to the towering peaks at 2,000m. Busteni is a health resort and gateway to the dramatic Bucegi (bucegipark.ro) mountains and Natural Park, and is filled with houses that wouldn't look out of place in The Addams Family. Meanwhile, Predeal (predeal.ro) is the highest town in Romania, at an elevation of 1,033m. </p>
<p>The only direct flights from the UK to Transylvania are on Wizz Air between Luton and Cluj-Napoca. Otherwise, the best route is to Bucharest's Otopeni airport or Tarom. Budapest is another possible gateway, with a fine train ride into the heart of Transylvania. </p>
<p>Rail services are the cheapest in Europe, and reasonably efficient if not exactly express; see infofer.ro for times and fares. Buses and minibuses ("maxi-taxis") cover the region; schedules are patchy.</p>
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