Covasna County
Covasna County is in Transylvania, Romania.
Cities
Understand
The county sits among mountains in the Eastern Carpathians group. Most towns can be found in the valleys and depressions along the different rivers crossing the county. The main river is the Olt River; along its banks lies the capital city Sfântu Gheorghe.
Talk
The majority of the county's population is of Hungarian ethnic (~74%), a notable exception being the Intorsura Buzaului area. Hungarian is what you will hear most often, but Romanian is also spoken and it is the official language. Almost all locals speak and understand Romanian, even though not perfect and their accent might be funny. Foreign languages are less known, especially by elder persons and in rural areas.
Get in
By train
The main train line crosses the country from south to west, the closest railway hub being Brasov (Brassó). There are several long distance, accelerated, rapid and intercity trains connecting the county with other cities from Transylvania (Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár), Satu Mare (Szatmár), Baia Mare (Nagybánya)), Moldavia (Iasi, Suceava]), the capital city of Bucharest, Oltenia (Craiova]) as well as the Black Sea Coast in summer period. There are two international trains connecting the county with Budapest.
By car
The national roads DN11 (Brasov - Bacau - for those coming from Bucharest, from the west or from Moldavia), DN12 (Brasov-Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda) - for those coming from northern Transylvania) and DN10 (from Buzau and the Black Sea Coast) are the main entries to the county.
By plane
There are no airports in the county, the closest international airports being in Bucharest, Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely), Sibiu (Nagyszeben) and Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár). An airport is under construction near Brasov (Brassó), close to the county border.
Get around
By train
A secondary line connects the capital of the county with other town and villages, going from Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy) to Bretcu (Bereck) in south-east - north-west direction, operated by a private company called RegioTrans. In spite of the small distance covered, the travel time can be large (~2 hours for 65km).
By car
This is the most convenient way to explore the county. The national roads (DN) are in good condition, some going through an extensive reconstruction work as of 2010 (DN12, DN2D). The quality of the county and rural roads (codenamed DJ, DC) vary, from very good to very bad, especially in the spring months after a heavy winter. Work is ongoing to improve the situation though.
Stay safe
The whole area is very safe, one of the safest counties in Romania. Violent crime is extremely rare (a few cases per year) and is not linked to tourists, but happens inside a family or between drunken people. Do not get into disputes with drunken people and be aware that many rural locals might carry on a small knife with them (for peaceful reasons, like cutting bread and bacon).
Street begging is mostly an annoyance in the towns, but not a problem in rural places. If a beggar approaches you, say firmly "No!", and walk away.
Stealing from cars or the cars happens from time to time, especially in the eastern part, but it is not a general problem.