Romania is a country that I fell in love with more than 15 years ago, but it can be a little bit harder to enjoy in the depths of winter.

If you’re coming to Romania for a visit, here are my top 5 months to visit (in order):

1. May
2. July
3. June
4. September
5. August

May

Easily my #1 favorite month. There’s always a surprise snowstorm in April and/or March, and spring never quite seems to be friendly warm until the month of May rolls around. The days are warm and sunny without being too hot, and the nights have just the right amount of “chill” to enjoy.

July

It can be hot in July, but it isn’t usually overbearingly hot. The days are super long, as in crazy long. Expect to see light in the sky at 4:00 am and still be able to read a newspaper at 9:00 pm. It’s also a month jam-packed with festivals, concerts, and other cool things to enjoy outdoors.

June

Why is June number three and not number two? Well, mostly because there are periods of rain. Romania is a very fertile country and this means that it has to rain some of the time. June is pretty sweet though, so don’t think that being number three on my list is anything to be ashamed of. When it rains, the rain is warm, and when it’s a dry day, there’s plenty of delicious sunshine and warm temperatures to enjoy. June is a summer month, perfect T-shirt and shorts/skirts weather.

September

Ahh, September, the month that Europeans always overlook because this is when they go back to school and work. But I can tell you from long experience that at least the first half of September is gorgeous. The beach too is also great in September as it’s had three months of hot weather to heat up the water. It might not be summer hot by the latter half of September, but the truly cold/fall weather is still a long, long way off.

August

Oh, August, the month when every town turns into a sleepy village. August can be hot, although never really oppressively hot for longer than a day or two. August is a pretty good month, but be aware that any place that isn’t a tourist mecca is going to be really slow with fewer people, fewer museums and other things open, and fewer things to see and do.

Just for the record, the weather in the Republic of Moldova (RM) is nearly identical to that of Romania, so everything I said about Romania also goes for Moldova.

ENJOY YOUR TRIP!