A train departs Timisaura daily at 8:20am passing through in the center of the country, stopping at among smaller villages the towns of Sibiu (~6 hours) and then Brasov (~8 hours) the two main cities in Transylvania before it connects with the primary (and faster) North South train line between Budapest and Bucharest and turns South for the later (~12 hours).
A common dilemma for travelers is whether to stay in Sibiu or Brasov. Brasov is larger, more central and closer to Bram Castle - the dracula castle that everyone inevitable visits. Sibiu is smaller than Brasov and further from Budapest but a far more compact and charming town, with cobblestone streets, two squares named by their size (the big one and the little one) an enormous gothic church in the center and spectacular architecture all around. There are also some musums which are apparently worth visiting, though I didn't. The Ethnographic Museum is supposedly a highlight though I missed it. In any event, based on my less than 24 hours in both, Sibiu offers a more charming, less crowded experience than Brasov which is a rather large bustling city.
The best way to see both cities, and the region - is to rent a car. While it's possible to stay in either place and travel to the other by rail this misses out on the best, most beautiful parts of Romania. Renting a car in Romania is easy, and extremely convenient if a bit pricey. Autonom will deliver the car to your hotel or hostel, and for an additional but not exorbitant fee it it is possible to return the car in another city. To rent in Sibiu and return in Brasov is an additonal E50 on top of the E80 I paid for an automatic. The car I had was a brand new superefficient Volkswagon which ran on Diesel. After driving it all over for the day and arriving in Brasov the total gas cost was ~90 Lei (~$27.)
More importantly, the best parts of Transylvania are its mountains and lakes and the countless small villages which appear to have been unchanged for decades if not centuries. Driving through these towns which rarely see foreigners in a new car with rental plactes will get you some looks - but it will also get you to some of the more remote places which are rarely visited by larger tours, and give you a sense of the real heartland of the country, farmers on horsecarts and tractors, old women in traditional clothing, everyone sitting on their front steps in the evening talking with their neighbors, and wondering who this outsider is in the rental car taking pictures of things.
In a day, there is a lot to see between Sibiu and Brasov in a rental car. Two on the way that shouldn't be missed are Balea Lake, in the mountains reached by driving Transfagarasan (also known as Naional Road 7C, or Ceausescu's Folly after communist leader Nicholas Ceausescu who built the road as a strategic military route) as well as the highway iteself which winds its way casually over the spectacular greeness of th Fagaras Mountains. Top Gear traveled it in 2009. It has been called one of the most beautiful roads in the world and it's hard to argue.
After winding through the mountains and plenty of photo stops (pull-offs are at virtually every turn in the road) stands near the sumit run by local villagers selling homemade cheese and cured meats signal arrival at Balea Lake. Here there are a number of lodge restraunts, and there is hiking and camping nearby. It is windy and can be cold at the top even in summer. A short distance past this through a tunnel to the other side of the mountain is what looks like an abandoned farmhouse and a police outpost. From here serious climb will bring you to Lake Capra. Unspoiled by lodges and far more rarely visited due to the difficulty in getting there, it is worth a trip but fair warning, it is a serious hike up a rocky cliffside. To get all the way to the lake (rather than to the summit from which it can be seen will take at least 3 hours roundtrip), but the climb is worth the reward. 2,250 meters up a well-marked but vertical rocky trail and at the summit it turns back to green meadow. On a good day the sun will come out just as you arrive and a short distance further around the bend the shimmering lake appears reflecting the sky above. People camp near the lake, though I didn't make it all the way down there. It took far longer and far more effort than I anticipated, it's probably not a hike that should be done alone, and I was hoping just to make it back down alive.
Rather than continuing South on 7C I headed back North the way I came to the E68 connectng Sibiu and Brasov. E68 is a two lane road but a good one, and it weaves through many small villages, nearly all of them with a tourist sign promoting some local castle, church or monestary. Some of them are not worth visiting - one castle for instance appeared to be just a large renovated house - I didn't realize it was a "castle" until the road immediately after it turned to dirt. But each detour leads to a new rarely-visited village often with surprises of its own - an amazing vista, an incredible monestary, a storks nest! at the next turn.
There is far more to see, a week in a rental car in the middle of Romania is sure to be an incredible week, but a day between Sibiu and Brasov offers a pretty good taste.
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