Tell me about Romania

Hi all,

Has anyone done Romania? What's it like? Where to go? Safe or not?

I will be passing through in July, so wanted some thoughts

Steve.

It was the most foreign place I'd ever been in 2005.
I struggled with the homicidal driving at first, but you just join in by day 2.
I found it safe - although poor the people seem honest.
No sign of cops or officials demanding bribes either.

Passing through maybe tougher if you want to go really fast, as even on the motorway you may come upon a gigantic pot-hole or horse and cart going the wrong way.

If you search "Ballistic Romania" you should find my ride report in here.

Go for it!

smaytum said:

Hi all,

Has anyone done Romania? What's it like? Where to go? Safe or not?

I will be passing through in July, so wanted some thoughts

Steve.

Click to expand...

We went in 2007. Had a great holiday. The roads were horrendous then but they had started a road building program. I'd be surprised if any but the main ones are better now. As MR K said the driving is awful but surprisingly few accidents. They expect people to do crazy things & are ready for it - lots of near misses. If it was in this country it would be carnage. Just you be prepared as well for the unexpected. The Transfagarasan Highway is worth doing. We found it pretty reasonable cost-wise but that may have changed. Very hot in July!
Enjoy your trip
Marjie

Hi,
Majority of roads are much better now - driving is still terrible though! Be especially careful on roundabouts - they didnt exist until recently so most have no idea of using the correct lanes! We even have motorways now! Avoid the main DN1 truck route during the week - this is what started all the hooror stories of driving on the site - you would not recommend the m25 or A1 at peak times to a tourist!!!
Wonderful country - I have ended up living there since 2006! lots of good things to see and good places to ride. If you fancy talking through your route and want some advice happy to help. And if I am around - always up for a beer in Brasov! Still plenty of cheap options to stay.
And - it is safe!!
Will be in UK from Friday evening until Sunday midday ish - so if you fancy a chat you can call me on my o2 mobile then or we can chat on skype . 07939 135064

Gavin

Buna ziua

I live in Timisoara, the western most city in Romania.

You shouldn't have any worries about visiting or riding here, though I'd advise against riding at night because of the pot holes and the completely unlit horses and carts. I'd agree with others that the standard of driving is generally pretty terrible but you'll be OK if you concentrate.

Road conditions vary tremendously - ranging from wonderful to downright terrible. Unless you've lots of time stick to the main national roads. Everyone's heard of the Transfagarasan (DN7C), and it's certainly worth seeing and doing, but I prefer the TransAlpina (DN67C), which runs more or less parallel the Transfagarasan, about 50 km to the west. Plenty of other cracking roads, and wonderful scenery, as well.

Don't worry about corruption or bent cops - they don't generally hassle foreigners. I've been stopped and fined several times, including a three month ban, and every time they were polite and fair. Watch your speed through the many villages - radar traps are very common.

I wouldn't plan on camping - there are very few campsites but plenty of very cheap guest houses.

Happy to help with route planning. When you say you'll be "passing through", from where to where?

And it will probably be hot. 34 Celsius here today, and we're only in early June.

Dave

Thanks all for taking time to respond. I don’t have any route planned, other than i’m traveling from Turkey back to the UK. I won’t have the 3 months that Romania deserves, just a few days to pass through. I always prefer challenging roads or mountain tracks over perfect highways, so looking for a bit of fast, a bit of slow, a bit of culture, etc.

So what route should I take? ��

Am I OK to do some wild camping?

Thanks,
Steve

Not sure how much time you intend to spend here, and where you intend to go after Romania. I assume you’ll be travelling via Bulgaria. If so I’d suggest the Vidin-Calafat ferry as the best way to leave Bulgaria and enter Romania. It’s very easy – just turn up, wait for the ferry and then cross. The alternative is the bridge from Russe to Giurgiu. However this means you have to cross what’s called the Wallachian plain (basically the south east part of Romania, which includes Bucharest), which is flat and boring – there are much more interesting parts.

If you’re heading straight back to UK from Romania, you can cross into Hungary at Cenad or Nadlac and then pick up the motorway. Personally I’d go via Timisoara to Cenad.

Here are some of my favourite roads in Romania, all based on personal experience. They’re pretty much concentrated on the west of the country as that’s the part I know best, Gavin’s better placed to advise on Transylvania and the west. Which, if any, you chose to do depends very much on how much time you plan on spending here. If you’re interested, let me have an email address and I’ll send you a .gdb file with the waypoints and routes. One road I haven’t included is the DN57 which runs along the Danube Gorge. This looks tempting from Google Maps, and the scenery is indeed spectacular, but the road is a disaster.

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If you want to see a bit of culture I’d suggest Sibiu (European Capital of Culture in 2007) and Sighisoara (forget Bucharest – Luton has more history and culture).

As for wild camping, there’s no shortages of places, but I wouldn’t. Romania has an estimated 4,000 – 5,000 brown bears.

Have a look at my report from 2009, including an encounter with a bear on the Transfagarasan (http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209194).

Dave

Dave Ford said:

forget Bucharest – Luton has more history and culture (http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209194).

Dave

Click to expand...

Dave - I would have assumed you had chance to discover the Real Bucharest - best seen at 2am......