How to Get Around Romania

Driving is the best way to see rural Romania, and a hire car is cheap. Main roads are decent and motorway coverage is expanding, but secondary roads can be poor, and horse carts, potholes and overtaking on blind bends are all real. Avoid driving at night in the countryside.

Trains reach most towns and are very cheap. They are also slow — CFR is much improved but averages are low, and a journey that looks short on the map can take all day. InterCity services between the main cities are reasonable.

Minibuses — maxi-taxi — fill the gaps between towns and villages, and are how most Romanians travel. Departures are from a bus station or a known corner rather than a published timetable.

Flying internally between Bucharest, Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi is quick and inexpensive.

In the Danube Delta, boats are the only transport; arrange through your accommodation in Tulcea or the villages.

Bolt and Uber work in the cities and are cheap.