Romania

Understand

With a Black Sea coast to the east, it is bordered by Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the southwest, Hungary to the northwest, Moldova to the northeast and Ukraine in both the north and the east. While its southern regions are usually seen as part of Southeastern Europe (Balkans), Transylvania, its largest region, is in Central Europe. The country is enjoying better standards since the Communist periods, with foreign investment on the rise. It is even considered to be the one of the fastest developing countries in the world due to its rapid GDP growth year by year and infrastructure improvements.

History

The area between the Southern Carpathians and Danube had been inhabited since the dawn of mankind. The human remains found in Peștera cu Oase ("The Cave with Bones"), radiocarbon dated as being from circa 40,000 years ago, represent the oldest known Homo sapiens in Europe

In ancient times the territory of present-day Romania was inhabited mainly by Dacian tribes, which were a remarkable, although not very well known, culture. The Dacian kingdom reached the height of its power in the 1st century BC, when their king Burebista ruled from his power base in the Carpathian Mountains over a vast territory stretching from Central Europe to the Black Sea. The intriguing network of fortifications and shrines built around the Dacian capital Sarmisegetuza, in today's south-western Transylvania, has been relatively well preserved through the ages and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 106 AD, after two fiercely fought wars, the Dacians led by king Decebalus were defeated by the Roman legions under Emperor Trajan and most of their homeland became part of the Roman Empire under the name "Dacia Felix". Being very rich in natural resources (especially gold), the region prosp

Getting there

Getting to Romania is easy from nearly all parts of the world: it is served by an array of transport types and companies. Romania has borders with the following countries: Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldova, and Hungary.

Entry requirements As of 1 January 2025, Romania is fully in the Schengen zone. Travelers in possession of a Schengen visa can enter by air or by sea from a fellow Schengen country without visa checks. Those entering by land are now allowed to enter Romania without a visa check. Citizens of Canada, Japan and the United States are permitted to work in Romania without the need to obtain a visa or any further authorisation for the period of their 90-day visa-free stay. However this ability to work visa-free does not necessarily extend to other countries. If you do need to obtain a visa from outside your own country, try obtaining it from somewhere else beside Budapest, where it can take 3–4 days. From Ljubljana the process can sometimes be done in a day because they are not as busy. If you have a valid Schengen visa or a residence permit in any Schengen country, it may be accepted in lieu of a Romanian visa but it is recommended that you get a multiple-entry visa (if possible) if you plan to sandwich a trip to Romania between two Schengen countries - make sure you mention your visit to Romania (see Travelling around the Schengen area for more information).

By plane

Romania has become increasingly attractive for low cost carriers with 17 civilian airports, 12 of which are served by scheduled international flights. The major international airports are:

Henri Coandă (Otopeni) Airport (OTP IATA), Bucharest – The largest and busiest airport. It has flights to nearly all the major cities in Europe, to a few Middle Eastern capitals, to all other Romanian

Getting around

Getting around Romania is relatively inefficient for the great distances that have to be covered in this country (this is after all, the second-largest country in Central Europe, after Poland). The transport infrastructure has been improving quite significantly, even though roads remain a weak point. There are three operational highways, that connect Bucharest to the seaside and to the cities of Pitești and Ploiești, respectively, and several others under construction. Train travel, however, has improved dramatically. Several upgrade projects are underway for several railway tracks, which makes rail traffic on those lines a bit slow for the time being.

By train Romania has a very dense rail network that reaches practically every town and a sizable number of villages. Although some modernisation is taking place, this network isn't in a very good condition, with low speeds and limited train frequency on many routes. Nonetheless trains remain the best option for long distance travel. Most trains are run by the state carrier, Căile Ferate Române, abbreviated as (SN)CFR. Many secondary lines are operated exclusively by private companies: Regio Călători, Regional and Transferoviar. Trains generally run without major delays, except on lines where there are repair works or during anomalous weather (heavy snow storms in winter, heat waves or floods in summer).

Train types Three major types of trains are available: Regio, InterRegio, and Intercity. The last two types provide reasonable conditions but Regio trains are best avoided.

Regio (R) These are very slow trains, stopping in almost every station (including some in the middle of nowhere). Prices are dirt che