Driving Eastern Europe - Prague->Budapest->Bucharest, Safe 2018?

I think the big concern would be the cost of the car with a pickup in Prague, EU and a drop off in Romania. Have you checked on the prices? Last time someone asked about this a private car and driver from Budapest to Bucharest was cheaper than a rental. But that was a few years back. Besides the car will be useless in Vienna, Budapest and Bucharest and parking can be expensive.

I've made the drive from Budapest to Bucharest and while interesting, wasn't amazing. There are some amazing drives outside of Bucharest, but in all four directions. I've also made the drive from Prague most of the way to Vienna; that was very good with a couple of good stops. The best drive I have ever done was Sofia to Istanbul. Simply amazing.

If It were me rather spend the money on the car i would take the discount airlines to hubs and then rent a car at the hubs to go out for day trips and overnight trips. No one way international car rental costs and not much in parking fees that way. Still, in Romania a car and driver wont cost much more than the rental alone and then you have someone who knows where to go.

Oh, and if its the Black Sea Coast you are interested in, the two jewels in my mind are Nessebar, Bulgaria and Odesa, Ukraine. The first for history and beauty; the second for the street scene and all night celebrations...

Nessebar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecXai7zVQ4o
Odesa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb8Xd8KYLAo

There are significant advantages to having a knowledgeable driver in rural Romania. I took a small-group 2-day tour from Cluj Napoca to Maramures in 2015. It was organized by Retro Hostel, but staying at the hostel wasn't required. The cost was about €120, including overnight in a rural guesthouse and 3 very good home-grown meals. The guide worked very hard for us and we saw a great deal.

I don't think there's any correlation between "refugee issues" and driving safety. It's more of a function of road quality, weather and driver experience. Plus Central/Eastern European countries aren't volunteering to accept refugees so you're not likely to cross them where you're going. Are you planning on doing a round trip with this car? If not, the drop off fees will be enormous (assuming they allow you to drop off in another country)

The alternative is public transit. Much, much cheaper.

Not very good statistics available, but possibly a mistake to equate migrants with increased crime.
Germany records (in 2017) lowest crime rate since 1992
& Politifact: "the typical German was more likely to engage in crime than the average migrant."

Pat,

So you can compare costs.

We spent about a week in Montenegro last year. I priced renting a car with pick up and drop off in Perast (Titograd). Anything we would fit in comfortably for a week ran no less than 80 euro a day. To that add gas and tolls and parking on our stops. Not bad, I estimated a total of maybe 100 euro a day.

As i turns out we hired a car (Audi A6) and driver .... and a private guide for the week. Because we didnt use the car except for the days we needed it the trip averaged out to about $175 a day including the guide. Really, really nice hotel rooms were about $50, but we stayed in a couple of special places. One inside the walls of Budva was about $175 (4+ star), one in a resort in the mountains for about $150 (again every bit a 4 star).

Two years ago we traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria and hired a guide with a car and a separate fishing guide. The four of us drove from Sofia to Istanbul fishing at ever river and stream along the way. Totally amazing trip. Price with hotels was about $300 a day.

We spent about a week in Romania about 6 years ago. We had a private guide with a car. At the time it was a few hundred dollars a day including the room. The guide has since joined the RS list of guides, been on television shows, been published in National Geographic. We stay in touch, but not sure if i could afford him next time around.

The point, you have to get a lot out of that rental car for it to be worth it.

As for that trip down the Danube to the Black Sea? Where does it stop??? Im not going to cruise until i cant walk, but my impression of downstream from Budapest isnt great, id love to be wrong as it opens new possibilities.

Yes, it is safe. I have driven all over Romania. I drove with my wife and parents from Vienna to Bucuresti 2 years ago - via Budapest, Timisoara, Cluj, Sighisoara, and Brasov. The freeway from Austria through Budapest and Hungary and until about an hour east of Timisoara is a nice drive and pretty fast. Take the M5 SE from Budapest to Szeged and then the M43 from just north of Szeged to the Romanian border. Note that there is still a border crossing in Nadlac. That's the most unnerving part of the trip, as an armed guard takes your passport from you for several minutes - that seem longer. That freeway turns into the A1 after the Romanian border. There's a 35-40 mile segment between Timisoara and Deva that's still under construction; so, you get rerouted to a slower local highway for that stretch. Then, the A1 Motorway picks back up until Sibiu. When done, there will be new, fast-paced freeway connections all the way from Budapest to Sibiu. Construction for this segment was originally planned to be finished by 2018, but I believe there have been delays.

The drive between Sibiu and Bucuresti is slow, but has some gorgeous scenery, as the road cuts through the mountains and hugs the Olt river. Though, I would recommend that you go to Brasov as part of your visit to Romania. Brasov is a great town in itself and good base for Bran Castle, Sighisoara, and the nearby fortified churches. The drive through the mountains from Brasov to Bucuresti is still lovely and Peles Castle in Sinaia is a must-see.