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Best way to travel Romania

Posted by (Lafayette) on

I think my friend and I will do an organized tour, but we want to add on some independent days at the end for personal family research. I need to figure out the safest, fastest and cost effective way to get from Bucharest to Satu Mare. I feel unsure about the trains and didn't know if driving a car would be difficult for someone who doesn't speak the language. Plus, if I were to drive, is it fairly easy to find gas stations?

Also, in the more northern areas like Satu Mare, does anyone know if it is easy to find English speaking people? I'm hearing mixed answers on this from other sources. I've had a tour operator suggest that it would be better if we had an English speaking guide with us. Need to find out if he is just drumming up extra business or is he really giving us good advice.

Thanks,
Kelly

Posted by
41 posts

There are three direct night trains from Bucharest to Satu Mare; they're perfectly safe and easy to book, there's no reason to be unsure about them. The trip takes 11 1/2 - 13 1/2 hours.

Driving is also possible, but it's going to be quite hard because of the distances involved and of the very crowded roads; the distance between Bucharest to Satu Mare is about 600 km (370 mi), it should take about 12 hours to get there. There are gas stations everywhere.

It is a bit difficult to find English speakers in rural areas, but an English speaking guide isn't absolutely necessary.

Posted by
41 posts

Of course, you can also fly from Bucharest to that area.

The Romanian flag carrier TAROM (http://tarom.ro/en/) has direct flights from Bucharest to Satu Mare and if you book in advance the ticket should cost about $45, but the problem is that they have just two flights per week (on Mondays and Fridays).

One alternative would be to to fly from Bucharest to Baia Mare (70 km west from Satu Mare, about one hour away by bus); they have daily flights on this route, but the tickets are more expensive (about $90 if booked in advance).

You could also fly with the low cost airline WizzAir (http://wizzair.com/) from Bucharest to Cluj, tickets are quite cheap if booked in advance (under $30); then you can continue from Cluj to Satu Mare by bus (four hours away).

Posted by
1158 posts

Lynn,

The trains are safe, the problem is that the cheaper ones are dirty and full of gipsies and beggers. You can take InterCity, whcih is clean, AC-ed and the fastest, but at the same type the most expensive.You can check prices onm cfr.ro
I am not familiar with the flights within Romania.
To drive a car in Romania might be challenging because many roads are bad, and there is no highway between Bucharest and Satu mare, as far as I now.
The gas stations woulnd't be a problem as long as you stay on the main road and close to the big cities. Expect to pay about $1.30/litter, price as last year in September.
I am not sure if people in Nortern Romania speak English, but I heard in big cities it's not a problem.

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