The pandemic of Covid-19 has changed our style of life for a few years. I usually travel to exotic destinations by plane almost every year. Due to travel limits and lockdowns I changed plane for a car and traveled to Romania in 2021. I have small city car – toyota yaris and I was afraid of poor conditions of Romanian roads. My concerns were completely redundant. The roads are very good in Romagna. Toyota yaris was good enough to drive the most famous Romanian mountain Transfagarasan road up to 2000 meters above sea level.

Piatra Mare
Piatra Mare

I recommend to go to Romania by car or rent a car. You can rent a car at Bucharest airport. It helps to save a lot of time because tourist attractions are located far away from each other and public transport does not run frequently.

Road tolls.

Tolls are required for highways and expressways in Slovakia and Hungary. If you don’t go by them, you don’t need to buy vignettes.

You can find current vignette fees and which roads are payable on the following websites:

Unlike Hungary and Slovakia, tolls are required at all roads in Romania. A vignette should be bought at the nearest gas station just after crossing the Romanian border. Current vignette prices are available on the website https://www.roviniete.ro/en/. In 2021, I paid 7 euros for a 30-day vignette. I had to admit that quality of Romanian roads are good and the money was well spent.

Romanian drivers drive very similarly to European drivers. I drove over 2000 km on Romanian roads, and subjectively, I think that there are fewer reckless drivers there than on Polish roads.

Fuel prices in Romania are at EU level.

Voronet Bukovina
Voronet Bukovina

Useful information

  • Exchange rates for Romanian Lei (RON) in September 2021
  • 1 Euro = 4.7 Lei
  • 1 USD = 4.1 Lei
  • Debit and Credit cards are widely accepted. However it is a good idea to have some Romanian cash in rural areas.
  • Accommodation. The rooms were cozy and very clean. Hot water was available everywhere. The cost of double room with bathroom was 100-150 lei. Sometimes the breakfast was included.
  • Food is good and typical for Central-Easter Europe: meat, potatoes, goulash, soups, salads. Don’t miss Romanian wines and local vodka – hooch. The dinner cost from 30 to 70 lei in local restaurant.
  • Romagna is a safe country. Watch your wallet and belongings as everywhere in Europe.
Corvin Castle
Corvin Castle