Travel advice & practical information for travelogue:

'Touring Transsylvania and Wallachia'

Useful addresses

New York

Romanian Consulate
200 East 38th Street
New York 10016
Tel.: 212 682 9122/3
Fax: 212 972 8463
E-mail: office@romconsny.org
Web site: Consulate General of Romania in New York

London

Embassy of Romania
4 Palace Green
London, W8 4QD
Tel.: 020 7937 9666
Fax: 020 7937 8069
E-mail: roemb@roemb.co.uk
Web site: Embassy of Romania in London

Paris

Embassy of Romania
5, Rue de l'Exposition
75007, Paris CEDEX 07
Tel.: 01 4705 1046
Consular Section: 01 4705 2755
Fax: 01 4556 9747
Web site: Embassy of Romania in Paris
E-mail: secretariat@amb-roumanie.fr

Money

There are ATMs everywhere, not just in the big cities, but also in most villages we visited.

If you know in advance which places you're going to visit, you can find out online if and where there are ATM's where you can use your MasterCard and Cirrus or Visa to withdraw money.

Safety and security

We felt absolutely safe everywhere. Of course we heard negative stories before we traveled there, about corrupt police officers that hand out fake fines. But we haven't had that experience. There is begging in the larger cities, sometimes by old women, sometimes by gypsies with small children. It is all relatively small scale.

Traveling in some countries or regions can be dangerous. That isn't always a reason not to go there, but part of preparing well for a trip includes finding out about possible risks.

The CIA World Factbook: Romania is a good place to look. As is the US Foreign Department site. Of course you always should consult your own country's Foreign Department web site.

Traffic

In the two weeks we spent in Romania we didn't see any highways. There are only provincial roads, where the speed limit is 90 k/p/h. Which doesn't mean that this is always possible: trucks, horse-and-wagon and other obstacles often get in the way.

Romanians have a style of driving that is different from ours: tailgating, passing in places where you shouldn't and then staying right ahead of you. The condition of the roads varies. Large parts, dozens of kilometers long, are asphalted. Other parts are in bad condition, with potholes and rocks. Or the road suddenly stops being asphalted and turns into a gravel path or sand road. This happens only around small villages. In villages the speed limit is 30 or 50 k/p/h: watch the signs. Look out for stray dogs along the road. They aren't aggressive, but they cross the road unexpectedly.

Accomodation

None of our overnight stays in Romania was planned ahead: we did everything on the off chance. We never had a problem finding a place to spend the night. There are lots of pensiuneas (Bed and Breakfast). The quality of the accomodations is great relative to their price. Breakfast in included. It is also possible to have dinners in these places.

Along main through-roads are often motels (some even have outside pools). In and around cities there are obviously hotels, but we only stayed in one once.

Phone and internet

It's not everywhere possible to use your cell phone; sometimes there is no coverage at all. Most accomodations have free wireless internet: we were sorry we didn't bring our laptop.

Plan your trip to Romania online

Through online reservation systems like À la Carte Vacations you can book airline tickets, hotels, rental cars and holiday houses. You can build a fly-drive itinerary with maximum flexibility, book a flight plus a hotel hotel for a night or weekend. Without the limitations of package deals from travel organisations and most times for a much better price.