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Travel and transport

Air travel

Romania’s air travel infrastructure is comparatively well-developed, and most of its 17 commercial airports receive international flights. The Otopeni International Airport in Bucharest receives the most flights, though other busy international airports include Timisoara, Constanta Arad, Satu Mare and Sibiu. Airlines operating services to Romania from the UK include British Airways, easyJet, and Wizz Air. Romania has a state airline, Tarom, though flights can be expensive. Carpatair is a reasonably new Romanian airline that offers low-cost services from the hub airport in Timisoara to nine cities throughout the country, as well as an increasing selection of international airports. Domestic services are also good – Tarom offers at least four services per week between Bucharest and the other major cities.

Road transport

Many visitors to Romania choose to take public transport rather than drive themselves, since the road network has many hazards that foreigners will be unused to, from potholed roads to roaming farm animals and drunk drivers. However, most of Romania’s towns have buses, trams, trolleybuses and taxis, and Bucharest has an underground metro system. The quality of the buses varies from modern with good facilities, to old and uncomfortable. Maxitaxis are often a better alternative – these are small, comfortable buses which run frequently between the towns and cities. However, finding out where the local Maxitaxis run from and when can be difficult in itself, which is why the most popular mode of transport in Romania is the train.

Rail network

Aside from flying, rail travel is the most straightforward way of travelling within Romania, as well as travelling from Romania to other destinations. The service between Romania and Western Europe and Russia is excellent. The larger villages, towns and cities of Romania are served by the internal rail network, which has five types of train. The ‘personal’ trains are slow moving – generally passengers will jump on and off through the open doors while the train is moving and seating is first come, first served. The ‘accelerat’ are more expensive but are faster and less busy. ‘Inter-city’ trains are by far the most comfortable option, but they are also the most expensive. For international as well as domestic travel, the ‘rapid’ and ‘expres’ trains are fast and usually have dining cars.

The rail network in Romania is undergoing an upgrade, financed by the EU. A computer system has been implemented which has made the process of buying a ticket faster, easier and more reliable.

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Documents and Reports

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