Romania Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving in Romania –
Romania drives on the right and you can use the photo licence of any country to drive here, providing it’s written in Roman alphabet. Drivers from other countries need their own licence plus an international driving permit. Speed limits range from 130kmh on motorways , 100-120kmh on Expressways ,90kmh on other roads and 50kmh in urban areas.
Main roads in Romania are classified as motorways / Autostrăzi , denoted with an A prefix before the road number and expressways /Drumuri expres Denoted DX. Motorways have emergency lanes and the maximum speed limit is 130 kmh while expressways have no expergency lane and the speed limit is 100–120 kmh.
Routes classed as motorway, (though most have sections which aren’t dual carriageway and others are still under construction) are-
A0 – Bucharest Ring Road
A1- Bucharest to Nădlac and on to Hungary border
A2 -Bucharest to Constanta
A3- Bucharest to Borș/Oradea and on to Hungary border
A4- Braila to Vama Veche and on to Bulgaria border (also known as Constanta bypass)
A vignette is required to drive on any roads in Romania except a municipal road. Rental cars will have a vignette fitted but if driving your own vehicle through the country you will need to purchase on. They cost around 3 Euros per week, and can be bought for time periods of 7 days, 30 days, 90 days or 1 year. More information can be obtained on this website.
Main roads and roads in cities are generally in good condition but variable in rural areas and smaller roads can be in a bad state of repair. Driving standards can be poor, especially in cities,(Romania has one of the highest accident rates in Europe) and you are likely to encounter slow moving and badly maintained vehicles in the countryside . Beware of other drivers suddenly braking to avoid a pothole or swerving onto your side of the road. There are a lot of stray dogs in Romania, particularly in Bucharest and these can be a hazard as they’re likely to run in front of cars. I found that in rural areas dogs have a tendency to chase cars, and snap at their tyres. Keep driving if this happens, even if you can’t see the dog. It will eventually give up! In winter, equip your car for potentially extreme conditions- ask the rental company if you need snow tyres. Driving in Bucharest can be confusing and its difficult to find rental company offices which may be hidden in side streets. If dropping a car off its best to arrange to meet them at a central point like the railway station rather than spend time trying to locate a badly signed office.
Romania is home to a classic ‘driving abroad’ road, The Transfăgărășan or DN7C which is widely accepted as being one of the most spectacular in Europe. Built as a strategic military road, the road is 90 km of twists and turns through the Southern Carpathian mountains, between Romania’s highest peak Moldoveanu, and the second highest, Negoiu. The road connects the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia, and the cities of Sibiu and Pitești and in places attains heights in excess of 2000 metres. The most spectacular route is from the North with steep hairpin bends, long S-curves, and sharp descents, tunnels and viaducts and due to the challenges you’ll experience, plan on an average speed of around 40 KMH.The road is usually closed from late October until late June because of snow.
Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.
Romania Car Rental
Sixt, Hertz, Europcar, Alamo, National,Budget,Avis, Dollar,Thrifty all have offices in major cities. Also usually features on Car rental broker sites and Web discount sites
We currently have no local car rental partners in Romania. If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com
Romania Self Drive Rules-
All the big companies seem to have different rules so it would be worth clarifying when you book. Sixt allow cars to be taken into Bulgaria and Hungary but you must request this when booking. Budget don’t allow cars to be taken out of the country. Europcar say there are restrictions on taking cars to certain countries but don’t say which. Hertz say –“Hertz vehicles cannot be driven across the borders of or beyond the following countries, clockwise from the North: Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro & Hungary”which I’m not sure I fully understand. Hertz do allow one way rental into Hungary though …for a whopping 500 euros.
