Romania Travel Guide

Some facts about Romania

Romania's well known for its diverse landscapes, Transylvanian vampire tales and grand castles and monastaries. Bucharest is home to one of the world's heaviest buildings, the Palace of the Parliament, which is the second-largest administrative building in the world and boasts more than a thousand rooms and three fascinating museums.

Dracula hunting is high on the list of tourists heading to Romania, with Bran Castle believed to be the home of the world's most-famous vampire in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. While outside of Romania it's commonly called Dracula's Castle, there's no evidence that Bram Stoker actually knew anything about Bran Castle while writing the book, plus it doesn't look very similar to the castle he described. You should still go and see it though – this medieval wonder displays the art and furniture of Queen Marie, Romania's last queen.

Practical Info

Culture and etiquette

Religion

Christianity is Romania's main religion, with Romanian Orthodoxy being the most practiced.

Tipping

A tip of around 5% to 10% is the norm in restaurants, and a small tip for taxis and hotel staff is also appreciated.

Smoking

Smoking is banned in pretty much all indoor public spaces including bars, restaurants and public transport.

Jabs, visas and other advice

For up-to-date advice on jabs, visas and other foreign advice, we recommend following the government's website.

Emergency numbers

In an emergency, call 112.

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Getting to Romania

Catching a plane is the easiest way to get to Romania from the UK. It takes around 3 hours 10 minutes to fly from London to Bucharest.

It's also possible to follow the path of Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula and take the train all the way from London to Transylvania. After taking the Eurostar from London to Paris or Brussels, we'd recommend catching a sleeper train or two all the way to Romania. It'll take a fair bit longer than flying, but there's something magical about falling asleep in Budapest and waking up in the home of Dracula's Castle.

River cruises are popular too – you could float all the way from Vienna to Bucharest if you fancied it.

Getting around Romania

Hiring a car is a great option if you plan on travelling around while you're in Romania. You'll need to buy a toll badge to drive in Romania, and bear in mind though that drivers can be a little erratic and conditions of non-major roads are mixed. Trains are reliable between major cities, but if you're travelling to more rural parts of the country then driving is the way to go.

If you're staying in the city, most have cheap and reliable public transport systems. In Bucharest there's buses, trams and a metro to get you from A to B.

What's the weather like in Romania?

Romania has a fairly temperate climate with four distinct seasons. Think baking 30°C summers and snowy winters with temperatures regularly creeping below 0°C. Spring and autumn sit somewhere between these two extremes, ranging between 10°C and 20°C.