Flying is the easiest way to reach Romania, with several airlines now operating direct from the UK. Flying from North America, Australasia or South Africa will entail one or more changes. Travelling to Romania from the UK by train is a long haul, though with a rail pass you can take in the country as part of a wider trip.
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If flying, you can often cut costs by going through a specialist flight agent, who in addition to dealing with discounted flights may also offer student and youth fares and travel insurance, rail passes, car rental, tours and the like. Some agents specialize in charter flights, which may be cheaper than scheduled flights, but departure dates are fixed and cancellation penalties high.
Prices depend on how far in advance you book, although season is also a factor: unless you book very well in advance, a ticket to anywhere between June and September will cost more than in winter (excluding Christmas and New Year). Note also that it is generally more expensive to fly at weekends. Book far enough in advance with one of the low-cost airlines and you can pick up a ticket for around £60–70 return, even in summer; book anything less than three or four weeks in advance and this could triple in price. Search engines such as skyscanner.net, kayak.co.uk or momondo.com are invaluable for researching the best connections and prices.
There are no direct flights from South Africa to Romania, but plenty of airlines offer one-stop flights via European hubs such as London, Frankfurt or Paris. Flying with an airline such as Lufthansa from Johannesburg via Frankfurt costs around ZAR9200 in low season, ZAR10,720 in high season.
Deutsche Bahn is the best option for making seat reservations on continental trains and its website (bahn.de) is an excellent resource for checking railway timetables, while The Man in Seat Sixty-One (seat61.com) is invaluable on most aspects of rail travel in Europe. The red-covered European Rail Timetable (europeanrailtimetable.co.uk), which details schedules of the main Romanian train services, is the most useful printed source for timetables.
The other InterRail scheme is the one-country pass, which allows you to travel a certain number of days during a one-month period. For Romania, eight days in one month costs £122 for over-26s/£88 under-26s; six days in one month £103/£77; four days in one month £78/£57; three days in one month £64/£47.
Non-European residents qualify for the Eurail pass (eurail.com), which must be bought before arrival in Europe, or from RailEurope in the UK. The pass allows unlimited first-class travel in 28 European countries, including Romania, and is available in various increments; for example, a fifteen-day continuous pass costs US$656 for over-26s/US$429 under-26s, 22 days ($845/US$552), and one month ($1038/US$677). There are also a number of other passes available, including a One-Country Pass and a Select Pass, which allows you to travel in two-, three- or four neighbouring countries.
Once across the channel (Eurotunnel UK +44(0) 844 335 3535, international +33(0)321 002 061, eurotunnel.com), the best route (around 30hr at a leisurely pace with plenty of stops) is through Belgium, Germany, Austria and Hungary, passing Brussels, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Regensburg, Linz, Vienna and Budapest, and then taking the E60 down to the Borş border crossing near Oradea or the E75/E68 to Nădlac near Arad. Route plans can be obtained from the websites of Michelin (viamichelin.com), the AA (theaa.com) or the RAC (rac.co.uk). See for details of driving within Romania.
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written by Rough Guides Editors
updated 26.04.2021
