While planing your trip, please take some of the following into consideration........ thank you :
Safety
Romania is a SAFE country.
though, in crowded places, be careful to the very experienced pick-pockets.
be sure to keep your passport and other documents in a safe place
Money
local currency is the Romanian Leu (RON) - it is rather hard to come by outside the coutnry, therefore.... don't bother looking for it, as you can find several places to exchange money in Romania
in towns and cities several ATMs, exchange offices and banks (incl. for exchanging Traveller's Cheques) can be found in each and every corner. Regular working hours: 09:00 - 17:00 (weekdays).
avoid changing large amounts of money at train / bus stations and airports (as the exchange rate is not the best)
very important: at exchange offices, look twice for the exchange rate and the notice "Commission 0%" (otherwise, you could be tricked)
do not exchange money on the street at dubious persons
after leaving Romania, it will be hard to change the local currency RON to any other currency; therefore we suggest to be careful on the amounts of money exchanged in the last few days of your stay. Though, you can exchange RON into (almost) any currency at exchange offices in the city and at the airport.
Tipping policy
** in Romania bills do not include the services !! **
restaurants, bars & taxis: a 10-15% tip is espected (please do not use coins as they are considered an offence)
hotel staff (bell-boy, room service etc.): 1-3euro/serivce
drivers & local guides: 1-2euro/person/day
tour guides: 2-4euro/person/day
guide/drivers: 5-10euro/person/day
Please take into consideration....
always use yellow & marked cabs
coins do not have any value in Romania and therefore tipping in coins is considered to be an offence
in restaurant-menus, all dishes, garnishes, salads, bread etc. are specified separately and are to be ordered separately
do not exchange money with foreigners on the street
Getting here & back
on January 1st, 2007 Romania joined the European Union - therefore the same conditions apply as for entering other EU-states
although the major international airport is located in Bucharest (Henri Coanda airport), there are numerous smaller airports which offer domestic and international flight connections (especially for low-cost carriers)
if you are travelling from the US, please try the regular direct New York - Bucharest flight
check out some of the numerous low-cost carriers: www.blueair-web.com, www.skyeurope.com, www.wizzair.com, www.myair.com.
Getting Around
distances are measured in kilometers (km)
very important while planing your trip: average driving speed is 60km/h (due to road conditions)
for train travelers the Romanian railway company offers good connections and quality-trains, especially the newly introduced Blue Arrow. www.cfr.ro
very affordable taxi prices (average km pricing: 0,50 eur), mostly in Romanian vehicles (www.dacia.ro), except the ones at airports and train stations
rent-a-car services offer a large variety of vehicles, though you must be very careful driving yourself as Romanian drivers are quite "nervous" and street signs are often lacking
Communication
Romanians are very open and welcoming people
in larger towns and cities, most Romanians speak besides Romanian also: English, French or German. So it is relatively easy to get information.
in rural areas, you need someone who speaks the local language
Celebrations
try attending one of the many traditional Romanian holidays like: Easter (May 1 st ), Christmas, National Day (December 1 st ), commemoration of Orthodox saints or local celebrations. For more detailed informations, please feel free to contact us.
Country Handbooks & Informations
for infos on specific towns, please use www.ghid(NAME OF THE TOWN).ro (ex. for Brasov: www.ghidBRASOV.ro)
the best guidebook on Romania is the Rough guide (www.roughguides.com)
for entering Romania you need a valid passport and for seveal states a visa is required. For updates and last minutes information, please check the site of the Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry
hand made Romanian souveniers are available at most of the major tourist sites
souvenier shops are hard to come by
please check some of the online Romanian souvenier shops: .www.RememberRomania.ro , www.pitgift.ro
only few of the souvenier-street-merchants like to negotiate
traditional Romania souveniers: painted easter eggs, pan-flute, traditional hand-made blouses, painted pottery etc.
Food & Water
traditional Romanian quinine offers a very large variety of meat-consisting dishes and delicious deserts
meat (usually veal, pork or chicken) is on the every aggenda
vegetarian food is hard to come by
tap-water is drinkable especially in rural areas - though, if you fear stomach problems and in order to be on the safe side, bottled water is recommended
Romanian "national dish": sour soup (different kinds), polenta and meat-cabbage rolls or "mititei" (grilled meat rolls), Romanian donuts or pancakes served with house-made wine or brandy (palinka)
Museums
usual working hours: 9AM - 5PM (monday closed)
most museums request separate video- and foto-taxes (sometimes for different for digital and classic cameras)
entrance at most jewish sites, private museums and some monasteries is on donation basis