Car Hire in Romania and Bulgaria

LAST UPDATED
29/12/2013

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Car Hire & Driving in Romania
Recommendations for Car Hire
and tips for driving in Romania

Most of the major car hire companies are represented in Romania, with depots in the major cites and at some airports, However, we recommend local agents with superb customer service, and offices in Cluj, Timisoara, Bucharest and Sibiu. One way pick-ups or drop-offs are usually possible - cars can be delivered or collected from hotels or railways stations in many towns. Drop off fees will cvary for this service. All cars are new and well-maintained. Special vehicles such as limousines, SUVs and people carriers, or a car with a driver can also be arranged. Minibuses are not availlable without a driver. The best value car is normally the simple, rugged Dacia Logan which is constructed in Romania by Renault-Dacia. These cars are well-suited for country roads, and are reliable and very economical. Snow chains are provided for winter driving when some roads will be closed. Cars cannot normally be taken from one country to another, exspecially from Romania to Ukraine, Moldova or Bulgaria, or v.v.

Contact Travel Counsellors for the best deals with all major suppliers from local agents to AVIS, Europcar and Alamo. Cars can often be hired from smaller local firms though please check insurance requirements and excess first, and also the age of the fleet as there are also some unscrupulous car hire companies with old or unreliable vehicles.

Driving in Romania is on the right-hand side, like the rest of continental Europe. Most major trunk roads are in good condition, following an intensive road reconstruction programme. However, traffic on arterial roads can be heavy with large trucks, vans and minibuses jockeying for position while many cities are congested during the day! Secondary roads are variable in condition but traffic is light so it becomes a pleasure to drive if you are not a hurry. However, you should always fill up in remote areas as filling stations are sometimes few and far between. In some districts local roads can be in a better condition than main roads as they fall under the local council for maintenance. A good example is Maramures where many minor roads are now excellent. However, take special care on minor roads in upland areas, and main passes, after winter as ice damage often leads to fractures and potholes.

Please note that distances can be very deceiving in Romania so please allow extra time for your journey. Progress on many roads ise slow due to the terrain, road conditions, or due to there being many villages which are often ribbon settlements whch are not bypassed, Something else which is not often appreciated is the amount of time spent stopping to take picture to observe things of interest. Unlike many countries there is always something going on in the countryside so it is common to stop, especially as traffic on country roads is often light. These distractions invariably hamper progress so journeys in Romania should be considered as part of the holiday and not a mad rush from A to B. It is important to slow down in villages and on country road where encounters with horse-drawn carts, flocks of geese and other livestock are common place. For the same reasons driving at night can be hazardous and is not recommended. Also note that there is a zero alcohol limit and road checks are quite common, even in country areas. Also be aware that most cities are now heavily congested and should be avoided during rush hours whenever possible.

You should always use updated large scale maps or road atlases. Some of the older editions are notorious for errors such as classifying minor roads as major roads, or showing roads that had been planned in the communist era but were never constructed. The best general maps are the 1:250,000 scale ROMANIA road atlases produced by Dimap (www.dimap.hu) or Cartographia. These are available in most bookshops and also at MOL service stations. See our RESOURCES page for more details.

To book your perfect holiday
please contact:

01900 838570
www.travelcounsellors.co.uk

A quaity, personal service by
travel experts in your local area

Car Hire

AVAILABLE MARQUES

Dacia
(Dacia Logan
excellent value)
Chevrolet
Ford
Land Rover
Mitsubishi
Toyota incl. 4x4
Opel
Peugeot
Dacia people carrier

PICK-UP LOCATIONS

Bucharest - City
Bucharest - Otopeni Airport
Bucharest - Baneasa Airport
Cluj city & airport
Timisoara & airport
Constanta
Sibiu

One way drop offs available
from ANY location

To book your perfect holiday
we recommend:

0800 074 7800
www.travelcounsellors.co.uk

A quaity, personal service by
travel experts in your local area

STOP PRESS: road accident rates in Romania are amongst the highest in Europe. We recommend that you avoid main arterial roads, in particular around Bucharest which is very congested. The blackspots are in general the main arterial roads fanning out from Bucharest to Constanta and Suceava/ Moldova in addition to the motorway to Pitesti (used by Bucharest residents with more money than sense for testing their Ferraris, Porsches, and Lamborghinis) . Traffic is also very heavy on the main road along the Olt Valley and over the Prahova Pass. Smaller roads, in particular in northern Transylvania are much quieter. Some of the problems can be avoided by taking a train or domestic flight in combination with car hire to avoid driving from the capital.

Unorthodox transport in Cluj!

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