If you’re planning a trip to Romania, it is very likely that Bucharest and Brașov are on your itinerary. With a distance of over 200km between the two cities, you may be wondering what the best form of transportation is. Should you opt for a rental car or choose public transport?
Rental car
Driving in Romania is not much different from driving in other parts of Europe. Having your own car gives you, above all, flexibility.
Cost of rental car
The cost of renting a car depends on many things. What type of car is it? Your age. How many days do you need it for? Any extras? Is it an automatic or manual car? The list is endless. Having said all this, you can rent a car from as little as £10 a day. However, we don’t recommend you choose the cheapest car available. Make sure you research the company including their customer service, extra fees, return, etc. We found Klass Wagen to have the best options when we rented. Also, another added cost is the price of your insurance. You need to have insurance before you’re given the keys, and it is for good reason. Additionally, you should factor in the cost of fuel. The average cost of petrol is $1.4 per litre and the cost of diesel is $1.35 per litre.
Bucharest to Brașov roads
We found the roads to be in good condition and easy to drive on. However, the drive between Bucharest and Brașov and around Brașov is mainly on single carriageways. This means that traffic can build-up easily and quickly especially on weekends and holidays. For this reason, our drive back to Bucharest was delayed by over an hour. If you’re on a short trip, time is of the essence, so make sure you take the traffic jams into consideration.
Parking your rental car
Street parking is hard to come by in Bucharest. Keep that in mind if your hotel doesn’t come with parking. However, there are massive underground parking where you can park all day. We parked the car in underground parking near the Intercontinental hotel where there was plenty of space. In Brașov city centre, finding a place to park is a bit of a nightmare. Opt for a hotel with free parking if you know you’re going to be driving. On the other hand, parking at the nearby towns (such as Bran and Peleș) is not a problem.
Public transport
Public transport is inexpensive in Romania. While it may not be the most top-notch system, it gets you from one place to the other. Bucharest and Brașov are well connected with trains and buses. There are also ways to travel to towns near Brașov, although it might be a bit more scarce than the former. We’ve listed the costs of some of the trips you may do.
Bucharest airport to Bucharest/Brașov
- To Bucharest
- The only viable public transport option is the bus
- Cost: £1.25 approximately for a two-way trip. You should buy a ticket at the booth before you board the bus.
- Bus to Bucharest North Railway Station: take route 780, duration 50 mins
- Bus to Bucharest City Centre: take route 783, duration 50 mins
- To Brașov
- The only direct public transport option is the bus
- Cost: £13 approximately for a one-way trip, duration of 3 hrs. You can buy the ticket at the ticket machine or public transport counter
- Alternatively, you can get the 780 bus to Bucharest North Railway Station (as above) and then get the train to Brașov (explained in the section below)
Bucharest to Brașov
The two main options to travel between Bucharest and Brașov is via train and bus. We recommend getting the train as it’s faster (if you get the IR train) and easier to book. You could even make a stop at Peleș castle (get off at Sinaia station and walk to the castle from there) as it’s on the route.
- Train
- Cost: £5 – £10 approximately for a one-way trip
- You can buy the tickets at the station (Bucharest North Railway Station/București Nord or Brașov Train Station/Gara Brasov) or book online.
- Duration on fast trains (marked as IR): 2.5hrs on average
- Duration of slower trains (marked as R): just under 4 hrs on average
- Bus
- Cost: £10 approximately
- You can buy the tickets outside the train station in Bucharest North Railway Station or at the Autogara 1 bus station in Brașov.
Brașov to Bran Castle & Râșnov
Taking a bus is pretty much the only public transport option. However, this is not a problem, as the buses run from Autogara 2 bus station to Bran and Râșnov every half an hour. A one-way ticket is only £0.7 to Râșnov and £1.25 to Bran and can be bought on board. The journey takes around 20 minutes to Rasnov and 40 minutes to Bran. Be prepared to wait around as the buses are not always on time.
Public transport within Bucharest and Brașov city
We walked everywhere and were able to see the main attractions in Bucharest and Brașov. Click here if you want to find out the places we visited.
If you wanted to take the metro in Bucharest, it will set you back £0.9 for a two-way trip or £1.45 for a day ticket. In Brașov, a two-way bus ticket is £0.7 and a day pass is £1.80.
Verdict: Public transport or rental car when visiting Bucharest and Brașov
The answer is:
- PUBLIC TRANSPORT IF YOU ARE:
- on your own or with one other person (based on cost)
- travelling during a weekend or public holidays (based on traffic)
- not comfortable driving on the right-hand side
- going to plan your itinerary in advance
- sticking to just Bucharest & Brașov city centre + nearby towns like Bran, Peleș and Râșnov
- on a very short trip
- CAR RENTAL IF YOU ARE:
- travelling with a group (based on cost)
- travelling during the week (based on traffic)
- keen to have a flexible holiday and make last-minute plans
- on a long trip and want to venture off the beaten path
In hindsight, we think a mix of public transport and Uber would have been the better option for us on our weekend trip to Bucharest and Brașov. The main reason we say this is because the traffic was horrendous and kept changing so frequently. Also, Uber is so cheap in Romania!
Hope you found it useful!
Happy travels,
Amana