“Get in, sit down, shut up, and hold on!”
Have you ever seen that custom-made license plate that was trending about 10 years ago? Or even the bumper sticker? I remember purchasing one for my mom’s minivan years and years ago, thinking I was the best daughter in the world. While it was more of a funny joke than an actual reality, I never imagined the day would come when I would understand the wisdom in those words.
Two weeks before I took off for Bucharest, Nikki and I chatted to confirm some plans and make sure we had all of our lodging secured. Nikki then asked if I wanted to rent a car and embark upon a road trip through Transylvania to see castles, the countryside, and drive the Transfagarasan Highway. Um, YES!!
Doesn’t that just sound like the most epic of adventures? I could hardly contain my excitement…until I remembered that most of the rental cars have a manual transmission. And I never learned to drive stick. Yes, this is embarrassing to admit, especially since most people my age had to learn when they were teenagers. I never had a manual transmission vehicle before, never drove a tractor, and never owned a classic car, so there was no need to learn stick.
Well, now I had a need: I had two weeks to learn to drive stick, and fortunately had a roommate with an old Toyota. At the end of the two weeks, I was finally able to stop, start, go up hills, park, and only stalled a few times (but that’s another story).
Upon my arrival in Bucharest, Nikki and I found our car rental agency and quickly learned that we had a guardian angel. Not only was our rental getting upgraded (TWICE), but we were getting a car with an automatic transmission!
While I would have welcomed the challenge of driving stick in another country, I have to admit that I was rather relieved. I was more excited to be able to enjoy where I was, rather than stressing about stalling on a remote highway.
And after driving all over Romania, I’ve decided to share some pieces of advice to survive driving in Romania.
Make sure you have vehicle insurance while driving in Romania
There is nothing fun about renting a vehicle and having someone hit it. I’d heard that drivers in Eastern Europe were notoriously bad and was adamant that we got the most coverage we could on our vehicle. Even though I only saw one accident the entire time I was in Romania, there were numerous close-calls, and most of the cars we saw had dings, dents, paint-transfers, and cracked bumpers.
Bucharest has more traffic circles/roundabouts than I’ve ever seen in my life. Drivers ignore the lane markers, squeeze into spots like an NYC taxi, and display a total disregard for most traffic rules and laws of common sense. Protect yourself and get insurance. Don’t skimp on coverage!
Read up on the road signage
I always forget to read up on the signage whenever I travel. Nikki and I passed numerous signs that were unfamiliar and had to guess what they meant. After about a week, we figured out most of them.
There aren’t any real freeways in Romania, and when you’re driving in Transylvania, the highways weave in and through the small villages. Your speed limit will vary, passing lanes are important to pay attention to, and unless you speak Romanian, you’ll need to be familiar with the signage.
Only drive manual if you’re confident
As noted above, Eastern European drivers are notoriously bad. There were plenty of times that I found myself having to slam on the brakes, swerve to avoid getting into an accident, and slowly putt-putt behind horse-drawn buggies.
Even though I had spent the better part of two weeks learning how to negotiate a manual transmission, I’m so glad that we got an automatic. Traffic in Bucharest is no joke. The Transfagarasan Highway is legit insane. If you’re not confident with a manual transmission, spend the extra money and get yourself an automatic. You’ll thank me later.
Funny story – our little Dacia, dubbed “Cha-Chi,” had the tendency to shut off when we came to a complete stop. Imagine my shock when I was trying to negotiate a large traffic circle by the airport, came to a full stop in traffic, and the engine died. Horrified, Nikki and I started rambling off ideas of how we could get to the side of the road…until I lifted my foot from the brake and the engine started up again. Um, what? Is this normal?
Apparently it was…and it happened the entire trip.
Commit and don’t hesitate while driving in Romania
I think passive drivers are some of the most dangerous obstacles on the road. I deal with this all of the time in Utah: drivers who will wait extra-long at a stop to allow someone else to go, only to go at the same time and cause an accident; drivers who don’t accelerate up to the speed limit, thus slowing down the flow of traffic…you know the kind. These types of drivers wouldn’t last a day driving around Romania.
In my experience, most Romanian drivers are aggressive. They have places to go and people to see. I remember pulling up to an intersection where I wanted to turn left and only had a yield. I snuck up into the intersection to wait for a break in oncoming traffic…only to have 2 other cars pull up next to me like an Oreo, also waiting to turn left at the exact same time I did. If this happened in the USA, everyone would freak out and get ticketed. Not in Romania.
Parking is a beast in Bucharest (and in the countryside as well), and drivers would just pull up to the curb on a busy street, put on their hazard lights, and park like it was no big deal. If you get stuck behind one of these cars, you’ll have to go around them somehow…and do it while traffic buzzes by you. People won’t slow down or move over to allow you to pass. You have to commit and gun it!
So if you find yourself driving in Romania, whether just around town in Bucharest or embarking on an epic road trip, take care. Romania is beautiful and having the freedom to drive yourself around to remote corners of the countryside is unbelievable. Just make sure you’re ready to go and have prepped yourself!
Have you ever been driving in Romania? What was your experience like?
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