Renting a Car in Romania: Everything You Need to Know

Romania is a country made for driving. The best scenery isn't in the cities — it's on the roads between them: mountain switchbacks, villages with wooden churches, and medieval citadels tucked into the hills. A hire car opens up all of it in a way the train or coach simply can't.

Why rent a car

Public transport covers Romania's big cities well, but it gets slow and infrequent the moment you head into the countryside or the mountains. Many of the most rewarding sights — the painted monasteries of Bucovina, the villages of Maramureș, the Saxon citadels of Transylvania — are hard to reach without your own wheels.

With a car you have total freedom: leave when you want, stop at every viewpoint, and reach places no coach ever goes. For a foreign visitor who wants to see Romania beyond Bucharest, self-drive is the best choice by far.

Where and how to book

You can pick up a car from several points:

• Airports — Bucharest (Otopeni), Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Sibiu, Iași and Bacău all have rental desks right in the terminal.
• City offices — handy if you arrive by train or have already spent a few days in the centre.

Book ahead — in summer (June–September), and especially at weekends, fleets sell out fast and prices climb. Reserving online a few weeks in advance secures both the car you want and a better rate.

Documents you need:

• A valid driving licence — an EU/EEA licence is accepted directly. For non-European licences, ask the rental firm whether you need an International Driving Permit (IDP), which you carry alongside your home licence.
• A passport or ID card.
• A credit card in the main driver's name — required for the security deposit (the hold). Debit cards are often refused.
• Minimum age is usually 21, and drivers under 25 may pay a "young driver" surcharge.

Understanding the cost

The headline rate is only the start. The real price is made up of several parts:

• Base rate — the daily cost of the car itself.
• Insurance (CDW) — collision damage waiver reduces your liability, but usually keeps an excess (deductible). For full peace of mind you can pay for zero-excess cover.
• The deposit — a sum held on your credit card at pickup and released at return, provided the car is fine.
• One-way fee — if you return the car in a different city from where you collected it, expect an extra charge.
• Extras — GPS, child seats, additional drivers, or that young-driver surcharge.

Manual or automatic? In Romania, manuals are more common and cheaper. Automatics exist but are fewer and pricier — if you want one, book early and specify it clearly.

Driving in Romania

• The rovinietă (vignette) is mandatory on all national roads and motorways. Almost every rental firm already includes it in the price — confirm this at pickup so you don't risk a fine.
• Drive defensively. Traffic can be unpredictable: risky overtaking, horse carts on rural roads, pedestrians at the roadside. Keep your distance and don't rush.
• Roads are improving, but the motorway network is still limited. Many routes are single-carriageway, so allow more travel time than the map distance suggests.
• Mountain passes are seasonal. The Transfăgărășan and Transalpina usually open only in summer and close with the first snow — check the road status before you set off.
• Fuel stations are frequent on main routes but sparse in remote mountain areas — fill up before you climb.
• Parking in cities is paid in the centres; look for meters, payment apps, or covered car parks.

The great drives to plan for

These are the routes that make a hire car worth every leu:

• Transfăgărășan — perhaps Romania's most spectacular road, climbing through the Făgăraș Mountains to Lake Bâlea. Open in summer only.
• Transalpina — the country's highest road, crossing the Parâng Mountains: quieter and just as dramatic.
• The Transylvania castle loop — a circuit between Sibiu, Sighișoara, Brașov and Bran, through Saxon villages and medieval castles.
• Maramureș — the villages of carved wooden gates and UNESCO-listed churches, all but impossible to reach without a car.

Practical tips

• A "full-to-full" fuel policy is the fairest: you get the car with a full tank and return it the same way. Avoid "full-to-empty" options, where you pay over the odds.
• Photograph the car at pickup — from every angle, including existing scratches and the fuel level. It's your best protection against disputes at return.
• Keep the emergency number 112 to hand — it works nationwide for police, ambulance and fire.
• Store the car's documents and the firm's roadside-assistance number in the glovebox.

With a car at your disposal, Romania opens up completely — from the switchbacks of the Făgăraș to the quiet villages of Maramureș. Plan your route, book early, and enjoy the drive.