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'''Romania''' is one of the newest members a county in southeastern Europe, a member of the [[European Union]], located in South-East Central Europebut not yet a member of the Schengen zone. It shares a border with [[Hungary]] and [[Serbia]] to the west, [[Ukraine]] and the Republic of [[Moldova]] to the northeast, and [[Bulgaria]] to the south.

Hitchhiking in Romania is usually very easy, despite payment . Payment for the ride is often expected, foreigners usually aren't asked for anythinghowever. Make sure to tell the driver that youare travelling without money (''fără bani'' ‘without money’ or ''re expecting to go for free nu am bani'' ‘I have no money’) before you get into in the car, otherwise you might find yourself in a ugly situation. People expect Most drivers will agree to be paid for giving a ridetake you anyway, but if you don't tell them in advance that you are unable to paybeforehand, most will take they can aggressively demand payment when you anyway; when talking with the driver say "Fora Bani" (without money) or "Nu am bani" (I have no money")get out later. If you'll end up payingwish to pay drivers like local hitchhikers do, it is still cheaper than trains and buses though. The local currency is the Leu , about 5 lei (pl1. Lei25€). When hitchhiking, it's best to hold a sign with the name of the place you want to go. The most common method is using the 2-letter county code for the place you want to goevery 100 km.

Getting At the exits of most cities, there are established places to hitchhike and you may find yourself competing with local people who will pay drivers. In some cases, it is better to walk a lift in little bit down the road and hitchhike where you can stand alone. The common practice is to hold a truck is much easier in Romania than in Western Europe: drivers don't care too much sign with the name of the place you want to go; Romanian usually write the two-letter code of the insurance, and county seat they even pick up more people at a time despite it's illegalare going to (e.g. "CJ" for Cluj).

In most Romania has very a couple of the cities there are unofficial but locally known places for hitchhiking that you can ask to the people. But It might be a good idea to hitchhike a little bit further, because people stopping there are expecting to make some money. Many cities, such as Timișoara, have specific places where one can hitchhike from. They are interspersed around the city, so just ask someone where the nearest one is. They look like bus stops but you will notice they have no bus numbers or maps. Some are intended for short distances, e.g. towns and villages within 50 hundred kilometers of the city, and others for longer distancesreal motorway, such as to in the next major town or city. At these stops, there are unofficial taxis (called sharks) waiting there at most times south of day that charge a fixed rate of about 6 lei (less than 2 USD) per person for a short distance, but they will only go if the car is full. If you are willing to pay for the other seats they will take you straight awaycountry. Regular cars often pick people up as wellElsewhere, and the advantage to this long-distance traffic is that they will take you without demanding the car be full and you can give them a 5 lei note for about a 20k ride. However, that rate is not fixed, so some may argue a different price is appropriate. Romania has a long established hitchhiking tradition from the communist era. Back then, few people had cars, and there was a constant fuel shortage, so sharing a ride was the best way to get from A to B. Romania has very few kilometers of real motorwaygoing on national roads with E numbers. You can stand directly on the national roads and thumb, though junctions are always best because cars go more slowly there.

** There is no border crossing between Ukraine and the Danube Delta region of Romania. Travelers going between eastern Romania and southern Ukraine must pass through Moldova. There are private privately owned boats that may [[hitchhiking a boat|ferry]] takes travelers, but they ask into the hundreds of euro for the service.