Romania
Information | |
Language: | Romanian |
Capital: | Bucureşti |
Population: | 22,276,056 |
Currency: | Leu (RON) |
Hitchability: | (very good) |
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Romania is one of the newest members of the European Union, located in South-East Central Europe. 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.
In Romania payment for the ride is often expected, although foreigners often aren't asked for anything. People expect to be payed for giving a ride, but if you tell them in advance that you are unable to pay, 1 out of 2 will take you anyway. It is still cheaper than trains and buses though. The local currency is the Leu (pl. Lei). 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 go.
Getting a ride can sometimes be difficult, as some of the cars that pass seem tiny, ancient and packed with more people than there are seats. This is probably due to the low rate of car ownership in some areas, and the fact that hitching is still a common way for locals to travel, particularly in the country.
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.
It´s recommended to try hitchhiking right on the highway. For people from west Europe it might feel strange but it´s most defintetly the fastest way to get a lift.
Language
Romanian is one of the few non-Slavic East-European languages. It uses the Latin script and is related with French, Italian, Spanish etc. Speakers of one of these languages will find it easier to pronounce and understand Romanian.
Regions
Cities
> 1.000.000: Bucureşti
300.000–500.000: Cluj-Napoca • Constanţa • Iaşi • Timişoara
100.000–300.000: Arad • Bacău • Baia Mare • Botoşani • Brăila • Braşov • Buzău • Craiova • Drobeta-Turnu Severin • Galaţi • Oradea • Piatra-Neamţ • Piteşti • Ploieşti • Râmnicu Vâlcea • Satu Mare • Sibiu • Suceava • Târgu Mureş
Roads
The roads are very outdated. There are only 3 motorways in all of Romania:
- The A1 going 127km from Bucureşti to Piteşti - the only fully operational motorway in Romania
- The A2 or Sun's motorway, going 204km from Bucureşti to Constanţa - only 75% completed
- The A3 or Transylvania motorway, going 588km from Bucureşti to the border with Hungary - under construction, due 2013
Most of the other roads are in poor condition, the European routes being the best. Even so, hitching a ride is quite easy, especially on the major European roads that get a lot of traffic.
Number plates
The most used type of license plate uses a cc-99-xyz format, where cc is the 2-letter county code, 99 a random 2-digit number, and xyz 3 random letters.
It's quite possible to see Bucharest registered plates (B-99-xyz) all over the country, as all the leasing companies are based in Bucharest, and people are obliged to use Bucharest plates while their cars are in leasing.
County license plate codes
County | Code | Residence | County | Code | Residence | County | Code | Residence | County | Code | Residence |
Alba | AB | Alba Iulia | Buzău | BZ | Buzău | Gorj | GJ | Târgu Jiu | Prahova | PH | Ploieşti |
Arad | AR | Arad | Caraş-Severin | CS | Resiţa | Harghita | HR | Miercurea Ciuc | Satu-Mare | SM | Satu-Mare |
Argeş | AG | Piteşti | Cluj | CJ | Cluj-Napoca | Hunedoara | HD | Deva | Sălaj | SJ | Zalău |
Bacău | BC | Bacău | Călăraşi | CL | Călăraşi | Ialomiţa | IL | Slobozia | Sibiu | SB | Sibiu |
Bihor | BH | Oradea | Constanţa | CT | Constanţa | Ilfov | IF | Bucureşti | Teleorman | TR | Alexandria |
Bistriţa-Năsăud | BN | Bistriţa | Covasna | CV | Sfântu Gheorghe | Maramureş | MM | Baia Mare | Timiş | TM | Timişoara |
Botoşani | BT | Botoşani | Dâmboviţa | DB | Târgovişte | Mehedinţi | MH | Drobeta Turnu-Severin | Tulcea | TL | Tulcea |
Braşov | BV | Braşov | Dolj | DJ | Craiova | Mureş | MS | Târgu Mureş | Vâlcea | VL | Râmnicu Vâlcea |
Brăila | BR | Brăila | Galaţi | GL | Galaţi | Neamţ | NT | Piatra Neamţ | Vaslui | VS | Vaslui |
Bucureşti | B | – | Giurgiu | GR | Giurgiu | Olt | OT | Slatina | Vrancea | VN | Focşani |
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