Bucureşti

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Bucureşti
<map lat='44.455534' lng='26.1099' zoom='10' view='0' />
Information
Country:
Flag of Romania
Romania
County: Ilfov
Population: 1,931,838 (July 2007)
Major roads:  A 1   A 2   A 3 
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Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti) is the capital of Romania.


Hitching in and around

Bucharest has a ring road completely surrounding the city, which means that hitchhikers can accept a lift to Bucharest and then go further without having to enter the city center and then hitch out again. However, hitching from the ring road in some places can be very difficult, Especially in the north near Otopeni and motorway 1 where they are constructing a new road and it is a very bad area full of prostitutes, stray dogs, gypsies and really no good places for cars to stop. In such cases it is better to just hitch into town and avoid the ring road. Then take a metro or a bus to the side of Bucharest you need to exit from.

Southbound travelers headed for Bulgaria or Istanbul might want to stop at a truck rest stop close to where the E70 takes a right turn, where one can possibly find a lift straight there. Even if there are few drivers stopped in the parking lot that you can ask directly, you can thumb trucks driving by, preferably with a sign reading BG or TR. Traffic moves very slowly here so drivers have plenty of time to see you.


Hitchhiking out

West towards Transylvania, Serbia E 81

Get the metro to Pacii (note the metro is a bit crazy - if you're not careful the trains change lines without warning and you can end up at Gare Du Nord again!). From Pacii you have to find the main road going west, and go to the first bus stop. Get the first bus that says Carrefour and go all the way to Carrefour shopping centre, this is the start of the motorway. Carrefour also provides free shuttle minibuses leaving from Pacii and even from further inside the city. There's a part where the fence is broken (it's not broken anymore, if you get to the mall, you have to walk back a little bit, and or a) walk by the side of the entrance of a tunnel (kind of dangerous) or b) get out before the carrefour and walk (and hitch) a kilometer or two) and you can access the motorway here - it's actually a very good spot to hitch, since traffic coming from the big shopping centre stops here.

Another easy option to get to the same hitchhiking spot is to go to the metro "Preciziei" and from there walk about 2.1 km or take bus 25 or 35 and then walk 1.2 km.

The Transylvanian road runs through Sibiu and Cluj-Napoca. This is the standard route for central and western Transylvania, the other route through Brasov is a "scenic" journey that takes longer.


South towards Giurgiu, Bulgaria, Turkey E 85

Take the M2 metro in direction of Berceni. Get off at Eroi Revolutiei and look for the City Mall, walk towards it and you will see that the road forks. Take the right fork, the road will be called Giurgiului. Just after the city mall, there's a tram ticket office. Get a ticket (1.3 Lei as of October 2009), and walk a bit more on the road to get to the tram stop. It's right in the middle of the road. Take tram #7 or #25 to the last stop. Then walk down the road for 5 minutes and you will reach a service station on the right hand. You can ask people here or stop cars passing on the main road.


Northeast towards Urziceni, Buzau, Braila, Galaţi E 85

Take the metro to Piaţa Obor, then from there take tram #21 north to the last stop. The tram will turn off the main road into its terminus station, but after getting out of the tram continue walking straight on the main road. You will come to a bridge after a large market called Europa. Hitchhiking here is possible, but you will have to compete with other people who are standing alongside the road to flag down minibuses. A better option is to continue walking north for about three kilometers until after the Bucharest ring road, where all cars going northeast are isolated. Note: Tram #21 also can be taken just in the historical centre near Piata Sf. Gheorghe


East towards Constanţa, Vama Veche  A 2 

Take the red metro line to Anghel Saligny, the last stop in direction east. If you leave the station, you are right at the beginning of the motorway A2 in direction Constanţa.


North towards Ploiesti, Brasov

Take bus nr. 783 towards Otopeni Airport (e.g. from Piata Unirii, Piata Romana or Piata Victoriei) and get off at the stop called 'Aleea Privighetorilor'. You can hitchhike right at the busstop. Note that this road is an old road towards Ploiesti and some kilometers to the east there is a (new) highway, but many people still use it to go to Ploiesti or further north. Plus this road goes through some villages and therefore cars are not driving very fast and have plenty of opportunities to stop.


Nomadwiki & Trashwiki

Check Nomadwiki for info on accommodation, showers etc. or Trashwiki for dumpsters...and share your wisdom :)


Romanian cities with more than 100.000 inhabitants

> 1.000.000: Bucureşti

300.000–500.000: Cluj-NapocaConstanţaIaşiTimişoara

100.000–300.000: AradBacăuBaia MareBotoşaniBrăilaBraşovBuzăuCraiovaDrobeta-Turnu SeverinGalaţiOradeaPiatra-NeamţPiteştiPloieştiRâmnicu VâlceaSatu MareSibiuSuceavaTârgu Mureş