Changes

|BW = RO|hitch = {{very good}}<rating country='ro' />

[[File:ro-map.gif|thumb|right|300px|Map of Romania]]'''Romania''' is one of the newest members a country 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.

In Hitchhiking in Romania payment is usually very easy. Payment for the ride is often expected, although foreigners often arenhowever. Make sure to tell the driver that you are travelling without money (''fără bani'' ‘without money’ or ''nu am bani''t asked for anything‘I have no money’) before you get in the car. 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 beforehand, they can aggressively demand payment when you get out later. If you are unable wish to paydrivers like local hitchhikers do, 1 out of 2 will take you anyway. It it is still cheaper than trains and buses though. The local currency is the Leu , about 5 lei (pl€1. 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 Sometimes it's possible to find some drivers that will ask you for a ride can sometimes be difficult, as some lot of the cars that pass seem tinymoney, ancient and packed with more maybe even €100 for a short trip. Some people than there are seats. This is probably trying to work as illegal drivers taking people from one place to another, due to the low rate high unemployment. When they see foreigners they will try to convince them to go with them and ask for lots of car ownership in some areasmoney, even if local travellers just pay 5 lei. Recently, and the fact that hitching is still a common way Romanian government has forbidden asking for locals to travelmoney when taking hitchhikers, particularly in the country. Getting a lift in a truck is fairly rare in Romania compared to the surrounding countriesbut not hitchhiking itself.

Romania has a long established hitchhiking tradition from At the communist era. Back thenexits of most cities, few there are established places to hitchhike and you may find yourself competing with local people had carswho will pay drivers. In some cases, it is better to walk a little bit down the road and there was hitchhike where you can stand alone. The common practice is to hold a constant fuel shortage, so sharing a ride was sign with the name of the best way place you want to get from A go; Romanian usually write the two-letter code of the county seat they are going to B(e.g. "CJ" for Cluj).

Romania has very few just a couple of hundred kilometers of real highwaymotorway, in the south of the country. Elsewhere, long-distance traffic is going 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. Don't drink the tapwater!!

Romanian is one of the few non-Slavic languages of Eastern Europe. It uses the Latin alphabet and is related to French, Italian, Spanish etc. Speakers of one of these languages will find it easier to pronounce and understand Romanianthough speakers of Slavic languages will find it easier to pronounce as its sounds have been influenced by its neighbours.

* [[Template:Phrasebook/Romanian|Romanian phrasebook]]

[[File:Romania Motorways DE 1.svg|thumb|Highways in Romania (in 2021). The roads are very outdatedwhite middle line depicts sections in use, dotted middle line depicts sections under construction, while light green represents proposed expressways. ]]There are only 3 motorways is an excellent [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roads_in_Romania Wikipedia article] about the roads in all Romania. A lot of money is put into building roads as of Romania2023, so the roadnetwork is under constant change.Summing it up, these are some important Motorways or ''Autostrada'':* The [[A1 (Romania)|A1]] going 127580&nbsp;km from [[Bucureşti]] to the border with [[PiteştiHungary]] at [[Nădlac-Nagylak_border_crossing]] – the only fully operational motorway in Romaniapartly finished * The [[A2 (Romania)|A2]] or ''Sun's motorway'', going 204&nbsp;km from [[Bucureşti]] to [[Constanţa]] – only 75 % - completed.* The [[A3 (Romania)|A3]] or ''Transylvania motorway'', going 588&nbsp;km from [[Bucureşti]] to the border with [[Hungary]] at [[Ártánd-Borş_border_crossing]] – under construction, due 2013partly finished.

The first two letters of the number plates show you in which of the 42 [[File:Map_romania_regions_and_districts.jpg|thumb|right|float|Political map of Romania: historical regions and sic] counties]]The most used type of license plate uses a ''cc-99-xyz'' format, where ''cc'' is the 2-letter county codecar was registered, which might be useful when talking to people at gas stations or resting areas. Red letters mean it''99'' s a random 2-digit numbertemporally registered vehicle, and ''xyz'' 3 random lettersgreen means electric. Further information can be found in the excellent [https://en.wikipedia.<br org/>wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_Romania wikipedia article].It's quite possible to see [[BucharestFile:Romanian license plate codes.png|thumb|Romanian license plate codes]] 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.

=== * [[Bulgaria]]:** [[Ruse-Giurgiu border crossing|Ruse-Giurgiu]], the major international route** [[Calafat-Vidin border crossing|Calafat-Vidin]]** [[Durankulak-Vama Veche border crossing|Durankulak-Vama Veche]]* [[Hungary]]** [[Ártánd-Borş border crossing|Ártánd-Borş]]** [[Nădlac-Nagylak border crossing‎|Nădlac-Nagylak]]* [[Moldova]]** [[Galaţi-Giugiuleşti border crossing|Galaţi-Giugiuleşti‎]]* [[Serbia]]** The [[Iron Gates]]** [[Stamora Moravița-Vatin border crossing|Stamora Moravița-Vatin]]* [[Ukraine]] :** [[Dyakove-Halmeu border crossing|Dyakove-Halmeu]]** [[Sighetu Marmației-Solotvyno border crossing]]** [[Siret-Porubnoe border crossing|Siret-Porubnoe]]** 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 privately owned boats that may takes travelers, but they ask up to hundreds of euro for the service. ==Personal Experiences ==''In total I spent around three months in Romania. I hitchhiked from Bucharest to Timisoara, Brasov and Iasi and also spent a few weeks camping in Transylvania. I hitchhiked to many landmarks such as Dracula's Castle, Rasnov Castle and the National Park in Zarnesti. Romanian people are incredibly friendly and happy to see travelers. I never found safety to be a problem and camped out at night in the national park in special spherical huts built for shepherds (I think they are for protection from bears). There are maps of the park which indicate the location of these huts and the best trails. Romania was the first country where I traveled for more than two days with the one truck driver. You should be OK to get around speaking English although if you have Italian that's a huge bonus and maybe learn a few basic Romanian words to be polite with any elderly farmers who pick you up in the country (Hungarian instead in many parts of Transylvania). Some drivers are quite lethal here too, so be prepared to take bends while overtaking gypsy carts at worrying speeds! Twice I was asked to contribute to the gas expenditure (out of maybe 30 lifts). I found hitchhiking at the side of the road with thumb out to be more time effective than petrol stations, many towns have hitchhiking spots where locals can be seen with their thumbs out. This country can't be skipped on a Europe trip if you like sheep's cheese, nature and castles'' -[[User:HoboSpirit|HoboSpirit]]