Romania

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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norfolkboy1
Posts: 1
Joined: 25 Aug 2015, 10:12pm

Romania

Post by norfolkboy1 »

This is my first topic on here. I'm toying with the idea of doing a cycle tour in Romania, Is it a good place to go i.e. cycle friendly, nice scenery, plenty of places to stay, expensive or cheap. Any comments would be greatly received. Bruce
tyreon
Posts: 936
Joined: 4 Oct 2012, 4:39pm

Re: Romania

Post by tyreon »

Did a rail/walking trip around the country earlier in the year. The people are 'properly indifferent' to visitors. Sound funny? What I mean is that you're not a centre of attention,unlike perhaps India and which can be annoying++. I do not think you will get stones thrown at you by young men,unlike other countries where out-in-the-bush this can be a past-time. People helpful and interested in you,in the bush 'God-fearing'. Honest. Bit more ++ impoverished than Hungary. Down the south,flat plains. Up north,bush and forest. You'll see plenty of shepherds. Eurovelo 6 goes thru Romania and ends up at Constanta.
Costs are low there.
greyingbeard
Posts: 851
Joined: 24 Mar 2015, 10:41pm

Re: Romania

Post by greyingbeard »

much of the transport is horse drawn with "roads" to match. Substantial tyres might be a good idea.
Remember the tesco etc horse meat scandal ? The glut of horse meat was created when the Romanian government banned horses from the motorways.
Its not so much "third world" as going back in time 90 years. Cant wait to go. A friend did and hasnt come back, never been happier.
robing
Posts: 1359
Joined: 7 Sep 2014, 9:11am

Re: Romania

Post by robing »

I haven't cycled in Romania but have been on a backpacking trip. Transylvania very scenic and pretty and felt safe and friendly. Beware Bucharest, I encountered thieves and pickpockets, some quite brazen!
neilob
Posts: 698
Joined: 31 Jan 2008, 3:58pm
Location: Notts/Lincs borders

Re: Romania

Post by neilob »

I'm leaving tomorrow to go for the second year in a row, following the Danube up to to Tulcea and the Black Sea on the Ukraine border. We fly to Belgrade and cycle through Serbia and Bulgaria, crossing into Romania at Bechet. Before my first trip, I heard lots of doom and gloom stories about bad drivers, stone-throwing kids, rabid dogs, poor roads, bad food etc etc and not one of them was true. It is a lovely country with lovely people. Yes, it's also cheap but that shouldn't be the only reason to visit. Go for the scenery, the challenge, the culture, and above all the welcome.
Using a car to take an adult on a three mile journey is the same as using an atomic bomb to kill a canary.
dondelion
Posts: 63
Joined: 13 Sep 2014, 10:48am

Re: Romania

Post by dondelion »

And don't forget the Transfagarasan pass

A couple of years ago I did a 2 week Romania tour in preparation for my big trip. Stunning rural scenery, lots of back roads, friendly people everywhere, lots of little homestays, good, cheap food, what's not to like? I even got rescued by gypsies.
FarOeuf
Posts: 441
Joined: 14 Jan 2014, 9:31pm

Re: Romania

Post by FarOeuf »

greyingbeard wrote:much of the transport is horse drawn with "roads" to match. Substantial tyres might be a good idea.
Remember the tesco etc horse meat scandal ? The glut of horse meat was created when the Romanian government banned horses from the motorways.
Its not so much "third world" as going back in time 90 years. Cant wait to go. A friend did and hasnt come back, never been happier.


erm, you're talking garbage. absolute garbage. you've never been. clearly...!
FarOeuf
Posts: 441
Joined: 14 Jan 2014, 9:31pm

Re: Romania

Post by FarOeuf »

norfolkboy1 wrote:This is my first topic on here. I'm toying with the idea of doing a cycle tour in Romania, Is it a good place to go i.e. cycle friendly, nice scenery, plenty of places to stay, expensive or cheap. Any comments would be greatly received. Bruce


I toured there last year (and was there years ago not by bicycle), went from north to south and through Bucharest. roads are as good as they are here, I used 28mm tyres no problem. always found somewhere to stay, and places to eat. it was pretty cheap. Transfagarashan is ok, but the Transalpina is better; less traffic. Scenery was very good. I only had a couple of traffic incidents, the worst was a British registered 4x4. Locals very friendly all round.

I think it depends on your motive for travelling. Maybe you want to see the world, understand your place in it, understand politics and culture on a more global scale than just western Europe. Maybe you want to expand your horizons and have a bit of an adventure. Then Romania is a great place to go cycling, it's challenging at times but the rewards are there. If you want to tour in a consistently nice and agreeable environment, then maybe it's not a great place for you to go.

I met a few people who'd followed the Danube (skirting the south of Romania) and they had a completely different experience of the country.

cheers,
Bob999
Posts: 39
Joined: 22 Jan 2015, 7:59pm

Re: Romania

Post by Bob999 »

Hi

I've cycled in NW Romania and stayed in other parts of the country. It's a beautiful country and fantastic to cycle in - I've been there 6 times or so. You have choice from mountainous through to pancake flat! There are OK maps for the more touristy areas but to thread my way through the back lanes I ended up printing off open street map which I've found to be very accurate. I'm not an expert on the country by any means but I would say as a rule of thumb avoid all the roads that start with an 'E..' due to the number of lorries. The other thing I've found is that roads mapped as unsurfaced can be fine for 700x32 (ie my bike), so don't discount them, they might help to avoid main roads as well as getting you into the heart of the country - but that's not always guaranteed of course. Likewise I've gone along roads I thought would be OK but were very poorly maintained.

To get the most out of your journey, I would say plan your route in as much detail as you can - take time to work out the back routes - and be confident of your accommodation options before you go.
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