Here, we’ve compiled some essential (and hopefully helpful) information about Romania to make your stay as smooth as possible. We’ll cover cultural practices, driving, local attitudes, specialties, and more. You might even learn something new!
Since 2007, Romania has been part of the European Union. For French citizens (or any EU citizen), visiting is quite straightforward. You’ll only need an ID card—no need for a visa or passport, which is super convenient!
Additionally, unlike its neighboring countries (such as Bulgaria), Romanian is a Latin-based language, meaning it uses the Latin alphabet rather than Cyrillic. This is practical because, even if you don’t speak Romanian, it’s much easier to read signs in Romanian than in Bulgarian!
Lastly, regarding the EU, note that Romania has retained its currency, the Romanian “leu” (or “lei” in the plural), written as RON. Here’s the exchange rate: 1€ = 4.90 RON.
With this exchange rate, it’s clear that Romania isn’t an especially wealthy country, so as a tourist, you’ll have significant purchasing power and can enjoy yourself affordably.
Before you go, we recommend getting a card with no foreign transaction fees. We use the Visa Ultim card from BoursoBank and have been very happy with it. There are no fees for payments or withdrawals in any currency, and it’s free.
And if you don’t already have an account with them, you can open one using the link below or our referral code LEGA1596, and you’ll receive a bonus of between €80 and €220 depending on the current offer and conditions.
It’s easy to mix up these two terms, but they’re very different. Many think Romani people and Romanians are the same, but that’s not the case!
“Romanians” are the people living in Romania, while the “Romani” are a nomadic ethnic group, many of whom reside in Romania but are also spread across various countries. So, while all Romani in Romania are Romanian citizens, not all Romanians are Romani.
On a related note, during our visit, we found the Romanians to be incredibly kind and welcoming!
During our tour of Europe, we ran into an issue with our van and needed a solution to avoid being delayed for over 20 days (as several garages had told us). In Romania, we found a fantastic garage with staff who took the time to listen and help us, finding the quickest, most efficient solution. The garage was super efficient, and the employee we worked with was the epitome of kindness. After emailing back and forth and setting up a next-day appointment, she even contacted me on Facebook to check if we’d made it to the garage safely and if we needed anything. She even came by after hours to ensure everything was okay. Before we left, the garage gifted us a small collectible van as a memento.
It was amazing! This is something that would never happen in France!
Of course, this depends on the person—an elderly lady may have more difficulty—but overall, it’s quite manageable. Whether or not the person you’re speaking to knows English, you’ll generally be able to communicate fairly well. This might be partly because, as we mentioned earlier, Romanian is a Latin language, making it easier to pick up on similar roots.
So in Romania, don’t worry; you’ll be able to get by in English (or with gestures if you don’t speak either English or Romanian).
I couldn’t find this information online, but after crossing the border in our van in 2022, we had to stop at a small booth to pay a type of entry fee. This wasn’t a road usage fee (we’ll talk about that shortly) but a per-person entry fee.
It wasn’t expensive; we paid €2 in cash for both of us. However, we weren’t expecting it, as it wasn’t mentioned anywhere. Even at the border, there was no signage for rates. The person at the booth simply told us the fee.
This fee may only apply if you’re crossing the border in a vehicle (not by plane). Or maybe we were even scammed! 🤣 Who knows... Let us know in the comments if you’ve had to pay an entry fee to Romania!
After paying our €2 to enter the country, we also had to pay a tax to drive on Romania’s road network.
This road tax is called the "Rovinietă" – likely a blend of “Romania” and “vignette” (toll sticker).
Although we're familiar with tolls on French highways, here it’s a tax that lets you drive on all roads, including national roads and highways.
You can purchase this electronic vignette:
The price of the vignette varies depending on the weight of your vehicle and the duration of your stay in the country.
For a vehicle under 3.5 tons, you can buy a vignette valid for:
Failing to pay this road tax, or to buy the vignette, could result in a fine of 4,500 RON – that’s over €900.
And speaking of rules, keep in mind that you need to have your headlights on outside of urban areas when driving in Romania, even during the day. Yes, we don’t quite see the need for it either, but it’s the same in many European countries, so it’s good to know to avoid a fine!
No, it’s not a joke – cars here share the road with horse-drawn carriages, especially outside the big cities.
I didn’t find much information online about this, but we think it’s likely due to:
That said, carriages aren’t the majority of vehicles; cars are still widespread, especially in larger cities.
But it’s not unusual to see, in smaller villages, people hitchhiking along the road as well.
In short, seeing carriages on the roads is surprising at first, and it really highlights the cultural and economic differences between Romania and France, or even the broader Western world.
Staying on the topic of roads, despite some blogs we read before our trip, we found Romanian roads to be in good condition, fairly wide, and well-maintained.
Another thing that pleasantly surprised us were the long merge lanes for joining new roads, usually highways or expressways. In Romania, compared to France, these merging lanes are much longer, making it far less stressful to enter a new road. You have plenty of time to speed up and merge calmly without rushing or bothering anyone.
Finally, a heads-up: distances between two points of interest can be quite long. While the country is smaller than France, there often isn’t much to see between stops, so be prepared to spend a fair amount of time on the road.
To rent a car in the country, we recommend using DiscoverCars. This platform compares hundreds of brands to give you the best deals, with excellent conditions (unlimited mileage, partial coverage, theft protection), and without hidden fees (meaning the price displayed is the final amount you’ll pay).
We saw a lot of stray dogs in Romania. It’s quite sad because you can tell they’re hungry and looking for human company… But on top of that, what surprised us was that you have to be careful not to hit them when driving, as they’re not at all afraid of cars. They’ll often run towards the car, cross just as you’re passing, or even follow you for a few meters. We can tell you, from experience, that it’s a bit scary – it’s as if the dog is throwing itself right in front of the car!
So, just a tip: slow down a bit if you see a dog by the side of the road!
Yes, the topic might seem a bit strange, but it’s something that surprised us. Just like in Bulgaria, here in Romania, they separate the prayers and candles for the living and the dead.
This is something we had never seen before visiting Eastern countries, but it’s actually quite common in this part of Europe. It is probably due to religion. In Romania, the majority religion is Orthodoxy. And from what I understand, in these cultures, the world of the living coexists with the world of the dead. The veneration of the dead by the living helps maintain the balance between the two worlds, ensuring stability that ultimately guarantees order in the universe.
The rituals performed by the living serve as a regulator of this relationship between the two worlds. Every act aims to satisfy the needs of the deceased and protect the living from the threats of the afterlife.
A beautiful relationship, which is symbolized, especially in Orthodox churches, by the separation of prayers and candles for both worlds.
So, if during your trip you want to light a candle, make sure not to make a mistake and look carefully at the inscriptions:
This practice also reminds us of Hinduism, where both Gods and Demons are venerated to maintain a certain stability as well. By doing so, Hindus ensure that the demons are not jealous and won’t come to take revenge by bringing misfortune. We think it’s a beautiful way of thinking!
And to finish this topic, don’t be surprised if you see posters with someone’s photo in Romanian towns and villages. These are not missing persons, as we sometimes see in France on bus stops or elsewhere, but death notices. These posters are often displayed near the town hall or at the center of the village, at bus stops, or other places to inform residents of a neighbor’s passing. A bit like the obituary section in a newspaper.
Yes, it’s quite unexpected if you didn’t know! 😂
Well, I knew about it, but Simon was more than shocked to learn that Transylvania actually exists. He thought it was a fictional place from vampire movies, and that was that. Imagine his face when I told him we were going to see Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania 😂.
Honestly, the region is quite beautiful, very wooded and green, but when it comes to Dracula’s Castle, also known as Bran Castle… it was quite a disappointment!
First off, you should know that this is not really Dracula’s castle! Yes, because, to surprise you, the famous immortal vampire is a character straight out of a story and has never existed. And on top of that, the author of the story, the Irishman Bram Stoker, never set foot in Romania, let alone at Bran Castle (by the way, it’s a strange coincidence that the author is called Bram and the castle Bran… it’s super close).
But then why is this castle called “Dracula’s Castle”?
Well, the truth is, Bram Stoker was inspired by real events and writings to create his own story (fictional, of course).
He was inspired by the story of Vlad III, also known as Vlad Tepes, which translates to “Vlad the Impaler.” As you probably guessed, this prince was known for… impaling his enemies.
His father was nicknamed Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Dragon), which led to his son being called Vlad Draculea, meaning Vlad the Son of the Dragon. Hence the name Dracula.
And regarding the castle, the author mentions and describes a castle overlooking a hill in the Carpathian Mountains region. And the only castle that matches this description is the Bran Castle near Brașov in Transylvania.
Well, it’s not the end of the world that all this isn’t real, but what disappointed us was that the castle is not extraordinary (both inside and outside), it’s located in the middle of a town, and what they call a hill is more like a small mound… The beautiful photos we see on Instagram or the internet are all taken from the same spot to get both the mound and the castle in the frame to give the impression of grandeur, while it’s actually small, and you can only see the mound from one spot…
In the end, we didn’t appreciate Dracula’s Castle, and we even recommend you to prefer Peleș Castle a bit further away. Much more beautiful, in terms of environment and architecture.
In Romania, Colac Secuiesc, also called Cozonac Secuiesc, are Hungarian skewer cakes originally from Transylvania.
"But why Hungarian? And why Transylvania?" you might ask. The two don't seem to go together…
Simply because this skewer cake was invented by a Hungarian community (the Secuii) living in Romania, specifically in Transylvania.
This cake has several names in different languages, but it remains the same:
It is a brioche dough flavored, rolled out, cut into strips, and then wrapped around a wooden cone. The dough is then dipped in sugar before being cooked on the skewer, over the embers. The result is a beautifully caramelized skewer cake on the outside and soft on the inside.
Sometimes, there may even be chunks of nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, or other ingredients around the cake, and you can also ask for a "filling" like chocolate, caramel, pistachio cream, jam, etc., inside. A real treat for sweet tooths!
You really can’t come to Romania without tasting this specialty.
There you go, we’ve shared our 10 key pieces of information (with a little sweet bonus) about Romania. We hope it will be useful during your stay and that you learned something new 😊.
If the article has made you want to visit Romania, you can book your flight here:
Don’t hesitate to share your experiences and tips in the comments for other travelers.
There is a 1-hour time difference between France and Romania. When it's 12 PM in France, it's 1 PM in Romania, both in summer and winter (since Romania also changes its time with the seasons). It’s a small time difference that you should take into account, especially if you’re planning activities, have a flight landing time, or want to call your family.
In France, we’re on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer, while in Romania, they’re on UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 in summer.
Très bon article merci ! Je pars quelques jours en Roumanie bientôt, cela va m’être utile ! Mais je trouve que différencier les cierges pour les vivants et les défunts n’est pas comparable avec le fait de vénérer les Dieux et les démons. Car même ceux qui sont décédés rejoignent Dieu. Merci pour cet article bien écrit !
Merci beaucoup Axelle pour ce retour ! On est contents de voir que nos articles servent !
Ce n'est pas exactement la même chose, tu as raison, mais on a trouvé qu'il y avait tout de même quelques similitudes marquantes, d'où la comparaison 😉.
How about we chat?