East Europe & Romania
 

Hello,
i am new here and appreciate some tips and help from experienced riders that have been to east Europe recently and Romania in particular.

i am planning a SOLO trip to Romania Sept 1st , starting from the Netherlands and going via, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, back to Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Czech republic, Austria, Germany, NL
Any good advise, particular issue to be aware of, tips, suggestions and warnings are welcome
any paper requirements?
i am not too concerned about the security part, as i have few experience riding through Europe, Middle east and West Africa... but rather the safety part, border crossing (with the refugees issue facing east Europe) Accidents, Road conditions, Extra insurance....

Cheerrs
LC

Hello, and welcome to our forum community.

The question you ask has come up before - you might want to browse the Europe section of the forum for more information.

Based on my experience touring Eastern Europe (for many summers, through all the various countries there), you really don't have much to worry about. Generally speaking, "tourist security" correlates directly with the level of economic security that the residents have. If you are in a country - or a city, or areas of a city - where the residents don't have to worry about their own economic security, they you won't have to worry about your personal security. The converse is equally true.

I have enjoyed my visits to Romania. Some parts of larger cities are dodgy, in the same way that some parts of larger cities in the USA are dodgy. Romania has an ethnic underclass (the Roma, or gypsies) who don't enjoy the same success and living conditions in cities that the majority of the population do. If someone has an empty belly, they are going to do what they have to do to get their next meal.

So, be aware of the 'lay of the land' in big cities, the same way you would be aware of the lay of the land in big cities in the Netherlands (I'm sure there are probably parts of Amsterdam or Rotterdam that are best avoided by tourists, especially at night).

In the rural parts of Romania, which I think are the best parts of the country, you don't have to be too concerned. Your biggest risk comes from traffic accidents, not from fear of assault or robbery.

Michael

Here are links to prior discussions of the same question in the Europe sub-forum:

Bike security when staying at hotels

Romania

Need info about riding in Romania

and finally, here is a link to a write-up I made about that region a few years ago:

Notes from a September 2011 ride through Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Greece

Welcome to the HUBB.

I have no motorcycling experience in those areas but my partner and I completed a 3000km bicycle trip along the Danube last fall, which took us through Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Romania. We encountered absolutely no dangers from people, aside from occasional trucks whizzing by our ears on narrow roads in Romania. The biggest danger you'll encounter is being expected to freely imbibe rakia offered by friendly locals. That would be the equivalent of high test moonshine.

Many large European (and US/Canadian) cities have their fair share of property crime and Eastern Europe is no exception. Be alert in the big cities and don't worry about too much in the countryside. We were almost ambushed by a team of thieves who were targeting our backpacks in Budapest. Be suspicious of people asking for directions, map in hand, who have heavy eastern European accents and claiming to be tourists who are lost. They'll distract you while their accomplice heads for your backpack while you're not paying attention. There are other ploys as well but an experienced traveller should be able to clue in to what's going on.


...Michelle

Dear Michael
Thanks a lot for the reply and the good advises
i feel my mail was not written properly, (my bad i am not a native English speaker) as both you and thee next HUBB member focused their answer on security, while i was more looking at road safety, accident, any compulsory insurance to vignette to buy at the border .... as well as corrupted officials....
indeed each city has its dark corners and the Netherlands is not an exception... i can indicate few to avoid if u plan to visit the NL...

thanks for the tips
cheers
LC

You will need vignette's in Austria and Hungary. You should be able to buy them close to or around border area. The Hungarian one is now an "electronic" one. So you dont have a sticker to put on your bike, just keep your reciept as proof of purchase.
As far as insurance goes, check yours, but those countries that you list should be covered by your own insurance already.
As for road conditions, Romania will be the only one that I would take extra care with. Roads can be poor sometimes. We also noticed that most small towns and villages that had a main road through it, also had police hanging around, so watch your speed. Never saw anyone pulled, and most drivers comming the opposite way will flash to warn you.
Just enjoy its a beautiful country.

Thanks Crapxxx

very useful advise...
indeed the main concerns are with the road conditions and road users in Romania; heard some storries of carriage with horses on th roads and Stray dongs chassing cyclist and motorcycles in the mountain roads & village

Cheers
LC

I was their 3 weeks ago great place no problems I saw, really good roads most of he time did one road dn57 which was superb we did 17 countries riding from England and Romania one of the best yes horses and dogs but part of the charm
Safe riding
Paul

Yes there are horses and carriages on the road. Yes there are stray dogs everywhere who have nothing better to do than chase you. The moment we crossed from Serbia into Romania it was one dog chase after another. On our bicycles we took to filling our pockets with rocks but with a motorcycle it would be vastly easier to outrun the little mutts.

Attachment 18024
Roma Transport


Attachment 18025
Roma Family Wagon


Attachment 18026
Along the Danube Gorge

So far as road safety goes, my experience was that in Romania, you have to be more 'alert' than normal for very bad behaviour of other drivers. For example, large trucks passing other vehicles (the truck being in your lane, coming straight at you) in places where such a passing maneuver should never be attempted.

Also, in the larger cities in Romania, be very alert for people driving expensive or fast cars (large Audis, BMWs, etc.) who drive very fast and completely ignore traffic laws.

Generally speaking, there are fewer problems in rural areas and smaller towns... the only problems there are the trucks. In the larger cities, it is the expensive or fast cars you need to watch for.

There are frequently speed traps (policemen with radar equipment) in smaller villages. I think that is a good thing. I respected the speed limit when going through the villages, and was never stopped by the police.

Roads can sometimes be less than perfect (for example, rutted from large trucks), but that is not a serious problem. It just means you have to go a bit slower than normal, and watch the road quite carefully.

In summary: be very defensive and very alert when riding in Romania. But things are not so bad that you should not go there. On the contrary, it is quite a fascinating place to ride through.

Michael

Yea, especially if they have Russian number plates!

Micheal is spot on with his points on the luxury cars in big cities, Ive been in Bucharest for the last few weeks and I just assume that every car on the road is going to be making unpredictable lane changes and I ride defensively. Its been effective so far.. :-)
Spend some time in Cluj. Go see Salina Turda. Ride the Transfagarashan very early in the morning, and then ride the Transalpina if you have time.
Transalpina is just far enough from Bucharest and Cluj that it doesnt get the same levels of traffic as Transfagarashan.

Fellow Riders and HU community members
First of All, Happy new Year and wishing everyone plenty of travels and good memories in 2017.

As I was the one starting the thread, I thought it would only be courteous to post some of my experience riding in east Europe few months ago...

I started my Ride from the Netherlands with a destination The Transfagarasan in Romania.
I rode to Dusseldorf where I loaded my bike onto the overnight Train from Dusseldorf to Vienna.
With the arrival in Vienna at 08h30 in the Morning, i got myself a good night of sleep and avoided 900 km of good German Highways, I was rested and could ride strait to Debrecen with a Lunch Stop in the beautiful city of BUDAPEST... the Roads in Hungary are in great condition and traffic rules are well respected by Hungarian and Austrian drivers. i did have to buy a Vignette in Both Austria and Hungary.

From the quite city of Debrecen, I headed to Romania, crossing out of Schengen area at the Hungarian (Artand)/Romania (Bors) border crossing point, the crossing out of Hungary was with a head node, while the Romanian side took about 20 min (but this is mainly because I have an Algerian passport, live in NL and travelling on the Motorcycle) the Border agent confessed at the end that he has never seen an Algerian on a Motorbike at this crossing since years .... :-) at least i got to be the First ...
the first few Kilometres on the Romanian roads was good until the city of Oradea after that i took the E79, that goes through a number of small passes and hills, the road section between Oradea and Deva had about 40 road works points that made my journey last forever, the road was in such a bad condition that i rattled every bone and bolt on my loaded F800GS ... but to the credits of the Romanian ministry of transport, they have been working hard to have it completed before the winter, I am confident that next year( Summer 2017) this section will be a pleasure to ride through
once at Deva the Fantastic Romanian High way A1 was a blast too ride through, not only it was very well made and toll free, but it was not busy as most of the vehicles takes the secondary roads ...
I arrived to Sibiu (my temporary home base for 2 days) after 3 days and more than 1150 km

the Transfagarasan and the TrasnAlpina were undeniably the BEST part of the trip, it is worth every single minute i spent planning the trip and every single minute i spent riding on its asphalt... the Transfagarasan was so great that i changed my plan and rode it again from South to North... while the transAplina i did only a small section, but yet the best part at 2134 mts altitude...


Riding in Romania, was extremely safe, not a single incident or issue and no stray dogs neither .... :-)
definitely recommended for anyone planning to visit the Transfagarasan & Transalpina

Happy to answer questions if any

Cheers
LC

Great photos, Romania is a beautiful place, not so fussy on Bucharest but the rest especially the North is amazing..

Much prefer the Eastern block countries to the west, more gritty and the food is great...

Hijacking the thread a little..

Can anyone comment on how often the Trans-Fagarasan is open earlier than the 'official' end of June date? When it is still closed, how much can be ridden until you hit snow or physical barriers?

I will be there around the 3rd week May 2017 at the latest and hoping that I will get to do some... :(

Apologies for going off topic!

Thank you :)

We did Transfagarasan in the end of September and it was a bit chilly but still doable. There was some snow on the top but the road is well-maintained so I don't see why May would be a problem! Off season is great because you have the road to yourself, almost:)