Romanian visa hassles for Kiwis & Aussies
 

Lonely Planet guýdes, www.lonelyplanet.com AND the website for the Romanian consulate in London all stated that visas are availabe at the border for NZ and Aus passport holders.
This is WRONG. We got bounced back from the border to get our visas issed in Budapest.
We met several other Kiwis and Aussies there that had the same problem at other border crossings and on the train.
Get a Romanian visa before you hit the border.

I can concur with your post regarding difficulties crossing in Romania. Last time there I tried to cross from Hungary into Romania, I was denied entry, whereas my Brazilian companion was told, "No problem", for fifty dollars your in. When I got back to the U.S. I wrote a letter to the Romania Embassy in Washington to complain. I received a reply of apology, explaining that Romania wanted travelers and they couldn't explain the actions of the border guards. Some things seem to never change. Bucharest was so close!
Mike