Visit Romania!

**Menumorut** · November 22, 2012, 01:08 PM

Foarte frumose poze, beautifull

**Armatus** · November 22, 2012, 07:32 PM

On this day of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful there are still places of wonder and beauty in the world like Romania

**Basileos Leandros I** · November 23, 2012, 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by Armatus

On this day of Thanksgiving, I'm thankful there are still places of wonder and beauty in the world like Romania

Happy Thanksgiving to you too.

**Vítor Gaspar** · November 24, 2012, 06:27 PM

I was wondering - and I hope you don't take this personally - how safe is Romania for a foreign tourist? Especially rural Romania, because from what I'm seeing that would be my thing above anything else?

And how is transportation around there? And do a significant amount of people speak English reasonably?

Say I'm going there with 2 or 3 friends, how is it? I am assuming alone is a no-no.

**Armatus** · November 24, 2012, 07:08 PM

There's a blog from someone who went posted earlier in this topic, I think he's a US citizen, and he had nothing but good things to say.

**Wallachian** · November 25, 2012, 03:37 AM

No, please feel free to ask any questions, offensive or not. As you can see from the pictures, rural Romania and generally the provinces are the must-see places. I dare say that the rural areas are safer than the urban places. Generally, people in rural areas are thought to be nicer, more helpful and more pleasant. People from the big cities, especially Bucharest are probably the most difficult to deal with.

In the cities and urban areas transportation is great. But when it comes to the rural areas it's a bit more difficult. Tourist attractions have pretty good transport links though. There is trains linking all major areas but then you would have to take buses to specific locations.

Again, when it comes to English speakers in the city I would say that pretty much everyone speaks it. You will find it more difficult in the provinces but not impossible.

Indeed, I would advise going in a group. Simply because going by yourself can be more dangerous anywhere.

**Wallachian** · November 25, 2012, 03:39 AM

Found a nice video showing the beautiful nature

And one with pictures of natre

**Armatus** · November 25, 2012, 03:02 PM

How fertile is the soil, can you grow just about anything?

**Basileos Leandros I** · November 25, 2012, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by Miguel Relvas

I was wondering - and I hope you don't take this personally - how safe is Romania for a foreign tourist? Especially rural Romania, because from what I'm seeing that would be my thing above anything else?

And how is transportation around there? And do a significant amount of people speak English reasonably?

Say I'm going there with 2 or 3 friends, how is it? I am assuming alone is a no-no.

You'll be suprised - Bucharest happens to be one of the safest capitals in the European Union.

I speak as a local here but as long as you do not go to the outskirts of Bucharest, you will be fine. Most young people, and even older ones, speak English reasonably so there shouldn't be any problems.

**Basileos Leandros I** · November 25, 2012, 05:06 PM

Originally Posted by Armatus

How fertile is the soil, can you grow just about anything?

During the 1920's, Romania was one of the largest exporters of grain to Europe. The entire Baragan area is extremely fertile and lately foreign investment is starting to become very common, as foreigners buy up huge tracts of land to grow crops.

**Armatus** · November 26, 2012, 08:09 PM

Very nice! Well if I win the Mega Millions this Wednesday I will definitely be buying land in Romania

In fact I'll probably be buying land all over lol..

the average value per acre of Iowa farmland was $6,708, according to the 2011 Farmland Value Survey by Iowa State University.

Farming is in my blood.

**Sir Adrian** · November 28, 2012, 05:41 AM

Originally Posted by Miguel Relvas

I was wondering - and I hope you don't take this personally - how safe is Romania for a foreign tourist? Especially rural Romania, because from what I'm seeing that would be my thing above anything else?

And how is transportation around there? And do a significant amount of people speak English reasonably?

Say I'm going there with 2 or 3 friends, how is it? I am assuming alone is a no-no.

Pretty much as safe as you'd expect any other country to be. The major cities are very safe compared to cities from other European countries, the most common crimes here being thefts and scams.
Alone is not necessarily a no-no, but in that case you should stick to the beaten path.

The rural areas then to be safe-ish but drinking is very common, so you should expect the exact same dangers you usually expect from a bunch of drunken people. Gypsy villages are not so safe though, some are friendly, some are not.
In the cities it is hard not to find someone who does not know English, in the rural areas English is not so common, but you'll still be alright. If you also know some Spanish or Italian you will have no problems.

Transportation is mostly by train, higher classed trains are safer and better than the cheaper ones. Inside major cities transportation is done by bus and tram (metro in Bucharest). The Bucharest metro is one of the safest in the world. Trams and buses are cheap, mostly reliable, but they are prone to pickpocketing so be careful.
Cabs are decent but they tend to over-charge foreigners, especially Bucharest cabbies who are notorious for taking tourists (even romanian tourists) on the longest route possible and charging up to 2 times the fare.

**Basileos Leandros I** · December 02, 2012, 01:42 PM

Agreed with what Sir Adrian wrote above.

And a warm Happy Birthday to all of the Romanians! 1st of December is our National Day and as such I want to extend a warm Happy Birthday to my fellow Romanians!

**Armatus** · December 02, 2012, 02:04 PM

National day?

**Basileos Leandros I** · December 02, 2012, 07:57 PM

Yeap. Great Union Day, comemorating the 1st of December 1918 when all of the Romanian principalities were united under the banner of the Kingdom of Romania.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Union_Day

**Basileos Leandros I** · December 04, 2012, 09:55 AM

Not necessarily related to visiting Romania, but a very good short film that has been given the prize of the best European Short Film in 2012.

I heartily recommend you to watch it.

**Armatus** · December 05, 2012, 07:58 PM

Any national day events?

**Basileos Leandros I** · December 07, 2012, 07:11 AM

Originally Posted by Armatus

Any national day events?

On the 1st of December there's a National Day Parade in all of the major cities in Romania. The most elaborate is in Bucharest. Here's a film from last year.

**Armatus** · December 07, 2012, 10:49 PM

So in 1877 Romania declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, but it was divided?

**Kjertesvein** · December 08, 2012, 04:22 AM

Originally Posted by Basileos Leandros I

On the 1st of December there's a National Day Parade in all of the major cities in Romania. The most elaborate is in Bucharest. Here's a film from last year.

We don't have military parades in norway, only kids who parade.

The first word that came to mind when watching this, was "military catwalk"