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Destination Guide · Europe

Romania

A Latin country marooned among Slavs and Magyars, with painted monasteries in the north-east, fortified Saxon churches across Transylvania, wooden spires in Maramureș and the Danube emptying into Europe’s largest delta.

CapitalBucharest
CurrencyRomanian leu
EntrySchengen visa required
LanguageRomanian
Best monthsMay–Jun, Sep–Oct
SighișoaraBrașovSibiuBucovinaMaramureșHorezuDanube DeltaTransfăgărășanTransalpinaRetezatOrastieBucharestSighișoaraBrașovSibiuBucovinaMaramureșHorezuDanube DeltaTransfăgărășanTransalpinaRetezatOrastieBucharest
Why Romania

A Romance country
on the wrong side of Europe

Romania speaks a Romance language — closer to Italian than to anything it borders — in a corner of Europe surrounded by Slavic and Hungarian. That single fact explains a great deal about the place: it has spent two thousand years as a frontier, and every empire that reached it left something built.

The Romans left the Dacian fortresses and the Danube frontier, both inscribed by UNESCO, the second of them only in 2024. Saxon settlers left fortified churches across Transylvania, whole villages built around a church with walls. The Orthodox north-east left the Churches of Moldavia, monasteries frescoed on the outside as well as the inside and still bright after five centuries. Maramureș left wooden churches with spires like needles. Romania has eleven World Heritage properties and they are unusually varied for one country.

Then there is the landscape. The Carpathians curl through the middle of the country and are still genuinely wild; the Danube ends in a delta that is the largest reed bed on Earth and a World Heritage site in its own right; and the two great mountain roads, the Transfăgărășan and the Transalpina, open only for high summer. Romania became a Schengen member state on 31 March 2024, and the land borders opened on 1 January 2025 — so for an Indian passport it is now one visa, and it joins straight onto Bulgaria and Hungary.

What makes it worth the distance
The painted monasteries The Churches of Moldavia, inscribed in 1993 and extended in 2010 — frescoed on their outside walls, in the open air, and still legible five hundred years later.
Fortified Saxon Transylvania Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania (1993, 1999) and the walled citadel of Sighișoara (1999) — a German-speaking layer of Romania that is still standing.
Maramureș Wooden churches with impossibly tall shingled spires, inscribed in 1999, in a region that kept its way of working timber when everywhere else stopped.
The Danube Delta Where the river ends: three main channels, an enormous reed labyrinth, pelicans, and a UNESCO natural property since 1991.
Two mountain roads The Transfăgărășan and the Transalpina cross the Carpathians on switchbacks and open only in high summer. They are the reason a lot of people hire a car here.
It suits you if
You want a European country that is still genuinely inexpensive and still genuinely uncrowded.
You would rather drive between villages than move between capitals.
You are interested in what four empires left behind in one place — Roman, Ottoman, Habsburg and Soviet.
You are already planning Bulgaria or Hungary and want the country that now joins them without a border check.
The essentials
CapitalBucharest
Official languageRomanian
A Romance language written in the Latin alphabet — the odd one out in this part of Europe, and easier to decipher than its neighbours if you have any Italian, Spanish or French.
CurrencyRomanian leu
Romania is an EU member state but not a euro-area one. The European Union lists it among the countries that "have not yet adopted the euro, but are expected to do so once they have met the necessary conditions."
Time zoneGMT+2 (GMT+3 in summer)
Three and a half hours behind India in winter, two and a half in summer.
Entry for Indian passportsSchengen visa required
India is in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, the annex Romania’s foreign ministry points to. Romania has issued uniform Schengen visas since 31 March 2024.
UNESCO World HeritageEleven properties
Nine cultural and two natural, and two of the eleven were inscribed as recently as 2024. Nineteen more sites are on the tentative list.
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Whether the Transfagarasan is open changes the whole route, and the answer moves every year. Tell us your dates and we will build around what is actually passable.

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Best Time

The mountain roads
decide your summer

Romania has a full continental climate and a mountain range through the middle of it. What you can reach changes more by month here than in most of Europe.

May – Jun
Transylvania at its best
Green, warm, long days and the Saxon villages and painted monasteries at their most comfortable. The high mountain roads are usually still shut, so this is the culture trip rather than the driving one.
Best overall
Jul – Aug
The only window for the passes
The Transfăgărășan and Transalpina open for high summer and this is when a Carpathian driving trip is possible at all. Hot in Bucharest and on the Black Sea coast, busy in the Delta, and the one time the whole country is reachable.
Mountain roads
Sep – Oct
Autumn in the Carpathians
Arguably the best light of the year, thinning crowds, and the forests turning across Transylvania and Bucovina. The passes begin to close through October, so check before you commit to one.
Excellent
Nov – Apr
Winter
Cold, grey and short-dayed, with snow across the Carpathians and the mountain roads firmly shut. The cities, the monasteries and the castles all work; a driving itinerary through the mountains does not.
Limited
Itineraries

How long Romania actually needs

Romania rewards a fortnight and punishes a long weekend. The distances are real and the best of it is not near the airport.

5 days
Bucharest, Brașov and Transylvania’s citadels
A first visit with one region done properly
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8 days
Transylvania plus Sighișoara, Sibiu and the fortified villages
The Saxon layer, at the pace it wants
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12 days
Transylvania, Maramureș and the painted monasteries of Bucovina
The two great UNESCO clusters in one loop
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15 days
The above plus a Carpathian pass or the Danube Delta
A summer driving trip, or the Delta by boat
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Worth pairing
Since 1 January 2025 there are no checks at Romania’s land borders with Bulgaria and Hungary, which makes two overland pairings straightforward on one Schengen visa: Bucharest with Sofia and the Bulgarian monasteries to the south, or Transylvania with Budapest to the west. Romania is explicit that a single-entry visa suffices for land transit through Schengen countries. The planning question is not how many visas but which country is the main destination of the trip, since that decides where the application goes.
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How to explore

How to Explore Romania

4 ways into Romania — drawn from this guide, not from a list that could describe anywhere.

🗺️
Where to go in Romania

Transylvania · Bucovina and Maramureș · The Carpathians · The Danube Delta — the parts of Romania this guide covers, each with its own reason to go and its own time of year.

📅
When to go

May – Jun is the strongest window — transylvania at its best. The rest of the year splits into Jul – Aug · Sep – Oct · Nov – Apr, and they are not interchangeable.

🧭
Getting around Romania

Hire car · Trains · Buses and minibuses · Boats — how people actually move around here, which decides how much of the map a trip can hold.

🛂
Getting in

Schengen visa required. Romania has issued uniform Schengen visas since 31 March 2024.

Entry & Visa

Romania entry — a Schengen visa, and two warnings Romania prints itself

Romania has issued uniform Schengen visas since 31 March 2024. An ordinary Indian passport needs one, applied for at the mission of the state that is the main destination of the trip.

Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sets this out directly. Under Council Decision (EU) 2024/210, "Romania will become a Schengen Member State beginning with March 31st, 2024", and from that date "Romanian authorities will fully apply the Schengen acquis and will, subsequently, issue Schengen visas which will allow holders to travel within the Schengen area for stays not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period." Whether an Indian passport needs one is answered by reference: MAE points to "the list of states whose citizens (annex 1) ... are required to be in possession of a visa when crossing the external borders of the Member States", and those annexes belong to Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 — which places India in Annex I and not in Annex II. Romania also lists a handful of extra exemptions beyond Annex II, for biometric-passport holders from Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Georgia and Ukraine and for certain family members of Romanian and EU citizens; India is on none of them. One note on Romania’s own website: its Q&A still says checks at the land borders with Bulgaria and Hungary "will be maintained until a further decision on this issue is taken". That decision has been taken — Council Decision (EU) 2024/3212 of 12 December 2024 lifted checks at those internal land borders from 1 January 2025, as Bulgaria’s foreign ministry records — and the Romanian page has simply not been updated.

A Schengen visa since 31 March 2024

Romania issues uniform Schengen visas valid throughout the area, for no more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

India is in Annex I

Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 — the annex Romania points to — lists India among the nationalities that must hold a visa at the external border.

A visa does not guarantee entry

Romania states it outright: the visa conditions and the entry conditions are complementary, and the border decision is separate.

Your stated purpose cannot change

Romania does not allow a third-country national who entered on a Schengen visa to change the purpose of travel during the stay.

Land borders open since January 2025

Council Decision (EU) 2024/3212 lifted checks at the internal land borders with and between Romania and Bulgaria from 1 January 2025. Romania’s own page has not been updated to say so.

Live Traveller Handles Your Visa

For all Romania journeys we design, we prepare your complete visa documentation package — the forms, the supporting documents, the sequence of submission. Our visa specialists help travellers prepare complete applications with careful document guidance. Final visa decisions always remain with the relevant authorities.

What Romania requires at the border
A valid travel document accepted by Romania.
A visa, or a residence permit or other authorisation conferring the right of transit or stay under EU law.
Documents attesting the purpose and conditions of the stay, and proof of financial means "corresponding both to support during the stay as well as to return to their country of origin or to transit to another country in which they will be guaranteed entry".
For a traveller in transit, guarantees that entry to the destination country is assured or that Romania will be left.
No alert against you in Romania’s National Signaling Information System (N.SIS), and none in the Schengen Information System (SIS).
No report by competent authorities as a threat to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any member state.
A visa is not entry, and your purpose is fixed
Romania prints two warnings that are worth reading before you book, because both of them are unusual to see stated so plainly. The first: "ATTENTION! Holding an entry visa does not guarantee the entry on the territory of Romania. All foreign citizens who wish to travel to the Member State or to another member State must make sure they abide by the conditions mentioned above. The visa granting conditions and the conditions of entry are complementary." In other words the visa gets you to the border and the border officer decides. The second: "The purpose of travel of third-state nationals who have entered Romania on the basis of a Schengen visa cannot be changed during their stay in Romania." You enter as a tourist, you remain a tourist. Beyond that, three practical rules. Apply to the state that is the main destination of your trip — Romania states this as the general rule, and it decides which mission takes your file. The ninety days are counted across Schengen and not per country, and Romania gives its own worked example: eighty days spent in Romania on a ninety-day Schengen visa leaves ten days for everywhere else. And for a land route, "A single-entry visa is sufficient for land transit through all Schengen countries, regardless of whether or not land border control has been lifted." Romania keeps an embassy with a consular section in New Delhi; it publishes no list of outsourced application centres in India, so confirm where your file should go before you assemble it.
What to eat
Sarmale Minced meat and rice rolled in cabbage or vine leaves and slow-cooked. The national dish, and the one that appears at every occasion that matters.
Mămăligă Polenta, and far more central here than that word suggests — served with cheese and sour cream, or under a stew, or with fried egg.
Ciorbă Sour soup, soured with borș or lemon, and the backbone of Romanian lunch. Ciorbă de perișoare with meatballs, ciorbă de legume with vegetables.
Mici Skinless grilled sausages of mixed minced meat, eaten with mustard and bread. Street food, football food, and unavoidable.
Papanași Fried cheese doughnuts with sour cream and sour-cherry jam. Ordered at the end and shared, because the portion is not a portion.
For vegetarians Better than the sarmale reputation suggests, and for a specific reason: the Orthodox fasting calendar has produced a whole category of "de post" cooking that contains no meat, dairy or egg. Ask for de post dishes by name and you unlock bean spread, stuffed peppers and cabbage without meat, mămăligă, vegetable ciorbă and a great deal else. State clearly that you eat no meat, chicken or fish, and check the stock.
Getting around
Hire car The right answer for Transylvania, Maramureș and the mountains, which is most of the reason to come. Driving is on the right, and a rovinietă road vignette is required.
Trains A genuine network and pleasant on the main lines — Bucharest to Brașov through the mountains is a good journey in its own right. Slow off the trunk routes.
Buses and minibuses How the country actually moves between smaller towns. Cheap and frequent, less legible to a visitor than the trains.
Boats The only way into the Danube Delta. Services run from Tulcea to Sulina and the other Delta villages and set the rhythm of that part of the trip.
Travel Tips

Romania, practically

A rewarding country to drive and an unforgiving one to improvise in summer, because two of its best roads may simply be shut.

Do
Hire a car if Transylvania or Maramureș is the trip. The fortified villages and wooden churches are the destination and they are not on a bus route.
Check the Transfăgărășan and Transalpina with local authorities before you plan around either. Both are summer-only and the opening date moves every year.
Decide which country is the main destination before you apply. Romania states that as the general rule for where a Schengen application goes.
Ask for "de post" dishes if you are vegetarian. The Orthodox fasting tradition has left Romania with a real meat-free menu rather than a grudging one.
Buy the rovinietă road vignette before you drive. It is required on the national road network and checked automatically.
Give Bucovina its own days. The painted monasteries are five hours from Brașov and are not a day trip from anywhere you will already be.
Carry cash for villages and small guesthouses. Romania is on the leu, not the euro, and card acceptance thins outside the cities.
Don’t
Don’t assume Romania uses the euro. It is an EU member state but not a euro-area one; the currency is the leu.
Don’t treat the visa as entry. Romania states plainly that "Holding an entry visa does not guarantee the entry on the territory of Romania."
Don’t plan to change your purpose of stay after arriving. Romania does not permit it for a third-country national who entered on a Schengen visa.
Don’t rely on Romania’s own website for the land-border position. Its Q&A is out of date; Council Decision (EU) 2024/3212 lifted those checks on 1 January 2025.
Don’t repeat the Dracula story as history. Bran is a genuine castle and worth the visit; the Stoker connection is marketing, not record.
Don’t try Transylvania, Maramureș, Bucovina and the Delta in ten days. Two of the four is a good trip; four of them is a driving holiday with sightseeing attached.
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FAQ

Romania — common questions

What Indian travellers actually need settled before booking.

Yes — a Schengen visa. Romania’s foreign ministry states that from 31 March 2024 "Romanian authorities will fully apply the Schengen acquis and will, subsequently, issue Schengen visas", and it answers the who-needs-one question by pointing at Annex 1 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. India is in that Annex I, and is not in the Annex II exemption list, nor on Romania’s separate list of extra exemptions.
Yes. Council Decision (EU) 2024/210 made Romania a Schengen member state from 31 March 2024, lifting air and sea border controls. Checks at the internal land borders with and between Romania and Bulgaria were then lifted from 1 January 2025 by Council Decision (EU) 2024/3212. Romania’s own Q&A page still carries the older wording and has not been updated.
No more than 90 days in any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area rather than per country. Romania gives its own example: a traveller on a 90-day Schengen visa issued by Romania who spends 80 days in Romania "will have a further 10 days right of residence in another Schengen Member State."
To the mission of the state that is the main destination of your trip — Romania states this as the general rule. If that is Romania, it maintains an Embassy of Romania in the Republic of India in New Delhi with a consular section handling visas. Romania publishes no list of outsourced visa application centres in India on the pages read for this guide, so confirm where your file should go before assembling it.
No, and Romania says so in capitals: "ATTENTION! Holding an entry visa does not guarantee the entry on the territory of Romania." The visa conditions and the entry conditions are complementary, and the entry conditions include proof of purpose, proof of funds for the stay and the return, and no alert against you in the Schengen or Romanian information systems.
No. Romania is an EU member state but not a euro-area one — the European Union lists it among the countries that have not yet adopted the euro. The currency is the Romanian leu. Its neighbour Bulgaria did adopt the euro, on 1 January 2026, which is a common source of confusion when the two are combined on one trip.
Eleven. Nine cultural — the Churches of Moldavia, the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania, the Historic Centre of Sighișoara, the Wooden Churches of Maramureș, the Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains, the Monastery of Horezu, the Roșia Montană Mining Landscape, the Brâncuși Monumental Ensemble of Târgu Jiu and the Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia — and two natural: the Danube Delta and Romania’s share of the transnational Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests. The Brâncuși ensemble and the Dacia frontier were both inscribed in 2024.
No, and it is worth saying so before you go so that the visit is not a disappointment. Vlad III Drăculea was a real fifteenth-century voivode of Wallachia; Bram Stoker’s Dracula is an 1897 novel by an author who never visited Romania; and nothing establishes that Vlad lived at Bran. Bran is a genuine medieval castle in a spectacular position and is worth the trip on its own terms.
Who is it for

Four ways to travel Romania

Romania is large by European standards and the four trips below barely overlap. Pick one or two; trying for all four in a fortnight means seeing roads.

✦
Transylvania
Sighișoara · Brașov · Sibiu · Viscri and the fortified church villages · Bran · Alba Iulia

The Saxon layer: fortified churches, walled citadels and a landscape of hay meadows and hills between them.

→The Historic Centre of Sighișoara and the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania are separately inscribed by UNESCO.
→Bran Castle is a real and worthwhile fifteenth-century castle. It is marketed as "Dracula’s Castle"; the honest position is that Vlad III Drăculea was a real Wallachian voivode, Bram Stoker’s novel is fiction, Stoker never came to Romania, and nothing establishes that Vlad lived at Bran.
→This is the part of Romania where a hire car pays for itself — the villages are the point and they are not on a bus route.
✦
Bucovina and Maramureș
Voroțeț, Sucevița and the Churches of Moldavia · the Wooden Churches of Maramureș · Horezu

The north: monasteries painted on the outside, and wooden churches with spires like needles.

→The Churches of Moldavia were inscribed in 1993 and extended in 2010; the exterior frescoes are the thing, and they have survived five centuries of weather.
→The Wooden Churches of Maramureș (1999) are a completely different tradition — timber, shingle and height rather than paint.
→The Monastery of Horezu (1993) sits far to the south in Wallachia and belongs to the same trip only if you are driving.
✦
The Carpathians
The Transfăgărășan · the Transalpina · Retezat · Piațra Craiului · the Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains

Mountains through the middle of the country, and the two roads that cross them.

→Both great mountain roads are summer-only and close with the snow. Check their status with local authorities before you build an itinerary around one — the dates move every year.
→The Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains have been World Heritage since 1999 and sit in exactly this country.
→Romania holds part of the transnational Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests property, which is Carpathian forest of a kind that has mostly gone elsewhere in Europe.
✦
The Danube Delta
Tulcea · Sulina · Sfântu Gheorghe · the Delta channels

Where the river finishes: channels, reed beds, fishing villages and birds, reached by boat from Tulcea.

→The Danube Delta has been a UNESCO natural World Heritage property since 1991.
→It is a boat destination, not a driving one — the villages are reached by water and the pace is set by the boat timetable.
→Spring and early summer are the birding months; high summer is hot and busy on the main channels.
Transylvania, the north, or the Delta?

They barely overlap and the distances are real. Tell us which you want done properly.

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