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I am considering traveling to Bulgaria by car this summer. My potential route goes through Romania, with a possible overnight stay there.

I am wondering if it is generally safe to drive as a foreigner in Romania, in terms of both road and criminal safety.

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Neither road safety nor criminality seemed very different between Romania and Bulgaria when I've been driving with friends in the two countries or when I've hitchhiked through them. Bucharest did seem a bit dodgier than Sofia though. Our car was broken into in the former but I've never been in the latter with a car. – hippietrail Feb 24 '12 at 5:55

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About the crime, Romania is a civilized EU country and you are safe. The border officers are susceptible to bribes, especially since you have foreign plates. There were recent controls/arrests, one of the measures in order for Romania to qualify for Schengen (which didn't happen yet).

There are very few sections of highway (1), so the traffic might be congested and many roads have potholes.

Please read Wikitravel's good advice about road tax, speeding, and police.

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That really is the least of Romania's Schengen issues... – Ben Parsons Feb 25 '12 at 22:52
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@Theta30, thank you for your answer. Please, don't get me wrong, I know Romania is a civilized country and Romanian people are nice - I know some. At the same time, I know the reality from myself also growing up in the post-eastern-block country plus I have some bad memories of e.g. cops pulling over for bribes when traveling there couple of years ago. But I know, things change over time, just like they change here as well. Just asking to get an overview on how Romanian roads look like nowadays. :) – Krizz Mar 3 '12 at 20:23
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I recently drove through Romania and Bulgaria on motorbikes and didn't find much problems. Like most eastern European countries the quality of local driving isn't great, especially compared to western European countries.

There were a lot of trucks and lorries on the roads. Aside from that it was fine.

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