Romania

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Flag of Romania Romania
Information
Language: Romanian
Capital: Bucharest
Population: 22,276,056
Currency: Leu ( RON )
Hitchability: Verygood.png (very good) (very good)
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Map of Romania

In Romania payment for the ride is often expected, although foreigners often aren't asked for anything. It is still cheaper than trains and buses though. The local currency is the Leu (exchange rate: 1 Euro = aprox. 3.5 Lei). When hitchhiking, it's best to hold a sign with the name of the place you want to go. People expect to be payed for giving a ride, but if you tell them in advance that you are unable to pay, 4 out of 5 will take you anyway.
Getting a ride can sometimes be difficult, as some of the cars that pass seem tiny, ancient and packed with more people than there are seats. This is probably due to the low rate of car ownership in some areas, and the fact that hitching is still a common way for locals to travel, particularly in the country.
Romania has a long established hitchhiking tradition from the communist era. Back then, few people had cars, and there was a constant fuel shortage, so sharing a ride was the best way to get from A to B.

Language

Romanian is one of the few non-Slavic East-European languages. It is related with French, Italian, Spanish etc. Speakers of one of these languages will find it easier to pronounce and understand Romanian.

Historical regions

Cities in Romania

Largest

First 10 largest cities, by population within city limits

Other cities


Number plates

Political map of Romania: historical regions and counties

Romanian license plate numbers usually have two formats:

  • Regular number plates: XX-yy-ZZZ (black writing on white background, blue strip on the left, with the country code "RO" and the Romanian or EU flag)
  • Temporary leasing number plates: XX-yyyyyy (red writing on white background, blue strip on the left, with the country code "RO" and the Romanian or EU flag)

Where XX is the two letter code of the county (see below), y is a random number, and Z a random letter.

There are also special number plates:

  • diplomatic: TC-xxxxxx, CD-xxxxxx (blue writing on white background, blue strip on the left, with the country code "RO" and the Romanian or EU flag)
  • Ministry of Internal Affairs: MAI-xxxxxx (blue writing on white background, blue strip on the left, with the country code "RO" and the Romanian or EU flag)
  • Romanian Army: A-xxxxxx (non-reflective, black writing on white background, no other markings on the plates)
  • some cities have special, internal, or local license plate numbers, usually used for machinery (excavators, rollers, public transport ...)

Where x is a random number.

County license plate codes

County Code Residence County Code Residence County Code Residence County Code Residence
Alba AB Alba Iulia Buzau BZ Buzau Gorj GJ Targu Jiu Prahova PH Ploiesti
Arad AR Arad Caras-Severin CS Resita Harghita HR Miercurea Ciuc Satu-Mare SM Satu-Mare
Arges AG Pitesti Cluj CJ Cluj-Napoca Hunedoara HD Deva Salaj SJ Zalau
Bacau BC Bacau Calarasi CL Calarasi Ialomita IL Slobozia Sibiu SB Sibiu
Bihor BH Oradea Constanta CT Constanta Ilfov IF Bucharest Teleorman TR Alexandria
Bistrita-Nasaud BN Bistrita Covasna CV Sfantu Gheorghe Maramures MM Baia Mare Timis TM Timisoara
Botosani BT Botosani Dambovita DB Targoviste Mehedinti MH Drobeta Turnu-Severin Tulcea TL Tulcea
Brasov BV Brasov Dolj DJ Craiova Mures MS Targu Mures Valcea VL Ramnicu Valcea
Braila BR Braila Galati GL Galati Neamt NT Piatra Neamt Vaslui VS Vaslui
Bucharest B Giurgiu GR Giurgiu Olt OT Slatina Vrancea VN Focsani