Travel Risk Atlas

Romania

Southeast Europe · Capital Bucharest

Level 1 United States Exercise Normal Precautions FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Green Netherlands Green — you can travel Level 1 Canada Take normal security precautions AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for Romania — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

18.7 Very low risk
Atlas Risk Score · 58th safest of 220
Bran Castle — Romania
Photo: Dobre Cezar / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 ro

Romania is safer than its reputation, and most visitors have no trouble at all. Bucharest's taxi racket is the one genuinely organised set-up, and it is easy to sidestep once you know the trick it depends on.

The Carpathians are the other half of the picture: Europe's largest brown bear population, mountain weather, and a spectacular high road that is only open a few months a year.

Where the risk actually is

Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Romania as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.

Alba — No specific warningArad — No specific warningArges — No specific warningBacau — No specific warningBihor — No specific warningBistrita-Nasaud — No specific warningBotosani — No specific warningBraila — No specific warningBrasov — No specific warningBucharest — No specific warningBuzau — No specific warningCalarasi — No specific warningCaras-Severin — No specific warningCluj — No specific warningConstanta — No specific warningCovasna — No specific warningDolj — No specific warningDâmbovita — No specific warningGalati — No specific warningGiurgiu — No specific warningGorj — No specific warningHarghita — No specific warningHunedoara — No specific warningIalomita — No specific warningIasi — No specific warningIlfov — No specific warningIlfov — No specific warningMaramures — No specific warningMehedinti — No specific warningMures — No specific warningNeamt — No specific warningOlt — No specific warningPrahova — No specific warningSalaj — No specific warningSatu Mare — No specific warningSibiu — No specific warningSuceava — No specific warningTeleorman — No specific warningTimis — No specific warningTulcea — No specific warningVaslui — No specific warningVrancea — No specific warningVâlcea — No specific warning
What governments advise No specific warning

What the warnings actually cover

  • Whole country — No specific warning. No government currently advises against travel to any part of this country. The colour reflects general caution levels only, not a warned area.

Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Political stability
10% of score
36/100
100th of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly flooding, earthquakes
35/100
86th of 220
Crime
15% of score
30/100
80th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
24/100
85th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
18/100
70th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
13/100
89th of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
0/100
46th of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
51/100

Biggest factor here: political stability. Risk of unrest, coups and abrupt instability disrupting a trip.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
112
Single European emergency number — police, fire and ambulance, free from any phone
Currency
RON lei
€1 ≈ 5.25 RON
Languages
Romanian
Visa (EU passport)
Visa free
US: 90 days visa-free · UK: 90 days visa-free
Population
19.0m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Bucharest
Driving
On the right
10.3 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type C, F
220-240V
Safely managed water
82%
Mostly, but not everywhere · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+40
GDP per capita
$23k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
12.8m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Bucharest, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around April to October.

Daytime high cold mild warm hot extreme heat
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Common scams in Romania

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

The rigged tariff on the taxi door

Bucharest — Otopeni airport, Gara de Nord, tourist ranksVery common

Romanian taxis must display the per-kilometre rate on the door. Scam operators print a legal-looking sticker at five to ten times the normal rate, so the meter runs correctly against an absurd tariff and the driver has technically done nothing wrong.

How to avoid it: Read the per-kilometre rate on the door before getting in — a normal Bucharest rate is a small single-digit figure in lei. Better, use a ride-hailing app or the airport's official taxi touchscreen ordering system.

Sources Bucharest Otopeni Airport — ground transport UK FCDO Romania — safety and security

Plain-clothes "police" checking currency

Bucharest city centreOccasional

Men claiming to be police ask to see your wallet or passport, often after a stranger has approached you to change money. Cash disappears during the check.

How to avoid it: Romanian police do not inspect tourists' cash in the street. Decline, hold your wallet, and offer to go to a police station.

Sources Romanian Police

ATM skimming and standalone machines

Bucharest, Brașov, coastal resortsCommon

Card skimming on non-bank ATMs, and dynamic currency conversion offering to bill you in euros at a poor rate. Romania uses the leu, not the euro.

How to avoid it: Use ATMs inside bank branches, cover the keypad, and always choose to be charged in RON.

Sources National Bank of Romania

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Romania is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

Carpathian bear country Wildlife

Fatal attacks have occurred. Roadside bears along the Transfăgărășan are habituated and dangerous precisely because people feed them.

Bucharest Gara de Nord Street crime

Taxi touts, pickpocketing and aggressive begging around the main station — the least pleasant part of an otherwise easy city.

Transfăgărășan and Transalpina Traffic

High mountain roads with sheer drops, closed by snow most of the year and busy with slow tourist traffic when open.

Bears are a real hazard, not a novelty

Romania holds the largest brown bear population in Europe outside Russia, and encounters have killed hikers. Bears habituated to roadside feeding gather along the Transfăgărășan and near mountain villages.

Never stop to feed or photograph a bear from a car — it is illegal and it is how bears learn to approach people. On trails, make noise, keep food sealed and away from tents, and check local warnings.

The Transfăgărășan is seasonal

The high section of the Transfăgărășan opens roughly July to October and is closed by snow the rest of the year regardless of conditions in the valley. It is a mountain road with sheer drops, not a scenic drive; fog and ice arrive quickly at 2,000m.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Romania:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.