In this article, we share our journey when traveling with a car and trailer in Romania. This is day 1 of our camping journey from Romania to Portugal, which you can follow on our YouTube channel as well. So, if you’re interested to know more about our experience, our mistakes, and about our tips to travel with a car and trailer on Romanian roads, keep reading.
A few words about our journey…
Hi! We are Lavinia and George. We’re doing a road trip from Romania to Portugal in our car and our little house on wheels. We did this trip before, 5 years ago, and we’ve learned a lot since then. The first time around, we made a lot of mistakes and had a lot of crazy adventures. But we had no one to turn to when we needed advice or answers regarding trailers, camping, and what a journey like this would entail.
So this is the second time we’re doing this trip, because we loved it so much the first time. And we’re documenting all of it. We’re sharing all we’ve learned so far. And we hope to help you avoid some of the mistakes we made, in case you’re also considering going on an adventure with your car and caravan.
Whether you’re a camper yourself, or you’re just interested in a fun trip around Europe in a car & house on wheels, make sure to follow along.
Traveling with a car & trailer in Romania – What you need to know
On the first day of our trip from Romania to Portugal, we’re heading over to Sibiu. We leave from our hometown, Bacău, which is located in the north-east of Romania.
Since Romania is not a top destination for camping lovers, we’ve decided to share some tips and information about driving in Romania, when it comes to a car & trailer ensemble.
If you’re considering heading over to Romania with your house on wheels, here are a few things you should know:
1.Romania does not yet have a complete system of highways
If you’re from western/central Europe, you’re probably used to driving your car & trailer on highways/motorways, when traveling from one destination to the next. The Romanian highway A1 is connected to the Hungarian highway system, and you can drive comfortably up to Sibiu on this road (see map: Nădlac-Sibiu).
Romania – Map of motorways – Image source: 130km.ro
However, if you want to explore destinations further east or south, you have to use national and regional connecting roads. Cars travel in both directions on these roads. And there are no dividers between the two directions.
Because of the narrow roads, the frequent overtaking, and the speed limits in villages and towns, you must take into account that the journey will take longer. And you need to be extra careful.
As you can see on the map above, there are no motorways from Bacău to Sibiu, so our journey is a quite an adventure.
2. Use navigation apps that take into account the length and height of your car & trailer
At first, we used Waze or Google maps to guide us to our destination. And these are fine as long as you don’t enter any cities. There we got stuck on small, narrow streets. Many times.
To make sure you don’t get stuck on small streets, you should also use a navigation app that takes into account the length and height of your car and trailer ensemble. For difficult areas, we’re using CoPilot GPS, in parallel with Google maps.
CoPilot GPS is an app that will have you insert the total length, width, and height of your car+ trailer. You will have to download the maps for each country, and pay for a subscription (first 14 days are free). But it’s worth it. Not only in Romania, but in many European countries that have narrow streets (we found it especially useful in France).
If you opt for this app, make sure to use Google maps in parallel. At least when you are entering cities or villages. Because some maps in CoPilot GPS can be outdated, but they are up to date on Google maps. Using both is best.
If you’re using a different navigation app that’s fit for a car & trailer ensemble, please let us know in the comments! We’re still looking for the best one.
Tip: In Romania, people use Waze a lot. It’s a navigation app that will also show you when roads are closed/under construction, when there are obstacles on the road, police cars, and so on. But it will sometimes guide you to very narrow streets in order to avoid traffic jams. So we don’t recommend using this app alone if you’re towing a trailer.
3. Cars towing trailers are not so common in Romania
In Romania, people are not used to seeing trailers towed by cars. You’ll most likely see lots of people on the street staring at your trailer. Some may even come by to talk to you when you stop in car parks or gas stations. They’re generally just curious to know more about trailers and how it all works.
Also, if you see other drivers with trailers or campers on the road, they will flash you with their headlights. It’s a friendly “hello” gesture, and you can flash back to answer. We’re still a small community of campers in Romania, so we’re happy to great each other on the road.
Traveling with a trailer in Romania – Day 1: Bacău-Sibiu
If you want to see what traveling with a trailer in Romania looks like, make sure to watch our YouTube video below. In this vlog, we share the first day of our journey – from Bacău (our hometown) to Sibiu. On the first day of our trip, we travel about 320km on national and regional roads.
Where to go camping in Sibiu: Camping Ananas
If you’re traveling with a car and trailer to Sibiu, we recommend Camping Ananas. It’s a lovely camping, located in a nearby village, and surrounded by nature. The camping is run by a friendly owner. And you have all the facilities you need: electricity, toilet block, waste disposal, etc.
We stayed in this camping a few years back, and we had a great experience. The entrance is a little steep though.
Where to eat & stop with your trailer near Sibiu: Fântânița Haiducului
Fântânița Haiducului (translated: The Outlaw’s Fountain) is one of our favorite restaurants to stop at. It’s just 15 minutes away from Sibiu. And it’s located right on the side on the road, with a large parking lot where you can park your car and trailer. They serve delicious traditional Romanian food, and they also have a Burger bar that is open 24 hours.
You’ll see that in our vlog, we’re stopping there for the night (they also have a hotel). Just because we wanted to leave early for Budapest the next day. And because we’re not planning to visit Sibiu at this time.
Next stop: Budapest
If you liked this post, make sure to hop on the journey. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to join us on our next adventures. Day 2 takes us from Sibiu to Budapest. Eager to see what camping in Budapest looks like?
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