Romania by car from Ukraine

22 October 2019 • Travel time: with 30 June 2019 on 10 July 2019

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We decided to go on our own to Romania. The inspiration for the trip was Anton Ptushkin's video about Transfagarash and other youtube videos. In addition, we like the mountains, Romania is relatively close, we have a visa-free regime with it, and the prices there are not very high, as for our wallet. Our team consisted of 4 adults (two of them retired) and 1 child aged 7.2008 Chevrolet Aveo LT. The euro exchange rate at the time of travel was approximately UAH 30. or 4.7 lei.

Accommodation in Romania has been pre-booked on Booking and Airbnb. In principle, there were no housing problems in Romania. But with housing in Ukraine by our way was more difficult: the only place of our paid accommodation on our route was the city of Vinnytsia, but to order accommodation there within walking distance of the Roshen Fountain was not easy.

Hotels in Booking were quite expensive, and booking an apartment through Airbnb was very problematic, because the price and conditions written in the ads did not correspond to reality.

I choose, book, go for approval, and then the "nuances" begin… They start asking how many nights we want, they say they don't rent for one night, at least 2, they ask how many of us at 2, etc. Found one apartment, called, agreed, booked. The landlord said that no prepayment is required, but that I should call on June 29 and confirm that everything is valid. I'm calling on June 29 - the apartment has been handed over to someone for a week, he can't do anything, especially since Sunday will be Youth Day and there will be an influx of city guests…

Then there was a long search for agencies, a lot of calls, and as a result I found a good apartment near the fountain, and cheaper than the one where I was "thrown".

Day One: Poltava - Vinnytsia

The meeting point of our team was the city of Poltava. We left at 7 am on Sunday, June 30.2019. The road to Kyiv was quite good, in some places there was a reconstruction, we had to drive slower, but in general there is nothing to complain about… Kyiv passed without any problems, there were not many cars on Sunday lunch. Then Zhytomyr, Berdychiv, Vinnytsia. In general, the road was not bad. The house was found at the address without any problems, they called the landlord, he said the apartment number where the key is, we settled in, got some rest, paid for the apartment through Privat24 and went for a walk around the city.

First of all, we went to the Museum of Vehicle Models (64 Soborna Street), the child was very interested there, and we liked it. This museum has collected more than 5.000 models of cars, the owner of the museum is a fan of his craft. I sincerely thank the City Hall of Vinnytsia for allocating premises for the museum for UAH 1.

for a year and takes care of further expansion of the museum.

If I am once again in Vinnytsia, I will definitely take some model to the collection. Prices for entrance to the museum are just ridiculous: an adult - 20 UAH. , children's - 10 hryvnias. The owner personally arranges a tour of the museum, tells the story of his collection. A couple came to us from England, said that they were representatives of a car factory, who heard about this museum, that it has a model of their rare car and came to look at it (because even they do not have this model in their collection), and meet the owner of the museum.

After the museum, we wandered around the city in search of real marmalade from "Sweet Dream", but it turned out that they close very early on Sunday and we had to postpone the purchase of marmalade until the morning.

Then there was the fountain ...Before that, I watched the views from the fountain on the Internet, and when I saw the play live, I was, to be honest, a little disappointed. First, although the play began at 22.

00, but it was still very light and the picture on the water did not look very much, by the end of the show it was better. Secondly, the beginning of the play was frankly boring. Third, because it was Sunday and also Youth Day, the people were immeasurable. In general, not bad, put a "tick" that we have highlighted it.

A two-room apartment in Vinnytsia cost us 600 hryvnias (20 euros).

During the day we drove about 610 km.

Day Two: Vinnytsia - Suceava

We left at 8.30 am, leaving the key in the agreed place, drove to the "Sweet Dream", bought a chic marmalade (I recommend! ), ice cream of their production and went on. The next on our way were Khmelnytsky (transit) and Kamyanets-Podilsky.

The road is good, there were no complaints. In Kamianets-Podilskyi we stopped for lunch and visited the fortress. We paid UAH 250 (EUR 8.5) for visiting the fortress for five.

In general, the fortress is quite interesting, there is a place to climb, the fortress offers a magnificent view of the city.

м. Kamianets-Podilskyi, view from the fortress

Afterwards we moved towards Chernivtsi. We reached Chernivtsi without any problems, the road is normal. In Chernivtsi, we walked around the city, stopped at Silpo, packed water and food (meat and dairy products were not taken, this is not possible in Romania) and drove towards the border. Before the border they stopped at a gas station, milked all their meat and dairy, refueled, exchanged lei and went to the Porubne-Seret checkpoint. We were there at 20.00 until the end of the shift. At our border they handed over passports and a car certificate, waited for 10-15 minutes, took them out to us, handed them out and told us to go on.

At the exit we were wrapped up, because the ticket did not have enough signs that we checked the legality of crossing the border by a child (be sure to bring a child's birth certificate, without it, most likely, you will not be released !! ). We checked the child's testimony, put a stamp, and we left.

None of us got out of the car, we didn't check what we were driving. At the Romanian border, things were not much more complicated. I went out, brought my passport into the booth, from there the border guard called names and surnames through the window, and my companions took turns waving at him. Then they checked my driver's license, car registration certificate, green card, rovinette, and asked how many days we were going. None of us demanded any hotel reservations, financial guarantees or anything else. The border guard was friendly, he spoke English without any problems, and his Ukrainian was very good.

Next in the next booth was the Romanian customs. A woman came out, asked to open the trunk (it was full of things), asked if we were carrying alcohol or cigarettes. We didn't have any cigarettes with us at all, and we moved the alcohol to the car beforehand to make it easier to show it at the border. Seeing that we had only a couple of liters of alcohol, and hearing that we were going to Transfagarash, she blossomed into a smile and did not ask anything. Nobody asked us for any reflective vests, spare bulbs, two emergency stop signs, UA stickers or anything else that was scared on the forums, although it was all there.

As a result, we crossed the border very quickly, a total of 40-45 minutes, although it took 2 hours. Then there was a short drive to the hotel on the outskirts of Suceava.

I chose the hotel in Suceava, because it was more expensive in Seret and it is more difficult to find a hotel there, and the route from Suceava the next day was a bit shorter.

We stayed at the hotel Pensiunea Alessia .

Great hotel on the outskirts of the city.

Pros: polite staff, great room, Wi-Fi.

Minus: a small parking lot, we had time, after us we parked by the road, and a very loud refrigerator, it had to be turned off at night, did not let even us who were tired after the road.

The hotel cost us 170 lei (36 euros), paid in cash at check-in.

What impressed us in the first hotel in Romania - they have all the switches are "upside down". At first I thought it was a whim of the hotel, then I realized that it is absolutely everywhere, they just accept it, probably…

During the day we drove about 410 km.

Day Three: Suceava - Cluj-Napoca

We left the hotel around 8 am.

The first attraction in Romania was the Bikaz canyon. It was about 160 kilometers from the hotel.

On the way to the canyon, we drove to the city of Piatra Neamt, refueled and bought a Romanian seven, because without the Internet nowhere… Seven cost 31 lei (6.5 euros), the Internet that was there, we had enough for everyone in the car, my phone worked in 4G Wi-Fi router mode). The Internet in Romania is excellent, the speed is great, there were no complaints. I bought seven from Vodafone.

We arrived in the canyon around 11.30. I will say at once: parking there is a huge problem, because the canyon is very narrow, there are simply no physical places for parking.

Pushed under a rock, went for a walk.

The views there are simply stunning, you can't tell in words, you can't show them on video, you have to see it live. I highly recommend!

Immediately after the canyon we had Lake La Roche (Red) on the way.

I read a lot about him on the Internet, but we didn't see anything super interesting there, we walked along the lake and drove on, because we had a long way to go through half the country. Our goal was the city of Cluj-Napoca. We had several options for routes to get there (either by mountain road or villages), as a result, we decided to go to the villages. I don't know how right it was, but the road to Cluj-Napoca was very difficult for us.

The road ran at the foot of the mountains along the rivers, on the way there were constantly villages with speed limits of 20-30-50 km / h.

It was difficult to drive psychologically, because it was very difficult not to exceed the speed limit, despite the fact that local speed limits are not particularly observed, and the practice of driving on Ukrainian roads, where no one was fined for speeding, encouraged people to go. not at the speed required by the signs, but at the speed comfortable.

Another thing that hindered the movement of local vehicles. It is simply immeasurable there, and it is problematic to overtake it, because there are constant "blind" turns, and as soon as a suitable section of the road appears, it turns out that someone from the locals is already overtaking you behind…

As a result, 250 km to Cluj-Napoca we drove forever… This was the most difficult part of the road from our entire route.

We drove to Cluj-Napoca, bought in the supermarket, found the house we needed on the way out of town.

Disappointment awaited us here: the landlord told us that the previous tenant left, forgetting to leave the remote control from the barrier of the parking lot under the house, as a result we had to leave the car just on the street under the windows. The landlord described in detail how to get to the entrance with an intercom, and then to the apartment with a combination lock. Apartment is normal, everyone was satisfied.

A night in this apartment cost us 46 euros (paid online when booking).

During the day we drove about 440 km.

Day Four: Cluj-Napoca - Curtea de Arges

When we woke up in the morning, we saw that the sky was covered with clouds and it was about to rain. We had breakfast, gathered and went to the city of Turdu. This city has a famous salt mine. Arrived there at about 8.45 (the mine is open from 9.00), got into heavy rain, which subsided just before the opening of the mine. We approached the new entrance to the mine, there is a large parking lot near it.

The entrance fee to the mine is 40 lei for adults and 20 lei for children. For retirees they have a 50% discount (for the price of a children's ticket). They determine pensioners not by having a pension certificate, but by the date of birth in the passport: men over 65, women over 63.

They asked us about the pensioners themselves, we didn't even know about the discounts, but they said that they were not interested in Ukrainian pension certificates and asked for passports. As a result, we got one pensioner and one under-pensioner. In total, we paid 165 lei for entrance and parking (5 lei).

We have already been to Soledar in the salt mine, so we understood that it is necessary to dress warmer there, there is about 10-12 degrees all year round. In the mine itself it is quite interesting, similar everywhere, went down the stairs on foot, rode alone with a child on a Ferris wheel.

The wheel is quite small, but the fact that the Ferris wheel is underground is impressive. The child was delighted, although he rode a bike in our city many times, and it is 3-4 times higher in our country. Riding a bike cost two, it seems, 10 lei. Then we took the elevator down to the underground lake and took a boat ride there.

20 lei costs 20 minutes, only I rode with the child, the child was delighted.

The lake is located in the place where mining was conducted in an open way, a hall of huge, conical shape, and there is a stunning echo. Cotton in the palm of your hand or a jump on a wooden bridge gives a very loud echo. We spent about 2 hours there, I liked everything, everything was great. The only downside - in very high humidity, our clothes are damp, and when dry, we saw that it is covered with a crust of salt and turns white.

After the mine I wanted to change clothes, but there was nothing to change into, all things are packed in suitcases, and it is raining outside…

Then we went through the town of Sebes to the mountain road Transalpin. This route is less known than Transfagarash, although, in my opinion, more extreme. The route is a serpentine through the mountains, densely populated with vegetation. We just drove constantly in the woods serpentines, periodically stopped to take pictures near the waterfalls.

They didn't even notice how they reached the very top of the route. And then the descent was waiting for us… The descent was quite steep, the road was constantly winding, it was very uncomfortable to drive a car with a manual transmission: in second gear the box growls, and in the third due to a strong slope the car accelerates so that you have to brake.

Poor brakes, at the bottom of the track they already gave off a characteristic smell and they could be heard as the heat came out… After the descent from Transalpina things were more fun, and the brakes were much more comfortable. We refueled in Râ mnicu Vâ lcea and went to a hotel in Curtea de Arges.

I will say at once: for the whole trip it was the best hotel and the best hosts. We were greeted very kindly, helped to park in the yard (their yard is very small, our car was determined on the lawn, although I was somehow not comfortable to park on such a beautiful grass).

A couple from the Czech Republic was already sitting in the gazebo in the yard, the owner called us to them and immediately poured "for the arrival". Chatting with some English words, sign language and an interpreter on the phone with the Czechs and the owners, we went to check into the room. An entire floor was allocated for us in their mini-hotel. Two large rooms with large beds, refrigerator and 2 bathrooms on the floor.

When booking this hotel, Booking charged me 47 euros, but when I tried to book, it always cost 59 euros. Then I watched that Booking includes my breakfast (buffet). I read reviews about this hotel - everyone was very positive about their breakfasts and the hotel itself, so it was decided to book rooms with breakfast, especially since 12 euros for 5 people - it's a trifle.

Arriving the next morning, we saw that the hostess had prepared for us (besides us there were a couple of their Czechs and grandparents of deep retirement age from Germany). At first glance, having the experience of buffets in Egypt, and dividing about everyone equally, I realized that I am not particularly hired there, but remembering that it costs only 12 euros for five, I was not particularly upset. But then it turned out that we all had a very dense breakfast and we still had yogurt for the child on the way.

So the breakfast there is gorgeous, for which the hostess received a special compliment. I highly recommend this hotel.

During the day we drove about 380 km.

Day 5: Curtea de Arges - Brasov

We got together and loaded the car until 8.00, ate, thanked the hostess for a wonderful breakfast and left. This day we were waiting for the "nail" of our entire trip - the Transfagarasan route.

We got to the beginning of the route very quickly, as the hotel is located near the beginning.

And then there was the Transfagarasan route… It is impossible to tell, it is unrealistic to convey it in photos and videos, it must be seen live! ! ! ! ! I advise everyone to come and see! ! ! ! ! This is truly the most beautiful track in the world! ! ! ! !

At first the road meandered through densely populated forest, then, as it climbed, the forest became less dense and the mountains rocky. In 30 minutes we arrived at the Vidra Dam.

On one side of the dam there is a huge reservoir, and on the other side - an incredible abyss. The views there are cool, there is somewhere to take pictures. The police were on duty at the dam itself, they were not allowed on the observation deck, they proved to me that this site was always closed to visitors. But I saw vidos on youtube, our people were there… Well, okay, they didn't let me, they didn't let me.

Transfagarasan Route, Romania

We understood that there, near the pass, the prices will not be the cheapest, but the cheese was very tasty… We then bought cheese in different places, but we did not find such a tasty one. The cheapest was 20 lei at the market in a small town, but the taste was not like that, we then regretted that we did not immediately buy the expensive one for 2-3 more.

Transfagarasan Route, Romania

And then there were 900 meters of the tunnel and we got ...in a fairy tale ...Right on the way out of the tunnel we saw a lot of snow removal equipment and a layer of snow 2-2.5 meters. We understood that there was snow waiting for us on the pass, but we could never have imagined that there would be so much.

Transfagarasan Pass, Romania

On the street around +12 we ran out of the car in light jackets, shorts and sandals, and as children ran into the snow.

They fell with snowballs, took photos, shot videos… Everyone was delighted. We have never seen such layers of snow in winter, and it was wild to see them in July. The snow was removed, clearing parking for cars, because one parking was clearly not enough for everyone. Parking on the pass is paid, it seems 5 lei. As we approached the parking lot, a parking attendant approached us to take the money and show us where to park, and when he saw our car numbers, he spoke to us in Russian.

It was very unexpected, I was already preparing a phrase in English, and he told me so "purely specifically in Russian", how much is their parking and where to park. Judging by the accent, he was from Russia, there was a whole team of them. In 4 days in Romania, these were the first people with a language we could understand. We saw 3 or 4 cars with Ukrainian license plates on the Vidrara dam, but that doesn't count, we didn't communicate with them.

You can park on the pass for free, you need to drive a little to the side, but we did not do it, we decided that it is better if the car is under surveillance.

Transfagarasan Route, Lake Balea, Romania

Right on the pass is the incredibly beautiful Lake Balea. The water was simply indescribable in color and the snow on the opposite bank looked insane. There was a photo shoot of someone's wedding on the lake at that time, you can only imagine how good the shots came out…

Transfagarasan Route, Lake Balea, Romania

Near the lake there is an observation deck, which offers a magnificent view of the northern part of the Transfagarasan highway. I have seen this look many times in photos and videos before, but in real life it looks much better, no words, photos and videos will not convey it… This view is why we went to Romania…

Transfagarasan Route, Romania

There is also a bazaar on the pass, which sells all kinds of local souvenirs, as well as cheeses, honey, jams, jams and palinka (local moonshine). We bought small souvenir jars of blueberry jam as a gift, the kid got some local delight as a gift (quite tasty). We walked there for three hours, and although we did not really want to, we went on the road.

Next on the route we had Balea Falls.

At a distance of about 8 km, but the serpentines could not be reached very quickly, 20-25 minutes. By the way, it was much more pleasant to go down Transfagarash in comparison with Transalpin, the descent was more gentle, the car went down comfortably in third gear, braked a little, as a result the brakes did not overheat. We had 1 hour to visit Balea Falls. But as a result, it turned out very little.

While making the route, I didn't really understand what kind of waterfall it was, I just looked at a few photos, as it turned out, they were made of quadcopters.

In fact, we walked up the mountain river for 30 minutes, our older part of the team was already significantly behind, because the further we went, the harder and harder it became to climb ...

After half an hour, we realized that we do not hear the sound of the waterfall, the number of people wanting to see it has decreased significantly, and the rise has become not so difficult, but sometimes very difficult and dangerous, and time is running out . We decided to go back without seeing anything. We decided that this time Balea waterfall will not be conquered by us and we have reason to come here.

Then our road passed through Kircishoara and Fegerash, 3 hours later we arrived in Brasov.

This is the second largest city in Romania, but compared to the second city in Ukraine, it is very modest, of the Ukrainian cities, I would probably compare it with Chernivtsi, no more.

Found a house without problems, the owner was waiting for us. We planned to stay in Brasov for 3 nights, so we chose the private sector in the old part of the city. The good thing was that we had the whole house at our disposal and the car could be driven into the yard.

Yes, to drive into the yard and leave it in the conditions of their narrow streets is another pleasure, but nothing, I managed.

Accommodation for us for 3 nights in this house cost 156.4 euros (paid online when booking). It was the most expensive accommodation for our entire trip, but I couldn't find anything cheaper in Brasov for 3 nights in a row with the possibility to park the car properly instead of leaving it on the street.

In the morning we woke up later than usual, had breakfast and about 9 am left for the suburbs of Brasov - the city of Rishnov. It was about 20 km to go there, we wanted to visit the fortress there. Parked at the foot of the fortress, parking is free. Then they bought tickets for the locomotive, and the tractor pulled us up the hill.

м. Rishnov, Romania

In principle, it was possible to walk there nearby, but I still wanted to walk by myself and ride the child.

A tractor-locomotive cost us 25 lei, and a visit to the fortress cost 54 lei. I was very disappointed with the fortress, there was nothing to look at, I regretted that I came there. After wandering the fortress for about an hour, we stepped back. Halfway to the car we saw Dinopark, the mood rose a bit, but seeing the prices, it went somewhere again ...

As a result, it was decided that my child and I go to Dinopark, and everyone else is resting next to him.

As far as I remember, the entrance cost 28 lei for an adult and 22 lei for a child, but as it turned out, it was worth it. That's just you have to come there all day.

Dinopark, Rishnov, Romania

In the territory of Dinopark a huge number of dinosaurs of different sizes - from the smallest to very large. There are still ones that move and make sounds.

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I liked the den of dinosaurs - it looks like a hut, smoke comes out of it, everything around growls and the earth shakes. Made very cool, the child was delighted with everything he saw.

Dinopark, Rishnov, Romania

You have to come to this park all day, I went in the morning and left in the evening.

There is enough to look at and what to do, just take food with you.

Dinopark, Rishnov, Romania

After wandering for an hour and a half in Dinopark, we went out.

Next, according to the plan, we had the city of Bran, where we planned to visit the park near the castle of Count Dracula, we were not going to go to the castle, because after reading the reviews, I realized that there is nothing to see (except the back of the head). expensive, but the park was recommended to visit, admission was free.

But when we arrived at the castle, we found that now it is not the entrance to the castle that is paid for, but the entrance to the park, and then you can go to the castle "for free". Seeing the queue at the box office, the price of the entrance to the park and multiplying it by 5, we realized that we do not want to go there, wandered around the local market, exchanged in exchange for euros and went to Brasov. If I'm not mistaken, the entrance to the park cost 40 lei per person.

Returning to Brasov, we had lunch and went to the city for groceries.

During the day we drove about 60 km.

Day 7: Brasov - Bucegi Park - Brasov

We left around 9 am. Our goal is the Bucegi Natural Park. At first, it was not in our plans to go there, but the route through Romania was lined up so as not to get to the borders and Transfagaras at the weekend. Therefore, another day of stay in Romania was added and it was decided to spend it in the suburbs of Brasov.

As it turned out, this natural park has two entrances by car from different directions, but we learned this only after arriving at the place, there are many descriptions of this park on the Internet, but no one explains which way is better to drive , so we drove in with the one that was closer to us. On the way we got into traffic several times due to road repairs, we drove 40 km for a very long time.

Arrived at the park, just started to park in a paid parking lot, as a parking attendant approached us and explained that you can go up only on the TV cabin (cable car), and because today the wind is strong, the TV cabin does not work.

We went back a bit, parked the car in the Penny supermarket, and wandered to this park, which can be reached on foot. The parking attendant there tried to take us off the SUV, but the price there was huge, we refused, especially since it rained periodically.

We wandered for an hour and a half around the park and returned to the car. There was an option to go to another entrance to the park, but it was a long way to go, plus traffic due to road repairs, plus the weather was not very… We decided that it would be better to return to Brasov and climb the observation deck, especially since we lived not far from it.

м. Brasov, Romania

Returning to Brasov, we had lunch and went for a walk around the city. Our goal is to climb on the TV cabin to the observation deck and look at Brasov from above. The ascent and descent on the TV cabin cost us 72 lei, we didn't pay for the child, the grandmother at the entrance explained to us in Romanian that we didn't have to pay for it, although we had to pay half price for it. We went upstairs, looked at the city.

м. Brasov, Romania

The old part of the city at the foot of the mountain looks very beautiful, new buildings in the distance, I even saw through binoculars a couple of houses of 14 floors, and no more than 9, but it's all somewhere very far away, and low-rise buildings with red roofs , the old part of town looks great. We wandered the mountain, went down and went to eat very tasty ice cream.

During the day we drove about 80 km.

Day 8: Brasov - Galati

We left at 9 am, handing over the house to the owner.

Our next (and last) object in Romania were mud volcanoes near the city of Buzau. We got there at three o'clock. Already at the entrance to the volcanoes drove through the villages, where less well-off Romanians lived. Here is the road level of Ukrainian rural roads, houses, to put it mildly, not very much, and on the streets saw many children of Gypsy nationality (for the first time in a trip to Romania).

Mud volcanoes are "Large" - "Pichlele Mar" (Pâ clele mari) 45.20 '23 ″ N, 26.42' 33 ″ E and "Small" Pichlele Mici (Pâ clele mici) 45.21 '30 ″ N, 26.42 ′ . 46 ″ E. We were on the "Great" volcanoes. They can be reached by car, they are bigger and more interesting. Checked in for free parking ( N 4.21. 550 E 2.42. 866 ) near volcanoes. Entrance to large volcanoes cost 4 lei for adults and 1 lei for children. Volcanoes start right behind the box office… The spectacle is crazy!

Mud volcanoes near Buzau, Romania

Both the volcanoes themselves are cool, and the dirt around them, which, drying up, cracked so that the hands of an adult crawl into the cracks.

Mud volcanoes near Buzau, Romania

Despite the fact that it was Sunday, there were not many people.

There is almost no smell, in some places you can hear a slightly slight smell of petroleum products and on the surface of active volcanoes visible oily film. In general, I really liked the volcanoes, I recommend! ! ! ! !

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Mud volcanoes near Buzau, Romania

Mud volcanoes near the town of

Buzau, Romania

After the volcanoes we headed towards the border, we had a hotel booked on the outskirts of Galati Villa Siret . I read a lot of reviews about this hotel, in fact everything was as it was written.

Pros: easy to find, there is parking in the yard, accept cards for payment, we had a separate floor (penthouse), on the ground floor there is a kitchen, in the yard pool (child even swam), the owner speaks good English, there is Wi - Fi.

Cons: a large number of mosquitoes (near the river) and the railway directly under the windows (there were several trains at night), behind the railway route (idiots without mufflers there are also enough).

In general, it is normal, if I am still there by road - I will choose this hotel.

During the day we drove about 320 km.

Day 9: Galati - Odesa

We left in the morning, at about 8 o'clock, drove to the supermarket in Galaţ i, bought their alcohol for gifts, milk and went to the border.

In 10 minutes we were given passports, licenses and documents for the car and we went on, the customs did not check us.

With great difficulty on the second or third pass we passed the territory of Moldova and approached the Moldovan-Ukrainian border. At this border, the control is joint on the part of Ukraine, so we left the territory of Moldova without stopping. The man in camouflage uniform only managed to tell us: You are waiting on the other side. I was very surprised to hear a phrase from him in Ukrainian. We approached the joint checkpoint and immediately a "scoop" blew, for the first time in all this time. At the Porubne checkpoint everything was somehow European, Romanians are good, Moldovans from Romania - everything is fine, and here after 2 km immediately "scoop"…

Arrived, a queue of five cars, well, okay, waited, went into the building, it is unclear who to approach, good thing everyone understands Russian.

He took my documents and immediately told me, without even looking at the documents, that my car had a problem with the vin number.

I was immediately very surprised at what other problems my car might have with the vin number, and what the customs have to do with the car produced in Ukraine (large-assembly assembly at AvtoZAZ). Hearing this, this fat creature immediately returned the documents with his signature, and we went on. In general, the "scoop" is still…

In general, we spent 1 hour and 20 minutes crossing the Romanian-Moldovan and Moldovan-Ukrainian borders and "driving" through the pits of Moldova, and we lost most of our time on the Moldovan-Ukrainian border.

Everything, on the road, ahead of Odesa! We got to Reni quickly, and then we had just a wonderful road to Odessa on the newly repaired Reni-Odesa highway. We drove through the village of Palanka. At this point, the Reni-Odesa road, which is owned by Ukraine, enters Moldovan territory.

Entry and exit controls have been simplified, we have only seen our border guards.

We drive up, stop, we are given an ordinary sheet, it says the registration number of the car, the number of people in the car, the time of arrival and the signature of the issuer. After 10 kilometers, the same border guard takes away this leaflet. It is impossible to stop on this route, it is impossible to leave it deep into Moldova, it will be considered by the Moldovan authorities as illegal crossing of the border. At the exit the coupon is taken away, and we go on.

Odesa, Ukraine

By 15:00 we were already in Odessa. We stopped and ate, and headed towards the sea station. There we wandered around the station, looked at the ship, climbed the funicular, wandered near the opera house, went to Deribasovskaya, counted the steps on the Potemkin Stairs, waited until our friends come home from work, and went to them. They also spent the night there ...

During the day we drove about 330 km.

Day 10: Odesa - Uman

When we woke up in the morning, we realized that something incomprehensible was happening to us: we were in Odessa, we saw the sea, but did not swim in it ...Disorder ...We had breakfast, gathered and went to the beach. Since it was morning and it was raining and cold yesterday, the water was very invigorating, 20 degrees, no more. And this is in mid-July! We stayed on the beach for an hour and a half, got together and went to Uman.

In Uman, we, of course, visited the arboretum "Sofiyivka" and went to the suburbs to friends, where we spent the night.

During the day I drove about 300 km.

Day Eleven: Uman - Poltava

We left at 9 am, driving through the villages, until we returned to the Odesa-Kyiv road in the Zhashkiv area.

If the road from Odessa to Uman was normal, then from Zhashkiv to Bila Tserkva the road was more like a construction site, and sometimes a landfill for tanks.

It was difficult to drive, the road surface is terrible, there are permanent potholes, there is no traffic and it is impossible to overtake, because the oncoming lane is closed for repairs and the meeting was allowed by our lane. But we knew for sure that even with all this it is better to take this road (through Kyiv) than the route through Kropyvnytskyi - Oleksandriia - Kremenchuk, they say it is a nightmare…

After Bila Tserkva, a normal road began and driving became much more comfortable. I hope that this summer we managed to bring the Odesa-Kyiv route to normal.

Kyiv passed without any problems, and then we already knew everything very well. About 16.00 were in Poltava.

During the day we drove about 570 km.

Now it's time to take stock

In total, we drove from Poltava to Poltava about 3700 km.

This was our first trip abroad by car, the first time to the EU, the first time we went visa-free (visa-free travel with Egypt does not count), tasted all the delights of what you can, when you think of it, take and go without problems to the EU. And you don't need any visas, piles of documents and proof that you're not a camel…

General impressions of Romania:

People. A cool country with simple and cool people. In all of Romania, we saw only one idiot who openly cut us off on the road for driving only +10 km / h in the village, and he wanted to go faster, but for a long time could not overtake us. But that's it, in the family, as they say, not without a freak ...In another, when people saw that you were asking them for something with the help of an interpreter, they tried to help as much as possible.

Roads.

The quality of their roads is higher than ours in Ukraine, in general I would say that Romania reminded me very much of western Ukraine after the reconstruction of roads there. Very similar mountains, the same houses on the slopes of the mountains, the same vegetation, the same beautiful haystacks as in western Ukraine.

Standard of living, prices. Slightly higher than in Ukraine, but I would say that prices there are not much more expensive than in western Ukraine in the Carpathians. In 2017, we had a vacation between Yaremche and Vorokhta, there is something to compare. Prices for products are about the same as in Ukraine, in some places even cheaper, but the quality is higher. We are just bald from their milk… We bought meat in the supermarket cheaper than ours, vegetables at about the same price as ours. Alcohol is much more expensive than ours, it is very noticeable, but in supermarkets alcohol is sold in half-liter bottles.

3 l / 100 km of gas when driving half the time with air conditioning, taking into account the speed of 110-120 km / h on the roads of Ukraine, up to 100 km / h on the roads of Romania, 20-30-50 km / h in Romanian villages, and accounting ascents and descents on mountain serpentines.

Traffic management. A special compliment to Romanians for road signs, ours to learn and learn from them… If there is a speed limit sign in front of the village 50 km / h, then at the end of the village there is a sign that removes this restriction. If there is a 30 km / h sign in front of the bridge, there is a sign after the bridge that removes this restriction. And so constantly, every restriction is lifted when there is no need for it. In the cities there are just an immeasurable number of roundabouts, I drove more such intersections there in a day than in our whole life.

Many cameras, and if there is a warning sign about the camera that checks the rivet, I see this camera, and if there is a sign warning about the speed camera, I do not see this camera, or it is hidden, or it's just not there. Local speed limit signs do not pay much attention, they break, if there are cops, they flash their headlights, while the solid line is sacred to them, they almost always cross it.

The main mass of roads on our route was one lane in each direction, it is difficult to go on such a road, especially if there is someone slow ahead. Only one road happened to us with three lanes in each direction and with a limit of 120 km / h.

Romanian villages. We came across very beautiful houses along the way, everything is very neat and well-groomed. All the way I was worried about the same question: what do these villages live on?

Everyone spent their money on all kinds of souvenirs, sweets and 2 lunches in the cafe, they were not counted in the common room, but in general they cost no more than 50-70 euros for everyone. I think that the trip was quite inexpensive, at first I was counting on about 1000 euros.

Summary. Everyone enjoyed the trip, everyone was satisfied. Yes, we were a little tired of carrying our suitcases to and from the car every day, but to rest, we planned a break in Brasov with three nights. Due to inexperience they gained extra things, so many products could not be taken with them, in Romania the prices for products are about the same as in our country, it makes no sense to take a lot with you. The route was designed to travel no more than 400-450 km a day, so as not to get very tired (the first and last day does not count).

That's all, thanks to those who read to the end: ))))

Translated automatically from Ukrainian. View original