Connections - Bucharest has reasonable connections with most European capitals and with the largest cities in Romania, but it can be difficult to find a direct flight to Bucharest from outside of Europe or the Middle East.

Airports - Most flights, both international and domestic, land at the Henri Coandă International Airport [1], located in Otopeni, 18 km north of the city downtown. The smaller Aurel Vlaicu International Airport [2] is located inside the city, in Băneasa, about 4-6 km to the city center and is used primarily by business, charter and low-cost airlines.

City transfer - Henri Coandă Airport is serviced by train, buses and taxis.

• The train service is called Henri Coandă Expres. Train tickets can be bought inside the airport at CFR ticket counter. The train station is, however, 2 km away from the airport, but there is a shuttle bus that transfers the passengers to it. The shuttle bus transfer IS INCLUDED in the train ticket. Once you reach the train station, there is another 30 minutes until your reach the main train station Gara de Nord. From the Gara de Nord train station, you can take public transport (Metro and buses) or you can depart by train towards other cities in Romania. The train service is available between 6 AM and 11 PM.

• There are two bus lines to the city, bus 780 which goes to the main train station Gara de Nord and bus 783 which heads to downtown; they run daily (including on weekends and holidays) from 5:15 - 5:30 AM till 11:00PM. Tickets and cards can only be purchased from the booth in front of either the Arrivals or Departures terminals and not from from the driver. Remember to validate your ticket on board the bus. The bus is far superior to the train in terms of both time and cost.

• During the night, only taxis are available from Henri Coandă Airport. Make sure that you step in a taxi that is authorized by the airport. Those taxis are queued right in the front of the terminal exit (not in the car parking or otherwise).

Situated in Bucharest proper, Aurel Vlaicu Airport is more easily accessible, either by taxi or public transport. Bus lines 131 and 301 connect it with Piaţa Romană in downtown Bucharest and bus line 205 with the Gara de Nord train station. Bus tickets must be purchased in the big booth at the bus terminal, and cannot be bought from the driver.

By bus

There are bus connections between Bucharest and large cities in Europe (especially in Southern Europe) and also to many large and medium sized cities throughout Romania. Bucharest has several bus terminals: Băneasa (for northern bound routes), Obor (east), Filaret (south), Alexandriei (south-west), Militari (west), and Griviţa (north-west).

The timetables for domestic routes are available here: [3].

By train

Bucharest is linked through direct daily trains to all neighboring countries’ capitals (Belgrade, Budapest, Chişinău, Kiev, Sofia), as well as to Vienna, Venice, Thessaloniki, Istanbul, Moscow and of course to main cities in all of Romania’s 41 counties.

The timetables for domestic routes are available here: [4].

By car

The city’s entrances from the north (the E60 road coming from Braşov), west (the A1 highway from Piteşti), east (the A2 (Sun) highway from Constanţa), south (the E20 road from Giurgiu) and the avenues in the city center are very crowded, especially at rush hours. Inside the city there are few parking spaces and some of the secondary streets are in bad condition.

Bucharest has one of the most extensive systems of public transport in Europe, even though it can sometimes be confusing and crowded.

By Metro (Subway)

The metro, which has four lines (M1, M2, M3, M4) and covers the city quite extensively. The Metro can be a very fast and convenient way of traveling to your destination, avoiding the traffic jams and crowds that frequently characterize surface transport. Maps of the subway can be found on the Metrorex official site [5].

By buses, trams and trolleybuses

Bucharest has a very complex network of buses, trams and trolleybuses. Public surface transport can be a very good way of getting around since there is a bus, tram or trolleybus stop virtually everywhere in this city. The ticketing system uses contact-less smart-cards, called Activ cards [6]. If you do not wish to buy a card, paper tickets valid for one ride on one route are also available, which cannot be bought in the vehicles. A constantly updated site with detailed route information, schedule and interactive maps, with both English and Romanian interfaces can be found here: [7].

By taxi

There are a lot of taxi companies in Bucharest and you'll easily find a cab here.