If you are travelling to Romania but you don’t have a car or a driving licence, the train is likely to be one of the first transport modes you’re going to look at. You may have noticed that planning your journey isn’t always straightforward! However, travelling by train in Romania is definitely both doable and enjoyable. In this post, I explain how travelling by train in Romania works (and sometimes doesn’t work). Learn where to buy your tickets, which operator to use, train types, pros and cons, and more.
Travelling by train is perhaps the most obvious way to get around Romania. As it happens, it is also my favourite mode of transport. Travelling by train in Romania is arguably the best way to really get to know the country and its inhabitants. Romanians are very sociable and more often than not, someone will strike up a conversation, whether you speak a shared language or not. But let’s skip to the practical part. How to go about it?
Most trains in Romania are operated by CFR, short for Căile Ferate Române. Now you can forget about that, but the first step in your journey should be to go to their website, www.cfrcalatori.ro. I’ll run you through the steps of planning your journey, and buying a ticket online or at the station.
If you want to buy a train ticket for domestic travel online, please bear in mind that you must do so at least one day in advance. On the day itself, you can only buy a ticket at a station. There may also be some trains for which you can somehow never buy a ticket online. But mostly, it works like this:
How to buy a train ticket in Romania (online)
First, enter your departure and arrival station on the CFR website, as well as your departure date. Please note that many placenames have accents and/or different spellings in Romania. Cârța for example can also be spelled as Cîrța – but you can simple enter it as Carta and it will show up in the drop-down menu. There may be various places with the same name, so make sure you get the right one! If a station has the letters ‘hc’ or ‘hm’ after it, it means it is a railway halt (halta), rather than a station.
Clicking on ‘Search’ will open a new tab, where all the trains on that route for that particular day are listed. Select ‘EN’ in the top-right corner of the page to see it in English. Click on ‘Details/Price’ if you want to get more details and calculate the price of the ticket. I can already tell you that train tickets come very cheap in Romania. You’ll even get a small discount when buying your ticket online.
If you want to buy a ticket online, click on ‘Buy’, right next to ‘Details/Price’. On the next page, select the class you want to travel in, and the type of carriage if applicable (if you are booking a sleeper train for example). Then select ‘Standard tickets/offers’, unless you want to book a return ticket in which case you select ‘The Round-trip offer’.
Click ‘Next’, then click on the + button next to ‘Adults’ to add adult passengers, or select another type of passenger. You can buy a ticket for a dog as well. Bicycle tickets can only be purchased in the 2nd class on trains marked with a bicycle icon on the overview page. Again, click ‘Next’, after which you will be shown the sum total; click ‘Next’ once more.
If you don’t have an account yet, you can create one here by clicking ‘Register as a new user!’. After having created an account, you can use it to buy your ticket. For this you will need a credit card.
Your ticket will be issued by email; no need to print. Make sure the name on your ticket corresponds to the name on your ID or passport! Please note you will have an allocated seat; the carriage number and seat number are printed under or next to vagon and locuri respectively.
Buying a train ticket at a station (gară) is fairly straightforward. Either you go to a ticket desk (turn up in time – there might be a queue!), or you buy a ticket from a ticket machine. If lining up at a desk, make sure it says CFR and it’s the one for domestic travel, or you might be waiting in vain. With a bit of luck, the clerk speaks English. If you need to resort to Romanian, you may need to use some of these phrases:
One ticket to Sibiu, please.
Un bilet la Sibiu, vă rog.
Two tickets to Sibiu, please.
Două bilete la Sibiu, vă rog.
Departures
Plecari
Arrivals
Sosiri
Station
Gară
Where is the station?
Unde e gara?
Platform (one, two, three, four)
Linia (unu, doi, trei, patru)
From
De la
To
Până la
In the direction of
Spre
Delayed
Întârziat
Thank you
Mulțumesc!
And of course, tren meaning train! The ticket machines are easy to operate and mostly take cards as well as cash. You can choose your day and time of departure as well as your carriage of choice (although not your specific seat), so you can buy a ticket ahead of time if you like.
Somewhere on a long ride between Sighet and BrasovBut what if there is no desk nor a machine at your departure station? This happens a lot in Romania, since there are a lot of railway halts that are no more than a platform, a sign and a bus stop-like shelter if you’re lucky. In that case, you can simply buy your ticket on the train. Simply state your destination to the conductor when they make their round, and he or she will issue a hand-written ticket. I love this.
CFR is not the only railway operator in Romania. There are quite a few destinations that are only served by other operators, such as Zărnești, the gateway to the Piatra Craiului mountains. Here is an overview of all the operators:
CFR (Căile Ferate Române)
Regio Calatori
Transferoviar Călători
Softrans
Astra Trans Carpatic
Interregional Călători
Personally, I don’t think I’ve ever used any other operator than CFR, Regio Calatori and Interregional Călători. Regio Calatori is the one that serves Zărnești from Brașov. You can consult their timetable by clicking ‘Mersul Trenurilor’ in the top bar, then ‘Rute’ in the drop-down menu. Interregional Călători connects Cluj and Oradea. If you just want to get from one city to another, take a faster CFR train; however, if you want to get off at one of the stops in between to visit the Vlădeasa Mountains or the Padurea Craiului region, you might well want to take the Interregional Călători train, which stops at every halta.
Bear in mind that different operators have their own desk at major stations; if they don’t have a desk you can usually buy your ticket on the train. You may well want to compare different operators to find the ticket that suits you best. In short, CFR controls most of the network and is your go-to operator; if they don’t go where you want to go, you use one of the other ones.
For a complete overview of all train timetables, go to the Infofer website. Using their journey planner, you will be able to see which operator serves which line, and compare different offers.
It’s important to know that there are different types of trains in Romania. The most important distinction to make is between R (Regional) and IR (Interregional) trains. Basically the IR trains are faster ones that only stop at bigger stations and the R trains are stop at every halta. Consequently, they are a lot slower, but they can also get you really, really close to the mountains sometimes! For instance, if you want to hike in the Retezat Mountains, you may well want to take a train to Ohaba de Sub Piatra halt. From there, you can get to the heart of the Retezat on the same day, if you’re lucky! Check out this post if you want to learn more.
Let’s talk comfort levels for a moment. These vary widely. It looks like CFR is quite busy replacing its old stock with state of the art carriages and trains. For instance, the regional diesels that run between Brașov and Sibiu, and between Cluj and Oradea, are new and pristine-looking. Still slow, however – because as explained, they stop at every cluster of houses and the terrain is also to blame. After all, Romania is a mountainous country and that means trains have a lot of hard uphill work to do. There are a lot of old trains too – and unless you’re already a seasoned traveller in Romania, it’s hard to tell what you will get. So be prepared to sacrifice some luxury – you will get an adventurous ride in return!
Train rolling into Brasov station, and that catchy tune I love so muchSleeper trains deserve a paragraph of their own. I simply love overnight train travel, and although Romanian night trains are not very luxurious, they offer a unique experience. Romania is a big country, and travelling by train from one end to the other requires an overnight train, called an InterRegio train. This page lists all of Romania’s sleeper train connections, including international ones. Did you know you can travel straight to Bucharest from Vienna or Budapest these days? Here’s a post I wrote about travelling from Belgium to Romania by train. To find the night train you need, simply enter your departure and arrival station as described above. Sleeper trains are marked with a bed icon in the listing. There are two varieties of sleeping cabins. CFR distinguishes between vagon de dormit and vagon cuseta. A vagon de dormit is fitted with two berths and a wash basin, bed linen and a complimentary toiletry kit. On international routes, there are (shared) shower cabins too. A vagon cuseta contains either four or six berths. Read more on the CFR page here. I recommend you book your sleeper train online and well in advance, although it is technically possible to buy your sleeper train ticket at the station these days. Make very sure that you book a direct train so that you don’t have to get off in the middle of the night, and that you have actually selected a berth, not a seat! One last note: count on sleeper trains developing substantial delays. A couple of hours isn’t extraordinary. Of course this tends to happen later in the journey, so if you board a sleeper at or close to its departure station you should be good. Just don’t book your connecting train or flight too tight. I had a narrow escape once…
Me on my very first sleeper train from Sighetu Marmatiei to Brasov, back in 2014Although I’m the first one to sing the praises of travelling by train in Romania, I’ve got to be honest: there are some downsides to it. The main one being that trains are often slow: although Romania has Europe’s 4th largest railway network in terms of track length, many connections are cumbersome. You may have to change trains several times to get from A to B. If your planned journey looks unreasonably long, look into buses below. They often are a good and faster alternative. Also, count on trains being delayed often. As a tourist, I don’t mind too much; I know Romania is like this and I can accept it. For Romanians, this is a frustrating fact of life though. If you decide to travel by train, make sure you allow ample time between connecting trains, and in general, be prepared for contingencies.
Now, for the fun part. You may already have gleaned that I just love trains. I love travelling by them, but I also like the things themselves. Let me just randomly list some of the many things I like about the whole train experience. Many Romanian trains are pulled by locomotives from the eighties or perhaps even from the sixties. At stations, you will often see a man hammering away at the wheels to adjust I don’t know what exactly. Before every announcement at a station, a catchy jingle is played. In fact, there are multiple – and until I wrote this post, I had no idea which one was played when and where. But thanks to a sweet reader I now know that these jingles are based on Romanian music and that different stations play different ones! Find out all about it in this video. The first three are very familiar to me and cause me to feel a knot of Fernweh in my stomach.
You might like to know what to expect in terms of services. Larger stations always have several shops and even smaller ones have kiosks where you can buy ice cream, snacks and drinks. Don’t expect too much from the kiosks though! Romanians habitually get off the train to saunter over to buy some snacks during the interval at the station – but as a tourist you’ll want to be very sure how much time you have exactly! You can find out from your online itinerary at the CFR website.
One thing that used to amaze me but I got used to, is that on older trains on slow routes, the doors are often left open. I love hanging out of the doorway and seeing the landscape pass by. That is perhaps one of the biggest perks of travelling by train: you get to see a lot of Romania through your window, meanwhile enjoying the chatter of your fellow passengers – who may well want to know where you are from and where you are going. Many Romanians travel long distance by train to visit relatives, carrying huge amounts of luggage and food (chances are they will share it with you). All this supported by that wonderfully soothing cadence that only a train can offer.
Boys dangling their legs from a platform at Sighisoara stationAll this should have convinced you that train travel in Romania is doable as well as affordable and entertaining. It’s different, it’s untidy, it isn’t always what I as a western European person deem safe: people crossing the rails, a marked hiking trail right next to a busy train line, boys sitting on the edge of a platform dangling their legs… And then there are all the funny stories – the one time where I hugged a friend goodbye and my train started pulling up and I had to run for it (the doors were still open), the one-carriage diesel train that took us to the Cozia mountains and where the conductor refused to sell us a ticket… And finally, I cannot resist sharing this highly amusing video of a diesel train in eastern Romania trying to cross a road in a very laborious way. Shot by my friend Nagy Pál. So if you’re looking for some adventure, hop on that Romanian train! Drum bun! PS I will handle international train travel in a separate post, please bear with me.
Are you planning to go hiking in Romania? You might want to buy my guidebook, ‘The Mountains of Romania‘! It offers 27 multi-stage treks and 10 day hikes all over Romania. It contains an extensive description of each hike, lots of practical info, overview maps, an accommodation appendix, a language guide, and comes with free gpx files. There is an e-book version as well! This is a project that I put my heart and soul in; I’d be so chuffed if you bought it! If you buy it directly from the publisher I get 10% royalties.
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Preparing for an overnight train or a long day overlanding by rail? These 25 train essentials will ensure you have a comfortable, safe and enjoyable journey.
Trains are my favourite way to travel – bar none.
And I might be in the minority here, but I love long, drawn-out rail journeys the best.
I’ve done an 18-hour trip by rusty train through corn fields in Northern Myanmar, and rode the Amtrak from Austin to New Orleans. I’ve taken the Reunification Express from Hanoi to Saigon, the Marrakesh Express from Tangier, and the scenic route across Austria from Vienna to Ljubljana.
I’ve been in a train on a ferry to cross from mainland Italy to Sicily, and I was there for the grand re-opening of Cambodia’s Royal Railways from Phnom Penh to Kampot.
Some of my favourite rail journeys of all time are in the Caucasus, particularly the overnight trains between Tbilisi and Yerevan (Armenia) and Tbilisi and Baku (Azerbaijan).
All this to say that I’ve done my fair share of train travel and picked up a lot of handy tips along the way. This list of 25 train essentials includes all the things I pack for a comfortable and safe train journey.
Don’t forget to check out my travel resources page for a list of websites and services I use to book train tickets around the world.
You’re not going to get very far without the correct travel documents.
If you pre-purchased your train tickets online or through an agent, make sure the document you’re holding is a valid ticket for boarding and not an e-voucher that you have to exchange at the station (I got caught out with this once in Budapest!).
If you’re travelling across an international border, make sure you have your visas and identification in order. Keep your documents somewhere handy – you never know when a ticket inspector might appear.
Separate to my main luggage and carry on, I always travel with a third ‘small bag’ that I keep on me at all times. It’s big enough to hold my passport, my phone, my wallet, and one of my external hard drives – i.e. my most precious possessions.
A small bag is particularly handy on a train, when you might want to walk to the dining cart or the bathroom without lugging your backpack around.
Some people might use a money belt or a fanny pack, but I personally prefer a simple sling bag like this one (as a bonus, it’s also anti-theft).
If you’re on a long train trip, chances are you’re going to be in and out of your carriage or seat throughout the journey.
It’s just not practical to carry all your luggage all the time, so I recommend investing in some good-quality luggage locks to keep your gear safe.
I like these these locks because they have a long, flexible mechanism that I can loop through multiple zippers.
A good-quality refillable water bottle is absolutely essential these days. All the better if it’s insulated and will keep your drinking water chilled throughout the journey.
I personally use a S’Well water bottle when I travel and at home. After I left my 17oz version at the airport in Bangkok (devastating!), I upgraded to the 25oz volume, which I actually prefer. The insulation is top-notch, and the exterior coating prevents it from sweating in warm weather.
Not all trains have potable water fountains, so that’s something you need to check in advance. In the absence of a refill station, you’ll need to bring enough water to last you the journey (or else buy bottled water on the train).
If there’s one thing I’ve learned after all my years of train travel, it’s not to skimp on the snacks. Even if your train has a dining cart and you’re able to eat a hot meal, I still recommend bringing plenty of healthy things to nibble on throughout the journey.
To keep things fresh and tidy, you’re going to want to pack a few sealer clips and reusable silicone bags. Again, these items are really helpful for cutting down on single-use plastics and food waste.
One of the quickest ways to make friends on a long train journey (aside from #21, which we’ll get to soon) is by bringing a few food items you can easily share around.
It’s quite typical for people to share food on trains in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, particularly with tourists. It’s nice to have something to give back in return.
While I usually recommend nuts or dried fruit, those things can be difficult to share. Biscuits or chocolates might be more appropriate in this case. In the Caucasus, it’s a great idea to bring a few pre-sliced churchkhela. A bottle of wine or brandy also works!
If you don’t already travel with them, packing cubes for travel really come into their own on a long train journey. This is especially true on an overnighter when you need quick access to a change of clothes or your toiletries.
This is especially true on an overnighter when you need quick access to a change of clothes or your toiletries.
When you’re packing for the train, be sure to keep the things you’re going to need in the top of your bag or in your day pack. It’s never fun having to rummage around for something or turn your backpack upside down in a confined space such as a train berth.
A portable travel clothesline that doesn’t require pegs (like this one) can come in very handy on an overnight train. String it up between bunks to air out a wet face towel, or use it to jury-rig a makeshift privacy curtain if you’re on the bottom bunk.
Not all trains have trash bins inside the compartments. Some have tiny bins that are quick to overflow. Bring your own bag for trash – either a paper bag or a reused plastic bag – to keep your seat area or compartment tidy.
If you’ve ever been on an overnight train in Southeast Asia, you’ll know full well that the bathrooms often aren’t very glamorous.
These days, you can find hand soap and even paper towels on most trains – but I don’t know if that’s ever going to be enough to get the germs off. I always carry hand sanitiser on the train – and remember to keep it somewhere handy so you don’t have to rummage through your things to find it.
Biodegradable wet wipes are great for cleaning down train tables, cleansing sticky fingers, and for using in the place of toilet paper when none is provided (not unusual on a train).
Biodegradable wet wipes are better for the environment. These ones are multi-purpose, and these ones are created especially for bathroom use.
One of the easiest ways to freshen up without having to set foot in the train bathroom is by using a re-hydrating face mist.
I carry this non-irritant aloe and cucumber one whenever I travel and use it all the time on train, bus and plane journeys.
If your train journey is overnight, you’ll be given clean linens to make up your bed (this is typical throughout Southeast Asia, the Caucasus, and in Europe). However, if you’re at all fussy about the quality of your bedclothes, it can be a good idea to bring your own.
Silk sleeping bag liners are lightweight, compact, and perfect for this purpose. I’ve been on overnight trains in Vietnam where the sheets were, uh, sub-par – I just hopped into the safety of my silky bag and forgot all about those suspect mattress stains.
If the train pillow looks dodgy, you can also use it as a pillow case. For winter travel, you might prefer to use a fleece version.
I suffer from migraines that are often triggered by sleeping in a bad position, so I always travel with my own pillow. This roll-up travel pillow has been by my side since 2013 (don’t worry, it’s machine-washable and I clean it regularly).
I swear by it – it’s so much better than a neck support pillow while still being compact and lightweight. I use mine on trains, buses, and as my regular sleeping pillow.
Even if you have a private berth, trains can be noisy at night – especially with the clunking and crunching of machinery. Reusable silicone ear plugs like these ones are absolutely essential if you’re a light sleeper and a good idea even if you’re not.
One of my worst overnight train trips was from Bangkok to Butterworth in the third-class open-bunk carriage. I was on the top bunk, and they left the fluorescent ceiling lights on all night. Even with a curtain drawn around my mattress, the light still came in through the top and kept me awake.
I only wish I had thought to pack an eye mask (duh). I now travel with a weighted eye mask which does wonders for my migraines, too.
If you’re on a long train trip, you’re going to need a pair of shoes you can easily slip on to wear in common areas and to the bathroom. These lightweight slippers are machine-washable and great for travel.
Just remember to bring a bag to put them in when you’re ready to pack up – you don’t want those tainted soles touching the rest of your luggage, trust me.
Depending where you are, train air-conditioning systems can be notoriously overzealous. Night trains in particular can get very chilly very fast when the central air is left on.
Remember to pack a light cardigan or oversized scarf that you can use to keep your shoulders warm.
If you’re travelling in winter, you’re obviously going to need to take proper gear on the train. In the Caucasus and Eastern Europe, trains all have central heating.
Don’t just assume that your train seat or berth is going to have easy access to power. On some trains in the Caucasus and in Vietnam, the only outlets are communal ones located in the corridors.
If you plan on using your phone throughout the train journey, you’ll certainly need to carry a powerbank.
Not all trains have WIFI, either – especially older locomotives. A portable WIFI hotspot is worth the investment if you need to stay connected throughout the journey.
And like I mentioned earlier, sharing a hotspot is a surefire way to make new travel buddies – it’s probably even better than sharing a bottle of wine.
If you’re travelling with a partner or friend and you want to pass the time by watching a movie or listening to a podcast, etc., this little device is indispensable for sharing audio.
It’s one of my travel essentials!
Another travel gadget I couldn’t live without is my Kindle. I can’t read on buses or in cars because I get motion sick. Long train journeys are one of the rare times I can settle down with a book and not feel guilty that I should be working.
When it comes to books that are ideal for reading on trains, Amazing Train Journeys and Monisha Rajesh’s Around the World in 80 Trains are both apropos.
Most trains are fitted with reading lights but there’s no guarantee they will be working. A reading lamp like this one or even a headlamp is always good to have so you don’t disturb other people. It can also come in handy for making your way around the train in the dark.
Of course you could just use the torch on your phone, but that’s going to wear your battery down pretty fast.
One of the best things about travelling by train is of course the scenery. A lot of people get so caught up in the logistics of the journey or finding ways to pass the time that they forget to look outside.
Make sure your camera is easily accessible so you don’t miss out on any photo opportunities. Oftentimes, trains pass through landscapes other travellers miss out on when they’re moving around by plane or car – so here’s your chance to see something truly unique.
I recently upgraded to the Olympus OM-D E-M5. It’s super lightweight and when paired with a prime lens, perfect for snapping fast-moving scenes from train windows.
Pack light. The less you carry, the more freedom you have. Besides, who wants to have to worry about squeezing their stuff into train luggage racks. Here are 10 excellent tips for travelling light.
Choose a minimalist backpack. It will help you keep your pack under control and maybe make you less of a target for pick-pockets. Here are my favourite minimalist backpacks and day packs.
If you’re travelling to the Caucasus, check out my detailed packing list for Georgia, which includes tips on what to wear – and a few handy gadgets you probably hadn’t thought to bring with you.
I’m curious – what are your train essentials, the things you can’t go without on a long journey? Let me know in the comments!
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