Romania 2008
 

My girlfriend and i are planning next year's trip across the Alps through Switzerland,Italy,Slovenia,Croatia,Romania and on to Romania then after a while back via Hungary,Slovakia,Austria,etc...for roughly 5 weeks on our bikes(XL600 and Pegaso 650).Any up to date-ish info would be appreciated on borders between Croatia,Bosnia and Romania(specific paperwork requirements/bribe attempts/etc...) and more importantly camping situation in these countries as we're not rich enough to hotel it! I'm quite an old-hand at wild camping and can usually find somewhere to hide but would like to know the legal/accepted ways in these countries.Also,the Rough Guide to Romania(2004 issue) says the speed limit for motorcycles is 30kph in built up areas and 50kph EVERYWHERE else......is this still correct??? Seems a bit dangerous as all other traffic is allowed 90kph on open roads.We are both rather fond of unsurfaced roads and tracks so any reccomencations of good,long,interesting mountain trails would be gratefully recieved.....
Regards to all......Jon and Angharad.

Romania
 

Hi,

my name is Mihai and I live in Romania.
The speed limit is the same for the EU (city 50 km/h, outside 90 km/h, expresway 130 km/h).
If you have any questions about Romania don't hesitate to contact me.

Mihai

Camping in the wild is no problem in Croatia and Romania. There are lots of empty backcountry areas where you'll always find a nice spot for a night. In Croatia it might prove difficult in the northern coastal region (Istria), but further south as well as in the mountainous bachcountry this isn't a problem. Besides that there are alot of nice official campsites along the coast.

Romania offers superb landscape and very nice dirt roads, usually well gravelled. In the Carpathians you still find lots of pists crossing the mountains going well over 2,000m asl. One pass that immediately comes to my mind is the Urdele Pass (2,228m) turning off from the 7A roughly 34 kms east of Petrosani, leading south to Novaci on the 67C.

Make sure to buy a detailed and up-to-date map. The best currently on the market is IMO the road atlas of Freytag & Berndt (freytag & berndt) 1:250,000

As Mihai says, the speed limit is identical for motorbikes and cars. Just make a point of driving carefully - nobody takes an oncoming biker seriously when busy overtaking. So you should always be ready for an emergency stop or a detour onto the green ;-)

Rooms are abundant and fortunately quite cheap, whereas official campsites are scarce. But then I never had any problems finding a nice retreat for a night.

Austria and Switzerland are more of a challenge, but even there I usually found a nicely secluded spot just for me & my tent.

Hans

Just be little careful if you go via Bosnia, Serbia (not sure about Croatia) as there are supposed to be lots of personnel mines still not cleared up. So I believe it is recommended not to go off piste in these countries if you value the use of your legs..!

Rod

You obviously never visited mentioned countries! Where will you find mines in
Serbia ? Answer is simple - nowhere. In Croatia and Bosnia mine fields do exists,
but you need to explore very out of paved roads to find mines. As long as you stick
to roads , no problems at all.

To JonStobbs - be my guest !

Rod

in Croatia I have only seen mine alert signs on one piste across a mountain pass. There of course you shouldn't aleave the road - even for a pee ;-) For Bosnia I cannot say, because I haven't just been passing through several times.

Dangerous areas are all signed out, so that shouldn't be a problem anywhere on the Balkan and shouldn't stop you from visiting this beautiful part of the world.

Thanks for the info guys,much appreciated especially the speed limits part!

Mihai,will probably need info on things as we get nearer to the time,thanks for your offer.Where abouts in Rom do you live?

Vaufi...thanks for the tip about the Urdele pass,will be looking that one up at some point.Actually i had ordered the excellent Freytag & Berndt road atlas a few days ago,which arrived yesterday,and damn good it is too.Beats GPS any day from an exploring point of view! We'll probably not venture too far south in Croatia this time(i did a couple of years ago),but will keep to the North-ish parts this time(good excuse to bump into Ante,good to hear from you again!).Austria and Switzerland should'nt pose a problem camping,i've already found my own little quiet spots from previous trips that have served me well in the past.

Ante...good to hear you're still about! This time we'll be travelling in your direction,any chance of meeting up with you for a beer?We'll be leaving UK 9th August and taking our time through the Alps so will probably be near you somewhere around August 17th.Any campsites in your area?

Jon & Angharad

Romania
 

Hi Jon,
I live in Bucuresti.

There is some info on parts of your route on my trip blog - still shown as Kevin Payne I think. Romania was great - no problems a bit of common sense can't deal with. I took a wide berth around mine fields so I can't help you on that ! Feel free to email if you have questions, and have a great time.

Hi Michael,

i will wait you with a big one.

Mihai

Hello Mihai
We should be arriving in Oradea on or about 16 May from Budapest.
We intend to spend about 8-10 days in Romania and ride the following route:
Oradea – Cluj-Napoca – Sibiu – Brasov – (Bran) – Predeal – Sinaia – Ploiesti – Bucharest - Constanta – (Mangalia) – Tulcea – Galati – Odessa.
Apart from the obvious tourist attractions along the way (castles and churches etc); do you have any suggestions?
Where are you and when could be catch up for a beer etc?
Regards
Michael & Colleen Tharme
michaeltharme@bigpond.com

And if you will pass near Rijeka (or if you want to visit island Krk, not far from Rijeka, and connected with mainland with bridge) we can meet for beer, too.

Hi Michael,
for the moment I am in holliday. When I will come back (to the end off the next week) I will made few suggestions.
It is wery important what kind off bike do you have.
Mihai

Mihai
2005 1200GS.
Cheers
Mick