Bucharest public transportation & taxi guide
Transport from Bucharest airport (OTP)
The most important advice you will get from this guide - don't use a yellow taxi, especially from the airport. They usually try to charge more, don't give change, have cars in bad condition and rude drivers and they especially try to scam foreigners. When you get out of the airport you will see a line of yellow taxis from local transport companies but avoid them at all costs!
You have three options now: train, bus or ride sharing.
Ride sharing from the airport
My opinion (and what I personally use as a local whenever I go to/from the airport) is that the ride sharing is the fastest and most reliable option.
You have Uber, Bolt or Blue and you have options for pick-up locations in the app. When you arrive ("Sosiri" in romanian) you might get out on two different floors. The main floor is where the luggage belts 1, 2 and 3 are and the other one is one level down where the luggage belts 4, 5 and 6 are. You have just one option for arrivals in the ride sharing app but you can text the driver and tell him if you are on the upper or lower level of the outside parking. Now when you exit the airport, go to the parking in front and ignore the yellow taxi drivers that might offer you a ride. A trip from the airport to the city center is usually 70-90 lei (14-18 euros).
For going back to the airport you will select the option for Departures ("Plecari" in romanian) and the driver will leave you right in front of the entrance to the airport. If you have the flight at a high traffic hour (which honestly is most of the daytime for Bucharest, but especially between 8-10 am and 5-7 pm) please take more buffer time for the ride as traffic might get intense!
Train from the airport
The train has about 2 options per hour and you can buy tickets from the link below. It makes 25 minutes until Gara de Nord (North Train Station). One ticket costs 8.5 lei (1.7 eur) - a good cheap option but it isn't a frequent route and it leaves you at the train station from where you can take the subway to your accommodation.
Departure: Aeroport Henri Coanda (this is OTP) and Arrival: Bucuresti Nord
Bus from the airport
This is the cheapest option if you are on a budget as a trip costs only 3 lei (0.6 eur). The line is 100 and you have below the schedule and the stops on the left side. It takes you to Piata Unirii in the end which is near the Old City Center. The downside is the traffic as the bus might get stuck during peak hours and most of the time the bus is really crowded. If you need to get to another point in the city for your accommodation, I recommend to get down at Piata Victoriei and take the subway from there. See next in the article a guide for the subway.
Schedule from the airport to the city:
Schedule from the city to the airport:
Public transportation
Bucharest subway
The most reliable public transport option in Bucharest is the subway. It has 5 lines and it should cover all of the zones you need to see as a tourist. You have on the map below the names and colours of each line and it's pretty easy to follow.
The schedule: it starts at 5 am and the last trains circulate until 23 - 23:30 pm.
How to read the map:- The long lines are in use, the dotted lines are under construction- The stations with a double point have connections, so you can change from one line to the other without needing a new ticket- The exception is at the connection between Gara de Nord 1 & Gara de Nord 2 which is with black between the dots, here you need to have a new ticket so the alternative is to go to Basarab and change there
- The directions are named by the last station of the line, but a common change is on the yellow line on the right side where the train usually stops at Republica instead of Pantelimon. If the train has another name on front it means that this is the last station it goes to on that direction
Tickets for subway
One ride costs 3 lei (0.6 eur). Most of the stations have built-in contactless payments by card so you can use your card or phone to quickly pay the entrance.
If you will use the subway more, here are a few options:
- 10 rides - 25 lei (5 eur)
- 24h ticket - 8 lei (1.6 eur)
- 72h ticket - 20 lei (4 eur)
- 7 days ticket - 30 lei (6 eur)
- 1 month - 80 lei (16 eur)
You can buy tickets from the orange machines and pay by card or at the brown offices cash or by card.
Bucharest bus & tram
Bucharest is also connected by bus and tram. If you need to reach an area where the subway is not available, I firstly recommend the tram as it moves faster than the bus. Some of the trams are the old ones but some lines have modern and air conditioned ones. The buses have special lanes on very few boulevards so most of the time they become prisoners of the never-ending traffic.
You can buy integrated subway & tram/bus tickets. The subway company is called Metrorex & the rest of the public transportation is called STB, if you ever come across these naming's. You can buy them at the subway station from the orange machines or the brown offices as mentioned above, or at the silver box offices in some of the bus stations. Some tram & bus lines also have pay by ride with the card machines inside, but sometimes they don't work that well.
Integrated tickets with which you can use any subway, bus or tram during the given time:
- 1 ticket for 120 minutes - 5 ron (1 eur)
- 10 tickets for 120 minutes - 45 ron (9 eur)
- 24h card - 14 ron (2.8 eur)
- 72h card - 35 ron (7 eur)
- 7 days card - 35 ron (7 eur)
You can get into the tram/bus through any door, just wait for the other passengers to get out first and then validate your ticket at the machines placed along.
Local guide recommendation
As a conclusion, depending on where you have your accommodation, the subway should be enough along with some cheap Uber rides to move within Bucharest. You can check my guide on the best areas to stay in Bucharest and some hotel recommendations that are near the subway so it's easy to move around the city.
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