If you’re planning to visit Romania, you’re probably wondering how much should you budget for your Romanian vacation and whether or not is the country cheap to visit.
This is what we’re going to discuss today and you will see that I will get as in depth as possible in order to make sure that you come fully prepared for the vacation expenses here.
Is Romania expensive to visit?
Even though Romania is one of the cheapest countries to visit in the EU, the prices of everything have gone up a lot compared to the previous years (like they did in all countries thank to the inflation).
But yes, Romania remains a cheap country to visit. A budget of around 700 Euros could be enough for one person spending 7 nights in the country, including accommodation, food and some attractions.
But all will be on the budget side, especially if we’re talking about seaside destinations or mountain destinations during the top season. These are more expensive, and accommodation alone (I repeat – during the top season) will be at least 50 Euros per person in a double room.
Visiting Romania: Daily Budget
While your travel style and spending habits will influence numbers a lot and sky’s the limit in terms of how much you can spend, for those more budget oriented, I have the answer below.
A daily budget of around €35 per person should be enough for thrifty travelers to cover food and entertainment costs, without accommodation and plane tickets.
If you are a bit more luxury oriented and want to try more expensive restaurants and visit more places, it would be safer to come with a daily budget of at least €50 per person (again, without accommodation and transportation).
How much is accommodation in Romania?
Prices vary here a lot depending on your destination, time of the year and what kind of accommodation you’re looking for.
Nightly rates vary greatly from €10 per night in a hostel. One room will be €35 per night in a budget hotel (2-3 star) and from €50 and up for a decent room, even in a 4-star hotel.
Note: these prices are per room, so two people will split these costs.
The best option here would be to check prices for your city/area and dates on Booking.com. This is the platform I use for booking short stays (it also has apartments and it’s usually cheaper than AirBnb).
How much does a plane ticket to Romania cost?
Plane ticket costs vary a lot depending on where you come from. Most countries in Europe will offer low cost flights to Romania for anything between €40 – €100 per round trip.
But traveling from farther away will be a lot more expensive: expect to pay a few hundred US Dollars for a one-way flight to Romania from the US, for example.
Breaking down the full cost for a trip to Romania
When it comes to money-related topics, I can only offer estimates because different people have different expectations and spending habits.
Plus, there are many other things involved here: what part of Romania will you visit? Will it be a large city like Bucharest or Timisoara, a smaller one like Drobeta Turnu Severin, or maybe you’ll visit the expensive seaside resorts in Mamaia or the traditional villages in Transilvania?
Prices are obviously higher in the more touristy places (especially during the peak season) and the larger cities, while the places that are outside of the beaten path are much cheaper.
With all these in mind, I’m going to offer more details to truly understand and be able to estimate potential costs for your visit to Romania.
I actually recommend reading the entire article, as it will help you paint a better picture of the whole situation and expected expenses during your stay.
IMPORTANT: If you read other similar articles (and it’s a very good idea to do so), make sure that they are actually recently updated. As of mid-2023, prices in Romania are much higher than what they used to be, even double in some cases!
Plane ticket & accommodation expenses
These are the most difficult ones to estimate, especially when it comes to the costs of air travel: it could be as low as 40 Euros if you’re flying low cost from another European country or up to a couple thousand if you come from much farther away. It’s up for you to find the best deals here.
But have in mind that there are more International Airports in Romania so Bucharest is not your only option – you might find better deals (closer to your final destination too) there.
Some could offer very cheap connections and could be even closer to your final destination.
Because, yes, in many cases, you won’t end up visiting a place that has an airport (or you’ll still have to travel around a bit).
When it comes to accommodation, it also depends on your personal preference: from cheap hotels in the heart of the city, to apartment rentals and luxury options, you have tons of options at various prices.
When it comes to accommodation, prices could go as low as 10 Euros per night at a hostel or a local pension to over €100 per night if you want to be pampered like royalty.
Based on my own experience, I would say that around €50 per night will offer you a good room (for two) in most places in the country, with breakfast included.
Don’t forget to check out the available offers here.
All in all, for people traveling to Romania from Europe, the total budget for 7 nights (with flight included) will be between 275 Euros to 400 Euros for one person sharing a room with another.
Food & Drinks budget
Once you get to Romania and have your accommodation paid for, the biggest expense will most likely be food (and drinks).
And since you’re here for a vacation, you will most likely want to try out some delicious traditional Romanian food at local restaurants.
Romania doesn’t really have an eating out culture and unfortunately the charming, small family restaurants that are present in so many countries over the world do not exist in most Romanian cities.
But you can still find good options basically anywhere in the country and even though prices are the highest they have ever been, you can still eat out and spend reasonable amounts of money.
Prices vary greatly, with a lot of budget options available, as well as more extravagant prices.
For example, a cheap restaurant in a smaller city where locals eat can cost as low as €6 for an two course meal if you get the daily menu (soup and main course, sometimes dessert included too).
You might not get the most Instagram-worthy food ever, but you will most likley be satisfied with the taste and quality of the food.
Normally, a decent meal at a regular restaurant would cost around €12 per person, going way higher for more pretentious places. For this amount, you’d get a hearty main course and maybe one drink.
Until this year, you could eat a great meal for €10 in most restaurants and even have the tip included in the costs, but nowadays prices have gone up a lot so that might not be always the case. But it’s still doable!
If you love pastries, fast food or easier “grab and go” options, Romania has a ton of delicious options here.
A large pretzel costs as low as 25 eurocents, you can grab a croissant and coffee in most places for around €2, and a large shawarma can be bought for around 4 Euros.
So, when budgeting your food, I would recommend setting aside a minimum of €20 per day, per person.
This would allow you to experience food from local restaurants, but also includes fast-food type of things and maybe supermarket food. (I am also considering daily snacks/fruits and water here).
If you want to eat only at good restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner, then you should budget at least €30 per day per person.
For this money, you will be able to enjoy great food and surely add a bunch of extra pounds of pure Romanian fat.
No problem, that’s what you do during vacations!
Of course, these are options for those with a somewhat limited budget. There are luxury places where a 3-course meal can cost €100 or more, but we’re not talking about those.
Most likely, the people who afford eating at such places won’t read articles about budgeting for their upcoming trips… but if they do, that’s good for them!
All in all, the food and drink budget in Romania for 7 days will be between €140 (very low end) to €350 for a single person. If you plan to eat out a lot and especially drink a lot, the budget should be A LOT higher.
You can check out the beer price in Romania (and more) to better prepare.
Budget for attractions, sightseeing & entertainment
Throughout the country, prices are usually about the same when it comes to sightseeing, various forms of entertainment and public transportation.
Have in mind though that the smaller cities don’t offer many options when it comes to public transportation and you will most likely have to walk or take a taxi (which is also cheap). Uber is also not available in the smaller cities.
When it comes to visiting museums or other attractions, prices range from as low as €2 to around €10 per person, with discounts offered to children or the elderly (but double check as this is not a rule).
The more important attractions are usually more expensive: for example, or ticket to Peles was about €7.5, while the visit to the Palace of Parliament costed around €9.
In the end, it all depends on what you plan to see depending on where you go. If trips outside of the city are involved, you will pay more. If the attractions are local, they can even be free of charge.
So for attractions and entertainment, I would budget around €100 for 7 days in the country, per person.
The Romanian Beach Budget
We’ve already talked about the best time of the year to visit Romania, so if you choose the high season and a popular destination (like going to the beach in mid-July or early August), expect prices of everything – from accommodation to food – to be much higher.
The seaside is a beast of its own and since you will probably not go there during the winter months, I think it’s safest to budget more than you would for a regular trip to the country. By the beach, everything is more expensive.
Therefore, for visiting any beaches in Romania during the high season, I think a budget of at least 50 Euros per day, per person is a good starting point for food & drinks unless you have some or all the meals covered by your hotel.
Some places are more expensive (like Mamaia) while others are cheaper. But they are all way more expensive than your regular Romanian city, that’s a fact.
You will also pay extra for sun loungers (up to €10 per day), parking if you need it (up to €20 per day) and basically anything you can think of. So yes, starting this year, beach going in Romania is really expensive.
Conclusion
In the end, you should remember that most of the places in Romania are priced for Romanian tourists and since income in this country is still pretty low, so are the general costs.
You can check out my article about the cost of living in Romania to see even more price estimations if my recommendations are still not enough for you to make a decision.
The good thing is that Romania is much cheaper that most other European destinations – even during the high season and despite the high inflation.
This means that even the more luxuriant trips will end up costing a lot less than they would in other places.
Even more, if you have a very tight budget, there are few places where your dollars or euros would be extremely valuable – and Romania is one of them!
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Love this and we found it accurate for both Bucharest and Brasov. Romania is a great place to visit and see wonderful things without blowing your budget. I look forward to visiting again in the near future. The food costs are really reasonable, and delicious solid food. You might have a bit of trouble being a vegetarian, but if you love meat, you’re good to go. BTW, love the new look 🙂
That is indeed correct! There are very few options for vegetarians, especially in the smaller cities, but with rising numbers of vegetarians in Romania, most likely things will change. That, or we’ll finish all the meat in the country and have no other option left but to go vegetarian :))
I also find your estimates to be accurate… maybe even generous. We moved to Brasov last summer, but were too busy to fully take in many of the tourist sites around the city or those in Bucharest where we often had to visit on business. This year, however, we’re getting out playing tourist and enjoying the country.
Compared to vacation expenses in the US, this country is an exceptional bargain. We learned that packing items from a grocery store is economical, practical and easy, and for an inexpensive fast food bargain, the omnipresent mici and fries can’t be beat. The larger cities have convenient restaurants around the centers, and the local Romanians will drink here, but as you stated, not necessarily dine. Visiting the sites, we found many have no entry fees at all, such a number of fortified churches we’ve seen. Those that do charge, the entry is negligible. Traveling by car, we have been using AirBNB ($31 centrally located adjacent to the old center in Sibiu. Had a similar experience in Piatra Neamt), but often have to choose a pensiune on the fly. A couple of days ago we found a gorgeous one of these in the a remote area of Buzau County for $30. It was nice hotel with restaurant, and reminded us of spring in the Temecula Valley area of Southern California. We chose to splurge on dinner for two, which included chicken schnitzel, mici, rice, vegetables, bread, mineral water, 1000ml carafe of a very good local white wine, and two double scotch on the rocks. The host also gave us a complementary plate of fresh pastries. The price of this extravaganza? $28.42!
So, you may ask, what’s the best thing about vacation travel in Romania? Is it the sites? The landscapes? The foods? The bargains? While all of these are wonderful, I’d have to say it’s the people. Everyone we’ve encountered on our travels have been helpful and hospitable and it is they who are making our adventures fantastic.
Thank you for your input, Jim! Indeed, food costs can be kept very low if you buy it from a grocery store. But I am happy to hear that the costs can go even lower than what I quoted. It’s always better to have budgeted more and have some money left at the end than the other way around 🙂
I am really happy to hear that you’re enjoying life here and exploring the country.
Hello to All of you,
sounds good and great to go with traditional food at traditional Restaurants, as for Junk food Am not really interested with that type of food.
Regards,
Emad
Hello
I find this article useful although I am interested to translate all this with Romanian Lei instead of Euro, as that is what I think I will need when in Transylvania in a few weeks. I think currently the conversion is 1 Euro = 5 Lei? The reason for looking for budget and spending money in Romania because I am trying to establish how much Lei I will need for petrol – will be driving a small Toyota Aygo type of car (already booked rental). So the price of a full tank would be good to know. I might contact the car rental company for that info though, hopefully they can help with it.
Thanks
That is correct, Anita. 1 Euro is about 5 lei (4.90 lei at the moment). The price of gas is currently around 7.5 lei per liter. Have a nice trip!