View the route
Date of the journey:- September 2019
Distance travelled:- 82 miles
The journey from Busteni to Bucharest, Romania’s capital, was accomplished on the train. Wanting to get a mid-morning train, we set off from our accommodation straight after breakfast.
On arrival at the railway station ticket office, we were advised that all of the mid-morning trains were fully booked. As it was a Saturday.
Because we had not pre-booked our tickets. We ended up waiting a couple of hours and catching the IR 1634 train at 1209 hrs. This was a direct train taking 1 hr 46 mins to get to Bucharest Nord. Tickets for this journey cost 35.95 Lei each, for 2nd class reserved seating.
Our advice is to pre-book train tickets if possible on the Romanian Railways website. Or at least purchase the onward tickets when you arrive.
This gave us some more free time in Busteni to look around and grab a bite to eat.
The train arrived on time and we were finally on our way to Bucharest. Albeit a couple of hours later than planned. The train was a double-decker type our seats were on the upper deck. It wasn’t easy navigating through the crowded train with our backpacks to get to them.
After having maneuvered through the train, we found our seats. They seemed to be occupied by a young couple, who moved without any issues. Unlike another gentleman who flatly refused to move out of someone else’s seat. Commencing a 30-minute feud with plenty of shouting, which the locals found hilarious.
With no further episodes, we arrived safely at Bucharest Nord station. From the station, we made our way to the Airbnb accommodation. We had booked for the night, close to the old town.
This was only a short 10 mins journey on bus number 85 in the direction of Baicului. The Gara du Nord bus stop is immediately outside of the train station, with bus number 85 running every 8 mins. We took the bus 6 stops to the Gradina Cismigiu stop, which was about 200m from the accommodation.
To travel on the bus in Bucharest, an Activ or Multiplu card is required to be purchased prior to travelling. Both of these cards are available at the RATB kiosks found next to major bus stops. Tickets cannot be purchased from the bus driver.
The blue and white Multiplu card costs 1.60 Lei. It is preloaded with two to ten journeys, each costing 1.30 lei. For 8 Lei an unlimited one day’s travel can be loaded. After its initial purchase, the Multiplu card cannot be topped-up. The green and white Activ card costs 3.70 Lei. This can be topped-up with anything from 2.60 to 50 Lei of credit at a time.
When boarding the bus, the Multiplu or Activ card must be validated at one of the orange machines. Place the card next to the machine until it beeps. The screen will show how many journeys or how much credit is left on the card.
If caught without a validated Multiplu or Activ card. Expect to be fined 50 Lei on the spot, regardless of whatever excuse is used.