Bucharest, Romania
Romania uses the leu (RON), not the euro, and has been in the Schengen Area since 2025. For the ride into town, try Uber or Bolt first; only if you have no data, use the yellow self-service taxi kiosks — never a driver who approaches you.
Since January 2025 Romania is in the Schengen Area. If your flight came from another Schengen country, there is no passport check on arrival — follow the exit / baggage-reclaim signs straight through.
If you arrived from a non-Schengen country, follow signs to passport control. Lanes split into EU/EEA/Swiss passports and all other passports — join the correct one and have your passport open at the photo page.
Most arrivals walk straight out through the green 'nothing to declare' channel. You must declare cash of €10,000 or more (or the equivalent) when entering or leaving the EU.
Check the baggage screens for your flight number to find the correct carousel. Keep the bag-tag sticker from check-in until you've left the airport.
Don't assume your bag is on the nearest belt. At OTP some carousels are in a separate hall or on a different level, so check the screen for your flight's carousel number and follow the signs rather than waiting at the first belt you see.
File a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) at the baggage-service desk in the reclaim hall before you exit — it is much harder to do once you've left.
Tip: Photograph your bag and its tag before you fly; it speeds up any claim.
Withdraw Romanian lei from a bank's own ATM here — BCR, BRD, Banca Transilvania and ING are all in the terminal.
The exchange counters in the terminal give very poor rates. Change money here only in a real emergency, and only the bare minimum you need right now — do the rest at a bank ATM or in the city.
EU/EEA visitors keep their home data plan under EU roaming at no extra cost. Others can buy a prepaid SIM (Vodafone, Orange or Digi) — but you can reach the city with no data at all using the options in the next phase.
If you have data, order an Uber or Bolt — you pay in the app with no cash and no haggling, and the fare is set up front. The pickup point is on the right side of the parking platform, straight out as you exit the terminal on the 1st floor. Prices are similar to an official taxi, higher during surge times.
If you can't get online, do NOT take a taxi from anyone who approaches you in the hall. Use one of the yellow self-service kiosks on both sides of the baggage-claim exit: choose a company on the touch-screen, take the printed ticket (it shows the operator and the per-km fare), then go to the taxi ramp. A fair metered fare to the centre is roughly 60–130 lei.
Scam warning: Drivers who solicit arrivals commonly charge several times the metered fare and may quote in euros. Authorised taxis charge about 2.3–3.5 lei/km.
Express bus 100 runs to Piața Unirii in the centre, 24 hours a day. The driver does not sell tickets — pay by tapping a contactless bank card onboard, buy from the red machine at the stop, or use the 24pay app. Allow extra time in the afternoon rush.
A train links the airport to Gara de Nord (the main rail station) from a covered platform just outside the terminal. Buy a ticket at the platform machine or onboard. Note that Gara de Nord is not central, so you'll likely need onward transport to the Old Town.
Before leaving the baggage hall, file a PIR at the baggage-service desk and keep your bag-tag receipt and a photo of the bag. You'll get a reference number to track the claim.
Go to your airline's transfer or ticketing desk in the terminal — don't leave the secure area if your onward flight is from here. Airlines usually rebook a connection missed because of a late inbound flight.
Report it to airport police, then contact your country's embassy or consulate for an emergency travel document. Keep a photo of your passport's ID page on your phone before you travel.
Go to an airport medical point or information desk, or call the local emergency number (shown in this airport's arrival tips) — it usually works from any phone, even with no SIM. Numbers differ by country, so don't assume 112 works everywhere.
Do not leave immediately — note the ATM's bank and location, then call your card issuer to block the card. Machines inside bank branches are safer to retrieve from than standalone ones.