Bucharest to Constanța and the Black Sea coast by car

Almost the whole drive from Bucharest to Constanța is on the A2 motorway, known in Romania as the Sun Motorway (Autostrada Soarelui). From the Bucharest office or the airports it is about 240–245 km to central Constanța, about 200 km of it on the motorway.

• From Henri Coandă Airport (Otopeni), Băneasa Airport and the north of the city, you reach the start of the A2 on the Bucharest ring road.
• From central and eastern Bucharest, you join the A2 straight from Bulevardul Theodor Pallady. From Piața Unirii to Constanța it is about 225 km.

On the way, the motorway crosses the Danube on two bridges: over the Borcea branch at Fetești and over the Danube itself at Cernavodă. The A2 ends just outside Constanța, and the DN3 takes you into the city centre. For the resorts, the A4 motorway bypasses Constanța: north to Mamaia, or south via Agigea to the DN39, the coast road to Eforie and Vama Veche.

From Constanța, Mamaia is about 8 km away, Eforie Nord about 16 km and Vama Veche about 55 km. Distances are measured on the map to the centre of each place and can vary a little with the route you take.

• The vignette. Romania's roads require a road vignette (rovinietă). Whether it is included in the price of the rental car is set out in the Rental Conditions of the company that hands you the car, summarised below under “What the rental company’s conditions say”.
• The bridges at Fetești and Cernavodă. Before you travel, check the current rules for crossing the Danube bridges on the A2 on the official etoll.ro portal.
• What you pay. Check what is left for you to pay during the rental: road charges other than the vignette, fuel, parking and fines. The rental company's rules are summarised below.

• In light traffic: about 3 hours to Constanța, Mamaia or Eforie. Vama Veche is about 40 km further on the DN39, which runs through resorts and villages.
• On summer weekends and public holidays: the Romanian Police often report heavy traffic on the A2 and on the coast. On Sunday 12 July 2026, for example, as the holidays ended, traffic was heavy on the A2 towards Bucharest between Cernavodă and Fetești, and the DN39 was queuing in both directions through Eforie Nord. On days like these, allow a lot more time.
• When to leave: if you can, avoid heading to the coast as a weekend starts and driving back to Bucharest on Sunday afternoon. The police advise that if you see very heavy traffic as you set off, you wait until it eases.
• Before you set off: check the Romanian Police's Infotrafic alerts and CNAIR's dispatch platform, which lists closed and restricted roads (both in Romanian). CNAIR's dispatch centre also answers on 021 9360 (Romanian number).

When the A2 is congested, the Romanian Police recommend alternative routes for drivers coming back from the coast, among them the DN2A Constanța – Hârșova – Slobozia – Urziceni, then the DN2 to Bucharest, and the A2 as far as Fetești or Drajna, then the DN3A via Lehliu-Gară and the DN3 via Fundulea to Bucharest. A third option runs via Adamclisi and Ostrov, crossing the Danube by ferry to Călărași. These are national roads that pass through towns and villages.

On the motorway, the Romanian Police also advise you to:

• signal lane changes early, and not drive or stop on the hard shoulder (emergency lane) except when justified;
• switch on your hazard lights when you reach the end of a queue that slows down or stops suddenly.

Keep to the speed limits: 130 km/h on motorways, 100 km/h on European national roads and 90 km/h on other roads outside built-up areas, and 50 km/h in built-up areas, unless signs show another limit. If you have held your licence for less than a year, drive 20 km/h below these limits outside built-up areas. Dipped headlights (or daytime running lights) must be on during the day as well (OUG 195/2002, art. 44, 49 and 50).

There are service areas along the motorway where you can take a break. What roadside assistance you have if the car breaks down, and what it does not include, is set out below in the summary of the conditions. In an emergency, call 112.

• Mamaia is part of the city of Constanța and lies north of the centre, about 8 km away. From the A2 you get there on the A4 motorway, which bypasses the city.
• Eforie Nord and Eforie Sud make up the town of Eforie, on the DN39 south of Constanța. Leave the A4 towards Agigea and carry on along the DN39. On busy summer days the Romanian Police have reported queues on the DN39 between Agigea and Eforie Nord.
• Vama Veche is a village in Limanu commune, on the DN39, right on the border with Bulgaria, about 55 km from Constanța. There is a border crossing point here.

If you plan to cross into Bulgaria, remember that you can take the rental car out of Romania only with the rental company's written consent. Cross-border travel cannot be booked online: when you book, write the country you want to visit in the “Observations” field; the request reaches the rental company with your booking. Without consent, the rental company's conditions set a penalty and extra costs, and the contract can be terminated. The countries you may drive to, the deposit for travel abroad and what roadside assistance covers outside Romania are summarised below.

• Public parking in Constanța and Mamaia is mostly paid and divided into zones, under Constanța City Hall's parking regulation.
• The zones and charging hours change with the season, for example at the Mamaia car parks. Read the sign at each car park before you leave the car.
• Paying: with the City Hall's app, Constanța Parking, or as the sign at the car park shows.
• Eforie and Vama Veche have rules set by the local authorities: follow the local signs. If you are staying on the coast, ask your accommodation where you can park.
• Costs: the rental company's rules on parking charges and fines during the rental are summarised below.

You can also end your rental in Constanța, one of the return cities the booking form offers for pick-ups in Bucharest, at Henri Coandă Airport (Otopeni) and at Băneasa Airport. The resorts (Mamaia, Eforie, Vama Veche) are not return points.

1. In the booking form, choose your pick-up location (“Bucharest”, “Bucharest – Otopeni Airport (OTP)” or “Bucharest – Baneasa Airport (BBU)”), click “Different return location” and choose “Constanta” as the return location.
2. The search results show whether a one-way rental to Constanța works for your dates. Any one-way fee appears in the price details, as “One-way fee”, before you send the booking.
3. In your booking confirmation, under “Where to collect and return the car”, you will find the return location and, when the rental company provides them, the address and instructions. You can reopen the confirmation at any time on the Check reservation page.

Before you set off for the coast, check the following:

• Nothing is charged online on Car-Rentals.ro: you pay the rental company when you collect the car, and you need a credit card for the deposit. How you can pay and which cards are accepted for the deposit is set out below.
• The hours for handovers and returns, and returns outside those hours, are set by the rental company: you will find them in the summary below. If you reach Constanța in the evening, keep the hours and the traffic in mind.
• Mind the rental company's mileage limit (below). A Bucharest–Constanța round trip is about 490 km, so choose the length of your rental to suit the trip.
• Check below which fuel level the rental company expects at return, and fill up in good time.
• If you want to change the return location after pick-up, tell the rental company in writing or by phone: the change needs their consent, and returning the car somewhere else without telling them first costs an extra fee. The rental company's number is in your rental voucher and in the booking confirmation e-mail, and you can reopen your booking at any time on the Check reservation page.

To collect the car at the Bucharest office instead of the airport, see car rental in Bucharest. The rental company's main rules are summarised below, with clause references; the full text is in the Rental Conditions.