Car Rental in Bucharest – Office, Otopeni or Băneasa Airport

The pick-up points below are named as they appear in the booking form:

• "Bucharest": the rental company's office, in Sector 1 in the north of the city, next to Băneasa Airport. It is not in the historic centre; the exact address is in your booking confirmation.
• "Bucharest – Otopeni Airport (OTP)": Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport, in the town of Otopeni, Ilfov County, about 16.5 km north of Bucharest. Pick-up is by meet & greet.
• "Bucharest – Baneasa Airport (BBU)": Bucharest Băneasa – Aurel Vlaicu International Airport, on the DN1 (Șoseaua București–Ploiești 40), in Sector 1, about 8.5 km north of the centre. Pick-up is by meet & greet here too.

The handover hours are set by the rental company and shown in the “Pick-up and return” panel above; what applies outside them is in the Rental Conditions and summarised below, under “What the rental company’s conditions say”.

Which pick-up point to choose

• Arriving by plane: choose the airport on your ticket. Both Otopeni and Băneasa have scheduled passenger flights, so check which one you land at.
• Already in Bucharest (you came by train or coach, or only need a car for part of your stay): choose the "Bucharest" office. Bear in mind that it is in the north of the city, next to Băneasa Airport, not in the centre, and plan how to get there before your pick-up time.
• Flying home: choose the airport you fly from as your return location; both airports are return points as well. Allow extra time for the drive and for the handover.

At the airport you don't queue at a rental desk: a representative of the rental company meets you and hands the car over. The exact meeting point and pick-up instructions are in your booking confirmation, under "Where to collect and return the car"; you can reopen it at any time on the Check reservation page.

1. In the booking form, choose "Bucharest – Otopeni Airport (OTP)" or "Bucharest – Baneasa Airport (BBU)" as your pick-up location.
2. Fill in "Flight number (optional)": the number is passed on to the rental company with your booking.
3. Before you fly, read the pick-up instructions in your confirmation and keep them handy when you land.
4. At pick-up, show your original driving licence, an identity document and a credit card; the documents required are listed below, with the clause they come from.

For more on arriving at Otopeni, the drive from the airport into the city and returning the car before your flight, see Bucharest airport car rental.

Băneasa – Aurel Vlaicu is Bucharest's second airport and has scheduled passenger flights. It lies in Sector 1, on the DN1 between the city centre and Otopeni, about 8.5 km north of the centre. City buses, including express line 100, stop at the airport. Picking up there, the drive into the city and returning before your flight: car rental at Băneasa Airport.

The rental company's office ("Bucharest" in the booking form) is in the same area, in the north of the city, close to the DN1, the road to Otopeni, Ploiești and Brașov.

From all three Bucharest pick-up points you can drop the car off in another Romanian city. In the booking form, click "Different return location" and choose under "Return location" the city where you will leave the car, for example Brașov, Constanța or Sibiu. The search results show whether the one-way rental works for your dates, and the "One-way fee" appears in the price details, included in the total, before you send the booking. The cities and the rules are on the one-way car rental page.

You can also choose another Bucharest point as your return location, for example pick the car up at Otopeni and return it at the office: the search shows whether this is possible and what it costs. If you want to change the return place after pick-up, you need the rental company's consent and pay a relocation fee, and returning the car somewhere else without telling them is invoiced as an extra fee; the amounts are summarised below.

Approximate road distances from the Bucharest office to each city centre:

• Brașov: about 160 km, on the DN1 through Ploiești and the Prahova Valley, or on the A3 motorway as far as Ploiești; there is no motorway between Ploiești and Brașov yet. Stops, winter driving and returns: Bucharest to Brașov by car.
• Constanța: about 240 km, almost all of it on the A2 motorway (Autostrada Soarelui). The coast, summer traffic and parking: Bucharest to Constanța by car.
• Sibiu: about 290 km, on the A1 motorway and then through the Olt Valley. Stops at Curtea de Argeș and Cozia: Bucharest to Sibiu by car.

Check the mileage limit before you choose your rental length: the rental company's conditions can cap the kilometres per day on short rentals, with extra kilometres charged at the cost set in the contract. A round trip is roughly 340–370 km to Brașov, 490 km to Constanța and 580–590 km to Sibiu, so choose your rental length with the route in mind. The limit, and the rentals it applies to, are in the conditions summary below.

Which road charges the rate includes, such as the Romanian road vignette (rovinietă), and what you pay separately on the road are set by the conditions of the company that hands you the car; you will find them below as well.

• Traffic. Journey times across the city vary a lot with traffic, especially at rush hour. A metro line to Otopeni Airport is being built along the DN1 and in the north of the city, so give yourself extra time, above all when you return the car before a flight.
• Leaving the city. For Ploiești and Brașov, take the DN1 through Otopeni or the A3 motorway, which you join in north-eastern Bucharest. For Constanța, take the A2 motorway; for Pitești and Sibiu, the A1 motorway.
• Basic rules. The speed limit in built-up areas is 50 km/h unless signs show otherwise; dipped headlights (or daytime running lights) are compulsory in daylight too, and you may only use a phone while driving with a hands-free system. Don't drink any alcohol before driving. All the rules are in our guide to driving in Romania.
• Parking. Public parking zones, hours and payment methods are set locally and change, so read the signs and information panels on the spot. Parking (airport parking included) and fines during the rental are yours to pay under the rental company's conditions, summarised below. Vehicles parked or stopped irregularly can be removed on police orders (Romanian Highway Code, OUG 195/2002, art. 64), and any costs from local authorities' action concerning the car during the rental are paid by you too, under the same conditions.

The rules of your rental are those in the conditions of the rental company that hands you the car; the full text is in the Rental Conditions (the Romanian version prevails). What to check before you book:

• Documents: your original driving licence, an identity document and a credit card. Some licences also need an International Driving Permit.
• Deposit: you need a credit card, but not every card is accepted for the deposit. The deposit depends on the car and the protection you choose and is shown in your booking summary.
• Protection: which protection is included in the rate, which optional protection you can add, and their exceptions, including those linked to the driver's age.
• Payment: nothing is paid online on Car-Rentals.ro; you pay the rental company at pick-up. Check the accepted payment methods and the currency of the invoice.
• Fuel: how much fuel the car must have when you return it.
• Roadside assistance: what it covers and where.

You will find all of them below, under “What the rental company’s conditions say”, each with its clause number.

If you prefer an automatic, you can filter the cars by transmission on the results page; see automatic car rental in Romania. You can also pick up a car in Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara, and for general questions about booking, see our FAQ.