Cluj-Napoca to Sibiu by car

From Cluj-Napoca to Sibiu you drive almost all the way on motorways. Both pick-up points in Cluj, Avram Iancu International Airport and the rental company's office, are in the Someșeni district on the east side of the city, so the route is the same from either:

1. The DN1 heading south. Leave the city on Calea Turzii; the road then climbs over Feleacu hill to Tureni.
2. The Tureni express road. It links the DN1 with the A3 motorway.
3. The A3 motorway, as far as the junction near Turda where the A10 begins.
4. The A10 Turda – Sebeș motorway, past Aiud and Alba Iulia.
5. The A1 Sebeș – Sibiu motorway, which enters Sibiu from the west.

From central Cluj (Piața Unirii) to central Sibiu it is about 180 km. Distances are measured on the map.

For cars, Romania's motorways and national roads require the road vignette (rovinietă). Whether it is included in the price of a car rented through Car-Rentals.ro, and what you pay yourself (fuel, any other road charges, parking, fines), is set by the Rental Conditions of the company that hands you the car; you will find them summarised below, under “What the rental company’s conditions say”.

• Direct drive: allow about 2½ hours in normal traffic.
• At rush hour: the way out of Cluj to the south, along Calea Turzii, can be busy, so leave early if you need to arrive by a set time.
• With stops at Turda Salt Mine and Alba Iulia: about 195 km and around 3 hours at the wheel, not counting the time you spend at each stop.
• In winter: the drive can take longer, especially on the DN1 stretch out of Cluj.
• 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).

Keep to the speed limits unless signs show otherwise: 130 km/h on motorways, 120 km/h on expressways, 100 km/h on European national roads (E), 90 km/h on other roads outside built-up areas and 50 km/h in built-up areas. If you have held your licence for less than a year, drive 20 km/h below these limits outside built-up areas (OUG 195/2002, art. 49 and 50).

• Turda Salt Mine (Salina Turda; about 40 km from the pick-up points, under an hour's drive). To get there, stay on the DN1 after Tureni into Turda instead of taking the express road. The mine has two entrances: entrance A on Aleea Durgăului 7 and entrance B on Strada Salinelor 54B. Visitors with reduced mobility use entrance B, from where only part of the mine can be visited. Check opening hours and tickets on salinaturda.eu. After your visit, rejoin the motorway at Turda towards Sebeș.
• Alba Iulia: the Alba Carolina Citadel (about 75 km after Turda Salt Mine, at the Alba Iulia exit of the A10). It is a bastioned, Vauban-style citadel built between 1715 and 1738 at the initiative of the Habsburg authorities, to plans by the architect Giovanni Morando Visconti, in the shape of an irregular heptagon. From Alba Iulia it is about 80 km more to Sibiu, mostly on the A1.

Both stops together add only about 10 km to the direct route. Parking at Turda Salt Mine, in Alba Iulia and in Sibiu is paid according to the rules posted on site; the rental company's rules on parking charges and fines during the rental are summarised below.

At Sebeș, about 125 km from Cluj, the A10 meets the A1. Sebeș is also where the Transalpina (DN67C) begins: the mountain road to Obârșia Lotrului, Rânca and Novaci.

• The high section, between Rânca and Curpăt, closes every cold season. Even when it is open, traffic may be allowed only in daylight or at set hours, so check CNAIR's press releases (in Romanian) before you go.
• The rental company's conditions do not allow driving on roads closed to public traffic, and that includes the closed sections of the Transalpina; the rule is in the conditions summary below.
• Plan for the drive back too: a car collected in Cluj normally goes back to Cluj.

• Winter tyres. On roads covered with snow, ice or frost, winter tyres are compulsory. The Romanian Road Code ties the obligation to the state of the road, not to a calendar period (OUG 195/2002, art. 102).
• Feleacu hill. Leaving Cluj, the DN1 climbs over Feleacu hill to Tureni: drive carefully in winter and keep a longer distance from the car in front.
• The car's equipment. The rental company's conditions do not say which tyres the cars have, so if you travel in the cold season, ask the rental company before you set off; you can ask through the assistance form on the Support page or, once you have booked, on the rental company's number in your voucher. Snow chains can be added to the booking when they are offered for the car you choose; how they are rented is below.
• Road conditions. Closed and restricted roads are listed on CNAIR's dispatch platform; the dispatch centre also answers on 021 9360 (Romanian number).
• Roadside assistance. What roadside assistance you have for a mechanical breakdown is below, under “What the rental company’s conditions say”. In an emergency, call 112.

Where the car goes back. At the moment the booking form offers no one-way return cities for pick-ups in Cluj-Napoca: Sibiu is a return location only for pick-ups in Bucharest. Plan to return the car in Cluj, at the airport or the office, unless the search shows another option for your dates. If the form also lists other locations of the rental company, the search results show whether such a return is possible and what it costs before you send the booking.

Before a Cluj-Napoca – Sibiu trip, check the following:

• The return location is the one in your booking and contract. If you want to change it after pick-up, you need the rental company's consent; 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.
• Mind the rental company's mileage limit and the cost of extra kilometres, summarised below. A Cluj – Sibiu round trip is about 375 km, so choose the length of your rental with the route in mind.
• The handover and return hours, and returns outside them, are set by the rental company: you will find them below. If you get back from Sibiu in the evening, check in advance that you arrive within the hours.
• Check below which fuel level the rental company requires at return and, if needed, fill up before you get back to Cluj.
• Nothing is charged online when you book: you pay the rental company when you collect the car, and you need a credit card for the deposit.

The rental company's main rules are summarised below, with clause references; the full text is in the Rental Conditions.