Transfăgărășan and Transalpina by rental car

Both are national roads managed by CNAIR, with many hairpin bends and long stretches at high altitude, where the weather can change fast.

• The season. The high sections close for the cold season: on the Transfăgărășan between Piscu Negru and Bâlea Cascadă, on the Transalpina between Rânca and Curpăt. CNAIR closes them because of the risk of heavy snow, blizzards, avalanches, rockfalls, landslides, fog and black ice.
• The dates. The closing and reopening are announced every year in CNAIR's press releases. For example, both sections closed on 20 October 2025, and the Transfăgărășan reopened on 12 June 2026. Do not plan your trip around a particular date until the official announcement is out.
• Daily hours. Even when the roads are open, traffic may be allowed only at set hours. After the 2026 reopening, traffic on the high section of the Transfăgărășan was allowed from 07:00 to 21:00. On the Transalpina, between Rânca and Obârșia Lotrului, CNAIR announced that from 26 September 2026 traffic is allowed only from 09:00 to 18:00 every day, because of rain, sleet and snow above 1,500 m.
• Temporary closures. In bad weather CNAIR closes the road until it is safe to drive again, even in high season. The road sometimes closes for sporting events too: on 5 September 2026, for example, the Transfăgărășan was closed between the Vidraru dam and Bâlea Lac from 07:00 to 18:00.
• Out of season. The road from Curtea de Argeș to the Vidraru dam and the road from Novaci to Rânca are not part of the seasonal closures. They can still close temporarily in winter: in January 2019, after heavy snow and blizzards, the Novaci – Rânca section was closed, and cars caught there could only move escorted by snowploughs, and only with four-wheel drive or snow chains.
• Before you set off, check CNAIR's press releases, the CNAIR dispatch platform or the Romanian Police Infotrafic alerts (all in Romanian). The CNAIR dispatch centre also answers on 021 9360 (Romanian number).

Closed sections are signposted. Never drive past a barrier: the rental company's conditions do not allow you to drive on a road closed to public traffic either.

Distances are calculated on OpenStreetMap data and rounded. On the mountain road you drive much more slowly than on the motorway: crossing the Transfăgărășan from Bucharest to Sibiu, about 325 km, takes a full day with stops.

Navigation apps sometimes suggest shortcuts on county or forest roads, for example between Sibiu and Obârșia Lotrului. Stay on motorways and national roads: unpaved roads are not allowed under the rental company's conditions.

From Bucharest. The Bucharest office, Henri Coandă Airport (Otopeni) and Băneasa Airport are the closest pick-up points to the Transfăgărășan. They are also the only pick-up points for which the booking form offers return cities. Pick-up details are on the car rental in Bucharest page.

For pick-ups in Bucharest, the booking form also offers return cities close to the two roads:

• Sibiu, if you cross the Transfăgărășan from south to north;
• Alba Iulia, after the Transalpina, which ends at Sebeș;
• Pitești and Râmnicu Vâlcea, on the way to the two roads;
• Brașov, if you carry on east along the DN1 after the Transfăgărășan.

The search results show whether a return in the city you choose works for your dates. The one-way fee appears in the price details before you send the booking. Nothing is paid online on Car-Rentals.ro: you pay the rental company when you collect the car, and you need a credit card for the deposit; which cards are accepted is below, under “What the rental company’s conditions say”.

The pick-up and return hours are set by the rental company. Outside them, pick-up or return is possible only on request, for an extra fee; the hours and the fee are in the conditions summary below. If you return the car in Sibiu after a day on the Transfăgărășan, plan to arrive before closing time.

From Cluj-Napoca. Sebeș, the northern end of the Transalpina, is about 125 km from the Cluj-Napoca office. For pick-ups in Cluj-Napoca the booking form currently offers no separate return cities, so plan to bring the car back to Cluj.

• Hairpins and long gradients. Take tight bends slowly, do not overtake where you cannot see the road ahead, and use a lower gear going downhill so the brakes do not overheat. Keep to the speed limits on the signs.
• Fast-changing weather. CNAIR warns that at high altitude sudden weather can cut visibility, in summer too. Adjust your speed and pack warm clothes, even if it is hot at the foot of the mountains.
• Stones on the road. After heavy rain, stones and earth can wash down from the slopes onto the road; CNAIR has reported this on the Transalpina near the Urdele Pass.
• Bears and other animals. CNAIR warns that bears are often close to the road on the Transfăgărășan. Do not approach them, not even for photos, do not feed them, and report them to the authorities: feeding bears is forbidden and is an offence. Other animals can also be on the road in the mountains, so keep your speed down.
• In daylight. Plan to cross the high sections during the day: the hours set by CNAIR can stop traffic in the evening.
• Stopping. Stop only in car parks or designated places, never on the carriageway or in a bend. Parking charges, where there are any, are yours to pay.
• Emergencies and breakdowns. In an emergency, call 112. For mechanical breakdowns, the rental company provides roadside assistance in Romania; repairing a punctured tyre and topping up fluids are not included. The roadside emergency number is on the Support page.

• Transfăgărășan: from the south, fill up in Curtea de Argeș before the climb; from the north, in Cârțișoara, near the junction with the DN1. There are no filling stations on the mountain section in between.
• Transalpina: fill up in Novaci if you start from the south, or in Sebeș or Șugag if you start from the north. There are no filling stations on the high section in between.
• The rules: fuel is paid by you, and the rental company's conditions, summarised below, set how much fuel the car must have when you return it. Check which fuel the car takes: under the same conditions, filling up with the wrong fuel is not covered by any protection.

The rules for the mountain roads come from the conditions of the rental company that hands you the car. What to bear in mind:

• Paved roads open to traffic only. The rental company's conditions do not let you drive off the carriageway, on unpaved roads, on roads closed to public traffic, in flooded areas or on road sections with a high risk of damage to the car. Otherwise you pay the full cost of the repairs, whatever protection you chose.
• No forest or farm tracks. Leaving public roads and using roads not intended for road traffic count, under the same conditions, as excessive use of the car.
• Rims, tyres and underbody. Damage to the rims, the tyres and the parts under the car (sills, underbody shield, oil sump, exhaust) is yours to pay in full, whatever protection you chose, under the rental company's conditions. Steer around potholes and stones on the road.
• If you hit an animal, call the police straight away. Damage to the car, including from hitting an animal, is charged according to the rental company's conditions and the rules of the protection you chose.
• Mileage. The mileage limit and the cost of extra kilometres are set by the rental company. If you want to drive both roads on one trip, keep the limit in mind when you choose the length of your rental.
• Snow chains. On request, the rental company also rents out snow chains for an extra charge. When you book, they appear as an option, “Snow chains”, if they are offered for the car you choose. On roads covered with snow, ice or frost, the car must have winter tyres.
• The road vignette and fines. The rental company's conditions set whether the road vignette (rovinietă) is included in the rate and who pays the fines received during the rental.

Each of these rules is summarised below, under “What the rental company’s conditions say”, with its clause number. The full text is in the Rental Conditions.