IFATCA European Meeting 2004 Bucharest

IFATCA European Regional Meeting
2004 - Bucharest

IFATCA ERM 2004
is sponsored by

GENERAL INFORMATION

Romanian Visa

Citizens arriving from countries with which Romania has signed cooperation agreements are exempted from visa requirements.

Other foreigners must apply for visas in due time at a Romanian diplomatic mission or consular office from their native countries. See annex 1, 2, 3.

Annex 1 - List of States whose citizens are exempted from the visa requirement by Romania
Annex 2 - List of States whose citizens are required to have visa without an invitation
Annex 3 - List of States whose citizens are required to have an invitation to apply for a visa

The Romanian visa is granted by the diplomatic missions or consular offices of Romania abroad, on prior approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nonetheless, Romanian short stay visas may be issued without prior approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to aliens who do not need a visa to enter EU member states, if they apply for a visa in the country whose citizenship they hold.

Local Currency

Romania's currency is Leu (plural Lei). This is the third country in the world to fully convert to polymer notes. As of 14 December 2001, all notes denominations in circulation were plastic. Foreign currency can be exchanged at banks or exchange offices (called schimb valutar). International airports and larger hotels also offer currency exchange services.

Currency exchange rates

ATM machines (bancomat) are available at main banks and at airports and shopping centres. Do not expect to find ATMs in remote areas or villages. Major credit cards including American Express, Mastercard and Visa are accepted in large hotels, car rental companies and stores in the main cities. However, credit cards are unlikely to prove useful in small towns or away from tourist areas.

Language

Romanian is the official language of the country, spoken by around 90% of the population. It belongs to the Romance language family and it has 77% lexical similarity with Italian, 75% with French, 72% with Portuguese, and 71% with Spanish. Still, the Romanian language itself contains about 3,800 words of Slavic origin. Older generations have a fairly good command of French or German. Young people speak English and are happy to help you around.

Weather

Romania has a temperate climate, with four distinct seasons. In Bucharest the average summer temperature is 24°C (75°F), but July and August often exceeds 32°C (100°F). Winters are cold, with temperatures below 0°C (32°F). Apart from normal seasonal clothes, it is always advisable to pack a warm pullover, a raincoat, and good walking shoes.

Public Transportation

Bucharest has a complex city transit system, which combines buses, trolleybuses, trams and subways. The transit system covers virtually all areas of the

city. It tends to be crowded during peak hours (6:00 AM to 8:30 AM and 3:00 PM to 5:30 PM).

Taxis are usually picked up on street corners where cabbies hang out, rather than hailed on the street. Try to use only licensed metered taxis that have their name, number and rate on the car door. Most city trips should cost between 25,000 and 100,000 lei. Some of the best taxi companies in Bucharest are: Cobalcescu (tel 9451), Cristaxi (tel 9461), and Getax (tel 9531).

Maxi-taxis are shared minibuses (8 to 10 seats) that can be hailed like regular taxis. There are five maxi-taxi routes connecting downtown with the main tourist attractions. Tickets cost the equivalent of $0.40 and can be bought on board.

For detailed information on Bucharest transport system check www.ratb.ro and www.metrorex.ro.