Be aware of...

When you come to Bucharest, it's not as if you were travelling to Baghdad or somewhere in Bronx in the NYC. But if we say "it's a very safe city, don't worry", we would awfully be lying. In general though, Bucharest is safe given some cautions one must take into consideration.

STRAY DOGS

You probably heard about stray dogs in Bucharest. They are not such a big problem as mass-media suggests, but you definitely can't ignore them, especially in some areas.

In case you're confronted with one or more, first of all, try not to provoke them. If you walk naturally and don't start running, they won't attack you. When you walk in an industrial area (there are some kind of areas, with old factories, most of them in ruins) try not to stay close to the fences. They sometimes live in the yards and come out when they see somebody. If you see more than one dog, meaning a few dogs running together, quickly cross the street.

PICK-POCKETS, BEGGARS AND THIEVES

If you manage avoiding dogs, with people it might be a little more difficult. You must be careful with you belongings and pockets especially while using public transport or in crowded areas such as shopping malls. Try not to expose your money, mobile phone, laptop or camera. There are a lot of techniques a pick-pocket might use.

One little story as an example: a guy stays very close to you, keeping a jacket on his arm. After taking your wallet, he passes it under the jacket to a partner next to him. This usually happens on the bus or tram or in shops and extremly crowded places.

As a rule, try to keep your bag where you can see it permanently. If you see somebody stealing your phone, try to get help from people around you. Trying to manage the situation by yourself, may cause thieves to become violent.

There are quite many beggars in Bucharest - when crossing your path they may be becoming extremely annoying while asking you for money.

MAD TRAFFIC, CRAZY DRIVERS

You will be baffled by the traffic in Bucharest. That is probably one of the biggest problems we confront with day by day. There are far too many cars in the Capital and the number is ever increasing. On the other hand the infrastucture is so old and ruined that it can nop support intense traffic, therefore we spend hourse stuck in traffic jams.

Moreover there are many drivers trying to go faster and they usually ignore traffic laws; they cause immense jams and even accidents. So be careful when you cross the street and if you get into a taxi whose driver is driving on the tram line, try to explain that you are not in such a hurry and that he should calm down. They usually understand.

Talking about taxi drivers, don't take cabs which do not have their prices listed on the front door written in large black letters and figures. And keep in mind that the average price is about 1,2-1,5 Ron/kilometer. There are cabs that take 80 ron per kilometer. We call them sharks and always avoid them.

Here you will find and interesting "report" made by expats for expats. See what kind of problems they discovered and the solutions they propose.