Before and during
Craiova essentials
The practical answers, written out properly: lei and cards, bus tickets, tipping, the tourist tax, the public holidays that jam the valley, what to do about bears, and who to call when something goes wrong — 112, or Salvamont on 0725 826 668.
Money, cards and paying in leiRomania uses the leu, not the euro. Cards work almost everywhere in Craiova; the one expensive mistake is letting a machine charge you in your own currency.Buses, trams and whether you need themMostly you do not. The centre is flat, pedestrianised through the middle and crossed in fifteen minutes. RAT Craiova runs buses and trams for the longer hops.Tipping in CraiovaAround 10% in restaurants, 15% for service that earned it. Since 2023 a tip must go on the receipt, so you may be asked how much to add before the card is charged.Safety in CraiovaA safe city by European standards. The real risks are ordinary — pickpockets in a crowded market, unlicensed taxis — plus one that is specific to the plain: the summer heat.The summer heat, and how locals handle itJuly and August average a daily high of 30 °C with the sunniest months in Romania, and the centre has almost no shade. Plan the middle of the day indoors — this is the one genuine hazard of a Craiova summer.Winter fog, and what it means for a tripThe signature of a Craiova winter is not snow but fog: the plain holds low cloud for days. It changes what is worth doing, and it occasionally closes the airport.Emergencies, health and pharmacies112 for everything, free from any phone. Pharmacies are everywhere in the centre; EU visitors should bring their EHIC, everyone else travel insurance.The tourist tax and where to sleepA tourist tax is charged per person per night and collected by the property, not included in the rate a booking site shows. Stay in the centre; the city is too small for anywhere else to make sense.Romanian public holidaysSeventeen days a year, with Orthodox Easter and Pentecost moving each spring. Long weekends fill the city and the Oltenia roads — plan around them.When to visit CraiovaApril–May and September–October are the good months. November and December belong to the Christmas market. July and August are genuinely hard — 30 °C and no shade.Plugs, language and everyday practicalitiesEuropean two-pin plugs at 230 V, Romanian as the language with English widely understood by younger people, EU roaming, and shops open on Sundays.Tourist information and useful contactsCraiova does not have a prominent walk-in tourist office in the way the Transylvanian cities do. In practice your hotel, the museum desks and this site cover what one would.
Where to stay nearby
Live prices and availability on a map centred on this exact spot — hotels, apartments and hostels, so you can judge the walk from here rather than guess from an address.
Bookings made through this map earn us a commission. Your price is unaffected.
Before you go
We may earn a commission from these. It never changes your price.
