Can I buy the Activ card at the airport?

No. Henri Coandă airport has no metro station. Express bus 100 accepts contactless bank card only. The nearest Activ card seller is at the metro station at Gara de Nord, reached by a 20-minute train ride from the airport for 5 RON.

What happens if I tap the wrong validator on a bus?

On STB surface vehicles, tap the Activ card on the validator inside the door. The monthly pass deducts nothing per ride, so a double tap is harmless. An invalid card shows a red light and a beep. You have 60 seconds to retap or pay cash to the driver, who will not break 50 RON notes.

Can I use the same Activ card on day trips to Brașov?

No. The Activ card is valid only for Bucharest metro and STB surface lines. Brașov uses a separate RATBV card. For a day trip, buy a single 4 RON ticket from the RATBV kiosk at Brașov train station or use the 24pay app.

Does the integrated pass cover the bus to Therme București?

Not exactly. Therme sits north of the city on a route operated by a private provider, not STB. The integrated pass covers only STB surface routes. Pay the 4 RON cash fare for the Therme bus or take a Bolt for 25 to 35 RON.

Why does the metro map not match the streets above ground?

Metrorex publishes a schematic diagram that prioritises clear line bends over geographic accuracy. Stations that look adjacent on the map may be far apart on foot. Use Google Maps or a local navigation app while underground to know which exit puts you closest to your destination.

Getting Around Romania: Transport, Passes & Costs

Bucharest Metro, Bolt, and Long-Stay Transit Strategy

Buy the Activ Card and Load a Pass

The Bucharest metro monthly pass Activ card costs 80 RON for metro-only or 140 RON for integrated metro plus surface lines, as of August 2026, with rates set by Metrorex and STB. Paper magnetic stripe tickets stopped working in 2024. Buy the contactless Activ card itself first, for 3.50 RON from any metro station ticket booth or self-service machine, then load your chosen pass onto it. That single card handles both metro gates and surface validators for the entire month.

The failure case is common. Visitors land at Henri Coandă International Airport, buy nothing, then try to board Metro Line M1 from the Gara de Nord connecting station with a paper ticket that no machine sells. The machine interface offers Romanian first, then English, and accepts contactless bank cards for top-ups. Load the 80 RON metro pass from the machine immediately. If the machine rejects your foreign card, the STB ticket booth at the station's basement level accepts cash and is open 05:00 to 23:00 daily.

Bucharest metro station platform — Mihnea L , CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Activ Card Top-Up and the Express Bus 100 Trap

Activate and Top Up the Card

Tap the Activ card at a metro gate or surface validator within 30 days of purchase to activate the monthly pass. The pass runs for 30 consecutive days from first tap, not calendar months. Buy it on August 22 and tap on August 25; it expires September 23. Top-up machines sit in all 64 metro stations. The 24pay app also loads passes, but the app requires a Romanian Google Play or Apple App Store account and a local phone number. Use the machine.

The Airport Bus Is a Separate Fare

Express bus 100 to the airport uses its own system. It requires contactless card payment at the validator inside the bus, not the Activ card. Tap your foreign Visa or Mastercard directly on the validator. The fare is 3.50 RON per ride. The same applies for the airport express bus to the terminals. Your monthly Activ pass does not cover these two airport express routes, even the integrated 140 RON version. Tap separately or pay with a second card.

Bolt Requires a Local Number; Uber Works Without One

Get a Romanian SIM for Bolt

Bolt will not let you register without a Romanian mobile number. It sends an SMS verification code to the phone number you enter during sign-up. A foreign number cannot receive it. Uber registers with any number and works normally. Both apps price a typical cross-city trip at 18 to 35 RON as of 2026. For Bolt, buy a prepaid SIM from Digi or Orange at the airport arrivals hall, costing about 25 RON for 50 GB, and use that number for registration.

Late-Night Rides and the Airport Taxi Trap

At 01:00, when the metro stops running around 23:30 on weeknights and 00:30 on weekends, Bolt and Uber are the main options. The airport taxi stands at Henri Coandă and Gara de Nord are traps. Drivers quote 150 RON for a trip that costs 70 to 100 RON by app. Do not walk up to the taxi queue. Order from the app before you exit the terminal. The pickup point at the airport is Lane 0 outside arrivals doors 2 and 6.

Monthly Pass Options Compared, August 2026 Prices

Pass Type	Price	Valid On	Purchase Method
Metro Only (M1-M5, 64 stations, 80.1 km)	80 RON	All metro lines	Activ card from machine or booth; top up at machine or via 24pay app
Surface Only (STB bus, trolleybus, tram)	80 RON	Approx. 100 bus, 15 trolleybus, 23 tram routes	STB card from booth; top up at machine or via 24pay app
Integrated (Metro + Surface)	140 RON	All metro lines + all STB surface routes	Activ card from Metrorex or STB booth; top up at machine or via 24pay app

Romanian train countryside — Joe Mabel , CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Intercity Trains and the Car Question for a Thirty-Day Stay

Skip the Rental Car

A 30-day stay in Bucharest does not justify a rental car. Public transport and ride-hailing cover the city, and intercity needs are better served by CFR Călători trains or minibuses. Rental for an economy car costs 2,500 to 4,000 RON for 30 days based on 2026 aggregator rates, plus petrol at roughly 7.20 RON per litre, plus parking at 1 to 5 RON per hour for on-street zones or 15 to 40 RON per day for private lots, plus the 35 RON rovinieta vignette for national roads. Congestion on the A1, A2, and incomplete A3 makes driving across Bucharest slower than metro during peak hours. Skip the car.

Take the Train Instead

Trains from Gara de Nord to Brașov run every 1 to 2 hours. The IR service takes 2 hours 25 minutes to 3 hours 10 minutes covering 166 km, with a 2nd class ticket costing about 55 to 65 RON in 2026. To Cluj-Napoca, the IR covers 497 km in 8.5 to 10 hours for 120 to 150 RON. To Timișoara, 533 km in 8 to 9.5 hours for 130 to 160 RON. Book online at bilete.cfrcalatori.ro when tickets release 30 days ahead for IR and IC services. The station ticket office at Gara de Nord opens 24 hours but queues run 15 to 30 minutes on weekday mornings.

Minibuses Fill the Gaps

The minibus network covers destinations poorly served by train. For Snagov Monastery, board a maxi-taxi at Autogara Filaret or Autogara Militari. Pay the driver in cash, 30 to 70 RON depending on distance. Minibuses have no central booking system, no schedule you can trust, and no luggage compartment. Keep your bag on your lap.