BUCHAREST Otopeni Airport to BRASOV by Train or Bus • ENGLISH • The Poor Traveler Romania
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at ang grabang bandahan sa utara
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Noong ba resonated mo kay bya?
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Hey there, poor traveler!
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We are Vins and Yosh!
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we'll take you to breathtaking Brașov!
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we'll show you how to get to its old town
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from Bucharest-Otopeni Airport
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as we experienced it.
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Currently, Romania's capital Bucharest
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is served by two airports.
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The older and smaller one is called
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the Aurel Vlaiku International Airport.
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Okay, again, again.
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The older and smaller one is called
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the Aurel Vlaiku International Airport.
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Also known as Baniasa Airport
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or Bucharest City Airport.
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Only a few flights use this
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and many of them are seasonal.
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I might be murdering many of the Romanian words
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so I apologize in advance.
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But feel free to correct me
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in the comment section below
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so I get to learn Romanian too.
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The other one is Henry Cuanda Airport.
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It is also called Otopeni Airport
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because it is located in the town of Otopeni,
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north of Bucharest.
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But because it also serves the larger Bucharest area
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and most air traffic uses this gateway,
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it is also often referred to as simply Bucharest Airport.
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As Romania's largest and busiest airport,
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it's usually what airline and booking websites
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would present to you
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when you're searching for Bucharest flights.
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So for the purpose of this video,
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when we say Bucharest Airport,
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we mean the Henry Cuanda or Otopeni Airport.
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Bucharest is bursting with noteworthy attractions.
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But if for whatever reason
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you wish to go straight to Brasov,
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you'll be glad to know it's easy to pull off too.
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There are two primary ways to get there
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from Bucharest Otopeni Airport,
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by bus or minibus,
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The bus or minibus is the easier way
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because there are direct trips from the airport
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all the way to Brasov Bus Terminal,
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which is close to the old town of Brasov.
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One of the popular operators is a company called Direct Airport,
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which uses smaller minibuses or minivans.
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Initially, we wanted to book this.
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In fact, we already reserved seats online,
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which was fairly easy to do.
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Just visit www.directairport.ro
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and toggle the language button to English.
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You'll find a widget there where you can book buses.
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But this part remains in Romanian language,
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which can be quite a struggle.
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Anyway, you can use Google Translate or...
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Context Clues and you'll get by easily.
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Just select Otopeni Airport in the origin field
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and Brasov in the destination,
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and it will load the available times for this route.
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It runs 24 hours,
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with a vehicle leaving every 1.5 to 4 hours.
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Travel time is 3 hours,
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and fare is 100 lei per person.
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lei is the official currency in Romania.
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And the acronym used is RON.
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You can pay online or just reserve a ticket without paying.
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We actually did reserve in the beginning,
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but we changed our minds and canceled it
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because we decided to take the scenic route instead.
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Getting from Bucharest Airport to Brasov by train involves two journeys.
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The first leg is from the airport to Bucharest Nord Station,
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which is where you'll catch another train to Brasov.
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Multiple companies fly this route
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and it is possible to buy tickets on-site.
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But it is highly recommended to book in advance
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to make sure you'll get on your target train.
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Online tickets are also discounted,
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so that's another incentive to book online.
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To reserve, visit the official CFR website.
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CFR is the state-owned railway carrier in Romania.
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toggle the language button at the top-most menu in English.
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Not everything will be translated,
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but you'll be able to wing it easily.
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Then, enter your origin,
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which is Aeroport Henry Kuanda,
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and your destination, Brasov.
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Select your preferred travel date
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and it will present a list of options,
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most of which, if not all,
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entail a transfer at Bucharest Nord Station,
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breaking the journey into two legs.
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For the first leg,
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the travel time from Bucharest Airport
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to Bucharest Nord Station is 25 minutes.
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There's a train almost every hour,
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and fare is 6.75 lei.
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But for the second leg,
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the train from Bucharest Nord to Brasov,
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you'll be bombarded with options.
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And these options are not all the same.
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Travel times vary too.
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Some trains are faster,
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taking as short as 2 hours and 14 minutes,
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while others take much longer,
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So make sure you check the travel duration
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and the arrival time when selecting a journey.
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The fares also vary widely,
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depending on the class and train type.
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Let's discuss class first.
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Going to Brasov, we traveled on second-class coach.
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But on our return journey,
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we traveled first class just to see the difference.
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The biggest difference is the space.
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First class is roomier with only three seats per row,
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while second class has four seats.
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This doesn't look much on paper,
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but it is considerable when you're already on board.
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Not just because of the space,
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but because of the noise.
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There are fewer people,
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so it's significantly quieter,
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which is great if you're trying to rest.
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The racks for luggage were also bigger.
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Our second class ticket costs 56.3 lei or 11.35 Euro,
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while our first class ticket costs 81 lei or 16.35 Euro.
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That's only a 5 Euro difference.
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But this doesn't apply to all trains.
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Some train fares are higher and others,
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like the slower ones, are much cheaper.
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Because you see, there are many types of trains available in Romania,
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but for this route,
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you'll probably encounter just three main types.
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IR refers to inter-regional trains,
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which are for long-distance travel.
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IC stands for intercity,
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and IC trains link Bucharest to the smaller cities and towns across Romania.
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These trains are faster.
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And R means regio, formerly called personal trains.
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These are local commuter trains that are much slower
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because they stop at every station along its route.
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And again, travel times are different per individual train.
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But the fastest we found was an IC train
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ferrying passengers to Brasov in 2 hours and 16 minutes.
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The slowest was an R train, which can take as long as 4.5 hours.
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You'll also be able to choose the coach and the exact seat.
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Then, you'll need to create an account,
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verify your email,
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and then enter the passenger names and other details.
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It's important to make sure that the names you enter
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match the names on your passport
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because these will be checked on board.
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And then, proceed to payment via credit card.
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Once paid, you'll receive a confirmation via email.
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It has a QR code in the upper left corner.
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Print it out and save it on your phone.
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Once you have a ticket, it's time to travel!
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As soon as you emerge from the Otopeni Airport's arrival hall,
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you'll immediately spot the train station in front of you.
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Just cross the street and voila!
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You'll be greeted by this breathtaking terminal.
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Since you're already booked online, no need to buy tickets.
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Ignore these machines and just hop on.
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But keep a copy of your digital booking and passport handy
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because an inspector will come and check them.
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They will scan the QR code and see if the names on your passport
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match the names on your booking.
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Then, alight at Bucharest Nord Station.
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If your train to Brasov is coming soon,
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you can just look for the right platform and wait for it.
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If your layover will take hours,
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you can kill time at a cafe or fast food in the area.
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Toilets for pay are also available.
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But there's also one inside this McDonald's store.
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But you'll need a code printed on the receipt,
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so just buy something first.
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When it arrives, transfer to your Brasov train.
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Allow plenty of lead time because it can be confusing looking for the right car.
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In our experience, cars are numbered and you'll find a lot of numbers on the train.
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But apparently, what we should be looking for
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were the numbers written on a white bond paper haphazardly attached on the window.
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To be sure, ask a train staff member.
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Inside, find your seat number.
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If you have luggage, you may place it on the overhead ledge
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or at the luggage racks near the doors.
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Note that most trains do not terminate in Brasov,
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so you have just a few minutes to get off.
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Don't oversleep and miss your stop.
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And start preparing to leave as you approach Brasov Station.
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Brasov Station is small, at least compared to Bucharest Nord,
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so it'll be easy to navigate.
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As you exit the terminal building, you'll be greeted by taxi drivers.
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But what we recommend is to take Uber to your hotel.
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Some taxi drivers take advantage of unsuspecting tourists,
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so it's best to take Uber.
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It's also what our host endorsed to us.
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It's also pretty cheap in Brasov.
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Our apartment is located within the Old Town,
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and we only paid 13.96 lei or 2.82 Euro for the Uber.
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And we were a group of three, so that's only almost 1 Euro per person.
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That's it! We arrived in Brasov Old Town safely.
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When going back to Bucharest or Bucharest Airport,
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it's highly advisable to book online ahead of time too,
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following the same steps as I mentioned earlier.
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Then, simply trace your steps back.
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Take an Uber to Brasov Station, catch a train to Bucharest Nord,
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and another train to the airport.
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By the way, it's important to allot plenty of time for your transfers in case of delays,
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which are not uncommon in Romania.
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If you have a flight, a bus, or another train to catch,
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be sure to have a few hours of allowance to be safe.
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Our train to Bucharest was delayed for more than an hour, so there's that.
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In our next video, we'll share with you how we crossed the border from Romania to Bulgaria.
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