Arriving at Bucharest Otopeni Airport

Otopeni (officially Henri Coanda) Bucharest's main airport, is 17km north of the city on the DN1. Opened in 1970 but recently extended, it is a spacious, efficient airport. 

After getting off the plane and easing your way through passport control, you’ll find yourself in the baggage reclaim area. Ignore all of the services on offer here, be it currency exchange or limousines to the city centre. (Especially ignore the currency exchange desks: they do not offer decent rates).

Instead, grab your luggage, which usually arrives promptly (if it fails to arrive head for the small office on the left hand of side of the exit, where staff will help you find out where it might have gone), and then it’s off through customs to the arrivals area.

Here there are loads of ATMs, a press shop and a small cafe. To the right is a passage leading to the departures terminal: the passage is lined with car hire desks and a few shops, including a chemist.

You should beware of, and ignore, the taxi drivers who will besiege you as you make your way through Arrivals. Ignore them, even if they have 'Official Taxi' badges (the badges are meaningless). Swear at them if you have to: they will eventually get the message. 

Directly outside you will instead find a line up of shiny, expensive but generally honest taxis. Their cabs will display an 'Airport' sign. We say generally because we have heard of even these taxis charging over the odds.

A ride to the city centre with one of these taxis should cost around 130.00 lei (€38). That is about three times the cost of taking a normal Bucharest taxi, from a company such as Cristaxi (tel. 021-9461) or Meridian (tel. 021-9444), but remember that non-airport taxis are not allowed to wait outside the terminal building or in the car park. You can call one, but you will have to go and meet it at the foot of the Arrivals access ramp.

Instead, the easiest way to get a cheap taxi is simply to walk through to  Departures (turn right as you exit baggage claim) and take a regular taxi as it drops somebody off. There is a constant stream of these and you should never have to wait too long.  

You can also get to town by taking bus 783, which stops underneath the arrivals hall, in front of the internal arrivals hall and leaves for the city centre (stopping at Piata Victoriei, Piata Romana and Piata Universitatii) every 30 minutes from around 05:25 until 23:00.

The full timetable of the 783 bus is here.

You need to purchase a Multiplu Card before boarding (get it from the little booth which you’ll find on your right hand side as you exit). A return journey into the city and back costs 7 lei (no singles are available, but there is no time limit on using the return). These cards cannot be bought on board.

There is also now a train which, together with a bus, connects the airport to the main railway station, Gara de Nord. The train departs at irregular and infrequent intervals, however. Timetables and tickets are available for a counter in the Arrivals hall. Look out for the Bilete CFR sign.

See also our article on getting from Otopeni to Baneasa & Gara de Nord.