How to get from Henri Coanda Airport to Bucharest? Transportation

Henri Coanda Airport (OTP) is in Otopeni town, 20 km (about 12.43 mi) outside Bucharest. Also called Otopeni, this is the main airport serving the capital city of Romania. Once you touch down, you’ve got a few choices to get you to your final destination – public transport, taxis, or private transfers. Keep reading to figure out which option is the best for you to get from Henri Coanda Airport to Bucharest.

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Take the 100 bus to get from Otopeni Airport to Bucharest city centre

If you’re planning to head to Bucharest and don’t have too much luggage, taking the 100 bus is a pretty great option for getting to the city centre from Otopeni Airport.

You can catch the bus 100 right in front of the Arrivals Terminal. You’ll also see there the bus 442. That one is not going directly to Bucharest.

The 100 bus runs 24/7 and stops at some key locations in Bucharest, like Victory Square, Romana Square, Universitatii Square (km 0 of the city) and at last, Unirii Square. The bus comes with a 15-minute frequency during the daytime on weekdays, and 20-minute at weekends. At night, it comes by every 30 minutes. To plan your trip in advance, check the bus’s full schedule and route on the official STB website.

Be aware that this bus doesn’t have any luggage storage, so travelling with big bags might be a little uncomfortable for you, as well as for anyone else around.

Also, depending on the time you arrive, the bus might be super crowded. Rush hour is especially tough in Bucharest so you might be stuck in traffic for up to an hour or so. Outside rush hours, the bus might complete its route in around 40 minutes.

How to pay for the 100 bus

There are multiple ways to pay for your trip:

buy physical tickets from the STB kiosk and validate them on the bus
pay by contactless card at the bus’ POS
pay with the 24pay app when you enter the bus
send an SMS with the letter “C” at 7458

A ticket will cost you 3 lei (about 0.6 euros), and it’s valid for 90 minutes from the moment you validate it on the bus, so this is the cheapest way to get from Henri Coanda Airport to Bucharest.

Paying by card at the POS it’s my favourite method, but sometimes the POS machines on the buses are out of order. My plan B is to pay by SMS.

If you want to know more about tickets and payment options, read my article Public transport in Bucharest: a guide to trams, buses, metro system and more.

Adding the metro to your trip

There isn’t a direct metro line connecting Bucharest to Henri Coandă International Airport. However, there are plans to extend the metro line to reach the airport in the future.

If you need to hop on the subway once you get off the bus, you can buy a ticket to combine the bus and the metro. At the STB kiosk outside the airport, you can charge the Multiplu card with Metropolitan + metro trips, for 5 lei. You need to charge a minimum of two tickets. This type of ticket is valid for 120 minutes.

Or, if you didn’t buy a ticket from the airport kiosk, you can pay 3 lei by card again to enter the metro. This is so much easier (at least for me) and only 1 leu extra.

If you plan to use public transportation more than once, you should check out the 24-hour and 72h passes to see if those are a better option for you. There are three different options:

Only surface transportation (operated by STB): 8 / 20 lei
Surface transportation + metro: 14 / 35 lei
Surface transportation + metro + Herni Coanda Airport – Bucharest North Railway Station train (tourist travel card): 20 lei / 40 lei

Don’t get confused by outdated information!

The 783 bus line was cancelled in December 2023 and replaced by the 100 bus, which has fewer stops.

After the train from the airport to the North Railway Station was introduced in 2020, line 780 also was cancelled. Many websites didn’t update this info. You might also come across references to lines 782 and 784, but these are cancelled too.

Take the train to get from Henri Coanda Airport to Bucharest North Railway Station

North Railway Station (Gara de Nord) is the main train station in Bucharest. There is a train connecting Bucharest airport to the railway station. You’ll easily find the train station in the airport, right across the street from the Arrivals Terminal, and you can access it by stairs or elevator.

Two operators run on this line: the public company CFR and the private company Transferoviar Călători. Trains leave every 40 minutes, 24/7, so you can catch one anytime. Check the schedule online and plan your trip ahead.

The train ride takes around 21-25 minutes, but be aware that there may be some delays, usually around 5-15 minutes. This is not happening all the time, but you’d better be careful, especially if you have another train to catch in a short time.

North Railway Station is in the northern part of the city, even if not far from the city centre. If you’re heading to a more central location like the Old Town, you’ll need to switch to a subway or bus or use a ride-sharing service like Uber or Bolt. Taxis aren’t recommended as many drivers overcharge tourists. If you need to get from the airport to Bucharest city centre for a cheap price, the 100 bus remains the best option. At least in my opinion.

Payment options

The ticket costs 6 lei (around 1.2 euros). There are multiple ways to pay for your trip:

on CFR’s website
the ticket office in the airport’s train station
by contactless card at the train’ POS
by the 24pay app when you enter the bus
by SMS with the letter “B” if you’re going to Bucharest and “O” if you’re going to the airport at 7458. Extra fees might apply.

The ticket office in Henry Coanda Airport train station — You can buy tickets from this office at “Henry Coanda Airport” Train Station

When purchasing a ticket at the airport ticket office, the cashier will inquire whether you’d like to purchase a seat along with it. If the train isn’t too crowded, I suggest opting for a ticket without a designated seat and simply finding an available one once on board. The ticket with a seat comes at a price of 8.5 lei.

Don’t take taxis from the airport before reading this!

You have a lot of luggage, you want to ride comfortably, and you think the taxi might be the best solution to get you from Henri Coanda Airport to Bucharest? There is something you need to know first.

Some taxi drivers target tourists at popular locations like airports and railway stations. Indeed, the number of incidents regarding this issue is in decline.

Even so, if you want to take a taxi from the Otopeni airport, but don’t feel like being extra charged, order the car through the touch screen terminals from the airport, located in the Arrivals terminal building close to the exit. Just enter your details, choose how you want to pay (bancar card option available), confirm your request, and take the printed ticket with taxi information. Then, wait outside for your ride to arrive.

The fare depends on where you want to go, but for a ride from the airport to Bucharest city centre, you’ll likely pay around 60-80 lei (12-16 euros).

Is Uber available at Bucharest airport? How about other ride-sharing services?

If you prefer Uber, you can request a ride. To meet your driver, head outside to the first-floor parking lot, outside the Arrivals Terminal. Here is where the ride-sharing drivers are allowed to pick up their customers.

In Bucharest, Bolt is another ride-sharing service, at least as popular as Uber. If, for some reason, you can’t order an Uber, keep in mind Bolt as a backup option.

The prices for the ride-sharing services are similar, but if you’re lucky, you can receive a promotional discount. Without discounts, the starting fares for ride-sharing cars might be slightly higher than taxis and way more expensive when special fares for high demand apply. The starting price for a ride from the airport to Bucharest’s centre is around 70 lei.

If you care more about your comfort than your money, you may try private transfers like BlackCab.