Judetul Tulcea Travel Forum

Hi there!
My plan is going from Romania (Brasov or Bucuresti) to Odessa in September. I do not like the idea going by ship from Varna to Odessa, neither crossing Moldova or go by train 32 hours over Kijev to Odessa. Can anybody tell me why it is so difficult to cross the Romanian/Ukranian border in the Danube-Delta??
I spent two hours clicking through the internet with no result, there are no informations in my LonelyPlanet Romania about it... - - - at my detailed Romania-map there is one border-crossing signed at Chilia Veche (RO) / Kilija (UKR), but I have no idea how to get to Chilia Veche, because no roads lead to this village!!, There is another border-crossing on my map at Isaccea (RO) / Orlivka (UKR), but are there any buses etc. to Isaccea??? (it's exactly between Tulcea and Braila.
I wonder why there is no border-crossing-possibility from Tulcea to Izmajil, because these are the two biggest towns in the delta, and on my map there is a road from Tulcea to the river, but no bridge or border-crossing to Izmajil which lies directly at the river!! There is a train from Izmajil to Odessa, so getting to Izmajil from Romania would be perfect!

Well, to make a long story short: Does anybody now WHY there is no border-crossing between Tulcea and Izmajil? Or is there one?? Are there really no ferrys? No private persons who can take me with their boat across the river?? ARE THERE REALLY NO POSSIBILITIES? Was anyone of you there?? Looking forward for your help! Thanks, Tom

Hi Tom,
It's strange, isn't it ? Romanians and Ukraineans are not very good friends... It's very difficult to find a good connection between south-east of Romania (Tulcea & Constanta) and Ukraine.
My advice is to go to Tulcea and you can find there the best way to cross the border, Isaccea by bus or Chilia by boat.
Have a nice trip,
Sandu

Well, there is a historical explanation for this anomaly. The Ukranian part of the Delta was also part of Romania until 1940, when the Soviet Union took it. During communism relations between Romania and Russia were not that good, so both countries preferred not to encourage the building of bridges. When the Soviet Union disappeared in 1991, Ukraine took its place, but the problems remained. Even today Romania and Ukraine are having several disputes regarding the Delta, the Snakes Island, the Romanian minority in Bukovina. There are so many problems that Ukraine considers Romania their its neighbour and viceversa. This is why even today there are very few border crossings between these 2 countries.

If you plan to head to the Ukraine from Romania, might I recommend staying in Mamaia? It is about 120 km East from Bucharesti and about a 2.5-3 hr drive to the Ukrainian border. I was in Brasov, Bucharesti and Mamaia a few weeks ago and while I liked Brasov, I loved Mamaia for it's beaches and amazing people. Bucharesti was..not so but I might be biased. Anyway happy travels.