Suceava

Suceava is a city of 125,000 people (2018) in Southern Bukovina. It is home to a medieval fortress, and is a good base for visiting the Painted Monasteries in Bukovina.

Understand
During the late Middle Ages, from 1388 to 1564, the city was the third capital of the Principality of Moldavia. From 1775 and 1918, Suceava was controlled by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria.

In the wake of World War I, after 1918, along with the rest of Bukovina, Suceava became part of the then newly enlarged Kingdom of Romania. After the end of World War II, urbanization forced by the communist government increased its population about tenfold. Suceava was heavily industrialized and a significant series of historical buildings from its old city centre were demolished. As a result, the city itself is of limited touristic interest.

By train


The connections from large cities around the country are as follows:


 * From Bucharest, Ploiești, Buzău and Focsani there are 4 Rapid, 1 Accelerat and 2 IC type trains. There is little difference between the IC and Rapid trains on the route. There is one night Accelerat and one Rapid train, both with couchettes and sleeping cars. Both offer seating in 1st and 2nd class as well. 2 Rapid trains continue to Suceava Nord station, 10 km away from Dragomirna Monastery. Average travel time: 7 hr from Bucharest, 6 hr from Ploiești 5 hr from Buzau and 3½ hr from Focsani


 * From Cluj-Napoca there are 3 or 4 Accelerat trains with an average voyage of 7 hours. From Timișoara there are 3 A trains, with 14 hours travel time. There is one daily A to Brașov, taking about 8½ hr.


 * From Bacău there are 2 Personal, 3 Accelerat, 4 Rapid, 2 IC trains a day. The journey takes about 2 hours by A, R and IC and 3 hr by P. From Iași there are 5 Accelerat and 4 Personal trains (same travel time as from Bacau).


 * From Constanța and the Black Sea, there is one daily Accelerat (9 hr).

By bus


Suceava is a local transportation hub and there are many inbound connections from towns in the region such as Iasi and Bacau. There is also infrequent bus service to the border town of Siret. There is a daily bus from Chernivtsi (Ukraine) as well as some daily, but very early morning (between 05:00 and 06:00), buses to Bălţi and Chișinău in Moldova. The bus from Ukraine leaves Chernivtsi at 05:00 and 07:00 every morning, arriving in Suceava about 3–4 hr later. The same bus leaves Suceava in the afternoon (13:00?) reaching Chernivtsi early evening. Since this bus is used by ordinary Ukrainians who try to take with them (say smuggle) 1–2 cartons of cigarettes into Romania to sell for a small profit, expect some time to be spent at the border crossing into Romania. Tourists are unlikely to be searched thoroughly by Romanian customs officials. On the way back from Romania, the bus spends less time at the border.

There are also infrequent services to Greece, Germany, England, Spain and Italy.

From Sighetul Marmatiei, there is one direct bus leaving at 09:04, arriving at 15:30 (Transagria), or you can take the Tur minibus leaving at 11:00 arriving at Falticeni at 16:30 (55 lei, Sep 2018), then transfer to a frequent minibus across the road for the 30-min trip to Suceava (7 lei, Sep 2018).

By plane


Getting there and away:
 * By taxi – There are metered taxis at the airport that will take you to Suceava (see below for rates).

By bus
SC Transport Public Local SA is the local bus operator. The city buses travels on 7 lines:
 * Line 2: Suceava Train Station – Burdujeni neighborhood – Shopping City Suceava – Iulius Mall – Bazaar – Center – Stadium – Hospital – Metro Cash&Carry – Obcini neighborhood – George Enescu neighborhood – Marasesti St. – Center – Iulius Mall – Bazaar – Burdujeni – Suceava Train Station
 * Line 3: Suceava Train Station – Burdujeni neighborhood – Iulius Mall – Bazaar – Center – Stadium – Hospital – Obcini – Scheia – George Enescu neighborhood – Center – Iulius Mall – Bazaar – Burdujeni – Suceava Train Station
 * Line 4: Cinema Burdujeni – Burdujeni Market – Shopping City Suceava – Iulius Mall Suceava – Bazaar – Center – Stadium – Marasesti St – George Enescu – Obcini – Metro Store – Obcini Grocery Store – George Enescu – Kaufland Store – Center – Iulius Mall – Bazaar – Burdujeni Square – Cinema Burdujeni
 * Lines 1 and 5: Itcani neighborhood – Suceava Nord Station – Center – Obcini neighborhoods
 * Line 10: Itcani – Center – Scheia
 * Line 21: Burdujeni Village – Center – Scheia
 * Line 28: Burdujeni Village – Itcani (Suceava Nord station)

Maps can be found here.

By mini-taxi
There are numerous "maxi-taxi" lines, although the local authorities are trying to limit their reach and increase the number of buses.

By taxi
Taxi rates are about 1.8 lei/km; they can be useful for traveling to out-of-the-way places or at off hours. You can agree to a fare with the driver or pay a metered rate.

By ride hailing
Bolt operates in Suceava.

See


There are also many interesting churches all around.

Further afield

 * Fălticeni – A cultural city at the border of Bukovina and Moldova, best reached by bus, but not the most interesting one for the foreign tourist. It can be reached by train (more visible schedules) but there's a 25-km detour and you need to buy two tickets, one for CFR (to Dolhasca), one for Regiotrans (Dolhasca-Fălticeni).
 * Vatra Dornei – A mountain town whose glory days were back during Austro-Hungarian rule. A revitalization is being attempted, with winter sports being the primary focus, followed by hiking trips. A good winter destination and easy to reach. There are 6 Accelerat and 2 Personal trains, taking 2½–3 hr.
 * Putna Monastery – Served by 4 trains daily, a 2-hr journey from Suceava.

Do

 * Go visit the Painted Monasteries in the surroundings. For information about how to reach them or to join a planned trip, there are two English-speaking tourist information centers in the main square, Piata Unirii.

Buy
The mini bus station has the best currency exchange rates in town.

Eat



 * McDonald's – Within walking distance from the center.

Sleep
A bunch of new hotels and pensions are appearing in Suceava superseding older, communist-era buildings.

Go next

 * Dragomirna – By minibus or taxi. For Dragomirna Monastery the "maxi-taxi" (minibus) from the center is about 5 lei. The minibus # 16 will take you at least to Mitocu Dragomirnei village. Only some go all the way to Dragomirna. It's better to ask a local which buses go to Dragomirna (it should be written on the bus but you never know). The station by the McDonald's in the city center as well as the one by Iulius Mall are stops for the # 16 minibus. The schedule is not published from the city center, but from the end of the line minibuses leave (as of Aug 2019): M-F: 09:00, 12:00, 15:30, 16:30, 19:00; Sa Su 07:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 17:00. From the Monastery, the buses leave: M-F 05:30, 06:50, 10:00, 13:00, 16:30, 17:30, 19:40; Sa Su 08:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 18:00.
 * Some will recommend hitchhiking. There is a spot under the DN2 bridge 100 m away from Suceava Nord station where normal people will wait for rides. To go to Dragomirna, they will ask for about 10 lei per person. A taxi would cost around 25 lei.


 * Gura Humorului – By both bus and train. Possibly the most interesting town in Southern Bukovina, where Voronet and Humor monasteries are located (each about 6 km from the center of the town). Just under a 1-hr train ride to reach Gura Humorului from Suceava.


 * Radauti – Itcan be reached daily by 5 Personal trains from Suceava, with a 1½-2 hr journey time. It is close to a number of monasteries, including Arbore, Sucevita and Putna. There isn't much to do but it is a clean and quiet city suitable for rest and leisure activities.