Which Airport Should You Fly Into for Transylvania? Cluj vs Sibiu vs Targu Mures vs Budapest

Planning a trip to Transylvania usually starts with a confusing question: there is no single obvious airport. Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Targu Mures and Budapest all serve the region, and depending on where you are coming from, the fares can differ enormously.

The mistake most travellers make is comparing ticket prices without adding the ground transport. A flight into Budapest that saves you 80 euros costs you a 450 km drive at the other end. Here is how the four options actually compare.

Cluj-Napoca (CLJ) — the default choice

The largest airport in the region after Bucharest, with direct connections to most Western European hubs. If your itinerary includes northern or central Transylvania, this is almost always the right answer.

What is within easy reach, with fixed transfer prices per car for up to 4 passengers:

• Turda Salt Mine — 45 km, under an hour, from 210 lei. The region single most visited attraction.
• Sibiu — 165 km, 2h20–2h50, almost entirely motorway, from 750 lei
• Sighisoara — 140 km, 2–2h30, from 630 lei
• Brasov — 295 km, 4h15–5h, from 1,200 lei
• Maramures (Sighetu Marmatiei) — 223 km, 3h30–4h15, from 910 lei

Cluj also has the shortest airport-to-city transfer of the four: 9 km, 15–25 minutes.

Sibiu (SBZ) — best for the south

A smaller airport with good links to Germany and Austria. If your trip centres on Sibiu, the fortified Saxon churches, the Transfagarasan or the southern Carpathians, flying here saves you a long drive.

The airport sits on the western edge of the city, so you are in the old town in ten minutes. The catch is fewer routes and lower frequencies — you may not find a flight on the day you want.

Driving between the two: Cluj to Sibiu Airport is 150 km, 2h15–2h45 on motorway, from 680 lei.

Targu Mures — the small alternative

Transilvania Airport sits between Cluj and Targu Mures, and it is worth checking when a low-cost route happens to serve it. Coverage is limited and largely seasonal, so treat it as a bonus rather than a plan.

If you land here and your base is Cluj, the transfer is 95 km and under 1h45, from 430 lei.

Budapest (BUD) — cheapest ticket, longest drive

Budapest Ferenc Liszt is the largest hub in the region and often the cheapest, especially from outside Europe. It is also 450 km from Cluj — a 5h30 to 6h30 drive. See the Cluj to Budapest Airport transfer, from 1,830 lei per car, Hungarian vignette included.

When it makes sense:

• You are travelling as a group of three or four — the transfer is priced per car, so it splits well
• You want to see Budapest anyway and are treating it as part of the trip
• There is no reasonable connection into Cluj from your departure city
• The saving on tickets exceeds roughly 400 euros for the whole party, return

When it does not:

• You are travelling alone — the transfer costs more than you saved
• You have a tight itinerary; a full day of your holiday goes on the road
• You are travelling with small children

The calculation that actually matters

Add these four things, not just the fare:

1. Tickets for everyone, return
2. Ground transfer — priced per car, not per person. This is the number people get wrong.
3. Time — a day of your holiday spent driving has a real cost
4. Risk — the longer the drive, the higher the chance something goes wrong on the return leg

A worked example. Four people, one week in Transylvania:

• Into Cluj: 4 tickets at 250 euros = 1,000 euros, plus a 10 euro airport transfer. Around 1,010 euros.
• Into Budapest: 4 tickets at 170 euros = 680 euros, plus roughly 740 euros of transfers both ways. Around 1,420 euros.

Cluj wins comfortably here. For Budapest to come out ahead with four people, the ticket saving would need to be well over 150 euros each, return.

A practical note on arrival

Whichever airport you choose, send us your flight number when you book. We track the actual landing time, meet you in the arrivals hall with a name sign, and waiting for a delayed flight is included in the fixed price. Our drivers can communicate in English, and payment can be made by cash, card or bank transfer.

See all available transfer routes.