There are famously almost no motorways in Romania (and there are not likely to be for some time), and the country’s trains are notoriously slow (and surprisingly expensive). Getting from A to B in this country therefore takes far longer and costs far more than it should.

So bad is Romania’s transport infrastructure that – in jest – President Traian Basescu said earlier this year that until things improved, foreign visitors should ‘take a helicopter and avoid the roads’ if they wanted to see Romania.

It was a bad joke, in bad taste… but you know what? He was on the right lines.

For if taking a helicopter is out of reach of even the most free-spending tourist, that other, more common form of aerial transport: the aeroplane, is not.

Romania's new high-speed trains could look like this

Given that investment in the railways will be costly and take forever, with a few tweaks in pricing and more competition on main routes there is no reason why flying could not replace the train as the primary form of inter-city transport in Romania.

In fact, on a number of routes the plane is already very competitively priced when compared with the train. (We know because it’s that time of year when we start looking into these things ahead of our summer trip to the in-laws in the far north of the country).

Romania currently has no fewer than 13 operational airports (including our favourite, Satu Mare, ahem, International): Bucharest Baneasa, Bucharest Otopeni, Arad, Bacau, Baia Mare, Constanta, Craiova, Iasi, Oradea, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Targu Mures, Timisoara.

However, just two airlines currently operate internal flights: national carrier Tarom (which flies from Bucharest to Baia Mare, Iasi, Oradea, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Targu Mures and Timisoara) and Carpat Air (which flies from Timisoara to Arad, Bacau, Cluj, Constanta, Craiova, Iasi and Sibiu).

There are no flights to and from Brasov, which famously has no airport, and Tarom operates no internal flights that do not have Bucharest as the departure or arrival city.

We have no idea how much it will cost to build a high-speed rail network across Romania. Hundreds of billions of euros probably. To keep fares down huge annual subsidies would also be needed.

Instead, why not take a fraction of that money and use it to subsidise air travel instead? Bring down the price of a ticket to €20 or so each way and fly people around the country. Make the airports currently charging stupidly high landing fees (yes that’s you, Cluj) play ball or lose their licenses; Build cheap, basic airports at Brasov, Galati, and other places not currently served by air. Operating subsidies would not even fall foul of EU rules, as long as a separate company was hacked off Tarom to operate internal flights.

Even if this does not happen (and we are dreaming aloud here; it won’t) the plane is still a real option if you are visiting Romania and need to get from Bucharest to the provinces and vice versa. And do it quickly. No, the plane is not as romantic or enjoyable as the train, but then if you only have a week (or less) to see the best of Romania you do not want to spend half your time on trains moving at a snail’s pace.

You will need to book in advance to get the best prices, but €52 for a Bucharest – Satu Mare single is well worth a little forward planning. The train costs 188 lei and takes over 16 hours. Of course, you need to get to the airport and home again at other end, but even allowing two hours to do so, the plane is still 12 hours quicker than the train.

Other prices for internal flights in Romania this summer (all available for July, at the time of writing, and including all taxes/charges):

Bucharest – Cluj €52
Bucharest – Sibiu €44
Bucharest – Suceava €46
Bucharest – Targu Mures €44
Timisoara – Constanta 323 lei

Comparable train fares:

Bucharest – Cluj 137 lei (journey time 9 hours 51 minutes)
Bucharest – Sibiu 103 lei (journey time 6 hours 53 minutes)
Bucharest – Suceava 194 lei (overnight sleeper)
Bucharest – Targu Mures 133 (journey time 9 hours 56 minutes)
Timisoara – Constanta 190 lei (journey time 13 hours 3 minutes)

The plane it is then.

The Bucharest Life kids are off to the countryside this week for their annual peasant experience. We went to get their train tickets this morning, one each for them and one for Bucharest Life’s mother-in-law.

Not for the first time this month, we turned up at the CFR agency on Strada Brezoianu and were left gobsmacked. This time, it wasn’t inefficiency that left us speechless, it was the price.

A return ticket for one adult and two children, from Bucharest to Satu Mare, including reservations in a sleeping compartment, on the overnight Rapid, costs 830 lei. (380 lei for the adult, 320 lei for the first child and 130 lei for the second child). That’s almost exactly €200. That’s a lot. Especially as the sleeping coaches are nothing special (we will tell you later this week exactly what kind of accommodation that money gets you), and the journey takes a soul-destroying 12 hours. (Distance covered? 746 kilometres).

Driving, apropos, with a complete lack of motorways the whole distance, and with two kids in the back of the motor, takes about three weeks.

When we got back to the office we priced up a flight. We hadn’t considered it as we just didn’t think the train would cost that much. (And we do not actually have to spend 12 hours on the train ourselves).

Price for one adult and two children for a Bucharest to Satu Mare return with Tarom? €196, all taxes etc. included. Almost exactly the same price. And Tarom has a monopoly on that route (as it does on most internal routes in Romania).

So, lesson learned. Next time we (or our offspring) travel somewhere in Romania will not even consider the train. We suggest anyone reading this does the same. Try Tarom before booking any train tickets.