Cluj-Napoca for Digital Nomads

Cluj-Napoca is Romania's second most populous city behind Bucharest.

Known more commonly as Cluj, it sits in the northwest of the country attracting some tourists but very few digital nomads. I was kind of curious why so I came to have a look.

From atop Parcul Cetățuia you can get magnificent views of Cluj, including of Saint Michael's Church.

Why did I come to Cluj?

In 2023 I was in Bucharest, drunk. And I met a guy, also drunk, who told me that as well as Bucharest, I should make sure to visit Cluj while I was in Romania.

For some reason that conversation stuck with me, which is weird because normally I don't remember anything when I'm drunk. Yet for some reason, three years later it still stuck in my mind.

Now I know what you're thinking, "why did it take you three years to come to Cluj then?"

It wasn't for a lack of trying that I didn't come here earlier. For 2023, 2024 and 2025 Cluj was on my radar for the European part of my annual cycle, but two key factors for me when I go anywhere are the cost, and the weather. I don't like cold weather, and I don't like spending money unnecessarily. And the climate of Cluj precludes it from being a place that I'd want to be from October to May. Even in September when I was here, I found it a bit uncomfortable. That means there's only really a four-month spell each year when I'd be willing to come here. The other problem is that for three of those months, accommodation in Cluj is really expensive.

I was never quite sure why - I think it's a combination of simply being the high season, while also having some big festivals. But the room I stayed in through September, had I instead stayed in August, cost about 3x the price. Which means there's a very narrow window of about one month per year where Cluj has a suitably temperate climate and cost.

Did it live up to my expectations?

It's very pretty and has a very comfortable vibe, in the city centre at least, which makes it a nice place to be. I really enjoyed every time I went out running here, or just went out for a wander. But beyond being pleasant, nothing really stands out. I wouldn't really describe it as exceptional in any of the things I look for when I decide to go somewhere.

Getting in and out of Cluj

I arrived in Cluj by Flixbus, which drops passengers off at the airport park and ride. If you're arriving from the west of the country, as I was, that's a bit frustrating because the bus drives through the city centre only to drop you 6km outside of it.

On the plus side, as you'll be arriving at the airport whether you come by bus or plane, there's less to learn. The airport's on a main road with local bus stops all along it. The number 5 and 8 buses run frequently and get you into the city centre in about 25 minutes. You can pay on board with contactless, including Apple Pay, for 3.50 lei.

Getting around Cluj

Buses and trams run all over Cluj, and on all of them you can pay the 3.50 lei fare with contactless. I used Google Maps to tell me which buses/trams to take, with moderate reliability.

How affordable is Cluj?

It's affordable outside the peak season, but accommodation prices are hugely inflated in the summer months. And I found the restaurant scene to be a little bit uppity. There are fewer reasonably priced places to get food here than elsewhere in Romania, instead favouring higher prices because they put a glass upside down on the table before you arrived.

If you can get an affordable room with a good kitchen, the other key things like groceries and public transport are very reasonable.

Paying for things in Cluj

I didn't buy a single thing in Cluj that I didn't pay for with Apple Pay.

What language is spoken in Cluj?

Romanian.

Is it easy to get by with English in Cluj?

Yesish.

The only person I recall speaking to who didn't speak English was a woman who worked in a pharmacy. I'd already prepared a photo of what I wanted so that was easy. I don't recall dealing with anyone else here who I couldn't speak English with.

How is the Internet in Cluj?

In my Airbnb I had 424mbps download and 50mbps upload speeds on the speed test I did. Unfortunately it was a very unstable connection, and would drop out sporadically, making video calls difficult. I had to switch to my mobile hotspot for some video calls.

Vodafone was the wifi provider. Whether that shitty connection is a one-off for my room or more reflective of Cluj as a whole, I'm not sure, but I did not enjoy the Internet here.

I didn't have any problems with mobile Internet.

Is Cluj safe?

I'd say so.

There are a few dubious-looking people wandering about. People with too many face tattoos, and people who look like they've done their share of drugs. And when I walked from the town centre to Iulius Mall, parts of that route did feel a bit like I was on a sketchy London estate. Or up by the train station you find a lot of drug addicts.

That's true everywhere. I've never understood why drug addicts always hang around outside train stations.

That being said, none of that translated to ever feeling threatening or unsafe.

Who is Cluj suitable for?

I really enjoyed the vibe of Cluj - it was a nice place to be outside, wandering around the city or sitting in the park. I didn't think much of the restaurant scene here, and I didn't find much to do socially. So it was very much a place where I kept to myself - making my own meals, exercising alone etc.

That made me very, very productive. I got a lot done here, and was very healthy doing it.

If you're comfortable in your own company, and you want somewhere to be productive and not be distracted, that has a nice vibe, I recommend Cluj. If you want to go somewhere that there's a lot going on and with a vibrant social scene, you're better off in Bucharest.

Is the tap water drinkable in Cluj?

Absolutely.

Where to run in Cluj

A lot of people in Cluj run. No matter what time of day you go running you won't be alone, which makes it a very enjoyable place to go running.

In some cities in the world you can be the only one and people look at you like you're a crazy person. That's not the case here at all.

I ran two different routes while I was here. Most of my runs were in Parcul Central, which I'm going to hazard a guess translates to Central Park.

It's a long, thin park. The laps vary slightly in length depending on the exact route you take, but one lap is roughly 1.7km.

There are several drinking fountains dotted around the park. There are also a couple of toilets, but they're more of a hindrance than a benefit, because you have to pay to use them, and guarding each of the toilets is a pair of fat women, polluting your running air with their never-ending cigarettes.

Hopefully they give themselves cancer and die soon so that they can be replaced with fat women who don't smoke.

With that exception, by Eastern European standards Parcul Central doesn't have too many people smoking in it on normal days. And I'll stress on normal days.

During my stay, on one day there was a wedding taking place in the park, where lots of the guests were standing around smoking, so I used all my psychic power to will the failure of their marriage. And towards the end of my stay there was a jazz festival which endured several days of setup, through which all the workmen, security, and even the paramedics just stood around smoking.

Apart from that, Parcul Central is a very pleasant place to walk, run, or just come and sit on one of its many benches, but being the city's main park perhaps dictates that events like this happen regularly.

My other running route in Cluj was to run west along the riverside until the pavement stopped existing, about here. At that point continuing didn't feel safe because I was running along the side of a main road, so I turned around and went back along the other side of the river.

Adding in Parcul Central and Parcul Cetățuia I was able to make it into a 10km run.

It was a very pleasant route, and preferable to doing repetitive laps of Parcul Central, but it did involve crossing a few roads.

Parcul Central is a lovely park for walking, running or just sitting and relaxing, apart from when some selfish cunts are trying to get married.

Being vegan in Cluj

I found the vegan restaurant scene in Cluj to be underwhelming at best.

I was able to locate two fully vegan restaurants while I was here. Both had closed down. Of the few vegetarian restaurants, Samsara stood out, but when I went there I took one look at their prices and noped out.

Some meat-serving restaurants do have vegan options, but nothing about the restaurant scene in Cluj excited me, mainly because it all seemed overpriced, so I ended up just cooking myself. I was on a health kick while I was here, so that was probably for the best anyway.

There are several supermarkets dotted around the city centre, but these vary greatly in size and quality. I ended up doing most of my shopping at this Mega Image, and this Carrefour. Between the two of them I was able to get the ingredients for several vegan meals.

For supplements I went out to the Bebe Tei in Iulius Mall, which has pretty much any supplement you're going to need, reasonably-priced. I needed vegan protein powder, algae oil, vegan multivitamins, and calcium during my stay, and I could get all these here.

Smaller shops such as Naturland and a couple of branches of Vitamix exist in the city centre if you don't want to go all the way out to Iulius Mall, but the selection isn't as good.

This soy milk is probably my favourite thing about Romania. Sold in Carrefour it's just 5.85 lei and contains 38g of protein with just 7g of sugar. Perfect for when you're trying to lose your tits.

Where I stayed in Cluj

Brand NEW Central Park Apartment

Strada General Dragalina nr 8

I have mostly fond memories of staying in this room.

I absolutely loved the location, that's probably the first thing to say. Parcul Central is just across the river, a two-minute walk from the room, and the building is built into the side of a hill that makes up Parcul Cetățuia, so you've literally got two different parks within a two minute walk.

Unfortunately the room is at the back of the building, meaning that your view is looking at the side of a hill. And despite being on the third floor, people walking on this hill can quite easily see into the kitchen, so it doesn't have the privacy that you might expect from a third floor room.

If you look at the pictures below, you'll see that all the rooms at the front of the building have nice balconies. Sadly the rooms at the back don't share in such fortune. You don't have a view and you don't have any outside area, but that aside this is a very nice room.

The host describes herself on Airbnb as having a PhD in interior design, which seems to mean decorating with Ikea furniture and putting a few knick-knacks around the place. I care not for appearance, just practicality, and it does have everything you need.

Big, comfortable sofa which is great for working from, a desk for video calls, plenty of space in the living room for working out, and a well-equipped kitchen with a cooker that's too smart for its own good.

It's an induction cooker. Nope, I don't know what that means either, and it was my first time using one. What I can tell you is it's the fastest cooker I've ever used. A pot of water would go from cold to boiling in about three minutes. But to negate that, it tries to be too smart, like turning itself off randomly because it thinks you've finished cooking, or bleeping at you when you try to clean it. And it has annoying buttons that don't work when your hands are wet, which is half the time when you're cooking.

50% of my time here was spent marvelling at how efficient this cooker was, while the other 50% was swearing at it for not doing what I wanted.

The biggest downside to staying here was the unstable Internet, which was respectably fast when it worked, but which couldn't hold steady for the length of a video call. That really got on my tits by the end of my stay, and if you do stay here I suggest making sure you've got reliable mobile data that you can use as backup.

It's a nice room. It has everything that you need, and the location is amazing, but that's about as far as it goes.

I'd explore other options if coming back to Cluj.

The bedroom gets a lot of natural light in the mornings, which makes it a very pleasant place to wake up.

Summary of Cluj

Do I want to come back to Cluj again?

Not particularly.

It's a very pretty place. Beautiful architecture and some nice views, but you can see all of that in a day - you don't need to stay for a month, which is my usual minimum.

And it's got a nice vibe. I enjoyed wandering about the city and going running. But that's not really enough to lure me back again. There are other places in this region that I've liked more.