Sulina Romania
Romania
Frequently Asked Questions
At the quay along the main riverside promenade, right in the middle of town. Sulina has no cruise terminal: river ships tie up along the bank and you step straight onto the waterfront street.
No. No road reaches Sulina. You arrive by water, down the Sulina branch of the Danube, or not at all. That is what gives the place its end-of-the-world feel.
Neither. Everything is walkable from the quay: the Greek church of St Nicholas, the old lighthouse and the maritime cemetery are all a few minutes away on foot. The town is small and flat.
Start with the old lighthouse and its museum, then the maritime cemetery, the Greek church, and a stroll along the quayside promenade. With time left, a small-boat trip into the delta channels or a run out to the wild beach rounds out the day.
It is where the river ends: after 2,850 kilometres the Danube dissolves into the Black Sea here. Sulina was also the seat of the European Commission of the Danube from 1856, and its maritime cemetery holds British, Greek, Turkish and Romanian sailors side by side.
Yes. Completed in 1870 and 17 metres tall, it houses a small museum on navigation and delta traditions. Oddly, it now stands in the middle of town, because silt has pushed the shoreline far from its lantern.
Yes, and it is one of the reasons to come. Sulina opens onto the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, where pelicans, herons and cormorants are common. Boat excursions into the channels give the best sightings; the view from the quay itself is more modest.
The Romanian leu. Sulina is a small, isolated town: bring cash, because terraces, excursion boats and shops do not all take cards, and ATMs are scarce.
Romanian. English is understood at the port and in places touched by river tourism, but very little elsewhere. French is rare. A few words of Romanian go a long way.
May through September, when river ships work the delta. May and June are best for birds and greenery; July and August are hot and good for swimming, but delta mosquitoes show up in the evening — bring repellent.
