Romanian Cosmin Crăciun drove approximately 26,000 kilometers from Buzău, southern Romania, to Yakutsk, Russia, the coldest city in the world, using his personal car. His journey took 53 days roundtrip.

Crăciun began his expedition in January of this year, traveling through Turkey, the Caucasus Mountains, and Kazakhstan before reaching the first destination on his itinerary, Lake Baikal. 

"I left on January 11, 2025, and reached Lake Baikal in 23 days. I covered about 9,500 km from Buzău to Lake Baikal. That was my first goal when I decided to embark on this expedition. Later, I thought about going to Yakutsk, the coldest city on the planet,” Cosmin Crăciun told Agerpres.

“I traveled alone, and at one point, I almost gave up on going to Yakutsk for safety reasons, as the journey was extremely difficult - no gas stations, no paved roads. I reached Baikal, and in Ulan-Ude, I had planned to meet a Romanian living there, Marius,” he continued.

Together, the two Romanians covered another 3,000 km in four days.

Cosmin Crăciun, an experienced driver, did not equip his Dacia Duster 3 car with any special modifications for the trip. At one point, he drove 10 km over a frozen river. He refueled 75 times over 53 days, using up 2,423 liters of gas, and had to be particularly careful to be near a fueling station. 

The total cost of the trip amounted to EUR 4,500. Fuel alone was EUR 1,750, while accommodation cost Crăciun EUR 1,050.

"If I exclude the EUR 1,200 spent on unexpected costs like fines and new tires, the budget for the trip was around EUR 3,200-3,300. Given the number of kilometers and days, I think that's quite cheap," the Romanian traveler added. 

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Cosmin Craciun on Facebook)