Be vigilant as anywhere else. Prostitution and street begging were a small nuisance in the central area and by the railway station. Despite the fact that Satu Mare has an international airport there is only one international connection charter with Antalya - Turkey operating only during summer. There is also a daily internal flight to and from Bucharest operated by Tarom, departing to Bucharest in the evening and landing in Satu Mare in the morning.
Satu Mare is linked with Oradea by six trains daily, with Cluj by four trains hours of travelling , with Bucharest by three trains and with Timisoara by one 8 hours of travelling. There is also a direct train to Debrecen in Hungary once a day. The road conditions are good because there were several modernization projects financed in order to improve the main road connections. Because Romania is a EU country scheduled to join the Schengen area you will only need to show your passport or your ID at the border usually it will take no more than 5 minutes as there is only a single checkpoint.
On the other hand, if you plan to enter the county and in the same time Romania from Ukraine the story is a bit different. Expect waiting times for up to hours august or even more when shift change.
This is mainly due to the Ukrainian side, where border guards don't seem to be stressed at all, barely speak any other language than Ukrainian or Russian, and let cars to pass one by one every 20 minutes or so. Things were also moving slowly on the Ukrainian side, Spring of , so anticipate quite a bit of waiting if you arrive during peak hours or peak periods. Very flat terrain but scenic.
Timeless houses outside the city. Condition of the roads vary from very poor to good. Potholes can be a nuisance but major resurfacing has improved things recently. The local museum. Very informative and interesting which shows the history of Satu Mare area since the Neolithic era. Avoid single women in their 40s and 50s. They are bunny boilers!!!!!! There are several good hotels in Satu Mare, both in the center of the town as well as at some distance to the center.
