I took my driving lessons with a manual, but have been driving automatic for over a decade now.
Whenever I do need to drive a manual, I usually need a while to get used to it again. At those moments I make use of the guidelines that were taught to me by my driving instructor:

1. Is for getting the car going and getting in or out of a parking spot.
2. Is for speeds up to 25 km/h
3. Is for speeds up to 45 km/h
4. Is for speeds up to 75 km/h
5. Is for anything beyond

It’s a simple helper that matches most of the common speed zones in the Netherlands (30, 50, 80). From what I can quickly read, the 80 zone is 90 in Romania, so it should still work?

Anyway, don’t worry too much. It is also nice not having to drive at all if it comes down to that, your boyfriend’s family sounds nice :)
Enjoy your trip!

Take the lesson. While learning, stay off of hills and any upward incline until you got a feel from taking the car from full stop to going in 1at gear.

While learning you will stall the car… Don’t let it bother you.

The trickiest part is learning how to ease the clutch while applying gas to go from full stop to motion forward.

Remember neutral when coming to a stop.

Manuals are great, it’s built in theft protection from like 95 % of people

Visit a AAA location and get an “international drivers permit”. It’s super easy and a good insurance policy for yourself. I highly doubt the police speak much English and aren’t corrupt, so it may save headaches. Also, watch out on neighborhood streets for potholes.

otherwise, I can rent an automatic.

You want to double check whether you actually can do that.

Automatics are actually rare there. The kind of rare that turns heads and raises eyebrows.

The basics are easy - half an hour with someone who knows what they"re doing should be all you need to get out and about. Getting to the point where it’s instinctual and you don’t have to think about shifting is probably beyond the limits of a short trip but depending on how much driving you do you can be fairly smooth within a few days.

The main risk you run with learning manual is that once you get the hang of it it spoils automatics for you - you might end up having to buy yourself a manual car to avoid being annoyed by the missteps autos tend to do.

The clutch biting point is the main trick - particularly on a hill start. In an automatic you can hear the gear shifts so that’s your timing.

I had almost no driving experience. And I learnt driving a manual in 10 lessons (30 min each). So depending on how much time you have, you can think about learning. Do mind that it will be frustrating initially.

It’s like riding a bike. My wife was resistant to stick shift… Then her dad got her a used car that was manual. Almost 20 years later it’s all we’ve owned.

It seems difficult at first, until it’s second nature. And I still make little mistakes here or there like staying in a gear for to long. But once you learn it, it’s super easy.

Like others said, it’s all a dance between pulling out the clutch portal and feeding fuel. I suggest learning exactly where the clutch begins to grip. Once you know where they spot is, it’s much easier to feel how to drive.

Best of luck!

No, but I’ve never driven an automatic

Driving a manual is pretty easy, but it depends on how you handle failure. The learning process requires making a few mistakes while you become familiar with a clutch and shifting gears.

Also, I think it’s much easier to learn if you know what the parts are doing. Watch some videos on how it all works and what different RPMs sound like.

It’s easy tbh.

There’s a learning curve, but if you can walk while pulling something out of your pocket, you meet the minimum coordination test.

If you have a tachometer, it’s a little easier to learn when to shift, but it isn’t necessary at all, just a nicety.

No bullshit, I learned in a day, and was able to drive without grinding gears in maybe a week. Taught many people over the decades since. A day of practice that includes hills is all it takes to get the basics down.

When you first drive a different car, it may take a few miles to get a feel for the clutch and shifter throw, but that’s about it.

It seems way harder than it actually is, assuming you have full limb mobility. If you don’t, it can be a good bit harder.

When you first try it, just remember to get the clutch pedal all the way in before shifting, and you won’t have trouble in that regard. Letting the clutch out in sync with the gas is where coordination comes in, so test any new vehicle in an empty parking lot or other open space that’s flat, so you can get a feel for that safely. Once you have that feel, it’s easy peasy again.

At this point, I don’t even pay attention to shifting. It just happens without thinking about it as the vibration reaches the right level.

Hell, in my old car, I had taught dozens of people how to drive stick, and it got to 200k miles with the original clutch in it. That’s how easy it can be to learn.

It’s not toooooo hard. But you will need a good little bit to get the feel for it.

And I don’t know how hilly Romania is but the first time your stall out on an incline you will feel embarrassed and likely honked at. And it will be all the harder to recover cause now you’re stressed about it.

Driving manual is not particularly complicated, but it will require you to focus a lot of attention on it at first. Since you also have to cope with with differences in driving regulations, this will put you and your passengers more at risk than necessary.

It takes time (~tens of hours) to build the muscle memory so that it becomes natural. For a vacation in the short term, you should go ahead with your plan to rent an automatic.

Manuls aren’t super hard, but there’s definitely a learning curve you can’t avoid. Since you’ll be in a new country you’ll have enough going on and don’t want to add to any stress, I would really recommend renting an automatic.

Well not to be an ass, but why would you drive yourself around? I have the feeling your boyfriend and his family wouldn’t mind driving you around for a bit. And in Europe you don’t generally need a car to get around.

Anyways. Driving manual is not too hard. Just don’t let the stalls bother you. Other drivers don’t really mind either if you stall and waste a bit of time, so just relax. And to be honest; I would actually take the chance to learn it while you can if I were you. Seems like you have a good opportunity here.