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 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 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!

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 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.

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.

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.

It would be a chore to learn while visiting. Just have your boyfriend drive you around and maybe rent a car for a longer trip.

I personally find it stressful driving in foreign countries.

Its not hard to learn but it does take time to become confortable with it. I recommend renting a car. Driving manual car for the first time with the added stress of driving in a different county is a recipe for disaster. By all means try it. Take up the offer of that lesson, but its unwise to have to rely on a manual car for transport when you've never driven one before.

But also make sure you actually need a car. The US is built with fully car dependent infrastructure, so americans are taught their whole lives to just assume they always need a car. That isn't the case everywhere, and might not be where you're going. Be sure to check.

Depends on your definition of 'difficult'. I can pull a motherboard and replace it, I can hand-edit the Windows registry to do some shit most people aren't even aware is possible, etc. Are those things difficult? No, because I know how to do them. They are complex and technical and require a fair bit of knowledge and understanding to not screw it up though. Everything is difficult until you learn how to do it, then it's not. Might be better to ask how hard it is to learn? Cause I can't drive at all so I'm guessing it's somewhere between multiplication tables and organic chemistry but that's probably not helpful. :P

Driving a manual is easy if you already know how to drive. I got my lesson from a dude who sold me my first manual. You’ll fuck up a bit but you won’t break anything.

Take the automatic if you’re worried and just enjoy your vacation

Driving manual is not difficult, but unlike the opposite scenario, it's not something you can learn with only short instructions.

It does take time to develop the motor skills in order do it without thinking about it. The practice wlll take maybe an afternoon or two if you do nothing else. I'd advise you to do it over more than one day to allow yourself to sleep on it and come back at it

Once you've learned it, you'll never think about it again though.

I had a friend learn how to drive a manual for a trip to Italy. It took maybe 2 20 minute sessions before she was comfortable with it. When she got there the driving was fine but the honking freaked her out 😂

Nah, I daily all manuals.

My best recommendation outside of trying a friend's car, try driving one in a sim racing or racing game! That'll give you an idea. Games like the long drive or even motortown have clutch simulation. You can even do it with a keyboard, but even a cheap wheel is good to practice with. Even with a 2 pedal wheel, you can bind the brake to the clutch and practice that way.

You could rent an automatic, get the lesson, then see if you want to use their cars or keep the rental. I do recommend giving it a shot since it would be a new experience!

There is a small learning curve to manuals, and it is slightly harder in hilly areas.

Takes a bit of practice to get the feel for it but it's not too hard. 90% of the learning curve is just getting the car rolling from a dead stop without stalling

Take the lesson, as it's not hard, but it takes some practice making it seem effortless. With a lesson you'll learn the basics, and the rest is just practice over a day or two.

If you're driving automatic correctly, your left foot should be available, and the only thing different with your feet is that your left foot now needs to handle the clutch. This means during (some of the) braking or other times when you want to disengage the drivetrain.

After a little while you get a feel for listening to the RPM, and you begin to shift gear automatically based on the engine sound, or any planned changes in speed/torque.

Oh, and it's worth noting that most cars are somewhat different when it comes to clutching: Some have the car equivalent of a hair trigger, others are much more lenient. If you've gotten used to one car, trying out a different one might be useful.

if you already know how to drive and the rules of the road and such, its really not too bad, it just takes some practice. Just get ready to use your left leg while driving lol

It takes a bit of practice. A few minutes of instruction can show you how it works, but then you will want to actually practice (maybe an hour or so) on some quiet roads before driving in traffic.

It's not hard. It's just a pain in the ass.

It's definitely something you can learn in just a few lessons, particularly if you are just driving around town here and there. There's a rhythm and muscle memory to it, and once you get it, it becomes super easy.

I think I traded in my last stick-shift (a Jetta) 13+ years ago, and there are still times when I am driving and my left foot instinctively moves toward an invisible clutch....

Since they say they will be giving you a quick lesson... might be allright. It will most likely need some time to get used to it but you might be fine. See how the quick lesson goes? They might show you around the neighborhood for you to then drive around yourself and get used to it a bit.

It will be a whole another thing to keep in mind so be extra careful with your driving probably

In a small modern car its not super bad but will never be as easy as automatic. Getting used to using your left foot is annoying though. I had to use an old boat without power steering and quite when I was young and got my license on a friends automatic later in life. Im someone who hates driving in general though.

I would recommend practicing on a truck at first. The clutch is beefier and can take the punishment of a newbie, and you’ll get more of an idea of how the clutch feels when it engages.

Lol I hope you're a quick learner, though getting thrown on the street with a "good luck" does kick the lessons into overdrive.