Travel in Europe as Europians do:
Plan a trip to Hungary
I am glad you are planning a trip to my native country. I am sure you will
like the historical sites and the modern, vivid towns, too. There is a lot
to discover there, in the heart of Europe.
What do you need for the trip?
To enter Hungary as tourists, in the case of European countries, nationals of Albania and Turkey need a visa.
In the case of countries outside Europe, visas are not required by nationals of Argentina, Brasil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Ecuador, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Republic of Korea, Republic of South Africa, Seychelles, Singapore, United States of America, and Uruguay.
citizens of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Luxemburg, Lichtenstein, Spain, Switzerland and Slovenia a personal identity card is sufficient.
For other rules and regulations please read the official page:
What You Need to Know about Entry
Location, Climate
Hungary lies in Central Europe, in the Carpathian Basin.
The 2 most important rivers are the Danube and the Tisza. The climate is continental.
The coldest month is January (average is -1.3C, 30F) , the warmest is
July (average is 23C = 74F)
Official Holidays:
Jan 1st: New Year's Day
March 15th: National holiday
Easter Monday
Whit Monday
May 1st: May Day holiday
Aug 20st: Celebration of King St. Stephen and the Foundation of State
Oct 23rd: Republic Day
Dec 25-26th: Christmas
Transportation:
Hungary can be reached with any form of transport. By air: 21 airlines
operate 50 flights arriving at the two terminals of Ferihegy International Airport.
By train: There are nearly 50 international expresses arriving into
2 of Budapest's stations: Keleti (Eastern) and Nyugati (Western).
By ship: a hydrofoil service operating from spring to autumn links
Vienna and Budapest.
By coach: International connections arrive at the Erzsébet square, Budapest.
Taxi:
Taxis have yellow license plates and must be equipped by a meter. Tariffs
are cheapest by phone.
Cheques, Credit card, Currency exchange:
Travellers' cheques and Eurocheque are accepted (limit 35,000Ft) at currency
exchange offices. 24-hour bankomat ATM-s(for AMEX, Diner's club, Euro/mastercard, JCB and Visa credit cards) throughout the country. Foreign currency can be exchanged at official bureaux. Don't take the risk to exchange unofficially.
Stores:
Opening hours vary, but most commonly: 7AM - 7PM Mo-Fri
Some larger stores have Saturday and Sunday hours and there are some 24-hour
foodstores throughout the country.
Gifts:
The most sought-after souvenirs include the high-quality folk art items:
Kalocsa and Matyó embroideries and blouses, the black ceramic-ware from Nádudvar, carved wooden items, glazed pottery, the Miska-Pitcher, fabric from Sárköz and blue-dyed fabrics.
Applied art items: Herend and Zsolnay porcelain, lead crystal ornaments.
Food products: goose liver, Pick and Hertz szalamis, paprika from Kalocsa
and Szeged, cognac cherries in chocolate.
Drinks: Tokaj aszú, quality wines, cherry and apricot brandies, Törley champagne, Zwack unicum.
Useful books - the best travel guides from Amazon.com. Click on the photo to order one on-line now. The first one is a pocket dictionary, the next 3 are travel guides of well-known series and, the last is a wonderful book of historical buildings in Hungary. This is not a bargain, but well worth its price.
