Hungary

Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Member of the European Union and Schengen. The country offers many diverse destinations: relatively low mountains in the north-west, the Great Plain in the east, lakes and rivers of all sorts (including Balaton - the largest lake in Central Europe), and many beautiful small villages and hidden gems of cities. Top this off with Hungary's great accessibility in the middle of Europe, a vivid culture and economy, and you get a destination absolutely not worth missing if you're in the region.

Following a Celtic (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman (9 BC - c. 4th century) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late Ninth Century by the Magyar chieftain Árpád, whose great grandson István ascended to the throne with a crown sent from Rome in 1000. The Kingdom of Hungary existed with minor interruptions for more than 900 years, and at various points was regarded as one of the cultural centers of Europe. It was succeeded by a Communist era (1945-1989) during which Hungary gained widespread international attention regarding the Revolution of 1956 and the seminal move of opening its border with Austria in 1989, thus accelerating the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. The present form of government is Parliamentary Republic (1989-). Hungary's current goal is to become a developed country by IMF standards, having became already developed by most traditional measures, including GDP and Human Development Index (world ranking 36th and rising).

Hungary is one of the 15 most popular tourist destinations in the world, with a capital regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. Despite its relatively small size, the country is home to numerous World Heritage Sites, UNESCO Biosphere reserves, the second largest thermal lake in the world (Lake Hévíz), the largest lake in Central Europe (Lake Balaton), and the largest natural grassland in Europe (Hortobágy). In terms of buildings, Hungary is home to the largest synagogue in Europe (Great Synagogue), the largest medicinal bath in Europe (Széchenyi Medicinal Bath), the third largest church in Europe (Esztergom Basilica), the second largest territorial abbey in the world (Pannonhalma Archabbey), the second largest Baroque castle in the world (Gödöllő), and the largest Early Christian Necropolis outside Italy (Pécs).

You can expect to find safe food and water, good safety and generally political stability.

Hungary doesn't attract terrorists and keeps drug and crime levels moderate.

Hungary has been ethnically diverse since its inception, and while over 90% of the population are ethnically Hungarian, pockets of ethnic and cultural Slovaks, Romanians, Germans and others dot the country. Due to the frequent border shifts in Eastern European history, over 2 million ethnic and cultural Hungarians live in bordering countries, as well.

Food and water is generally safe.

Private health care providers are good quality but limited in scope. Dentistry is cheaper here than in Western Europe (8-10000 HUF for an appointment and x-ray), and physiotherapy also (3000HUF for a half hour treatment), but check the price with the provider before you confirm the appointment. Outside Budapest you will need to speak Hungarian to communicate your needs clearly as fewer doctors will have good English or German.

Public health care is free for qualifying (insured) people, but varies in quality.

The country has joined the EU, so basic coverage is present for EU citizens, but check before entering the country how far are you insured and what you have to pay for. Do not expect at this time that the local doctor will know the EU rules, prepare to provide info.

The European Health Insurance Card is required from EU citizens applying for free treatment under this regulation. European health card for 1 June 2004

Pharmacies are everywhere, you may expect high prices, but very good pharmaceutical coverage. The only problem might be communicating with the pharmacist as most of them speak only Hungarian outside Budapest. Even some rusty Latin might come handy quite unexpectedly. For travellers from Eastern Europe, note that due to limited or abandoned trade of Hungary with Romania (as of Dec 2006), some of familiar medications are unavailable--so be prepared to find a substitute in advance.

Hungary has joined the Schengen agreement, which means that you can enter on a European Union Schengen visa and there are no longer any ID/passport controls on the EU borders. Citizens of Croatia can enter the country by showing their identity card. Citizens of the US, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Venezuela and New Zealand, are free to enter without a visa. The usual length of stay is 90 days without any additional permit.

By plane

Hungary's international airports are Budapest Ferihegy Airport in Budapest , Airport Debrecen in Debrecen and FlyBalaton Airport in Sármellék. The Hungarian national carrier is Malév (Hungarian Airlines). There are also several low cost carriers operating to Budapest: for example SkyEurope, Ryanair, Wizzair, Easyjet, Germanwings.

Air Europa operates a daily fly from Madrid and is a good choice from Latin America with stop in Madrid.

By train

There are direct connections to Hungary from: all the immediate neighbors: Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Ukraine.

Countries slightly further afield: Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Russia, Switzerland and even Turkey .

You can search for international train connections at official schedule site http://www.elvira.hu/ of MÁV, national train company.

By car

When driving into Hungary, ensure that the border crossing on the route you choose allows the passage of foreigners. Also some smaller crossings close in the afternoon for the night. It is also required to buy a vignette for driving on highways.

By bus

Several international bus lines go in or through Hungary. You can find timetables and book tickets on the homepage of Volánbusz, which is the national bus company and also the local Eurolines representation.
On the southern border with Serbia you shouldn't be surprised when there in the bus a collection is being held for a donation to the border-guards, to let the bus pass faster.

By ship

It is possible to enter Hungary by international shipping lines on Danube (Duna) or Tisza rivers.
There is a scheduled hydrofoil service on the Danube to and from Vienna and Bratislava daily between early April and early November operated by Mahart. [http://www.mahartpassnave.hu/webset32.cgi?MAHART@@EN@@38@@282224099]

By plane

Hungary presently has no regular domestic flights. As Budapest lies in the center of the country and pretty much any point can be reached within three hours by train or bus, there isn't much need for scheduled domestic flights.

However there are many opportunities for people with a valid pilot's license to rent a plane and explore by air.

A Pilot's Academy of Malev Flying Club http://www.malevpilotaiskola.hu/ +36(20)565-6467, Dunakeszi. Lightweight gliders and other stuff.

By train

The Hungarian national train company is MÁV and GYSEV (some lines in the west of the country). MÁV has online schedule and pricing site with online booking system coming soon.

The train network is star-shaped (hub-and-spoke), fanning out from the centre at Budapest . This is caused by history because half of the once complete train system went to the neighbor countries after World War I. If neither the starting or ending point is Budapest, expect to travel for a long time often with change in Budapest.

Intercity (IC) trains are the fastest, and they're up-to-date, well maintained and cleaned. They link the major cities with Budapest. For these trains usually you pay 550 Forints (= 2 EUR) extra fee independently from the distance which includes a seat reservation (not in international ICs, ECs). In some cases the extra charge can be lower. Compared to the majority of Western European ticket prices, Hungary's IC trains are amongst the cheapest with an excellent record of speed and comfort. In almost all cases they also have a restaurant car. At the weekends many students use these IC trains to commute between Budapest and other cities, so an early advance booking is recommended on Friday afternoons for the trains leaving Budapest and on Sunday evenings for trains towards Budapest. Working with a notebook is generally safe, unless it's heavy overcrowded.

Other train lines usually are not that fast, and not always cleaned up to the high standards (even in the 1st class), and often vandalised (mostly in Budapest region) however quality standards are considerably raising. During summer period trains linking Balaton to Budapest are sometimes overcrowded. Pricing depends only on the distance and on the car class. Cash desks assume 2nd class by default for non-IC trains (at least in Budapest for English speakers), so if you didn't catch your IC, consider asking 1st class, paying small extra for much more comfort. When in the train, keep in mind that there are smoking and non-smoking cars--check a sign over a door inside a car.

Young people (under 26 years) may travel with 33% reduction at the weekends (Friday afternoon included). Children (under 6 years) and retired (citizens from EU countries over 65 years) can travel free except on InterCity trains where the extra fee (reservation) must be paid.

It is possible to buy Inter Rail pass for Hungary. Check whether buying tickets for each journey is cheaper.

By bus

Bus lines often are more complete than train lines, the prices and the speed is quite similar. Buses are normally clean.

There are several companies that provide coach services. Most of them belong to the Volán conglomerate http://www.volan.hu/. You can search for connections at http://www.menetrendek.hu/cgi-bin/menetrend/html.cgi (Hungarian only).

By boat

These are not used very often (since Hungary has limited amount of waterways). Although from April to October there is a good hydrofoil boat connection between Vienna and Budapest .

There are some ferries on Danube and Tisza but their undetermined working hours make them non-recommended. You can trust the ferry on Lake Balaton, though, for a modest price.

By car

Most roads in Hungary are two lane apart from a few, modern motorways. Main roads are mostly in good shape, however cracks, potholes and bumpy roads are common on minor roads and in major cities though they are constantly being repaired. Usually you can travel by using a map and the road signs.

Highways are not free, but there are no other toll roads or tunnels.

Don't count on Western European travel times though: if you travel by normal roads the speed limit is 90 km/h between cities and 50 km/h inside, which slows you to the average around 60km/h. Roads often have high traffic (especially main roads like #8 to the west, #6 to the south and #4 to the east). On highways, travel is similar to Western Europe, and on the inside lane it is very common to have someone speed by you.

When you cross the country from the west to the east (or vice versa), take into account that there are only a few bridges crossing the Danube outside Budapest . There are some ferries available though.

It is a legal requirement to drive with headlights on, even during the day -- a requirement that is becoming more common across the EU.

Highways

There is a fast growing highway network in Hungary (1,000 km in total). Each highway starts at Budapest.

M0 - ring around Budapest. The eastern and northern section are under construction, planned to be ready at the end of 2010
M1 - connection to Győr , Austria and Slovakia (west)
M2 - connection to Vác , planned to reach the border to Slovakia by 2015 (north)
M3/M30/M35 - connection to Miskolc , Debrecen , planned to reach Nyíregyháza in 2007 (east)
M5 - connection to Serbia , via Kecskemét and Szeged (south-east)
M6/M56 - Connection to Dunaújváros , section to the center of Budapest planned to be ready in 2007, and further sections to Pécs are planned to be ready in 2009 (south)
M7 - connection to Lake Balaton , Croatia and Slovenia. Some sections are under constructions. (south-west)

Planned:
M4 - will provide connection to Romania via Szolnok by the year 2015 (east)
M44 - will provide connection between the M5 at Kecskemét and the Romanian border via Békéscsaba (east)
M8/M9 - will cross the country east-west by 2015

A single vignette is required to use all highways, except for M0 and short sections around major cities, which are free. Vignettes can be purchased online with bankcard on http://www.ppo.hu, at filling stations and at ÁAK (State Motorway Management Co.) offices. A 4-day vignette for a passenger car costs HUF 1520 (~EUR 6) during summertime. Vignettes are controlled automatically through a camera system. See http://www.motorway.hu/ or http://www.nart.hu/ for details.

By taxi

Inspect the change that taxi drivers give you. Cabbies commonly rip off tourists by giving them change in outdated Romanian currency, which looks similar to Hungarian currency, but is worthless and cannot be redeemed.