Land

Budapest is well connected to all surrounding countries by road, rail and even river. Trains arrive in Budapest from every neighbouring capital and in summer there’s a hydrofoil service between Vienna and Budapest. The main entry points for international trains to Hungary include: Sopron and Hegyeshalom (from Vienna and most of Western Europe); Szombathely (from Graz); Komarom and Szob (from Prague and Berlin); Miskolc (from Kosice, Krakow and Warsaw); Nyiregyhaza (from Lvov, Moscow and St Petersburg); Bekescsaba (from Bucharest via Arad and Timisoara); Szeged (from Subotica); Pecs (from Osijek); and Nagykanizsa (from Zagreb and Ljubljana).

By road there’s a bus service to/from all neighbouring countries, often the cheapest way to go. In Budapest buses to/from Western Europe and several neighbouring countries use the bus station at Erzsebet ter (1-317 2562) near Deak ter while those serving most – but not all – Eastern European countries as well as Turkey and Sweden go from the one at Nepstadion (1-252 2896) at XIV Hungaria korut 48-52 (metrostop: Nepstadion).

There is virtually a 100% ban on alcohol when you are driving, and this rule is very strictly enforced. Do not think you will get away with even a few glasses of wine at lunch if caught and found to have even 0.008 alcohol in the blood, you will be fined up to 30,000 Ft. If the level is higher, you will be arrested.

In terms of documents, you only need a valid driving licence, registration document and a country sticker to enter Hungary. Third-party liability insurance is obligatory in Hungary, the existence of which can simply be proved by the number plate and the country sticker in the case of most countries. The production of a green card is obligatory for the citizens of a couple of countries but is advisable for everybody.

If you are coming from Austria, you take M1 motorway to Budapest. The first 43 km stretch is a toll road. Just before reaching Budapest, at Budaörs on the joint section of M1 and M7 from Lake Balaton, you will find the Information bureau of the Tourism Office of Budapest, where you can pick up a copy of the Budapest City Map and other information materials.