Should you rent a car in Hungary?
Getting around this land-locked country in central Europe is made all the easier with a rental car. Public transport or private taxi transfers are available but not as convenient as having access to a car of your own. Hiring a car in Hungary is not dissimilar to anywhere else in the region, or many parts of Europe and you'll find many of the same familiar car rental brands in Hungary such as Alamo, Enterprise and Hertz offering a wide range of rental cars to suit every need and budget.
Most popular locations to collect car hire in Hungary
Where else you can collect car hire in Hungary
- Budapest
- Budapest Airport
- Debrecen
- Debrecen Airport
- Fly Balaton Airport
- Gyor
- Heviz
- Kaposvar
- Kecskemet
- Keszthely
- Tata
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Hungary Mini Guide
Hungary is a country in central Europe and its capital city is Budapest. The weather is widely variable with very cold winters and summers which can reach almost 40 degrees Celsius. Hungary is one of the 24 European Union counties that has signed up to the Schengen Agreement, which permits free movement between member states without having to pass through passport control. Croatians can enter the country by showing their identity card while citizens of the United States, 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.
If you are driving to Hungary but are not from a Schengen country be warned that there can be massive queues with very long waiting times. Hungary's international airports are Budapest Ferihegy Airport in Budapest, Airport Debrecen in Debrecen and Fly Balaton Airport in Sármellék. Hiring a car is very necessary if you want to travel around the country as there are presently no domestic flights within Hungary.
The Hungarian national airline is Malév, otherwise known as Hungarian Airlines. If you are looking for a budget option, several low cost carriers fly to Budapest including easyJet, Germanwings, SkyEurope, Ryanair, and Wizzair. If you are planning to drive through the border crossing make sure your papers are in order as the guards are very strict and will not hesitate to do a full search of your car.
Most of Hungary’s two lane roads are in reasonable shape and operate on the toll system. The maximum speed limit is only 90 kilometres per hour so take care not to speed. Also Hungarian law requires you to drive with headlights on at all times. Drink driving is treated with zero tolerance. Among the main highways are the M0 motorway ring around Budapest, the M1 which connects with Gyor, Austria and Slovakia to the west, and the M2 which links to Vac. The M2 is in planning to extend to the Slovakian border.