Guide to Costs and Prices in Budapest

See how much the most important things cost in Budapest to give you an idea about cost of living in the Hungarain capital. There's a common misconception that Budapest is a cheap city to live in or to visit it as tourist.

Since we live here (and visited other countries and cities in the neighbouring countries) we can compare prices in Budapest to that of in popular cities in Central Europe (Prague, Vienna) and the fact is that Budapest is rather expensive and it's getting more expensive every year.

How much you will spend during your visit to Budapest depends on your needs.

If you wan to splurge, stay in a luxury hotel and eat in upscale restaurants than you have to digg deep in your pocket.

The good news is that Budapest offers budget travellers many less expensive accommodation and eating out options, too.

Currency in Budapest, Hungary - Money Exchange

Hungary's official curency is the forint. The country is expected to join the Euro zone around 2013. For up-to-date exchange rates between other countries' currencies see the currency exchanger in the left hand menu.

Larger shops, popular restaurants in the Budapest's city center accept Euros but it's best to have cash in Hungarian forint with you. Don't exchange money at people offering it to you in the streets. For the most favourable exchange rates change money in a bank they have lower rates than exchange merchants.

You can also get cash from ATMs with your bankcard (check the exchange rates and related costs when using your bankcard abroad). You'll find ATM-s in the city center and in major sgopping centres.

If you don't want to carry cach with you you can pay with your credit card (Visa MasterCard, American Express are accepted, the sticker of the accepeted cards are displayed in shopw, restaurant windows) in larger stores, and in most restaurants.

Coins: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 200 (introduced in June 2009 to replace the 200 banknote).

Banknotes: 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000, 20000

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Cost and Prices in Budapest, Hungary

Related Information:

Best Hostels in Budapest - list of top rated Budapest hostels

Budget Budapest Hotels - guide to quality 3-star hotels.

Cheap Budapest Hotels - inexpensive accommodations in the city centre

Cheap Budapest Apartments - cost-saving and comfortable lodgings in downtown Budapest

See also our hand-picked list of Best Budapest Hotels.

TIP: Before booking your accommodation always compare room rates online to get the lowest prices. Try to look for special offers (e.g. 3 nights for 2 during winter in Budapest) or discount packages for further savings.

Don't forget to read Travellers' Hotel Reviews because a cheapest hotel is not always the best value accommodation.

Restaurant Prices in Budapest

TIP: for cheape eats go to one of the market halls in Budapest where you can have inexpensive snacks both savory (lángos, scones) and sweet (strudel, various pastries). The Central Market Hall at Liberty Bridge has some cheap eateries on the first flloor.

The markets are also the best places to buy souvenirs and stock up on some Hungarian specialities, like Hungarian paprika.

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Further Budapest Restaurant Tips

Best Budapest Restaurants

Hungarian Restaurants in Budapest

Cheap Resturants in Budapest

Tipping

Some restaurants charge 10 % service fee which should be displayed on the receipt. In this case tipping is not expected from guests. If there's no service fee charged you can give around 10 % tip to the waiter either by rounding up the bill or giving the amount to the waiter/waitress when settling your bill.

Cost of Parking in Budapest

There are 9 parking zones in Budapest: in the most expensive zone the parking fee is 430 HUF/1 hour (city centre, Buda Castle, Margaret Island) in other parts you have to pay 200-300 HUF for 1 hour parking. The City Council of Budapest plans to reorganize the current rules of parking in the city.

According to the new rules there'll be 2 highlighted parking zones (Buda Castle District and Margaret Island) and 4 normal zones.

In the 2 most expensive zones a parking voucher will cost 540 Ft/1 hour and in the lowest tarif will be 145 Ft/1 hour.

Motorway Toll In Hungary (Vignette)

In Hungary every motorway is a toll road, administered by the National Highway Authority (Á.A.K. Zrt.). The roads M0 (that forms a half ring around the city of Budapest), M2 and M15 although are divided multilane roads, they are not considered as motorways, and can be used free of charge.

E-Stickers

Since the beginning of 2008, the purchase of a motorway sticker is managed electronically (known as an "e-vignette" or e-matrica), thus cannot be put physically on the windshield anymore, it is only registered in a computer system with its validity period. The highway cameras are checking the registered plate number and not the sticker itself.

Types of E-Stickers and prices in the summer period (2010) for the D2 category of vehicles (motor vehicles and motor vehicles with trailers (long vehicles) with a maximum total permissible weight of over 3.5 tons, but not more than 7.5 tons):

The stickers can be used for unlimited trips on every highway, within its validity period.

For up-to-date prices please check website of the Hungarian State Motorway Management Company Ltd.

Authorisation for road use can be purchased/registered at petrol stations (gas stations) all around the country. The purchase receipts should be kept for at least half a year after the trip.

Foreigh travellers can also by the e-vignette through the follwing on-line retailers:

Buying Motorway E-ticket in Hungary

Related Reading

Shopping in Budapest

Top Budapest Shopping Centres

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