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Useful information about Hungary
Currency and money:
Currency: Forint (HUF)
1 euro = around 242.97 HUF (you will find the latest exchange rates under ‘Service’.)
All commonly used credit cards will be accepted.

Car:
Fuel may not be brought-in or taken out of the country in canisters!
Lead-free petrol is available everywhere. (“olommentes üyemanyag”)

Some important traffic rules:
Speed limits
Residential areas
 – for all cars: 50 km/h
    Other roads
 – campers upto 2.5 t and motorbikes 90 km/h;            

-  Campers and sidecars over 2.5 t 70 km/h
    Urban motorways
        – 100 km/h
        - Campers and sidecars over 2.5 t 70 km/h
    Freeways
        – 130 km/h
        - Campers and sidecars over 2.5 t 80 km/h

There is a prohibition on overtaking at road bends, crossroads and railway crossings
It is obligatory to drive with dipped headlights at ground level (outside the Location)
No Stopping Zones – yellow markings on the road border
Absolute prohibition on alcohol 0.0‰.

Facts and figures about Hungary
Total area: 93,030 km2
Population: 10,196,000 inhabitants /1st Feburary 2001
Population density: 109.6 inhabitants / km2
Capital city: Budapest
Time zone: GMT + 1 hour
Official language: Hungarian

Summer time: March to the last weekend of October + 1 hour.
Geographical situation
Hungary is located in Central Europe in the Carpathian basin, the greatest distance from North to South is 268 kms, and 528 kms from East to West.

Geographical regions
50 per cent of the Hungarian territory consists of lowlands. The largest lowland plain ALFÖLD extends over the Eastern half of the country, while the smaller lowland plain KISALFÖLD extends along the North-Western border. The two largest and most important rivers in the country are the Danube and the Theiß. The part of the Danube in Hungary is 417 kms in length, while the Theiß is 598 km long. Both the rivers pass through the country from North to South. The area between the Danube and Theiß DUNA-TISYA KÖYE is also flat, while the landscape to the West of Danube is hilly, and is known as the Trans-Danubian DUNÁNTÚL. Lake BALATON, the largest and hottest lake in central Europe, is located in the middle of the Trans-Danubian region. Mountain ranges cut across the country diagonally:  to the West of Danube, the DUNÁNTÚLI KÖYÉPHEGYSÉG (Trans-Danubian low mountain ranges) with its 400-700-meter high mountains (Kesythelyi-hegység, Bakony, Vértes, Gerecse, Pilis, Visegrádi mountain ranges) and the ÉSYAKI KÖYÉPHEGYSÉG (northern low mountain ranges) extend upto the Eastern Danube, with its 500-1000-meter high mountains (Börysöny, Cserhát, Mátra, Bükk, Cserehát, Yempléni-mountain ranges). The highest point in the country is the 1014-meter high Kékes in the Mátra mountains.

Climate in Hungary
The coldest month is January, with an average of - 1°C, while the hottest month is August with +21.3 °C.
The annual number of hours of sunlight is 1,785, and in the southern regions, 2050 hours.
The most beautiful seasons are spring and autumn, and the numerous lakes and bath resorts offer much relief on hot days.

Travelling conditions

What should you keep in mind on a visit to Hungary?
Identity card, passport
For travelling to Hungary, German citizens need to have a valid identity card or passport.

Children should have an identity card, or should be registered in the identity cards of the parents.  Passport photographs are required in all cases. Children not accompanied by their parents may travel with an authorisation from both parents.
If travel documents are lost, the Consulate or the Embassy – depending on nationality - should be immediately informed.

Visa
Citizens of countries for which visas are compulsory may apply for a visa in the Consular department of the Hungarian Embassy.

Border crossings
With the entry of Hungary into the EU on the 1st of May 2004, the customs checks at border crossings from neighbouring EU countries have been dispensed with. The border should however still be crossed at designated points only. Even though goods inspections have been dispensed with, random checks are still carried out.

Domestic animals
All domestic animals (dogs, cats, all small domestic animals) can in general be brought along to Hungary.

Conditions for dogs, cats:
A domestic animal pass should be obtained for travelling to Hungary, issued by an official veterinarian, stating that a valid rabies vaccination of the animal has been carried out, or that a valid hyper vaccination against rabies has been done (EU Ordinance no. 998/2003 of the European Parliament and the Council of the 26th of May 2003).

Stipulations for other small domestic animals:
The production of an international vaccination certificate, which also includes the vaccinations required in the Federal Republic of Germany (against rabies, distemper, etc.) The rabies vaccination should be made at least 30 days but not more than one year prior to the journey.
A certificate from the official veterinarian stating that the animal in question had no infectious diseases and that in the last four months no cases of rabies had occurred within a radius of 30 to 40 kilometres. This certificate should be produced for all the animals – in other words, for birds as well – and should not be more than eight days old.

'Dangerous’ dogs or ‘fighting dogs’ should not be brought into Hungary.

The category of dangerous dogs in Hungary includes the following:
Bull terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull terrier, Bull mastiffs, Tosa-Inu, Argentinean mastiffs, Bordeaux-mastiffs, Fila Brasileiro, Pitbull and Bandog, as well as all mixed breeds of any of the breeds mentioned above.

Dobermans and Rottweilers are not counted amongst the dangerous dog species, nor do mixed breeds of the same. It should be noted in this connection that these dogs should also not been trained for fighting!

Dogs must be led on a leash in all places that are accessible to the public, and in public transport vehicles, dogs should be muzzed. For dogs, animal liability insurance is highly recommended.