Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tion; 8am-8pm Mon-Fri, to 6pm Sat; M2/M4 Keleti pályaudvar)
Next to platform 9 at Keleti train station; sells all train tickets, including discounted ones of up
to 60% off to those 26 years and under.
Travellers with Disabilities
Budapest has taken great strides in recent years in making public areas and facilities more
accessible to the disabled. Wheelchair ramps, toilets fitted for the disabled and inward-open-
ing doors, though not as common as in Western Europe, do exist and audible traffic signals
for the blind are becoming commonplace, as are Braille plates in public lifts.
TOURIST INFORMATION
Hungarian Federation of Disabled Persons' Associations
Travellers with disabilities who are seeking information can contact this umbrella group.
Visas
Everyone needs a valid passport or, for many EU citizens, a national identification card to
enter Hungary.
Citizens of all European countries as well as Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zeal-
and and the US do not require visas to visit Hungary for stays of up to 90 days. Nationals of
South Africa (among others) still require visas. Check current visa requirements on the web-
Visas are issued at Hungarian consulates or missions, most international highway border
crossings, Ferenc Liszt International Airport and the International Ferry Pier in Budapest.
They are rarely issued on international buses and never on trains. Be sure to retain the sep-
arate entry and exit forms issued with the visa that is stamped in your passport.
Short-stay visas (€60), which are the best for tourists as they allow stays of up to 90 days,
are issued at Hungarian consulates or missions in the applicants' country of residence. They
are only extended in emergencies (eg medical ones) and this must be done at the central po-
lice station 15 days before the original one expires. As Hungary is part of the Schengen
Agreement, if you have a visa valid for entry to other Schengen states, it's also valid here.
Women Travellers
Hungarian men can be sexist in their thinking, but women in Budapest do not suffer any par-
ticular form of harassment. Most Hungarian men - even drunks - are effusively polite with
