Hungary: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Hungary feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 167 written places.
Thermal baths are the living rooms of Budapest; formality softens with a greeting.
✓ Considered polite
- Say Jo napot entering shops
- Learn the bath ritual - bring flip-flops, a cap for swimming pools, and time
- Try a ruin bar once, then find the wine bars locals prefer
- Validate public transport tickets - inspectors are frequent and unmoved
✗ Better avoided
- Clink beer glasses - an old custom against it lingers with older Hungarians
- Assume euros work - the forint is the currency and card is easier
- Confuse Budapest with the whole country - Eger, Pecs and the lake are different worlds
- Accept taxi rides hailed on the street in tourist areas - use apps
Worth knowing
- Tipping is 10-15%; some restaurants already add a service charge - check the bill
- Cards work almost everywhere now
- The thermal baths differ - Szechenyi is grand and busy, Rudas is Ottoman and atmospheric
- Sunday closing affects many smaller shops
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.