The countrys location in the eastern part of central Europe makes Hungary very easy to access from all directions. Hungary is sharing borders with Slovakia, Ukraine, Austria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia and can, therefore, be reached by plane, train, bus, or car. Given the fact that it is both a member of the EU and Schengen area, many people wont need a visa to visit Hungary. The country also has visa waiver agreements with several other countries, but you are advised to check with the Hungarian embassy or consulate in your home country to see what applies in your case.
Do you need a visa to travel to Hungary?
If you're a citizen of the EU/EFTA area, or one of the non-EU countries that have signed and implemented the Schengen treaty (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland), you can enter Hungary with just a valid passport and/or identity card.
Hungary also has visa waiver agreements in place with thirty countries in the US and Latin America, as well as in Asia and Oceania. If you're a national of these countries, you are allowed to travel to Hungary without a visa and stay there for a specific amount of time that usually does not exceed 90 days. The countries with whom Hungary has visa waiver agreements in place are in alphabetical order:
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Guatemala, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong (but only if you're a holder of a "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" passport), Israel, Japan, Macao (only for holders of "Regio Administrativa Especial de Macau" passports), Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Salvador, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Good to know: The period of visa-free stay may differ for each nationality, depending on what type of passport you have (ordinary versus diplomatic) or whether you have an ID instead of a passport.
If you do need a visa to enter the country, and you plan to stay in Hungary for less than 90 days, you can apply for a short-term stay visa. To download the application form at the Consular Services website.
Good to know: Some nationalities need an Airport Transit Visa if they have a transit flight in Hungary. This type of visa allows them to enter the international zone of the airport and to remain there until the time of the departure of the flight to the destination country. These nationalities are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Sri Lanka.
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Planning your trip to Hungary
Hungary is very accessible from all directions, due to its location and landlocked state. Most expats like to arrive by air since the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest is only a 3-hour flight or less from most major European cities. It's also a 6-hour flight from the Middle East and a 9-hour flight from the US East Coast. Hungary's second largest airport, Debrecen, offers connections to the UK, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries and Germany.
There are also comfortable and frequent train connections with Vienna and Prague, as well as international coach services with Hungary's neighbouring countries of Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, and Romania. As for Hungary's road network, the expressways make it rather easy to enter the country by car or motorbike.
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