READ THIS POST AS A PRIVATE OPINION AND NOT AN OFFICIAL INFORMATION. WE DON’T TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES WITH REFERENCE TO THIS.

As a guide on your Budapest Photo Walk, I try to give tips and tricks how to survive in Hungary. Being a tourist in an unknown country, you always risk to be scammed and money exchange is one of the most frequent issues.

Do I actually need to have cash in local currency?

Yes, you do. Believe me. You certainly want to buy souvenirs, go to a restroom, eat kind of street food, give tips maybe and small shops, or individuals don’t always have a card reader terminal. So I recommend to think over how much cash you probably need during your stay and find the right place to change money. The legal means of payment in Hungary is Hungarian Forint (HUF).

Do-s and don’t-s

In some supermarkets and shops you can pay in Euro but the exchange rate is so disgusting that you will lose money. You’d better use your card there. Most taxis have a card reader as well. Don’t pay taxi drivers in foreign currencies or exchange money with them. You will face the same rates as in a supermarket. Don’t exchange money in the street and especially in a railway station with strangers even if they seem to offer you a very good rate. They will most probably cheat. Airport offices, hotels, banks, cash machines give you the worst (and terribly bad) rates so I wouldn’t use them, either. In the city, you can find small offices with a little difference on their rates, and they usually work at a fair price. However, they have a minimum fee on every transaction, so changing 10 USD ten times a day will cost you much more than 100 USD at once.

If you want to be well prepared about the rates, you can check the official daily news of the Hungarian National Bank HERE, but these are only the central parity so buy/sell rates slightly differ. If you look for the closest office, or the best rates, look at THIS PAGE. Although it’s in Hungarian, it’s very easy to fill in the info block. Here, I give you a sample:

Row by row:

  • type the amount
  • choose the currency
  • tick the ‘eladni szeretnék’ which means I want to sell
  • choose the region first
  • then the city which in case you are in Budapest is the same
  • the last two rows can be left empty (district and network) because you will see the map and the address anyway
  • finally click on ‘Keresés’ (search) and you will get a map that you can zoom in if you look at the closest office:

Or scroll down to the list to check the best rates:

Final remark: Safety in Budapest is normally very good but it’s quite a big city, so there may be pickpockets anywhere and they can work especially in crowded trams and places frequented by tourists. Take care of your money.