Staying connected in Hungary.

Hungarian prepaid data is inexpensive, sold in Yettel, Telekom and One shops and in supermarkets, and because Hungary is in the EU the allowance travels across the union under Roam Like At Home. That makes it the better buy if Budapest is one stop on a wider central European trip.

A Nomad eSIM at a few dollars per gigabyte is the no-errand option, working from landing. For a long weekend that is probably worth the premium; for a longer trip the local SIM is ahead on price. We earn a commission on the eSIM and not on a Yettel SIM, which is worth knowing when reading a page that says the local SIM is cheaper.

Roaming on your US plan is about 10 to 12 dollars a day, so 70 to 84 dollars for a week. AT&T caps it at 10 daily fees per line per bill period, about 120 dollars, while Verizon has no equivalent cap and keeps billing daily, which is the difference that matters on a long stay. T-Mobile's tiers include roughly 5GB on Experience More, Magenta MAX and Go5G Plus, 15GB on Experience Beyond and Go5G Next and 30GB on Better Value, slowing to 256kbps.

Do not roam with no plan: pay-per-use is about 2 dollars a megabyte, and background app activity finds it on its own, so turn off data roaming until something is active.

Short section, honestly. Coverage is strong in Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged and Pecs, across the Great Plain, along the Danube and around Lake Balaton, with 5G widespread in the capital and a working signal in the metro tunnels. Rural coverage is good by regional standards. The Bukk and Matra hills can thin, which is a hiking note.

So the useful advice is short: buy something cheap before you need it, and do not bother researching networks. Download offline maps for a hills day on general principle. This guide is written for US travelers departing the US. For more, see cash or card in Hungary, taxis and apps in Hungary, and the Hungary money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Hungary

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Taxis in Hungary, and the apps to useUber is back in Budapest (run through Fotaxi), so Uber and Bolt both work, and every licensed taxi charges the same regulated rate. The main rule is simply to use licensed yellow cabs. Here is how it works.
• Tipping in HungaryHungary tips a little more than Western Europe: about 10 to 15% at a restaurant. Watch for a service charge in Budapest tourist spots, and tip in forint. Here is what you actually owe.
• Do I need cash in Hungary, or can I use cards?Short answer: cards in Budapest, some forint elsewhere. Hungary keeps the forint rather than the euro, its notes run into the thousands, and it is a bargain by Western European standards. Here is how to handle it.
• Bringing your dog or cat to Hungary.Hungary runs on the single EU pet-entry process for a US-origin dog or cat: microchip, rabies in the right order, and an EU health certificate on a 10-day clock. No quarantine, no rabies titer. Here is what that means for Hungary, and the local parts worth knowing.
• Common money scams in Hungary, and what they cost youHungary is a low-crime country, the US rates it at its calmest advisory level, and Budapest is a comfortable city to walk at night. There is one genuine scam here worth knowing about in detail, and it is unusual in that it is entirely optional: it only happens if you follow a stranger to a bar they chose. Everything else is ordinary money housekeeping, a taxi rule, an exchange rule and a bill to read. Here is each, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
• What does getting sick in Hungary cost a visitor?Hungary's emergency rooms treat everyone first, tourists included, and settle up afterwards. The tell about what settling up costs is who else is in the waiting room: Austrians and Germans who crossed a border to be treated here on purpose.