Car rental Hungary

General information and regulations

In order to rent a car you must be at least 21 years old (age may vary by car category) and have held your license for 1 year. Drivers under the age of 25 may incur a young driver surcharge. An International Driver's License is required for non-EU residents.

There is no permissible blood alcohol level in Hungary, be aware of this. Seatbelts are mandatory, as well as child's seats for children up to 3 years.

Fines can be paid on the spot and the speed limits are: in the city 31mph/50kph, on local roads 55mph/90kph and on highways 74mph/120kph.

Driving in Hungary with a rental car

In general, the roads in Hungary are good. Many roads however, are paved with gravel instead of asphalt. This often results in stones skipping up and dust that reduces visibility. The primary roads in Hungary are indicated with a number (for example M1) and there are 8 'main roads'. Seven of these pass through Budapest. Smaller roads are designated with multiple numbers and run along the countryside, one of the many natural wells or beautiful acres.

The M1 runs to the Austrian border, the M3 to Miskolc (in the northeast) and the M5 to Serbia. As mentioned before, the main roads entwine in Budapest. The oldest road is the M7, which leads to the lovely Lake Balaton. This is a drive of about 115 km and therefore easy to do in one day. Besides this, Hungary has 10 national parks, the largest of which is situated 200 km East from Budapest (National Park Hortobágy).

Renting a car in Hungary

Budapest Ferihegy Airport offers many car rental companies, such as: Avis, Budget, Hertz, National and Sixt. It is also possible to rent a car through EasyTerra, an organization that compares the rates of well-established car rental companies for your convenience.