Update on travelling to Hungary from the US

I’ve had received today some inquiries about how the new recommendations issued by the European Union might affect travels from the US to Hungary. The US is one of the five countries that have been removed from the EU safe travel list.

What is important is that this is a guidance and each EU countries decide individually about travel restrictions. As for Hungary, you can enter Hungary if you come from the US with a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours – no PCR test is needed when you get to Hungary by road, rail or waterway.

What is even more important is that Budapest is as beautiful as always, it’s not overcrowded with tourists, so it’s still a great time to come and see. Let me know if you have questions, or book a tour! Also, don’t forget that a private tour is safer than being in large tour groups, myself and the drivers I work with are fully vaccinated and can’t wait to meet you!

Beautiful Budapest - Fiseherman's Bastion
Beautiful Budapest – Fiseherman’s Bastion

Budapest fireworks – 20th of August

It’s always nice to watch the fireworks from the balcony – the advantages of living on a beautiful hill in Buda. St. Stephen’s Day (20th of August) is a national holiday in Hungary and the day’s celebrations are crowned every year by amazing fireworks at night.

Visiting the Gödöllő Palace

I love my Gödöllő-Hollókő tour for many reasons, one of those being that I’m truly fascinated by the beauty of the Baroque Palace of Gödöllő. There are so many things to fall in love with: the architecture, the style, the colours, the details. It really is special because throughout the tour one has the impression to travel back in time to the 19th century.

On our very last visit earlier this month we were being guided by Queen Sissi – the wife of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef which has made our tour even more remarkable.

New entry rules for travellers coming outside of the EU

Finally, the moment has come, as of the 7th of August, travellers from outside the EU can enter Hungary by air. The rules are:

“persons who are able to present an English or Hungarian language document containing the results of a molecular biological test (SARS_CoV-2 PCR test) not older than 72 hours, conducted in conformity with professional medical regulations in one of the following countries:
a Member State of the European Union or in a candidate state of the European Union,
a member state of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
a member state of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation,”

It means that all you need is to have a negative PCR test (not older than 72 hours). We’ve been waiting for this for such a long time, it’s such a great news and I really hope that many visitors will want to visit my Beautiful Budapest these coming weeks.

Daytrip to Budapest from Vienna and Bratislava – restrictions related to COVID

I get a lot of inquiries about travel restrictions related to COVID, it’s actually still not easy to find out who can enter Hungary.

The basic rules:

  • The citizens of the EU who have the EU green card (EU Digital Covid Certificate) are free to enter Hungary by plane, by car, by train or by boat.
  • Travellers coming from outside the EU are free to enter Hungary by car, by train or by boat.
  • There are no local restrictions so you can go to any museum, restaurant, café, bar, hotel or bathhouse without any proof of vaccination and wearing a mask is no longer obligatory.

Hopefully very soon the same restrictions will apply to travellers coming from the EU and from outside the EU, it’s basically a political decision and there is nothing we can do to help visitors.

The good news, is that if you are in Vienna or Bratislava, you’re very close to Budapest and can easily plan a daytrip to visit my beautiful city. The train connections between Vienna and Budapest and between Bratislava and Budapest are great and it’s easy to book tickets. I can also help you to arrange for private transportation if needed.

I’m happy to customise any of my walking or driving tours so that you can have the perfect Budapest experience. I can pick you up at the train station or meet you in the city centre of Budapest and you’ll see all the main attractions and the most beautiful parts of the city in a couple of hours. Please let me know if you need more details or have further questions.