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Hungary travel guide

Best time to visit from the UK, weather, festivals, flights from London and FCDO travel advice.

Hungarian Parliament Building
Hungarian Parliament Building. Photo: Kilyann Le Hen, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
2h 15mflight from London
Forintcurrency
No visafor UK passports
Type C, Fplugs

Thermal baths, ruin bars and the grand Danube

Don't miss

  1. Budapest thermal baths
  2. Lake Balaton
  3. Eger
Good forCity breaksCultureFood lovers

Best time to visit Hungary from the UK

Best value: Mar–May, Sep–Oct. Apr–Jun and Sep–Oct. Busiest and priciest: Jun–Aug, Dec.

-1.7 C-2°J0.3 C0°F5.3 C5°M11.6 C12°A16.6 C17°M20.8 C21°J23 C23°J22.6 C23°A17 C17°S10.9 C11°O5.1 C5°N-0.5 C-0°D
Best valueBusy and pricierQuietAverage temperature in Budapest, °C, 2001–2025 (NASA POWER).

Each bar is the average temperature in Budapest for that month, and its colour shows the season for visitors: best value (good weather, fewer crowds and lower prices), busiest and priciest, or quiet (off-peak, sometimes because the weather is poorer).

  • Our pick: May and SeptemberThe warmest of the best-value months (17°C), with fewer crowds than peak season.
  • Peak season: Jun–Aug, DecUsually 0–23°C. The busiest time, so book flights and rooms early and expect higher prices.
  • Quiet season: Jan–Feb, NovAround -2–5°C. The cheapest and least crowded time, but cold, so pack layers.
  • Warmest: July (23°C) · coolest: January (-2°C)A 25°C swing between the warmest and coolest months.
Temperatures as a table
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
-1.70.35.311.616.620.82322.61710.95.1-0.5

Festivals and events

  • Busójárás Feb · Mohács
  • Sziget Festival Aug · Budapest
  • Budapest Christmas Fair Nov–Dec · Budapest

Festival dates move from year to year: check before you book.

Getting there from the UK

Flight time
About 2h 15m
Distance
1,473 km
Main airport
BUD

Flight times are straight-line estimates for a direct flight from Heathrow; journeys with a change take longer.

Add Hungary to your bucket list Search flights to BUD

Practical info and travel guidance

ForintCapital: Budapest
Type C, F · 230VBring a UK adapter
Drive on the rightOpposite to the UK
112
EmergencyPolice, fire, ambulance
Tap water safeAcross the country
  • VisaNo visa neededUp to 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area
  • HealthcareGHIC acceptedYour UK GHIC covers necessary state healthcare. Still take travel insurance.
  • LGBT+ travellersLegal, but attitudes can be conservativePublic affection may draw attention.
  • Women travellersNo specific FCDO warningTake the usual precautions.

For British passport holders, summarised from the FCDO's advice for Hungary, checked October 2026. FCDO page last updated 23 September 2026. Rules change: read the official FCDO travel advice for Hungary before you book and again before you go.

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