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 licence for 1 year. Drivers under the age of 25 may incur a young driver surcharge. An International Drivers Licence 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 seats for children up to 3 years.
Fines can be paid on the spot and the speed limits are as follows: in the city 31mph/50kph, on local roads 55mph/90kph and highways 74mph/120kph.
Driving in Hungary with a rental car
In general the roads are good in Hungary. Many roads however, are paved with gravel instead of asphalt. This often results in stones skipping up and dust reducing 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 North-East) and the M5 to Serbia. As mentioned before, the main roads intwine 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 accomplish in a day. Besides this Hungary has 10 national parks of which the largest is situated at 200 km East from Budapest (National Park Hortobágy).
Renting a car in Hungary
Budapest Ferihegy Airport offers many car rental companies, under which: Avis, Budget, Hertz, National en 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.
