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Horsemen of the Great Plain, sweet wine and paprika: Hungary's countryside on an Australian budget

Australians who think of Hungary usually picture Budapest, with its baths and its domes on the Danube. Few know that beyond the capital lies a country of wide plains, where herdsmen on horseback still crack whips and drive grey longhorn cattle across the grass, of wine regions that make some of the sweetest dessert wines in the world, of a lake as big as a small sea and of villages where paprika hangs in red strings from the eaves of white houses. A visitor from Australia, used to open spaces and to wine, will feel an odd mixture of strangeness and familiarity in the Hungarian countryside. What will feel unfamiliar is the money. The Hungarian forint is a currency of large numbers: a coffee costs 800 or 1,000, a dinner 8,000, a room 30,000. Before you travel you need to know what an Australian dollar buys. This page gives you the answer. Use it to Convert AUD to HUF with the daily reference rates published by the European Central Bank, in which the Australian dollar and the Hungarian forint are both quoted against the euro; the page combines them into a dollar-forint figure and prints its date under the result. The amount you type never leaves your browser.

Using the converter

Australian dollars in, forints out

Type your budget, Convert AUD to HUF, and write the date beside the answer, because the figure and its date belong together.

Type an amount in Australian dollars and the page shows its value in Hungarian forints, together with the date of the fixing used. An Australian dollar is worth roughly 220 to 260 forints, so the answer is hundreds of times the number you typed. The forint has no subunit in everyday use, so every price is a whole number. A fixing is published once on each working day; on weekends and public holidays the page repeats the last one and says so. A table of round sums and a graph of the last thirty days sit below the box. For the opposite direction, from forints into dollars, open Convert HUF to AUD.

Seeing past the zeros

At any counter, Convert AUD to HUF first and divide their offer by the result to see the margin.

The figure on the screen is the wholesale mid-market rate, before a provider has taken its share. Cards, bureaus and apps give you a little less, and the gap is the real cost of the exchange. Divide the amount you are offered by the amount shown here: 0.99 is excellent, 0.97 is common for a good card, and under 0.95 you should ask elsewhere. The sums in this text assume an invented, tidy rate of 240 forints to the Australian dollar. It is not a forecast and not today's price, so replace it with the live figure.

The Great Plain

Hortobágy and the csikós

A show and a carriage ride are small sums in dollars, so Convert AUD to HUF for the whole day.

East of the Danube, the Great Plain, known as the Puszta, stretches to the horizon. The Hortobágy National Park, a World Heritage site, protects steppe grassland where herds of cattle, horses and sheep graze under huge skies. The csikós, Hungarian horsemen in wide trousers and hats, show their skills with whips and with five-horse teams in daily demonstrations that cost 3,000 to 6,000 forints. A carriage ride across the plain costs 5,000 to 10,000. At the invented rate, a 4,000-forint show is 17 Australian dollars. Birdwatchers come in spring and autumn for cranes, which gather in tens of thousands.

Debrecen and Szeged

Debrecen, the biggest city in the east, has a great reformed church, a university and a lively cafe scene. Szeged, in the south, is the home of Hungarian paprika and fish soup, with a cathedral and a lively riverfront. Both can be reached by train from Budapest in two to three hours for 5,000 to 8,000 forints. Cheap rooms and generous food make them a fine base for the plain.

The paprika story

Paprika, a red powder ground from dried peppers, is the soul of Hungarian cooking. It came from the Americas through the Ottomans and became the national spice in the nineteenth century. Szeged and Kalocsa are the two main centres, and a small tin of sweet or hot paprika costs 800 to 2,000 forints. Look for the label of the area. Store it in a dark place to preserve its colour and flavour.

Wine country

Tokaj, the king of wines

A cellar visit and a bottle add up, so Convert AUD to HUF for the tasting and for the wine you plan to buy.

Tokaj, in the north-east, produces a sweet wine made from grapes shrivelled by noble rot, a mould that concentrates sugars. Aszú wines, graded by puttonyos, a measure of sweetness, were served at the courts of Europe, and a Hungarian national anthem even mentions the drink. Cellar visits with tastings cost 3,000 to 8,000 forints, and a bottle of three puttonyos aszú costs 6,000 to 15,000. For an Australian used to Rutherglen muscat, Tokaj offers a fine comparison. Drive carefully: the legal alcohol limit is zero.

Eger, Villány and Balaton

Eger makes the red blend known as Bull's Blood and has a castle that withstood an Ottoman siege in 1552. Villány, in the south, makes full-bodied reds that win international prizes. The shores of Lake Balaton grow white grapes on volcanic hills. A glass of local wine in a bar costs 900 to 1,500 forints, a bottle in a shop 2,500 to 6,000. Cellar doors often offer a tasting for the price of a bottle.

Pálinka

Pálinka is a fruit brandy distilled from plums, apricots, pears or cherries and drunk in small glasses as an aperitif. Home distilling is permitted in limited amounts, and quality varies from rough to refined. A small glass in a bar costs 800 to 1,500 forints. Treat it with respect, as it is typically 40 to 50 per cent alcohol.

Lake Balaton

The Hungarian sea

Lake Balaton, 75 kilometres long, is the largest lake in Central Europe, shallow and warm, with sandy beaches on the south shore and volcanic hills and vineyards on the north. In summer it is crowded with families, windsurfers and sailors; in spring and autumn it is quiet. Towns such as Siófok are party resorts, while Tihany is a peninsula with an abbey and lavender fields, and Keszthely has a baroque palace. Trains from Budapest take two hours and cost 3,000 to 4,000 forints.

What it costs

For a room, a lunch and a boat hire, Convert AUD to HUF and write the total for the day.

A room in a guesthouse at the lake costs 15,000 to 35,000 forints a night in summer, a lunch of fried fish 3,000 to 5,000, a hire of a pedal boat 2,000 to 4,000 an hour. Beach entry is often 1,000 to 2,500. At the invented rate, a 25,000-forint room costs 104 Australian dollars. Convert AUD to HUF for each item to build a budget.

Money in Hungary

Cards and cash

Take a small cash reserve, and Convert AUD to HUF to know how much that is in dollars.

Cards are accepted in towns, but villages and rural guesthouses often prefer cash. Cash machines of Hungarian banks give a better rate than independent ones, which may charge high fees and offer to convert into Australian dollars at a poor rate; refuse and take forints. Australian cards add a foreign-transaction fee of about 3 per cent, so a travel card may save money.

Tipping and service

A tip of 10 to 15 per cent is usual in restaurants, and many places add a service charge of 12 per cent, so check before you tip again. Taxi drivers expect rounding up. Value-added tax is included in prices, and visitors from outside the European Union can reclaim it on larger purchases.

Time, units and weather

Hungary is eight to ten hours behind eastern Australia. Convert CET to UTC gives the first step. Distances are in kilometres, and Convert km to mi turns them into miles. Convert °C to °F helps with the forecast.

Budapest as a base

The capital in a few days

Even for travellers drawn to the countryside, Budapest is the natural base. It has the airport, the main railway stations and the best choice of hotels. The city is built on both banks of the Danube, with the Castle and Gellért Hill on the Buda side and the Parliament, the opera house and the lively old Jewish quarter on the Pest side. Seven bridges connect the two halves. Three days are enough to see the main sights, and a pass for 72 hours of public transport costs 5,500 forints. Walking along the river at dusk, when the buildings are lit, is free.

Baths and ruin bars

Entry to a bath looks large in forints, so Convert AUD to HUF and see it is an ordinary evening out.

The thermal baths are among the city's greatest pleasures. Széchenyi in the City Park is the largest, Gellért has Art Nouveau mosaics and Rudas a Turkish dome. Entry costs 11,000 to 14,000 forints, which at the invented rate is 46 to 58 Australian dollars. In the evening, the ruin bars in old buildings of the Jewish quarter combine mismatched furniture, graffiti and cheap drinks: a beer costs 1,200 to 1,800 forints. Some are noisy and touristy, others calm; try a few.

Coffee houses

The grand coffee houses of the nineteenth century, with marble tables, chandeliers and gilded ceilings, serve coffee and cake for 2,500 to 4,500 forints. They were meeting places for writers, artists and journalists, and still are. Australians who love cafe culture will feel at home, though they may find the flat white less well made.

Getting around

Trains, buses and hire cars

Hungarian trains are cheap and radiate from Budapest to every corner. A ticket to Eger costs about 3,000 forints, to Debrecen 5,000 and to Pécs 5,500. Buses fill the gaps, and a rental car makes sense for the plains and wine regions. A small car costs 12,000 to 25,000 forints a day, fuel about 600 per litre, and motorways require an electronic vignette bought online or at fuel stations. Drive on the right, observe the zero alcohol limit and keep headlights on outside towns.

Cycling

Cycle routes are developing around Lake Balaton, along the Danube and in the Tokaj region. A bike costs 3,000 to 6,000 forints a day to hire. Ride on dedicated paths where they exist, wear a helmet and carry water. In summer, avoid the midday heat.

Accommodation

A hostel bed costs 6,000 to 12,000 forints a night, a guesthouse room in the countryside 12,000 to 25,000, a three-star hotel 25,000 to 50,000 and a farm stay with dinner 15,000 to 30,000 per person. Book ahead in July and August and at the harvest festivals in September. Convert AUD to HUF for the nightly rate and the meals to compare two regions.

A week, with figures

An example

Suppose two travellers spend seven days in Hungary: three nights in Budapest, two in Eger and two at Lake Balaton. Seven nights at 28,000 forints are 196,000. Food at 16,000 a day for two is 112,000, trains and local transport 30,000, a rental car for two days 50,000 with fuel 15,000, a bath 25,000, wine tastings 20,000, the csikós show and museums 20,000 and gifts 30,000. The total is 498,000 forints, which at the invented rate is 2,075 Australian dollars, not counting the flights. Convert AUD to HUF for each line and you will see which part of the trip is the most expensive.

Savings that work

Lunch menus, supermarket picnics, guesthouses with kitchens, regional trains and free attractions cut the bill. Many museums have a free entry day each month, and city cards bundle entries with transport. The cheapest months are April, May, September and October.

Food beyond goulash

Soups, stews and fish

Hungarian cooking is more varied than its reputation. Goulash is a soup, not a stew, with beef, potatoes and paprika, and the thicker version is called pörkölt. Halászlé, a red fish soup with paprika, is the dish of the Danube and Tisza rivers, and is cooked in an iron kettle over a fire. Chicken paprikash comes with small dumplings called nokedli. Stuffed cabbage, fried cheese, pancakes filled with walnuts and chocolate sauce called Gundel palacsinta, and the layer cake dobos torta complete a table. A meal in a decent restaurant costs 6,000 to 12,000 forints.

Street food and markets

Lángos, a fried flatbread with sour cream, garlic and cheese, is the classic snack for 1,500 to 2,500 forints. Kürtőskalács, the chimney cake, is baked on a spit over coals and rolled in sugar or walnuts. The Great Market Hall in Budapest sells paprika, salami, cheese and pickles on the ground floor and meals upstairs. Locals shop in neighbourhood markets, where prices are lower and the quality high.

Vegetarian and special diets

Hungarian cuisine is meat-heavy, but vegetarian options are growing in cities: fried mushrooms, cheese dumplings, vegetable stews and lentil soup. Ask about hidden lard and meat stock in soups. Allergies are understood in tourist areas, but carry a card in Hungarian explaining your needs.

Language, manners and customs

A language of its own

Hungarian is unrelated to its neighbours; it belongs to the Finno-Ugric family with Finnish and Estonian. It has eighteen cases, vowel harmony and a name order in which the family name comes first. Most young people in cities speak English, and a few words earn goodwill: szia for hello among friends, jó napot for good day, köszönöm for thank you, kérem for please, and egészségedre for cheers.

Everyday etiquette

Greet people with a handshake, address them formally until invited to use first names, and bring flowers, an uneven number, if visiting a home. Take off your shoes when entering. Clinking beer glasses is traditionally avoided, a custom going back to 1849, though many ignore it today. In restaurants, wait to be seated and ask for the bill when you want it. Tipping is part of the culture.

Health and safety

Hungary is safe, though pickpockets work crowded trams and tourist areas. Tap water is safe, pharmacies are plentiful and the emergency number is 112. Australian Medicare does not cover care in Hungary, so buy travel insurance with medical cover. Private clinics with English-speaking doctors charge 15,000 to 30,000 forints a consultation.

Other conversions

If the trip goes on

Travellers who continue to Romania can use Convert AUD to RON, those who head to Poland Convert AUD to PLN, and those who return through Germany Convert AUD to EUR. For forints against the euro, see Convert EUR to HUF.

A small routine

Write down the rate and the date each time you change money, and compare the note with the statement later.

Mistakes to avoid

Losing the zeros

Forint prices run to many digits, so Convert AUD to HUF and check the answer twice.

Forint prices have many digits. Convert AUD to HUF and say the answer aloud before you pay.

Driving after a tasting

Hungary has a zero limit for drivers. Taste, do not drink, if you are behind the wheel.

Using an old rate

A rate from last month can be several per cent out. The date beside the result protects you whenever you Convert AUD to HUF.

In short

The only thing fetched from the network is the table of daily rates; your amount stays in the browser and no account is needed. From a csikós show on the Puszta to a glass of Tokaj, one habit pays: Convert AUD to HUF, read the date and weigh every offer against the figure on this page.