# HUNGARY anybody been there!



## wasfitonce (Apr 27, 2009)

We are off to Hungary in July, has anybody been there with their MH.
We intend heading towards Lake Balaton.

Hints and advise please.

WASFITONCE


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

I was going in August to the Sziget music festival in Budapest on my motorbike. Since I started to make the arraignments 2 mates decided that they would like to go. So now the 3 of us are going in my motorhome I would be interested in your thoughts on the journey when you get back.

Nick.


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

Hi,
We were there in April/May this year.
We kept clear of Lake Balaton because it is very much a tripper area and we wanted more of the working Hungary...
We entered from Romania at Mako/Szeged and traveled through Kecskemet, Nagykorus to Cegled.
We stayed a while at a therma baths site just north of Cegled before going on to Budapest. We might have stayed at the Haller (ACSI) campsite there but it hadn't opened yet so we went to Zugligeti 'Niche' Camping (ACSI) again. This is small but family run and very very friendly. Good access to Buda via public transport.
After that we headed for Bratislava but stayed at a lovely municipal campsite at the water sports centre at Cunovo on the island in the middle of the Danube.
We are >3.5 tons so we are larger than the vignette allows BUT... The EU has ruled that camping cars are all category M1 and so are covered by an ordinary car vignette. When we crossed the border into Hungary the first vendor said he couldn't handle us because we were too big. The next agent spent a lot of time taking advice over the phone and then wanted 60 Euros. We declined and went to the first garage where they insisted that we just needed a car vignette - which cost about 10 euros for 10 days.
Much of Hungary seemed boring after Transylvania but the country towns were good and people very friendly. The language was a great problem to us though most Hungarians speak some English. Certainly they will around Lake Balaton!
Overall, for a holiday, we felt that we had turned up too early in the year. As a passage making tour it was safe, friendly and very good value!
Enjoy
Patrick


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## LaMB (Oct 20, 2011)

Patrick_Phillips said:


> We are >3.5 tons so we are larger than the vignette allows BUT... The EU has ruled that camping cars are all category M1 and so are covered by an ordinary car vignette.


Doers that ruling only apply for Hungary, or is it EU wide, so would include Austria, and where can I find the relevant legislation, please?

Martin


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## rosalan (Aug 24, 2009)

Lake Balaton is lovely, the food is good and the people friendly.
If you like birds and nature, it is even better.
Szeged has hot open air baths and frequent festivals it seems. The hot springs are a feature of this country. Heviz at the western end of Balaton is very hot, with flowers but is also radioactive. You can rent floats and just lie back and enjoy.

Alan


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hey up.

we went through Hungary from Poland on our way to Croatia.. 

We stayed at a camp site just over the border from Poland about May it was very warm, the camp site without looking at our records which are in the van was gained from the MHF's campsite dongle..

The site was hard to find and awkward to get to with a 8.5 meter van, but once we got to it we loved it, very quite and the guy spoke enough English for us to understand, the only downer was he had no beer in the pub thingie on the site :roll: 

It was just a stop over on our way to Croatia, we didn't take any toll roads, in fact we never take toll roads any where so never need any gizmo's for motorways in 22 countries and 18000 miles.

Back to Hungary the land of a thousand pot holes, the back roads are atrocious, with pot holes every where, we fell off the scooter trying to save the tom tom when we hit one of them, hilarious more than dangerous..

To sum Hungary up.... Brilliant, but we were off the beaten track. :wink: 

ray.


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## chrisgog (May 17, 2005)

We were there last August and it was hot!!!
We entered from Croatia and turned off the motorway for about a mile following signs for the vignette. It was an hotel and even though we were 3.8ton she said no we were ok for 3.5ton so paid for a month. We started at an Acsi sight not too far from Heviz then moved up along lake Balaton to two other sites.

reported on it here http://www.motorhomefacts.com/ftopic-13946.html&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=balaton&start=0

We stuck to the main roads as advised and no problem. The people are really friendly and Budapest is a must. Prices were low and we thouroughly enjoyed.
Chris


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Ray

If .... "we went through Hungary from Poland on our way to Croatia..

We stayed at a camp site just over the border from Poland..."

You were lost :roll: or in Slovakia :wink: :lol: 

Geoff


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## Patrick_Phillips (Aug 17, 2006)

LaMB said:


> Patrick_Phillips said:
> 
> 
> > We are >3.5 tons so we are larger than the vignette allows BUT... The EU has ruled that camping cars are all category M1 and so are covered by an ordinary car vignette.
> ...


I don't have a reference, I'm afraid.
It certainly doesn't appear to either Austria or the Czech Republic. Austria's ASFINAG has got a strangle hold on the Austrian legislature and are now pretty much a rule unto themselves. Czech Republic has farmed out tolls to the private sector so there are an enormous range of places to buy vignettes and go-boxes but almost nobody has any idea what is going on. There is a complete lack of governance - and they certainly aren't interested in what the EU say!
Slovakia does allow M1 on vignette but also wants one for any trailer.
Hungary don't bother with trailers.
Romania allows M1 and is cheap. Nothing required for trailers.
Bulgaria uses the vignette; no charge for the trailer. Interestingly, when I asked the official border post if I needed one for the Smart car (hence the trailer) I was told to use the same one as for the van; just swap it over!!!
Those are the ones we dealt with this year coming home from Greece...

Patrick


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## hblewett (Jan 28, 2008)

We were in Hungary in April/May this year. We stayed at an ACSI campsite near Heviz, close to Lake Balaton and visited the thermal lake baths there.Then on to Budapest where we stayed at Arena camping - quite a compact campsite, but as we were out most of the day that didn't bother us - in any case Camping Haller had not opened when we were there, so it was Hobson's choice. There are some excellent wines around Balaton - we wish we'd bought more!

We found that if you are over 65 you can travel free on public transport in Budapest - but I don't know if this applies across Hungary or not. We know this is correct because we were twice asked for our tickets by an inspector on the train and they were happy with a photocopy of our passports proving our ages.

We can recommend Camping Amedi in the Bukk national park. Very nice campsite run by friendly Dutch family, and excellent for a quiet day or two and/or for walking in beautiful countryside.

Also stayed in Tokai, where the campsite is well located by a river, but facilities are not great - not that mattered to us as we mostly use our own anyway, but the price was commurately cheap. Another place for excellent wine at amazingly low prices from the vintners you pass as you drive.

I would agree with all other contributors, except that we found the roads mostly quite reasonable, except one really bad pothole on an otherwise good straight road - this was worse than lots of potholes as we were travelling at a reasonable speed. Fortunately there is not much traffic, so we were able to avoid it, thankfully. Others may have found more such problems, but generally we were pleasantly surprised by the condition of the roads.


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## BritStops (Mar 3, 2011)

Camping Haller in Budapest is a great little site right in the city.

It had a fair number of "alternative" type travellers there when we stayed, but all added to the colour. Easy hop into the centre of the city, reasonable rates, but a bit of a faff to find. Seem to remember going round in circles for a bit before we finally found the entrance.

Balaton and Heviz were both fab (didn't know Heviz was radioactive, Alan! 8O ) but the site at Balaton was a bit too big for our liking - we managed two nights there then moved on.

Tescos abound around the Balaton area, but Mrs Brit Stops was disappointed to find that they wouldn't add points onto her club card...

Would thoroughly recommend Hungary though.

Steve


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## Lesleykh (Apr 13, 2009)

We love Hungary and have been there on and off since 1986, but our first time with the van was Nov 2010 Hungary

You'll find much more open for motorhoming than we did on a winter visit. Do visit the some of the many spa baths. They are a delightful way to while away the time.


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

> nicholsong"]Ray
> 
> If .... "we went through Hungary from Poland on our way to Croatia..
> 
> ...


Hey up Geoff...

Your not wrong, it was just over the border from Slovakia not Poland..

And no we wasn't lost we just didn't know where we were going, which applied to most of the trip :lol: :lol: :lol: .. We did go to some nice places, it's just we never thought about how we would get anywhere, we just went..

Somehow we ended up back home, and folk say miracles don't happen :wink:

ray.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Patrick_Phillips said:


> LaMB said:
> 
> 
> > Patrick_Phillips said:
> ...


Patrick

Thanks - all good information.

In the light of there being more countries that seem to be excluding M1 vehicles from the >3.5t rules for commercial vehicles, I have today e-mailed the Polish Transport and Tourism Ministries to ascertain the definitive law. The company operating the system (VIA Toll) are silent on the issue, but they would be wouldn't they?

I will try to advise when I get replies - if I cannot find this thread later I will post under appropriate touring.

Geoff


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

rayrecrok said:


> > nicholsong"]Ray
> >
> > If .... "we went through Hungary from Poland on our way to Croatia..
> >
> ...


Ray

I had been thinking of some sort of navigation equipment(essential when you are driving professionally) but your post made me think that, like you, we are probably better off 'following our noses' as we have done.

Serendipity - driving along a river in France, spot a small hill-town, turn off, auberge, 'plat du jour' plus litre vin de table, ask village Maire where to park - ZZZZZ - sorted. Never really wanted to go where we planned in the satnav.

Can't wait 

Geoff

P.S Ray, is there a satnav for divers? If there is, it works on the US Navy 2Mhz frequency?


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