Before traveling to Hungary before many arises one of the most important questions: "What is the currency in Hungary?". And for good reason this question bothers many! Although Hungary and member of the European Union and the Schengen area, however, the country is not part of the Eurozone and therefore the currency of Hungary is not the Euro, which can be bought at any Bank at home.
The official currency of Hungary is the Forint, abbreviated and on price tags in the country-HUF (Hungarian Forint).
In the country, both coins (5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200) and paper notes in denominations of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10000 and 20,000 forints are used.
Attention! All of the following examples are given for general information only and are not constant, since exchange rates are constantly changing.
In addition to the forints, most of the outlets and institutions in Budapest also accept credit cards and euros, but in order to accept dollars, we saw only a few places.
However, to pay in euros in most establishments often unprofitable. For example, the entrance to the toilet cost 200-250 forints or 1 Euro, taking into account the fact that the exchange rate in Budapest ranged from 305 to 331 forints per Euro (less often, 290 forints - 1 Euro). The same situation with food and drinks, for example, a portion with sausage, potatoes and vegetables cost 4,000 forints or 14 euros. In shops and cafes can be specified rate: 1 Euro was equal to 280-300 forints. Like the difference is small, but if you constantly pay the Euro, then with each trip to the toilet or with each Cup of coffee drunk, when paying in forints, not in euros, the savings ranged from 30-50 to 130 forints, which for a week's vacation savings, equaled a trip to a cafe.
Some more or less large stores set the rate the same as the rate at the exchange rate in the exchangers. In these stores you can without a second thought to pay with euros. You can also pay by credit card. In one of the stores with a good rate, we wanted to pay with a Euro card, but the sellers warned us-despite the course, when paying with a card, the conversion + Commission will be additionally charged, so if there is cash forints, it is better for us to pay with them. I had to give the last forints and again go to the exchanger.
You can exchange currency in Budapest in exchangers, there are many of them in the city. Euros, dollars, pounds sterling, Chinese yuan, Polish zloty, Croatian kunas, etc. are accepted for exchange.
Small exchangers are located on the streets of the city. One of the best courses in Budapest we saw on Teréz krt. However, going specifically for the sake of exchange, if you are not going to this side, may not make sense, it is another matter if you pass by or live nearby.
In 98% exchangers charge a Commission. The Commission ranges from 0.3 to 0.5 percent of the amount.
Also, in some exchangers, the commission depends on the amount of exchange. The larger the amount to be exchanged, the lower the commission. When exchanging 50 euros, they took 0.6 percent, while exchanging 100 euros - 0.3-0.5 percent.
To choose a more favorable exchange rate, we advise you to go to several exchange offices and compare the rate, learn about the Commission and its size (if for you, of course, such amounts matter), and then make a decision and exchange currency.
