Travel Risk Atlas

Hungary

Central Europe · Capital Budapest

Level 1 United States Exercise Normal Precautions FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Green Netherlands Green — you can travel Level 1 Canada Take normal security precautions AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for Hungary — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

15.7 Very low risk
Atlas Risk Score · 42nd safest of 220
brown concrete building near body of water during daytime
Photo: Ervin Lukacs / Unsplash

Budapest is a safe city with one genuinely notorious set-up: the bar scam run against men approached by friendly strangers, which has its own entry in the US State Department's advice and has done for years.

Otherwise the pattern matches the rest of central Europe — exchange booths, card terminals pushing their own currency conversion, and pickpocketing in the ruin-bar district. Violent crime against visitors is rare.

Where the risk actually is

Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Hungary as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.

Baranya — No specific warningBaranya — No specific warningBorsod-Abaúj-Zemplén — No specific warningBudapest — No specific warningBács-Kiskun — No specific warningBékéscsaba — No specific warningBékés — No specific warningBékés — No specific warningCsongrád — No specific warningCsongrád — No specific warningDebrecen — No specific warningDunaújváros — No specific warningEger — No specific warningFejér — No specific warningFejér — No specific warningGyor-Moson-Sopron — No specific warningGyor-Moson-Sopron — No specific warningGyôr — No specific warningHajdú-Bihar — No specific warningHajdú-Bihar — No specific warningHeves — No specific warningHódmezôvásárhely — No specific warningJász-Nagykun-Szolnok — No specific warningKaposvár — No specific warningKecskemét — No specific warningKomárom-Esztergom — No specific warningMiskolc — No specific warningNagykanizsa — No specific warningNyíregyháza — No specific warningNógrád — No specific warningPest — No specific warningPécs — No specific warningSalgótarján — No specific warningSomogy — No specific warningSomogy — No specific warningSopron — No specific warningSzabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg — No specific warningSzabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg — No specific warningSzeged — No specific warningSzekszárd — No specific warningSzolnok — No specific warningSzombathely — No specific warningSzékesfehérvár — No specific warningTatabánya — No specific warningTolna — No specific warningTolna — No specific warningVas — No specific warningVas — No specific warningVeszprém — No specific warningVeszprém — No specific warningVeszprém — No specific warningZalaegerszeg — No specific warningZala — No specific warningZala — No specific warningÉrd — No specific warningLake Balaton
What governments advise No specific warning

What the warnings actually cover

  • Whole country — No specific warning. No government currently advises against travel to any part of this country. The colour reflects general caution levels only, not a warned area.

Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Political stability
10% of score
33/100
88th of 220
Crime
15% of score
31/100
82nd of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly flooding
28/100
41st of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
17/100
55th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
13/100
54th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
9/100
76th of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
0/100
36th of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
42/100

Biggest factor here: political stability. Risk of unrest, coups and abrupt instability disrupting a trip.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
112
Single European emergency number — police, fire and ambulance, free from any phone
Currency
HUF Ft
€1 ≈ 364 HUF
Languages
Hungarian
Visa (EU passport)
Visa free
US: 90 days visa-free · UK: 90 days visa-free
Population
9.5m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Budapest
Driving
On the right
7.7 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type C, F
220-240V
Safely managed water
100%
Widely available · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+36
GDP per capita
$26k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
61.4m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Budapest, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around May to September.

Daytime high cold mild warm hot
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Common scams in Hungary

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

The friendly-stranger bar bill

Budapest — District V, Váci utca, near the BasilicaCommon

One or two locals, often women, strike up a conversation with a man on the street and suggest a drink at a bar they know. The bill runs to hundreds of euros, the menu prices turn out to be per centilitre, and security escorts the victim to an ATM. The US embassy has published warnings about this for years.

How to avoid it: Do not go to a bar suggested by someone who approached you, however casual it seemed. If you are already there, ask for the menu and the bill in writing, and call 112 rather than paying under pressure.

Sources US Embassy Hungary UK FCDO Hungary — safety and security

Airport and street taxis without a company

Budapest — Liszt Ferenc Airport, Keleti stationCommon

Budapest sets a single regulated taxi tariff, so any quote much above it means the car is not operating legally. Touts inside the airport terminal and outside Keleti are the usual source.

How to avoid it: Use the official airport taxi desk, a ride-hailing app or the 100E bus. Licensed taxis are yellow with a visible company name and a printed tariff.

Sources Budapest Airport — official site

Exchange booths near Váci utca

Budapest city centreVery common

Advertised rates apply to sums most tourists do not exchange, or a commission appears only at the point of payment. Some booths give a receipt that differs from the amount handed over.

How to avoid it: Count the money before leaving the window and compare against the mid-market rate. Bank ATMs beat almost every booth.

Sources Hungarian National Bank

Ruin-bar pickpocketing and drink spiking

Budapest — District VII around Kazinczy utcaCommon

The ruin bars are crowded, dark and busy until dawn, which suits both bag-dipping and leaving drinks unattended. Reported spikings cluster in the same few streets as the party trade.

How to avoid it: Keep drinks with you and bags closed and in front. Go home with the people you arrived with.

Sources UK FCDO Hungary — safety and security

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Hungary is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

District V bars off Váci utca Street crime

The specific streets where the friendly-stranger bar scam operates. The set-up is organised, repeat and long-documented.

Kazinczy utca and the ruin bars Pickpocketing

Crowded, late and alcohol-heavy. Theft from bags and pockets, and unattended drinks.

Danube in flood Natural hazard

The river floods periodically and closes the lower quays and some riverside transport for days at a time.

The forint makes overcharging easy

Hungary uses the forint, at roughly 400 to the euro. Prices run into five and six figures, which is exactly the environment in which a misplaced zero on a bill goes unnoticed. Check the digit count on any bill you are asked to pay by card.

Refuse dynamic currency conversion at terminals and ATMs, and avoid the exchange booths immediately around Váci utca and the Parliament.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Hungary:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.