Where do Hungarians go to do winter sports?

I am going to move to Hungary, but I am wondering where I can continue doing winter sports, as I am a big winter sport lover. Thanks for all your help!

Luxury Ski Deals
Luxury Ski Deals

This is a good question, and we thank you for asking it. First of all it is not a coincidence that Hungarians now very little about Winter Olympics, and you will never see a winter Olympics broadcast at the normal national television in Hungary. The reason is that they are not really even there, and the results are not at all good. The main reason is that there are very few places in Hungary ideal for practicing and for winter sports in general. Still, if the Hungarians want to do some ski sports, the poor and easy version is to visit Normafa in Budapest. Here you can do some sliding and normal skiing is also possible.

For those interested in luxury ski deals we normally recommend to leave Hungary and travel to Austria. There you can find large areas and skiing opportunities. One such option is for example to visit Semmeringen. Here you can find 14 kilometres of ski runs during the day, 13 kilometres of ski runs at night, 3 kilometres Zaug adventure toboggan run, Split Park for Snowboarders and Free-style skiers, Kinderareal, Fast, comfortable lifts, FIS world cup arena and of course bars, hotels, restaurants and lots of other cool activity possibilities.

Another option only 350km from Budapest is Annaberg. There you can find different length of ski tracks (4-20km) and the alpine runs have a height difference of 600metres. It is also family friendly making it ideal for families coming with smaller children. The alpine area has a total of 9 elevators. The price for a day ticket is about 30 Euro per person, but if you come with children under 6 years they go free in company with an adult. Annaberg also has a small childrens land, making it even more attractive for the little ones.

These are just some suggestions, but for some good deals on such programs, you better go abroad, and the most luxurious and popular versions can be found in Austria.

Is there a hop on hop off bus in Budapest?

Is there a hop on hop off bus in Budapest ? And if, what route does it go.

First of all, thank you for the question. Of course there are hop on-hop off buses in Budapest, in fact there are several companies arranging such tours. The largest companies are Program Centrum (Hop on – Hop off tours) and City Tour Hop on Hop off Kft (Giraffe Hop on Hop off). The newest on the market in The Big Bus Company with their Big Bus tours.

The companies have somewhat different routes, but the main stops are all the same. This means that they all stop at the Gellért Hill, the Castle Hill (Disz tér), by the Elisabeth square, Parliament, State Opera, Synagogue, Heroes Square, Citypark and so on. You can find more information about the different companies at their respective homepages, but in general all three companies work fine and should be pleasing to most visitors. What makes the difference is sometimes what kind of extra services they include if you buy a ticket for their hop on-hop off service.

Good luck!

If you want a private tour in Budapest or maybe an excursion to Szentendre visit our page about Tours and fun where you can see all the different private tours in our register.

May I pay for your airport transfer service in Euros or must I convert to Forints?

Thank you for the question! It is possible to pay our drivers in Euro, but normally recommend arranging with the payment in the local currency, the Hungarian Forint. The reason is that on the fly our drivers will always say a higher Euro fee than the actual HUF fee, making it better to pay with Forint. Since you anyway need HUF to pay in shops and restaurants elsewhere in Budapest, you should just as well arrange with getting the local currency at once, thus being able to pay our drivers as well with Hungarian Forint.

If you still want to pay with Euro, ask the drier for the current rate.

Related questions:

Do you have the dates for the 2013 Budapest Wine Festival?

Thank you for the question. As we received your question we did not really have the answer to your question, but after digging around and writing to the people arranging the Budapest Wine Festival we got an answer. In 2012 the Wine Festival will be arranged from September 12th to 16th, and according to the information we have been given it will be arranged from September 11th-15th in 2013. So, if you have the chance it is just to make ready, order your flight tickets and the hotel, and get ready for a wonderful wine festival in Budapest in 2013 as well.

The International Wine Festival is in fact one of the most popular festivals arranged in Budapest and Hungary every year. You can not compare it to a festival such as the Sziget Festival, which is an event with live music and concerts and with a totally different focus, but as a inner city festival with champagne and wine in focus, this is far larger than similar festivals such as the Palinka and Sausage festival and other cool festivals.

For more information about the wine festival, we suggest you visit the festival we have dedicated to the wine festival which can be found at the following page.

The wine festival is normally arranged in the Castle area of Budapest, on the terrace in front of the castle looking towards the Danube and on the backside of the Castle where you can find the Buda hills. This is also the area leading into the main entrance to the Szechenyi Library and the Budapest History Museum.

Ask your Budapest question!

What is the price of a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt in Budapest?

I am going to Budapest and would like to buy a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt while there. How much does it cost?

There are quite a lot of products you can buy in the Hard Rock shop in Budapest, but if you want to buy the traditional short armed Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts with white or black color the price is 7700 HUF per t-shirt. If you are new to Budapest and do not really know how much this price is in other currencies, then we can tell you that with the actual exchange rates of today this is:

6500 HUF is in American Dollars about 31USD. If you come from Great Britain and London then the price is about 20GBP (Sterling). For those located within in a country with Euro the price is approximately 25 Euro. This may of course change from time to time, but currently the HUF is very strong, but that can change within days, and then the price of the Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt will feel cheaper to people arriving from abroad.

Most people buy Hard Rock t-shirts because they collect. If you don’t then you should probably not buy one in Budapest, because the price is really high. If you go to other stores you will find normal t-shirts at much lower prices, so you can probably buy 2 t-shirts for the same price as the t-shirt from Hard Rock Cafe. But if you collect, then money is not a question, and of course you should buy a t-shirt!

Good luck, and we hope this answer can help you!

Ask your Budapest question!

Are there any performances in the Hungarian State Opera during summer?

I will travel to Budapest in August this summer and wonder if there are any performances taking place in the Hungarian State Opera in that period?

opera in Budapest during summerThank you for your question. During the summer months the Hungarian State Opera is only available as a tourist attraction and unfortunately not as a cultural place. This means that there are guided tours in the building daily at 15.00 and 16.00, but there are no events taking place in July and August. The first performances normally start by the end of September, so also in 2012 when the first event will be happening on September 24th (a classical concert) and then continuing with the opera Hunyadi Laszlo from September 28th.

Sorry about that, but do not forget that BUdapest has lots of other cool activities and programs to offer visitors, so we hope you will not be bored even though the Opera is standing still in this period.

Ask your Budapest question!