Moving around and outside Hungary: Transport Information

Ukrainian citizens and those with legal residence in Ukraine are allowed to enter Hungary under the emergency asylum law. Záhony is the main border crossing point at the moment for Ukrainians and other nationalities to enter Hungary. 

Documentation allowing a crossing into Hungary is not required, as long as you have an ID and documents showing your identity and residence in Ukraine. ¹

The Hungarian government is guaranteeing medical services to Ukrainian refugees 24/7. There will be medical services set up at the following registration along the border:

• Tarpán
• Fehérgyarmat
• Mándok
• Vásárosnamény
• Aranyosapáti
• Beregsurány
• Záhony

Additionally, Ukrainian citizens can access general practitioners and urgent care across Hungary by showing a Ukrainian passport.²

Pets are allowed into Hungary as well, even if they are not vaccinated or microchipped yet. Hungarian veterinary services solely require a simple registration form to be completed before crossing into the country.³

Across the EU nations, Ukrainian citizens or individuals with Ukrainian permanent residence are welcome to live, work, receive medical care, housing, and education for 1 year. If the conflict continues and it is not safe to return to Ukraine, this support can be extended for another 2 years. This is without the need to submit an asylum application. 

For non-Ukrainian citizenship holders or non-permanent residents, you are allowed to enter Hungary and other EU nations, but the same provisions will not apply. There will be support for returning to home countries, however.⁴

Municipalities across Hungary, including Budapest, are offering accommodation through charities, hostels, hotels, universities, and worker hostels. More accommodation will open up gradually surrounding Budapest.  It has also been noted that children have entered some Hungarian schools and employment is being offered in certain companies for Ukrainian citizens.⁵

For more information and details about the capital, take a look at the city of Budapest’s help site. 

How to move around Hungary?

Once you have entered Hungary, there are a few ways to move around the country or head towards the capital, Budapest.

Bus

Hungary has a well-connected bus network in the country through Volanbusz, running primarily in and out of Budapest.

Volánbus is specifically running buses from 4 locations on the Hungarian border with Ukraine to transport refugees to Budapest. 

If you are looking to head to a different city from Budapest, here are the popular routes for intercity buses in Hungary:

• Budapest - Budapest (Airport)
• Budapest - Szeged
• Budapest (Airport) - Heviz
• Budapest (Airport) - Szekesfeherva
• Budapest - Mosonmagyarovar
• Budapest - Gyor
• Gyor - Mosonmagyarovar
• Hegyeshalom to Mosonmagyarovar

It is not confirmed if there are free rides or discounts for Ukrainian refugees with Volanbusz.⁶

Budapest public transport

The City of Budapest is offering Ukrainian refugees free travel on the city’s public transport system. To travel for free, you must show one of the following:

• Ukrainian passport
• Ukrainian identity card
• Ukrainian residence permit
• Ukrainian student card for foreign students
• Any other document with a Ukrainian address for third-country foreign nationals

Public transport includes: the metro, trams, trolleybuses and city buses. You can get a free ticket from one of Budapest’s Transit Centers.⁷

Taxi

Taxis are an option to get around, especially in the capital. Budapest has 5 major taxi operators:⁸

• Bolt
• Főtaxi
• City Taxi
• Budapest Taxi
• 6x6 Taxi

There is no Uber or Lyft in Hungary, but the Bolt app can help you book a taxi through a local operator. 

⚠️ Be wary of taxi drivers without a logo or not listed through Bolt or other taxi companies; some taxi drivers at the border are charging high fees to Ukrainian refugees.⁹

Trains

The state-owned MÁV railway company is offering free tickets to Ukrainian citizens to travel within the country. The tickets are for second-class tickets on trains that have free seats. The tickets are available from Záhony station primarily but should be available at all railway stations, including Debrecen. The free ticket is for domestic travel in particular. ¹⁰

There are 3 types of trains in Hungary:

1. Intercity: fast and only for major hubs 
2. Express and fast trains: additional stops than an intercity 
3. Passenger trains: a local train that stops at all stations

If you enter Hungary from Záhony, you can catch the following relief trains:¹¹

• MÁV InterCity trains to Budapest
• Passenger train to Nyíregyháza
• Passenger train to Nyíregyháza to Debrecen

The train times and schedule can be found here.

Budapest is the central hub for the Hungarian railway system. You can check the train times and schedule on the MÁV website.  The train stations in Budapest are all accessible by the Budapest metro or city bus system. 

The Keleti and Nyugati Railway Stations have the Budapest Metropolitan Police, the Rapid Response, and Special Police Service on hand to assist refugees who are arriving by train from Ukraine. They can provide food, accommodation, and help with transport for continuing in the journey.¹²

ℹ️ The Danubius Hotel Hungaria at the Keleti/Eastern Railway Station in Budapest is open for accommodation to refugees.

How to go from Hungary to a neighbouring country 

If you are looking to move through Hungary to head to another country there are a few options. 

The Hungarian airline WizzAir is offering 100,000 seats for free to Ukrainian refugees from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. You must have a Ukrainian passport to book and at check-in to get a free ticket. The offer is also only valid for select flights. ¹³

By train, you can take the MÁV railway but will need to buy an international ticket as the solidarity tickets are only for domestic railway travel. Although there is an exception, with free tickets for:

• Austra
• Slovakia

MÁV recommends buying the international ticket at one of the major railway stations in Budapest. Here are the major cities serviced from the Budapest railway stations:¹⁴

Budapest-Nyugati Railway Station

• Vienna 
• Munich

 Budapest-Keleti Railway Station

• Bratislava
• Prague
• Berlin
• Poland

Additionally, Ukrainian passport holders or ID cards can get railway tickets free of charge in Poland, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Belgium, and Denmark.¹⁵

If you are looking to head to the airport instead, miniBud is the only airport shuttle to get to the Budapest Airport from the city.

You can also take a bus internationally from Hungary. The bus stations for international departures are Budapest, Gyor, and Nyiregyhaza. Here are popular routes to further on in Europe:¹⁶

• Budapest to Berlin
• Gyor to Dresden
• Gyor to Karlsruhe
• Siofok to Ljubljana
• Gyor to Augsburg
• Siofok to Maribor
• Budapest to Vienna
• Budapest to Bratislava
• Budapest to Belgrade
• Budapest to Ljubljana
• Budapest to Zagreb
• Budapest to Zadar
• Budapest to Prague

Flixbus, a popular international bus company, is available but is only providing free rides for Ukrainian refugees from pickup points at Przemyśl, Rzeszów or Bucharest. 

You will have to check directly at the bus stations for the company that will take you to your destination, and if there are discounts or free tickets for those coming from Ukraine. 

Main transportations 

Here is a quick list of the main transportation hubs in Hungary. Make sure you are heading to the right station, especially if you are going internationally, as there are only a few that service cross-borders. If anything, Budapest will continue to be the central hub for the country. 

Main train stations

The main train stations in Budapest:

• Budapest-Keleti
• Nyugati pályaudvar
• Déli pályaudvar

Other Hungarian train stations:

• Debrecen
• Hegyeshalom
• Győr
• Záhony
• Budapest-Kelenföld
• Mosonmagyarovar 
• Miskolc-Tiszai
• Angyalföld
• Cegled
• Szombathely
• Gyékényes

International airport

• Budapest Airport (BUD)

Main bus stations:

• Budapest
• Szeged 
• Heviz
• Szekesfehervar
• Gyor
• Mosonmagyarovar 
• Hegyeshalom 

There are a total of 64 bus stations across Hungary so you are likely to find one in most towns.¹⁷

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Sources:

1. Hungary today asylum seekers
2. Hungarian healthcare
3. Pets
4. EU plan
5. Hungarian help conditions
6. Volanbusz
7. Free metro travel
8. Taxi
9. Taxi hyena
10. MAV train
11. MAV train Zahony
12. Budapest police help
13. Wizzair rescue
14. International train
15. Europe train
16. International bus
17. Bus stations

All sources checked as of 7 March, 2022