Don’t forget to take from home:
- your valid passport which includes the VISA to Hungary
- your student ID
- international driving licence if you have one
- all the medicines you must take prescribed by a doctor
- if you don’t want to buy a new phone, bring yours from Brazil, but be sure to unblock it (some problems might come up in the beginning, for example with the internet connection)
- Don’t put liquids more than 100 ml in your hand luggage.
- Don’t bring Reals from Brazil, please take EUR/USD with you, or your card.
- Upon your arrival, at the airport, change only 10 Euros to HUF in order to buy the bus ticket. Don’t change more money there, as the exchange rate might be too high.
- Please also be careful, where you change your money, the usual exchange rate of EUR is around 310HUF/of USD 220HUF.
- How to get to the city centre from the airport: take bus 200E and go to the last stop, called Kőbánya-Kispest. There, take metro3 (signed blue) until you get to the centre (stop Deák Ferenc tér).
- Let your institutional coordinator know about the date and time of your arrival, so upon request they might be able to send someone to pick you at the airport.
- Once you are in Hungary, always keep a map of your city with you and we advise you to get a Budapest map, as well.
- Also, always keep your passport (together with the residence permit and health insurance card) with you.
Average prices – how much you’ll spend the first day
- Single bus ticket: 320HUF / around 1.20EUR
- 72hours pass: 4150HUF/ around 14EUR
- Lunch: 1200HUF/ 4EUR
- Beer: 400-500HUF/ around 1.50EUR
What to buy and where
- Supermarkets – food, drinks, cleaning products, etc: Spar/Interspar, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, CBA
- Drogeries, cosmetics, hygenie products: Drogerie Markt (DM), Rossmann
- Medicine: Gyógyszertár (Pharmacy), look for the green cross
- Malls- Shopping centers with all shops you may need: Westend City Center, Arena Pláza, Mammut, Allee
- Metro tickets should be validated in the orange coloured machines before entering the subway’s territory. Bus/tram/trolleybus tickets can be validated after getting on. Please buy these tickets in advance, because on the vehicles you cannot buy them. Tickets can be bought at most underpasses (at Cassa/Kassza) and at some shops.
- In Budapest, night buses have their number starting with 9, and you can buy the tickets when travelling.
- Most supermarkets are open until 8 or 10 pm, but you can find shops open until 12 or non-stop. Metro runs until 11-12 pm. After 11-12 pm, you can use night buses, they run all night long.
- Smoking is prohibited in all the clubs/cafés/restaurants/institutions/public transportation and is only permitted in the indicated area. Drinking alcohol is prohibited on the street and please note, that in most districts you cannot buy alcohol after 10 pm.
- If you wish to travel by taxi, look for the yellow cars of the taxi companies. (for example: TaxiPlus, Taxi4, Budapest Taxi, CityTaxi, 6×6 Taxi, etc.)
