You should definitely buy a Hungarian vignette even if you are coming from any neighboring country of Hungary.
Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and Serbia, all are Hungary’s neighboring countries. Going from/to Hungary to the neighboring countries is more convenient when using Highways with Vignette,as otherwise the traveling time can be quite long (at least 3 to 5 extra hours to any country).
The reasons to opt for highway instead of the normal roads is that, some connecting roads in Hungary are not in good shape. Going through the normal roads in Hungary will take (on average) 2.5 times of the journey, then, what it will take if you go through Highway.
When should you buy a Hungarian Vignette?
If you are a traveler coming to visit multiple cities of Hungary, vignette can be a pretty good option in 2024.
Additionally, if you are crossing Hungary on your trip from eastern to western Europe or western Europe to Eastern Europe, you should definitely consider buying a Hungarian highway vignette.
Buying a Hungary vignette toll will definitely save you time as well as provide comfortable travel by car.The reason is that without vignette, you will have to use normal roads in Hungary,which are not great,generally.
Additionally, due to traffic lights, and bad conditions of Hungarian roads, your time spent in smaller cities will be larger.Leaving the main cities(Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged) out, Hungary does not have an attractive landscape like you find in Austria or Switzerland.
Hence, it will be less boring to drive on the highway than inside the small towns.
Hungary Vignette buying options
If you are inside Hungary and plan to buy Hungarian Vignette, one way to buy is from the nearest Fuel Station. You have to park your car at the fuel station,next to fuel pump and go to the counter and ask for Hungarian Vignette. Sometimes, the operator may not speak English,hence you may need translator service through an app.
The cashier will ask your Car’s number plate and give you a couple of papers, one for the payment receipt and the other which contains the details of the vignette with starting time and your car data. There is no physical vignette that can be put into your car.
You must be wondering what if you go without vignette and get away with that.
In reality, it’s not possible to not get caught while you are without vignette in Hungary on a highway. Be careful as Hungarian vignette fines can go from 15000 HUF to 60000 HUF (if not paid within 60 days).
Hungarian toll roads
In Hungary, the system of tolls is not used. Instead, you have to buy Hungarian vignette, which are tickets authorizing your vehicle to use the main highways for a certain period of time (days or months).
If you are traveling to Budapest from another EU country with a car and plan to use motorways and highways, you must be aware of terminology of tolls and Vignette.
Hungary highway vignette
No matter what sort of personal vehicle you are using on Hungarian toll highways, you must be wondering whether you need a printed vignette/sticker or it only comes in digital format.
Hungarian vignettes are only available in digital format. It means, there is no printout or a sticker for Hungary highway vignette. There is no need to put any sticker or anything on your windscreen for Hungarian vignette,as it does not exist.
You need Hungary highway ticket if you are travelling on any of the main motorways in Hungary
How to avoid the toll highways in Hungary?
If you do not want to spend 15-16 USD on purchasing a 10 day Hungarian vignette for your personal car, you must plan your trip within Hungary in such a way that you do not drive on Highways with tolls.
Although there is a list of highways and junctions where Hungarian vignette is mandatory, but it can be difficult to identify which road you would be using inside Hungary.
If you use google maps to plan a car journey anywhere in Hungary, you can easily skip the toll highways,i.e. you do not need to purchase a vignette.
After selecting your starting and destination point, Google maps will show you multiple paths between the two points.
On that screen, if you click on 3 dots on the right corner, there are three driving options.
- Avoid Motorways
- Avoid toll roads
- Avoid ferries
If you want to avoid the toll roads and ferries, you should mark the two check boxes and let the “Avoid motorways” unchecked. Hence, you will get the option to use the highways which are without toll or vignette.
Hungary toll highways Map
You can have an overview of the toll highway map for 2024 in Hungary from below diagram.
The red lines are defining the toll highways in the map.
Can you use toll roads in Hungary without vignette?
You cannot use Hungarian toll roads without a vignette.
In fact, it is a prerequisite to buy the vignette before your vehicle is coming on any toll road of Hungary.
Hence, in order to avoid fines, you must ensure that you vignette starting time is before your vehicles comes on a toll road.Although the official website mentions that “Bona fide road users mistakenly entering the toll road network have 60 minutes from the entry to purchase road use authorization.”
