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Rail

The Hungarian State Railway (MÁV) has a large network radiating out from Budapest to many walk-in points. Get to the ticket halls of Budapest’s mainline stations well in advance of departure to avoid long queues. A more relaxed method is to buy tickets in advance at MÁV’s air-conditioned central booking office (see Appendix 4). Ask for an English-speaking member of staff. Ticket-sellers and inspectors are unlikely to speak fluent English but are usually patient when dealing with phrasebook Hungarian. There are no complicated saver tickets and cheap returns; price is calculated by the kilometre. For student concessions travellers must hold a European rail pass bought in their country of origin.

Ordinary trains are quite efficient but expect to stand in the corridor on many journeys. First class is an alternative, but sometimes the standard is very poor and not worth the extra cost. Services are classed according to their speed and how often they stop: gyors (fast – stops at main stations only); sebes (stops at smaller towns); and személy (stops at every halt). Air-conditioned Inter City trains (‘IC’ on timetables) are fast and comfortable but you must reserve the seat and pay a booking fee. Specify if you do not want to sit in the smoking coach: nem dohányzó. To find your seat on an Inter City train examine the ticket for the coach (kocsi) and seat (hely) numbers. With a few exceptions, such as lines with unmanned stations, you will be fined for boarding a train without a ticket. Small red trains (kispiros) operating from provincial railway stations get closer to some walking routes. Some hills can be accessed using the little forest trains running from Easter to mid-October.