Why You Should Plan To Visit Budapest, Post-COVID.

The reopening of national borders has revealed a plethora of opportunities, welcoming travelers into a post-COVID era. Here are some pointers to help you plan a once-in-a-lifetime experience to bring you back to a unique and refreshing travel experience.

As countries are adjusting to accepting an economy of vaccinated tourists, Hungary is one that is more eager than most to reenter it. The pandemic put a burden on the local venues, who have been eager to welcome patronage. Hungary, being the first European country to accept a vaccine for national distribution, has recently announced new conditions for entry that make it easy and safe to visit.

Entry Conditions

visit budapest
Photo by Florian van Duyn on Unsplash

Hungary has changed its laws for entry in June. You are now able to visit if you are either vaccinated, or have had a negative COVID test in the last 48 hours before departure, as well as 48 hours after arrival. Because of this, however, occupancy limits have increased, and masks are largely optional.

Reopening of Venues

central market hall
Photo by Julius Jansson on Unsplash

The country’s economy suffered greatly during the pandemic, with many venues and small businesses closing down due to the decrease in patronage. To bolster sales, most bars lowered their prices to attract more visitors, as well as to sell unused inventory amassed during quarantine. Furthermore, occupancy restrictions in the country has decreased the general amount of visitors in a venue, which means you’re not only in for quicker service, but anywhere you visit will be less congested (therefore safer.) A great venue to take advantage of this is one of the two Stifler bars, an American-style pool bar and restaurant,  as they dropped their prices to rent pool tables in order to compensate for the economic loss caused by the pandemic. Another thing to look out for is unique events, venues such as Szimpla Kert have begun hosting regular live shows again, as well as a larger variety and more frequency in order to attract more visitors. More traditional events, including the weekly grand markets, have also restarted. For the aforementioned reasons, this is one of the most convenient times to experience places in Hungary that are usually crowded.

Land Borders

visit budapest
Photo by Daniel Olah on Unsplash

One of the most popular reasons one travels to Hungary is that it is part of a planned route, like the Eurorail. Before the pandemic, it was extremely easy to travel to neighboring countries in order to soak up the most out of your trip. While the pandemic has thrown various barriers into these ventures, Hungary recently reopened its borders for regional travel, meaning you can organize inter-European travel plans freely once again, without worrying about being stuck in another country. As with venues, additionally, the price of travel has decreased significantly, especially for inter-rail and regional bus charters.

All in all, one should exercise care when travling anywhere in the present day, and make plans with respect to the continuously changing COVID regulations. Using these changes to create efficient travel plans now, however, allows you to save money (and stress) in the future.

Thomas Benko

Content Editor Associate

Tom was born and raised in Hungary by a multi-cultural family, he has spent much of his life traveling in different countries. Tom is obsessed with culture-specific art and cuisine, his favorite place to visit is Pilsen, Czech Republic, as he considers it his second home, a place filled with cultural minutia. In his spare time, Tom likes to study music and paint, and trains to be a volunteer firefighter.

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