Hungary is an attractive country for tourists. It is also very often a transit country on the way to Croatia, Italy or the French coast. This is why motorways and tolls in Hungary are so interesting.
Highway tolls in Hungary
A large part of Hungarian roads are motorways, which are almost 1,300 kilometers. You have to pay an appropriate fee for their use. However, there is no obligation to buy vignettes if we do not use them.
Overall, the road network in Hungary is very well developed. We can easily get to all the interesting corners of this country, using highways or roads for which you do not have to pay.
Vignettes in Hungary
In Hungary, there is a vignette system that must be purchased if you want to travel on motorways. Generally, there is no purchase order for them. We can easily use normal roads, free of charge.
However, then the route will be longer and less comfortable.
So sometimes it is worth considering whether it will be profitable at all. Interestingly, some parts of highways in Hungary are available to drivers for free.
In Hungary, vignettes are sold electronically, while traditional stickers have been abandoned some time ago in favor of modern solutions. We can choose from vignettes divided according to the type of vehicle we are driving. And so we have categories:
D1M is a category dedicated to motorcycles, scooters and mopeds
- D1 this category includes motorcycles and passenger cars with a total weight of up to 3.5 tons, adapted to the transport of a maximum of 7 people (including the driver) and a possible trailer
- D2 applies to all other vehicles that do not fall under any other categories. For example, these are passenger cars adapted to transport over 7 people, as well as those with more than 7 passenger seats and a total weight of over 3.5 tons.
- B2 is a category intended for buses
- U is, in turn, a category that includes trailers towed by vehicles from categories D2 and B2
In addition, we have a choice of vignettes to be used on a specific date. And here are the vignettes:
- Daily, but only available for buses and trucks. Their shelf life expires after 24 hours from the moment of use.
- Weekly ones, which are valid for 10 (!) Consecutive days from the moment of purchase, i.e. from March 2 to March 11 at 23:59.
- Monthly, valid from the time of purchase until 11:59 PM on the same day, only the next month – for example, from May 6 to June 6. If there is no day with the same number in a given month, the vignette is valid until 23:59 on its last day.
- Annual, valid from the moment of purchase until January 31 of the following year. In practice, it looks like if we buy an annual vignette now, because it will be valid until January 31, 2021.
- Annual, but only for a selected county, valid until January 31 of the following year.
Before you go on a trip, make sure you have up-to-date insurance!
Annual vignettes for the selected area can be purchased at the following counties: Bács-Kiskun, Baranya, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Csongrád, Fejér, Győr-Mo-son-Sopron, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Komárom-Esztergom, Pest, Somogy, Szabolcs – Szatmár-Bereg, Tolna, Vas, Veszprém and Zala.
Where to buy vignettes in Hungary?
Vignettes in Hungary are only available in electronic form. They can be purchased at gas stations, near motorway entrances and at points of sale (all of them are listed here). A much more convenient way to buy a vignette in Hungary is online here or here. It is important to pay for the relevant vignette within 60 minutes after entering the motorway.
Regardless of the chosen method of purchasing the vignette, we only need the registration number of our vehicle to complete the transaction. After paying for the selected option, we receive a coupon by e-mail or in your hands, which for your own safety should be kept for up to two years from the end of its validity.
There are situations where after six months we receive a ticket for driving on Hungarian motorways without a valid vignette.
See also the issue of vignettes and highways in Slovakia.
Highways in Hungary
The motorway network in Hungary looks like the center is in Budapest (on the ring road), from where they diverge in all directions, all the way to the border with neighboring countries. Such a system allows you to reach every part of the country and, above all, quickly and comfortably travel from north to south or from east to west.
Of course, there are plans to extend this motorway network to make traveling in Hungary even more comfortable. Hungarians want to expand some of these expressways with additional traffic lanes to increase the capacity of frequently used routes.
Motorways in Hungary are marked with a capital letter M and the corresponding number, and so we have: M0 (Budapest Bypass), M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, M8, M9, M10, M11, M15, M19, M25, M30 , M31, M34, M35, M43, M44, M49, M51, M60, M70, M85, M86 and M87. Unfortunately, some of them are still only planned or are still under construction. The longest of the highways in Hungary are M3, M7 and M6. There are also plans to build a fairly important road leading from the bypass in Budapest to the border with Romania (M4).
And so in Hungary we have highways:
M0 – this is the bypass of the capital city, i.e. Budapest (the remainder is still to be added)
M1 – leading from Budapest to the border with Austria
M2 – running from Budapest to the border with Slovakia (remaining part to be added)
M3 – leading from Budapest to the border with Ukraine (remaining part to be added)
M4 – which will take you from Budapest to the border with Romania (the rest is still to be added)
M5 – leads from the capital of Hungary to the border with Serbia
M6 – runs from Budapest to the Croatian border (remainder still to be added)
M7 – this one also leads from the Hungarian capital to the border with Croatia, but to a different border crossing
M8 – leads from Szentgotthárd to Füzesabony (remaining part still to be added)
M9 – runs from Sopron to Szeged (remaining part to be added)
M10 – connects Budapest with the border in Slovakia (under construction or only planned for now)
M11 – leads from the Slovak border to Hatvan (under construction or only planned for now)
M15 – runs from the M1 motorway to the Slovak border
M19 – is the M1 motorway connector from Győr
M25 – runs from the M3 highway to Eger (under construction or only planned for now)
M30 – runs from the M3 motorway to the border with Slovakia (the remainder is still to be added)
M31 – runs from the Budapest ring road M0 to Gödöllő
M34 – connects the M3 motorway with the Ukrainian border (under construction or only planned for now)
M35 – runs from the M3 motorway to the M4 route (remaining part to be added)
M43 – runs from the M5 motorway to the Romanian border
M44 – similarly to lead from the M5 motorway to the border with Romania (under construction or only planned for now)
M49 – connects the M3 motorway with the border in Romania (under construction or only planned for now)
M51 – runs from the M5 motorway to Dunaharaszti
M60 – which leads from the M6 motorway to the Croatian border (remaining part to be added)
M70 – runs from the M7 motorway to the Slovenian border
M85 – connects the M1 motorway with the Austrian border (remainder still to be added)
M86 – runs from the M1 motorway to Szombathely (remaining part to be added)
M87 – leads from Szombathely to the Austrian border (under construction or only planned for now)
Highway tolls in Hungary
Road tolls in Hungary have not increased since last year. Current vignette prices in this country are worth checking on the website – https://toll-charge.hu/articles/article/e-vignette-rates It is also a good idea that when going on a two-week vacation, it is more profitable to buy a monthly vignette for one together than twice a weekly (10-day) period.
The vignette prices in Hungary are as follows:
D1M
- weekly – 1470 HUF
- monthly – 2500 HUF
D1
- weekly – 3500 HUF
- monthly – 4 780 HUF
- annual – 42,980 HUF
- annual (for the selected county) – 5,000 HUF
D2
- weekly – 7,000 HUF
- monthly – 9560 HUF
- annual – 42,980 HUF
- annual (for a selected county) – 10,000 HUF
B2
- weekly – 15 500 HUF
- monthly – 21,975 HUF
- annual – 199975 HUF
- annual (for the selected county) – 20,000 HUF
AT
- weekly – 3500 HUF
- monthly – 4 780 HUF
- annual – 42,980 HUF
- annual (for the selected county) – 5,000 HUF
Also compare the prices of vignettes and highways in Slovenia.
In Hungary, vignettes are checked electronically with cameras, toll control cars and random vehicle stops. So if we do not buy a suitable one, and we will use toll motorways, we will surely get a fine after some time. Their amount is already determined in advance and amounts to each category:
D1M
- 7,500 HUF (paid up to 60 days)
- 30,000 HUF (paid over the 60th day)
D1 and D2
- 14 875 HUF (paid up to 60 days)
- 59,500 HUF (paid over the 60th day)
B2
- HUF 66925 (paid up to 60 days)
- HUF 267,700 (paid above the 60th day)
Speed limits on the roads in Hungary
-
50 km / h in built-up areas
- 90 km / h for passenger cars and 70 km / h for vehicles over 3.5 tons and with a trailer, outside built-up areas
- 110 km / h on expressways for passenger cars and cars up to 3.5 t. For vehicles over 3.5 t up to 70 km / h
- 130 km / h on motorways for passenger cars. The others are limited to 80 km / h
In Hungary, we drive with seat belts fastened, with a first aid kit and warning triangle equipped. A tow rope, fire extinguisher and reflective vests are not obligatory here. You should have 0.0 per mille of alcohol in the exhaled air. On the other hand, a telephone conversation while driving should only be done using a hands-free kit. As for the lights on, they are mandatory during the day in undeveloped areas. With good visibility, during the day in a city or other built-up place, they are not mandatory.
Important phone numbers in Hungary:
112 – European emergency number (fire brigade, ambulance, police)
188 or 361 – roadside assistance
Map of highways in Hungary
See the map of the motorway network in Hungary on the map below:
Let me know what the topic of highways and vignettes in Hungary looks like from your perspective.