Guides to Budapest Car Hire and Driving Tours - Getting around - Transportation
If you are staying in Budapest for more than a day or two; it’s worth thinking about hiring a car to visit some of the nearby attractions. Lake Balaton is arguably the city’s most popular day trip and boasts the impressive statistic of being the largest lake in Central Europe. From Budapest it’s an attractive 60 km drive through picture-postcard countryside to the lake’s shores. Once you’ve parked your hire car you can have a go at a wide variety of water sports or unwind in one of the numerous thermal spas that rings the lake. The oldest and most celebrated spa resort is at Hévíz, whose therapeutic mineral powers are so concentrated that guests aren’t allowed to soak for more than 20 minutes.
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Hiring a car will also allow you easy access to a number of Budapest’s historic satellite towns. The medieval town of Szentendre was once an artists’ colony and today houses some of the Hungary’s best commercial galleries. If you drive further north you’ll arrive at Esztergom; once the capital of Hungary and home to the country’s largest Basilica.
Car hire in Budapest is relatively straightforward process. On arrival at Ferihegy Airport you’ll find representative of all the major car hire companies, such as Budget, Europcar, Avis, National Alamo, Hertz, and Sixt. However, for the best deals you’ll have to book online before you arrive. If you aren’t having much luck at the airport; there are a number of local car hire companies in Budapest that are worth investigating.
In order to rent a car in Budapest you’ll need to show a full driving licence which you have held for more than a year. Many car rental companies will only hire cars to drivers aged between 25 and 65 so it’s a good idea check before setting off. You may also be asked to leave your credit card details or a deposit to cover any insurance excess. Once you’ve been allocated a hire car give it a thorough inspection for damaged bodywork, after all there’s no reason why you should have to pay for someone else’s poor driving.
Budapest City Break
