Tokaj
Hungary
A small town where two rivers meet, at the foot of the hills that make the sweet wine Europe’s courts once drank
Photo by Biro Zoltan on Unsplash
Photos by Tomas Anton Escobar and Magdalena Zofia Kmiecik on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Hungary
May to June, September to October — the harvest is the reason, and the aszú berries are picked last, late in the autumn
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 75mm in Jun
Where it is
48.12°N, 21.41°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Come without a car — the train from Budapest stops in town, and the cellars are walkable
- Book the bigger estates ahead; the smaller cellars you can knock on
- Taste dry Furmint first and aszú last
- Take the train one stop to Tarcal for a second set of cellars
- Check the last train back before the second tasting, not after it
- Walk up into the vines above the town for the view over the two rivers
Tokaj travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Hungary
Good valueForint. The larger estates take cards; the small family cellars often prefer cash, so carry enough for a tasting and a bottle or two.
ATMs & cards
A small town with few machines. Use a bank machine — OTP is the one most likely to be there — and draw before a day in the villages, which may have none.
Avoid these
- Euronet
Use these instead
- OTP Bank
- K&H
Few machines in the town and fewer in the villages. Draw before you set out.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Hungary
Very safeAs calm as anywhere in Hungary. The risk is the day itself: tastings add up, rural trains thin out in the evening, and Hungary’s drink-driving limit is zero.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- Driving between cellars — the limit in Hungary is zero
- The last train back from the villages, which can be early in the evening
- The rivers, which have currents and are not swimming water outside a marked beach
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Hungary visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Hungary
Good and affordableRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
- Tick-borne encephalitis for forest and countryside walking
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodThe town is small and the restaurants few, so book dinner, especially at weekends. Ask a cellar for dry Furmint before the aszú; the sweet wines make more sense after it, and in smaller measures.
Travel tipsGetting around
Limited- BoltWorks here
- FőtaxiWorks here
- UberNot here
Főtaxi the licensed fleet
Uber does not operate in Hungary — it was legislated out in 2016 and has not come back.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Budapest — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Hungary, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Hungarian
- HelloJó napotyo NA-pot
- PleaseKéremKAY-rem
- Thank youKöszönömKUH-suh-nuhm
- Yes / NoIgen / NemEE-gen / nem
4 more phrases
- Excuse meElnézéstEL-nay-zaysht
- How much is it?Mennyibe kerül?MEN-yi-beh KEH-rool
- The bill, pleaseA számlát, kérema SAAM-laat
- Cheers!Egészségedre!EG-ays-shay-ged-reh
Religion
Catholic, with a Calvinist minority
Religion is culturally present rather than practised widely. Basilicas ask for covered shoulders.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say jó napot on entering shops
- Toast with wine or spirits and make eye contact
- Bring a small gift if invited to someone’s home
- Try the thermal baths — they are an everyday institution, not a tourist novelty
Don't
- Do not clink beer glasses — the convention dates to 1849 and older Hungarians still hold it
- Do not put your hands under the table while eating
- Do not assume Hungarian relates to any neighbouring language; it does not
- Do not discuss the Trianon treaty lightly
Where to stay in Tokaj
No Holistay rentals in Tokaj yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Tokaj on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Ferenc Liszt BUD
3h 30mfrom the airport· 178 km as the crow flies
Bus and metro to Budapest-Keleti, then the train to Tokaj, about three and a half hours in all.
Also worth pricing: Debrecen DEB — closer, with a handful of routes; then about an hour and a half by train, changing at Nyíregyháza.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
