Do you plan to be in Hungary during Christmas? – you will find this guide useful

Spending Christmas in Hungary is a wonderful idea. Of course, there is some useful information you should bear in mind to feel comfortable here, like until when you can do your shopping and how you can commute during the holiday. 

Borsonline.hu and hvg.hu wrote about the important facts one should not forget during the holiday season. We wrote HERE about the best shops to visit in Budapest during the holiday season, and HERE you can read about 5 traditional Hungarian Christmas desserts.

22 December, Saturday

• Shops: open according to their Saturday schedule, some of them even longer because of Christmas.
• Transport: regular timetables like any other Saturday.
• Pharmacies: regular Saturday timetable.

23 December, Sunday

• Shops: from 6/7 am to 8/10 pm since it is the fourth Sunday of Advent.
• Transport: in Budapest, all public vehicles run just like during school holidays. Transport companies in bigger cities together with MÁV and Volán are on a Sunday timetable.
• Pharmacies: we can buy medicines in only those pharmacies that are open every Sunday. Furthermore, we can search for pharmacies on duty as well.

24 December, Monday

• Shops: according to the law, they can be open only until 2 pm. The only exceptions are some petrol stations, pubs and non-stop stores.
• Transport: from 4 pm, only all-night services are available. MÁV trains, Volán buses and public transport in other cities run according to their holiday schedule. In Szeged, there will be a special “K-signed” bus which operates from 4 pm for a reduced price.
• Pharmacies: open mostly until 12 am; in some places until 2 pm.

25 December, Tuesday

• Shops: apart from some gas stations, everything will be closed.
• Transport: In Budapest, all public vehicles will run according to their holiday and Sunday schedule. MÁV trains and Volán buses will operate like on any other holiday, just like public transport in other cities of the country.
• Pharmacies: you can buy medicine only in the nearest duty pharmacy.

26 December, Wednesday

• Shops: like the previous day.
• Transport: like the previous day, but MÁV trains and Volán buses will run according to their Sunday timetable.
• Pharmacies: like the previous day.

27 December, Thursday

Everything will be back on normal track again with the exception of Budapest where public vehicles will run according to their school holiday schedule between 27 and 30 December.

Source: borsonline.hu, hvg.hu