BATH SPA

Hungary is located in Central Europe, in the Carpathian Basin surrounded by the Carpathians, the Alps and the Dinara Mountains.

 

The total length of the borders of the country is 2 216,8 kilometers, of which 655,1 kilometers is the common border with Slovakia, 136,6 kilometers is shared with the Ukraine, 448 kilometers with Romania, 621,1 kilometers with the successor states of Yugoslavia (165,8 kilometers with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 355,3 km with Croatia and 100 km with Slovenia) and the border with Austria stretches on 356 kilometers.

Density of population: 107 per sq kilometer

Capital city:   Budapest (1 811 552 inhabitants)

Area: 93 030 square kilometers

Time: Central European Time / 1 hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

Climate: The territory of Hungary has a mild continental climate with four seasons.

Language: Official language is Hungarian. Other languages are English, German, Russian, French

Currency: Hungarian forint (MEHUF) / (credit cards are useful)

A dense and modern traffic net of Hungary allows a quick and comfortable traveling within the whole territory. The variability of chosen means of transport is also important - cars, buses, bikes, bicycles, trains or express trains, aeroplanes or ships.

You can, of course, come to Hungary by your own means of transport, i.e. by car, motorbike, or bicycle.  Hungary has a road network of over 30,000 kilometers. All Hungarian municipalities are accessible via hard surface roads.

Seven of the eight main roads start from Budapest (designated by single digit numbers, running clockwise from the Vienna motorway M1). The No. 8 road starts from Székesfehérvár in the direction of Rábafüzes. Secondary roads are marked by two or more digit numbers.

M1 Budapest – Hegyeshalom

M15 Hegyeshalom - Rajka (semi-motorway, construction of additional sections underway)

M3 Budapest - Gyöngyös - Füzesabony (connection to Slovakia, construction of additional section underway)

M5 Budapest - Kiskunfélegyháza (construction of additional sections towards Szeged and the southern border of Hungary underway)

M7 Budapest - Balatonaliga

Vignettes (motorway stickers) were introduced on motorways M1 and M3 from the 1st of January 2000. Drivers of passenger cars can buy annual, monthly or nine day stickers. The tollgates of the M1 and M3 motorways are operating as sticker sellers and/or controlling points. Stickers may also be purchased in larger towns and near the motorways at filling stations, at 50 offices of the Hungarian Motorists Club Magyar Autóklub and 35 post offices. The availability of stickers is indicated by a blue-black notice at the points of sale. Further information is available at: www.autopalya.hu

A total of 19 airline companies operate services from 48 cities in 32 countries to Budapest. MALÉV (Magyar Légiforgalmi Rt.), the Hungarian airline company, has regular flights to over 40 countries world-wide ensuring that one may travel to or from Budapest from or to any point in the world.

Ferihegyi Repülőtér (Ferihegy Airport) is the international airport of Hungary with two terminals. Flights of foreign airline companies depart from and arrive at Ferihegy 2B while those of MALÉV arrive at and depart from Ferihegy 2A.

VOLÁNBUSZ Közlekedési Rt. has scheduled lines into the following countries and cities:

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Holland, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Great Britain, Germany, Norway, Italy, Rumania, Switzerland, Sweden and Slovakia.

Through its partners VOLÁNBUSZ offers transportation to other countries, as well, such as Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Turkey.

All Hungarian villages and towns can be reached by bus.

There are direct railway connections between Budapest and the capital cities of 16 European countries. There are luncheon cars, sleeping cars or compartments on all trains in international traffic. Most of the international express trains depart from and arrive at Keleti-pályaudvar (the Eastern train terminal).

By boat

Hydrofoil:
Service on the river Danube between Budapest - Bratislava - Vienna - Bratislava and Budapest. Schedule and fares

Scheduled services depart from Budapest to the resort areas in northern Hungary, in the Danube Bend region. Schedule and fares

Taking a pleasure boat trip on the various sections of the river Danube is a great experience to. Sightseeing boat trips in Budapest .

Between 1 April and 15 October boats are available for groups (of more than 40 passengers) on almost the entire length of the river Tisza

Yacht ports on the Danube

Scheduled boat and ferry services on lake Balaton organised boat programmes are available for visitors.

Sail boat ports on lake

There are 8 large capacity ports for sailing fans.

MAHART PassNave Személyhajózási Kft.

Balatoni Hajózási Rt.

Whether you just want to relax or you're looking for a gentle cure for a specific ailment, a bath spa with natural spring thermal water is a perfect vacation choice. 
With little exaggeration, you could say that all you need to do is push a stick into the ground anywhere in Hungary and up would come thermal water, most likely with some kind of curative properties. The geological features of the Carpathian Basin are such that the earth's crust is very thin, so waters rise easily to the surface. Hungary is a land of more than 1,000 hot springs and enough spa facilities to accommodate 300,000 people at the same time! These bath spas are located in 22 cities and 62 smaller towns throughout the country - some are simple thermal baths serving the local community.

Hungary is extremely rich in thermal waters, its thermal water reserve is significant on a world scale and on European scale it is outstanding. Most of the mineral and medicinal waters contain dissolved minerals endows them with curative powers, and makes them suitable for bathing and drinking cures.  

Currently there are more than a thousand bath spa in Hungary that give + 30°C hot water most of which is medicinal water. Medicinal waters can be found in almost all regions of Hungary about three-quarters of the wells are located in the Great Hungarian Plain.  

Among the 150 hot water bath spa of the country there are 36 special medicinal bath spa in which the water contains radioactivity, sulphurous acid, salt bromine carbonate or iodine. Europe's only cave bath spa is in Northeast Hungary, in Tapolca, while Hévíz lake near lake Balaton is the best known hot water ( 33 °C ) medicinal-water lake in Europe. For decades Budapest has been enjoying the name "the world's bath spa capital". Some of its bath spa had been already operating during the Turkish occupation (16 th -17 th centuries). There are some two dozen baths and 13 spas in the capital.

In the balneologic bath spas it's possible to treat cardiovascular system diseases, gastrointestinal system diseases, gyneacological diseases, locomotive apparatus diseases, metabolic system diseases, neurological diseases, oncological diseases, psychological diseases, rheumatological diseases, skin diseases, urinary tract diseases. The climatic bath spa are very crowded, since due to the climate influences of the mountains, illnesses that cause respiratory and allergic problems, both in the children and in the adults, can be treated. The thermal bath spas are situated in all of the territory. Hungarian bath spas are quite equipped and offer high quality services.

A total of 50 of the 160 public bath spa are qualified as bath spas throughout the country. Services are offered for healing purposes. These bath spas provide every type of balneal and physical therapy. Throughout history bathing and spa tourism has always played an important role in Hungary.