Pound to Forint?

[Waynester]

Off to Hungary over Xmas, want to Exchange monies but not sure (hence dim question) where is best to do this...before I go, or when I get there?

Watching the Exchange rate does seem to be very up & down, daily!

Thanks

[Snoggledog]

TBH, I'd stick to going to a Bank or the Post Office and try to negotiate a bit on the rate.

Wrap up warmly though, it's fking cold on the banks of the Danube at this time of the year. IIRC number 2 & 5 trams are the best to get you around the city. Number 1 metro line is almost as old as some parts of the London Underground and has some very twee but pretty stations. Avoid anyone swarthy as they'll no doubt try to encourage you to part with some cash. There are bucket loads of homeless in Budapest. They can usually be found around the main transport hubs. There's a cracking Indian place called Indigo on Jokai Utca. Ahh happy days

[Mikeyboy]

Waynester said:

Off to Hungary over Xmas, want to Exchange monies but not sure (hence dim question) where is best to do this...before I go, or when I get there?

Watching the Exchange rate does seem to be very up & down, daily!

Thanks

where are you? If you are in London there's a very good place in the arcade by Liverpool st station. Best rates in London usually.

[Waynester]

Thanks for the response's, I am travelling for the 1st time with my Hungarian girlfriend, staying with her parents.
They live not far from Nyiregyhaza. And yes I have heard it is bloody cold! What I do know is is that in Hungary the value of a pound is around 352 Forint, which is considered 'In comparison' a reasonable sum of money!

I live just outside Stevenage, so not so London local I'm afraid.



Thanks.

[Mikeyboy]

Waynester said:

Thanks for the response's, I am travelling for the 1st time with my Hungarian girlfriend, staying with her parents.
They live not far from Nyiregyhaza. And yes I have heard it is bloody cold! What I do know is is that in Hungary the value of a pound is around 352 Forint, which is considered 'In comparison' a reasonable sum of money!

I live just outside Stevenage, so not so London local I'm afraid.



Thanks.

Well try moneysavingexpert.com he has a section on that sort of thing. Thats where I got the one about London from.

[Snoggledog]

Waynester said:

Thanks for the response's, I am travelling for the 1st time with my Hungarian girlfriend, staying with her parents.
They live not far from Nyiregyhaza. And yes I have heard it is bloody cold!

In which case you probably won't need my advice.

Waynester said:

What I do know is is that in Hungary the value of a pound is around 352 Forint, which is considered 'In comparison' a reasonable sum of money!

I was getting around 300 to the pound when I was working there. Between 1500 - 2400 Forint used to get me a decent meal at the Indian mentioned above. Your ££'s will go quite a long way but you'll probably find that you won't be allowed to spend much. IIRC there's a market at the southern end of Vaci Utca where you can by bucket loads of fresh paprika (not that ste that we get in the UK), saffron and foie gras for peanuts.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

346 is best at moment
http://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/

[Amateurish]

Just use a cashpoint when you get there. It's the easiest option.

[mattdaniels]

Easiest but not necessarily the cheapest.

[Snoggledog]

Amateurish said:

Just use a cashpoint when you get there. It's the easiest option.

Speaking from experience, I'd strongly advise against it as I had my card locked out when trying that. Hungary is considered a 'risky location' by some banks and cash withdrawals there can lead to some embarrassment.

[Amateurish]

Snoggledog said:

Amateurish said:

Just use a cashpoint when you get there. It's the easiest option.

Speaking from experience, I'd strongly advise against it as I had my card locked out when trying that. Hungary is considered a 'risky location' by some banks and cash withdrawals there can lead to some embarrassment.

If you are worried about that, just give your bank a call before you leave to let them know where you're going.

But in my experience, I've been to places much more dodgy and never had a problem withdrawing cash.

[Snoggledog]

Amateurish said:

If you are worried about that, just give your bank a call before you leave to let them know where you're going.

But in my experience, I've been to places much more dodgy and never had a problem withdrawing cash.

A major high street who will remain nameless was told that one of it's customers would be working around in Hungary for a period of time between June and October 2008. This was followed up by a letter to the local bank manager, followed by assurances that this wouldn't be a problem. 4 weeks into the contract and said high street bank blocked my card because they considered Hungary to be a 'risk'.