Comments on: Buying a SIM Card or eSIM for Travel in Hungary

By: Tudor

Tudor

I’m really sorry to update you. You can’t buy anymore a SIM card with number in Hungary as a foreigner. As a Romanian living in Hungary since 2008. They are not only requesting an Hungarian address but also a Hungarian ID/Passport. Nonetheless if you’ll manage somehow to buy a Simcard with Nr from a cheap shop, you’ll not be able to activate it due to your own ID card/Passport not being Hungarian. Yes I know, it’s discrimination, but it is what it is.

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Simon. Thanks for the update Simon - I'll update the article accordingly.

By: Simon

Simon

We flew into Budapest Airport on 6th May 2022 and there is no longer a Vodafone office at the airport. We couldn’t find it, and we asked at one of the shops and they said there was not one. We did get a SIM in Budapest itself and bought a Tuti100 plan for 6990 HUF. This comes with 100GB for 30 days of which 15GB can be used in other EU countries.

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Dimi Side.

You won’t need to put money on it every month, but you will need to top it up occasionally to stop it from expiring. I don’t know the exact period, unfortunately — you’ll need to check with whoever you buy the card from.

By: Dimi Side

Dimi Side

Hi, thank you for all the information! I need a Hungarian mobile number only. I see that Telenor sells the sim card alone but do I need to put money like every month in order to keep it active? I need it just in order to receive texts, not really sending.

Thank you in advance 🙂

By: Ferenc

Ferenc

I don’t know if things may have changed, but I tried to get a card today, and both Telekom and Telenor were very adamant that they needed an “official” address in Hungary, which their system actually verifies – I know because I do have a Hungarian passport, but not an address in Hungary nowadays, and the online system failed the verification. I ended up getting a Domino card, and registered it under a relative’s name, which is not something most tourists could do.
Maybe because I tried in a smaller city where tourists are less frequent? Anyone encountered similar situation and found a solution?

By: Ofer

Ofer

Hi Katie,
Do you know what company’s SIM is the best if I travel both to Budapest and to Vienna ?
thanks in advance

By: Joseph

Joseph

Thanks Katie!

Do you know if the Telenor phones have a virtual US number available for incoming calls?

It amazes me that you can buy a 10GB roaming plan for just USD 21, and that it works throughout Europe. Do you know if you get 4G speeds throughout Europe under the roam like home arrangement (where available)?

Finally, I would love to be able to purchase a SIM like this in advance, and go through all the identification, etc at home before leaving. Are there any services like that today, after the new European registration rules have gone into effect?

Thanks!

By: Fernanda Mata

Fernanda Mata

boa noite!
Sou do Brazil, e viajo em 18/11/2017 , para Budapeste, Viena, Praga, Berlim e Paris.
Gostaria de sua ajuda para saber qual cartão pré-pago internacional devo comprar para usar internet, e ligacões para o Brazil.
Se comprar um cartao pre pago internacional, perco meu numero de celular no Brazil!
Obrigada

By: Dave Dean

Dave Dean

In reply to Cody. We also have a post on buying a SIM card in Romania, that you may find useful. It will also work in Hungary, at no extra cost, after changes to EU roaming laws last month.