Money! by Ewingjr98
The Forint is the unit of currency in Hungary. Even though Hungary joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, its currency will not convert to the Euro until it meets all of the criteria for EU membership such as deregulated markets and independence of banks. Once these criteria are met, Hungary, Slovakia, and the other new members must adopt the Euro, unlike the UK and Ireland which exercised the option not to use the Euro. Hungary is less expensive than western Europe, and also cheaper than its Czech neighbor to the north. ATMs are relatively common in the big cities, and the small border towns have occasional money exchanges. Very few places in Budapest accepted credit cards as of 2006 with the exception of the train station. Carry lots of cash!
During my trip, the exchange rate was 100 HUF = 0.47 USD. The train to the Slovkian border cost 1004 HUF per ticket, a very cheap breakfast was 300 HUF, and an average cappuccino was 300 HUF. Our hotel was 12,00 HUF per night and an average main course was between 1000 and 2000 HUF at most restaurants.