Hungarian currency - Forints or Euros

If you are allowed to use Euros at the hotel, it will probably not be in your favor. Mostfood places are going to require forints.

Hungary uses Forints. Some tourist places take Euro, but the vast majority only use the Forint. Hotels routinely quote prices in Euro to make it easier for travelers, but you should stick to the local currency.

Elaine - I have it on good, reliable authority from a long time friend of mine who lives in Budapest that if you stay in the tourist areas both Euro and forints are accepted as well as the service personnel speaking German and English, since both are welcomed and expected. I would give the bathroom attendant, the Klofrau, 30-40 cents.

It is very common for hotels to quote rates in a common currency such as dollars or euros even if that is not the currency used in the country. When it comes time to settling the bill, the amount quoted is generally converted into the local currency and you will be asked to pay that amount.

My personal policy is to always use the local currency. One, to me it seems very arrogant to assume anyone should accept a "superior" currency, and you also stand a much higher chance of being ripped off on the exchange rate. This is true even when booking online. For example, when I was booking my flight from Brussels to Budapest through Wizz Air, the initial price was in Forints, but during checkout, they offered to convert it into a number of other currencies. I tried dollars just to see if their price in USD was comparable to the actual HUF-USD exchange rate, and guess what - their USD price was higher. So I ordered in HUF. "Free" currency exchanges might seem like a convenience, but you are still likely to pay for that. Also, when we booked our accomodations, through a third-party booker, everything was quoted in USD or EUR. However, the hostel expected us to pay in HUF upon arrival. Anyway, Forints are fun!

You may run into places that will accept euros, but the exchange rate you get will always be a bit hedged in their favor. It's ALWAYS better to use the local currency - then the price you see is the price you get.

When I booked a room in Budapest last year, the cost of the room was listed as euro. But I paid in forints. I think it makes the conversion user friendly because if they listed the room for 16,000 forints (60 euros), many may shy away from booking because the number is so high.

I used forints everywhere and I had the feeling that smaller museums, taxis, kiosks and some restaurants would not have welcomed foreign currency, especially coins. And they are certainly not going to give you change in f/c. If you are worried about having "left-over" cash, use it to pay your hotel bill, then charge the balance to your credit card.

Arnold's post above (quoted in euros and asked to pay in forints) exactly reflects our experience with our Budapest hotel last year. I was expecting to pay in forints and was surprised to see an amount in euros. When I asked if I could pay in euros in light of the quote (because I was carrying euros just in case they came in handy, and thought maybe I could lower the amount I would end up charging), the desk clerk looked very surprised and said reprovingly, "Madam, in Hungary we use the forint."

Just returned and everyone wants Forints.

Remember that when you are in a country using currency other than Euro, that Euros must be converted to the local currency and that this costs merchants MONEY.

What I was really trying to determine was: if Hungary had MOVED FROM the forint sometime between 2007 ( I had a guidebook printed in 2007 with everything in forints) and 2010 - (when all the Hungarian hotels posted their rates in Euros)? ANSWER - No, the offical currency is still the forint. Thanks to you all for your input.