It’s not a surprise that the pandemic has messed everyone’s plans for quite a long time, already. More so, when you were in the travel industry and travel pretty often.

Without having a clue that it would be my last trip abroad before things changed drastically, we’ve traveled to Budapest in December 2019 for several days. I’ve celebrated my birthday in style, enjoyed the Christmas Markets, and the first snow of the year.

Fast forward to February 2020, we were thinking to visit Budapest again for St. Valentines’. But we ended up dancing at an event in our hometown and another one in Hungary got postponed. Looking at what was going on already in Asia, we decided to not travel and wait it out. After all, how bad could it get?

On March 8, 2020, as we were in a nearby town in Romania at a tango class, there was news that a region into Italy was going in quarantine. And already, we had some cases. Fast forward to March 15, 2020, and Romania was also in quarantine.

Thankfully, it lifted by end of May 2020 and travel possible was within the country. At some point, it was even possible to travel abroad. I decided it was way too uncertain, so we haven’t budged much, save for a day trip to the urban forest.

By July 2021, the members of the European Union have started using the vaccination certificate. I’ve downloaded ours once the Romanian platform opened – I have yet to use it.

Since early June 2021, we were courageous enough to attend tango events in Romania. And we’ve already been on several day trips, including to Siria Citadel and Ghioroc Lake.

Traveling Abroad Again

I’d been planning to travel abroad since last summer – but the border kept shutting down a day before our day trip.
So, when both Hungary and Romania were “green” and the infection levels at a steady 0-2 cases/ day in my county (mostly zero), my dearest hubby finally said we should pull the trigger and go. A day trip, mostly outdoors, to Szeged and the nearby Ópusztaszer Heritage Park!

Aside from making sure we had our vaccination certificates (the ones with the QR code) and some Forints with us, nothing else was different. I carry a mask with me all the time anyway – it’s mandatory to use it indoors in Romania; and I always carried a hand sanitizer even before the pandemic.

We talked to a friend who said we should use Turnu / Battonya border crossing as it’s not as packed as Nadlac 1 (the one on the European road, not the highway).

And so we did. We arrived to find several cars waiting to cross. We had to show our ID cards / passports and the driver the license and the car’s registrations papers. And we were on our way.

What Does the Law Say About Entering Hungary?

Those arriving from Romania, Croatia, Austria, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia by road, rail, or waterway may enter the country without any epidemiological restrictions, regardless of your nationality and coronavirus immunity. In other words, for these arrivals, the vaccination certificate is not checked.

If coming from Ukraine or by air, the EU rules apply. That means, showing proof of immunity either via an immunity certificate recognized in Hungary or the EU digital one (which includes proof of vaccination, of having the disease in the past 6 months, or a negative test result).

>>Read more information from official sources

What Did We Do in Hungary?

Before our trip, we’ve asked around and researched if / where masks were mandatory. We were told that they aren’t used anywhere anymore and there is no social distancing either.

Before you think they are downright crazy – which, to be honest, were also my thoughts – Hungary has vaccinated a good part of its population (49% are double jabbed and that’s more than twice as Romania, which stands at 23% – as of the time this article was written).

With that being said, we opted to spend as much time outside as possible. Thus, we chose the Ópusztaszer Heritage Park, a 136-acre theme park, located two hours south of Budapest and about a half hour north of Szeged.

We did go indoors. At the first stop, I wore my mask – my three other travel companions didn’t and nor did anyone else. So by the time we made it to the second indoor stop, I also didn’t use the mask.

The ventilation was great, though, and it wasn’t that packed. As for the other indoor spaces, I made sure to avoid being in the rooms with others, so we waited until we had the houses to visit for ourselves.

The park invites you to explore the history of Hungary as well as the culture and lifestyle of people living on the Southern Great Plain. The Open Air Museum is featuring 15 reconstructed buildings from the Interwar Period, there are the ruins of a monastery, some eco-friendly Csete yurts, and more.

You literally can spend an entire day here and that’s what we did.

There’s a bistro on-site, so you won’t go hungry. As a vegan, I had limited choices. You guessed it: the usual fries and pickles salad.

We then made a point to make a stop in Szeged, a very lively city on a Saturday evening. It was lovely to see so many people out. There are concerts in two parts of the town and life went on like there’s no pandemic.

I saw a person wearing a mask outdoors – she was handing out fliers for a fast-food place.

>>Read more: A day trip to Szeged, Hungary

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How About Crossing the Border Back into Romania?

Romania uses a traffic light system, based on the one used across the EU. I mentioned earlier that Hungary was “green”. This means, there are no restrictions for arrivals from this country.

“Yellow” countries require a form to be filled online or at the border . To avoid quarantine, those not vaccinated need to show a negative test. Those arriving from “red” countries who are not vaccinated will quarantine even if they show a negative test.

Vaccinated travelers still have to fill in the form, but they won’t need to quarantine.

The list of countries changes on a semi-regular basis and can be found here.

As for us, we decided that the highway fee was not worth it for a day trip, so we used the national roads. Coming from Szeged via Mako, we entered through Nadlac 1. The official border police site said 10 min waiting time; we waited about 45min to actually get to the crossing. But it was smooth sailing, having to show just our ID cards / passports.

>>Read more: Can I travel to Romania in 2021? Is it Safe?

How About the Next Trip Abroad?

We got reminded of how much we loved traveling. So, yes, we are planning to return to Hungary and go to Budapest. There’s no set date yet but since we are vaccinated, we can travel anytime.

I still don’t have the courage to venture further abroad. Although I really hope Greece and / or Italy would be in the cards for 2022.