The national airline is Malév Hungarian Airlines (MA) (website: www.malev.hu).

From London to Budapest is 2 hours 30 minutes; from New York is 8 hours 40 minutes.

Budapest Ferihegy (BUD) (website: www.bud.hu) is 16km (10 miles) from the city. To/from the airport: Regular coach and bus services are available to the city. The airport minibus (tel: (1) 296 8555) runs to and from any address in the city by prior arrangement. The 93 and 200 buses offer an express service between the underground terminus at Kobánya-Kispest and the Ferihegy terminals. Taxis are available at all times (journey time - 45 minutes). Facilities: Duty-free shop, car hire, restaurants and bar, banks/bureaux de change, shops, hotel reservation desk and post office.

None.

Few visitors arrive by water in this landlocked country. Minor ports are located on the River Danube. From May to October there is a daily hydrofoil service run by MAHART (tel: (1) 318 1223; website: www.mahartpassnave.hu) between Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. The journey takes approximately 6 hours.

Hungarian State Railways (MÁV) operates Hungary's rail network (tel: (1) 461 5400 or (06) 4049 4949 for enquiries; website: www.mav.hu). Direct services connect Hungary to over two dozen European cities including Basel, Berlin, Bratislava, Bucharest, Dresden, Ljubljana, Munich, Paris, Vienna and Zagreb.

InterRail: offers unlimited second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents (or non-European residents who have resided in Europe for over six months) with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for 22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10 days in 22 days across all countries. The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from InterRail (website: www.interrail.net).

Eurailpass: offers unlimited travel in 20 European countries. Tickets are valid for 10 days to three months. The Eurail Global Pass Saver ticket offers discounts for two or more travelers, while the Eurail Global Pass Youth ticket provides discounts for those under 26. The Eurailpass Flexi allows 10 or 15 travel days within a two-month period. The Eurail Selectpass is valid in three, four or five bordering countries and allows five, six, eight or 10 travel days within a two-month period. For five bordering countries, there is also a 15-travel-day option. The Eurail Regional Pass allows three to 10 travel days in a two-month period in two or three neighbouring countries. Children receive a 50% reduction. The Euro One Country Pass for Hungary entitles a person to five days of travel in a 15-day period or 10 days travel within a month. The passes cannot be sold to residents of Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia or the Russian Federation. Available from The Eurail Group (website: www.eurail.com).

It is possible to drive to Hungary from all of its neighbouring countries and from further afield. The most direct way route from Belgium to Hungary follows the E40, E35, E56 and E60 towards Vienna; from Vienna the E60 crosses into Hungary at Hegyeshalom, from where the M1 (E60/75) runs to Budapest. Anyone driving from the UK will have to travel via the Channel Tunnel (tel: 0870 535 3535, in the UK; website: www.eurotunnel.co.uk).

Bus: Bus connections are available from most major European cities; contact Volanbusz for further details (tel: (1) 382 0888; website: www.volanbusz.hu). Eurolines (tel: 0870 514 3219, in the UK; website: www.eurolines.com) runs regular coach services from the UK to Hungary. Coach passes: Budapest is one of 40 cities that travellers can visit with a 15- or 30-day Eurolines Pass. These can be brought online from Eurolines' website.