Converting your money to the local currency

Hey guys so you all know that I’m all about writing actually helpful pieces that you all could use it in your future trips right?

So today after finishing up that travelling to budapest piece, I was thinking about what is one of the first things that you would need to do if you visit budapest and then it hit me : you have to convert your money to the local currency! So in this rather short post, I’m going to introduce two of the money exchangers that I normally use and I think that their rates are fair. Okay first things first, you will get ripped off a lot, and By who? By a lot by these currency exchange shops. I mean gosh they just live to rip off tourists, literally half of them just display whatever exchange rate they want and then they charge whatever commission rate they want. It’s a whole large scam and I don’t want you guys to get sucked into it.

Okay let’s see where our first place is now. There is this small shop at Deak Ferenc ter, I literally know that you all are thinking oh my god Deak again, don’t you guys have any other areas in Budapest and truth is Deak is one of the most accessible areas in all of Budapest and it’s one of the most touristic areas so get used to me mentioning this area allllll the time. And I mean all the time. So anyways this money exchanger has a great location so you can reach it anytime by any transport medium. Just get on the metro line M3 ( the blue line) and get off in Deak or get on Metro line M2 (the red line) and get off at Deak Ferenc ter. Basically anywhere you are in Budapest, there is a way to get to Deak. Once you reach there take the “karoly korut” exit, this is literally the only place where it might get a little tricky because there are so many exits but just follow the sign boards and get out only at this exit. Once out, you will need to either cross the street or just walk to the money exchanger. The owners as far as I know are Persian and hence why it’s called “Kiani Sarafi” or Kiani money exchanger.

(The money exchanger, look what a beautiful picture I took)

There is usually a long line ahead and people are almost always waiting to change their money here. So basically you can already see that it’s a good place and worth waiting. The rates displayed on their board is the exact same rates you will get once you change, no tricks included, no sudden commission charges. If it is displaying that 1 Euro is 310 forints then that’s exactly how much you’ll get out of it. I went there even yesterday to change some money for this spare change I had and i had to wait in line for so long that I decided I’ll just change all the money I have to forints to make it worth coming all the way to here.

They are usually open from 9 to 7 pm but the schedule may vary and i’d suggest checking out the place on google. You can also read the reviews which most of them hold true, I was told by some of my friends that the staff are rude or not on their best behavior but honestly haven’t personally witnessed anything so I’m not going to make any assumptions. Before going here you can get the exchange rate from some other shops and compare it for yourself when you get there. You’ll see that I was right! Happy spending.

Another small shop that I want to introduce is this really cute little shop a little further down the city nearby 8th or 9th district. I don’t know the exact distinction. Anyways this is the first money exchanger that I went to in Budapest and our Airbnb host suggested it to us. I was staying at Tompa street when I first got here and so the money exchanger was pretty close to me. However if you are staying near the city center or the more touristic areas, it is more convenient to go to Kiani money exchanger. This one is called “Gold change”; you’ll see a quite few of them all around the city, they usually display quite similar rates, maybe with some slight differences. They do charge commission, but their rates are usually so fair that you don’t mind paying a little bit of commission. But just to be on the safe side always ask about how much their commission is before you hand in your money.

The exact address is Ferenc korut number 33. You can use the 4 and 6 tram to get there, just off at Ferenc korut station. They are closed on Sundays and have limited working hours on Saturdays so be sure to check out the schedule before heading out there. I hope you guys find this piece useful and if I do go to any other money exchangers I will for sure add them to this list.

Also I’m going to a lot of new places in Budapest just so I can write about them for you guys and if I fail med school it’s you guys’s fault. I’m just letting you know from now. As usual, I’d love it if you get in touch with me.

Cheers!

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