The visitor season
Moderate season, nationally.
December records 47% of August's overnight stays. This measures overnight demand, not queues or day-trippers.
A good place. At the right time.
Hungary
in December.
Is December a good time?
No scored region rates very good or better for weather this month.
National overnight stays are 47% of the August peak.
- Regional afternoon highs
- 41–44°F
- Very good weather
- 0 / 8 regions
Weather falls below the very-good band in 8 scored regions.
Find your December baseBased on 8 statistical regions. Typical conditions, not a forecast for individual towns.
One month. 8 possibilities.
Choose your December base.
The useful differences, side by side. Open a region for its full month guide.
What matters most?
Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%
Trip focus
Overall scores use the Balanced mix. Choose a different priority to order the regions by that mix.
CountrysideSouthern TransdanubiaPécs · Lake Balaton (south shore)Read the December guide ↗
Overall6.9/10#11 month here · Balanced
Weather4.9/10Fair44°F afternoons · 9 rain days
Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearBelow country typicalregional accommodation level
CountrysideWestern TransdanubiaHévíz · GyőrRead the December guide ↗
Overall6.9/10#11 month here · Balanced
Weather4.9/10Fair44°F afternoons · 8 rain days
Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearNear country typicalregional accommodation level
CountrysideSouthern Great PlainSzegedRead the December guide ↗
Overall6.8/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather4.8/10Fair44°F afternoons · 11 rain days
Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearBelow country typicalregional accommodation level
CountrysideCentral TransdanubiaLake Balaton (north shore)Read the December guide ↗
Overall6.7/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather4.7/10Fair43°F afternoons · 9 rain days
Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearNear country typicalregional accommodation level
CountrysideAround BudapestSzentendre · Danube BendRead the December guide ↗
Overall6.6/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather4.7/10Fair43°F afternoons · 9 rain days
Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearAbove country typicalregional accommodation level
CityBudapestRead the December guide ↗
Overall5.7/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather4.7/10Fair43°F afternoons · 9 rain days
Visitor seasonSteady all yearsimilar all yearAbove country typicalregional accommodation level
CountrysideNorthern HungaryEger · TokajRead the December guide ↗
Overall6.6/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather4.6/10Fair41°F afternoons · 10 rain days
Visitor seasonModerate seasonvs its own yearNear country typicalregional accommodation level
CountrysideNorthern Great PlainDebrecen · HortobágyRead the December guide ↗
Overall6.5/10#12 month here · Balanced
Weather4.5/10Fair42°F afternoons · 10 rain days
Visitor seasonLow seasonvs its own yearBelow country typicalregional accommodation level
No regions match these filters. Try another place or reset the filters.
Cost words compare a published regional accommodation level with Hungary's typical level, or describe a region's price season against its own year. The Cost score still uses Hungary's price level on the Europe scale; where regional money levels are unavailable, a cheaper season does not establish which region has the cheapest rooms.
What goes into the scores?
Overall combines weather, crowds and cost. It is not a weather rating. By default, the list ranks weather first and shows Balanced Overall scores (50% weather, 30% crowds, 20% cost). Other priorities order it by your Overall mix. Missing cost is excluded and the available parts are reweighted.
Visitor season compares each region with its own year. A higher crowd score does not establish which place has fewer people in absolute terms. Regions cover whole statistical areas; open a guide for its geographic scope. Read the scoring method.
Weather across the country
December weather & packing.
Regional averages vary; check a forecast closer to your trip.
- Typical afternoons
- 41–44°F
- Typical nights
- 29–31°F
- Rain days
- 8–11 days
Ranges span available regional monthly averages, not daily extremes. A dash means a measurement is unavailable or withheld; individual guides explain the gaps.
What to bring.
Afternoons around 44°F (7°C): a warm coat; nights around 31°F (−1°C): a winter coat, hat and gloves. Bring rain gear: about 9 days with at least 1 mm of rain.
Weather, region by region Afternoons, nights, rain & weather
| Region | Afternoon | Night | Rain days | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Transdanubia | 44°F | 31°F | 9 | fair |
| Western Transdanubia | 44°F | 31°F | 8 | fair |
| Southern Great Plain | 44°F | 31°F | 11 | fair |
| Central Transdanubia | 43°F | 30°F | 9 | fair |
| Around Budapest | 43°F | 30°F | 9 | fair |
| Budapest | 43°F | 30°F | 9 | fair |
| Northern Hungary | 41°F | 29°F | 10 | fair |
| Northern Great Plain | 42°F | 31°F | 10 | fair |
Before you go
Check the trip details.
Hotel prices
About usual.
0% on Hungary's historical national hotel-price index, versus its usual month in 2024–2025. This describes a price season, not a live room quote.
Published regional hotel revenue per guest-night ranges from €30 in Southern Great Plain to €52 in Budapest. Southern Great Plain uses the 2024 annual level, adjusted by the 2024–2025 national hotel index. Historical monthly estimates, not booking quotes.
Events & holiday dates Check the year against your trip
- Christmas market (Vörösmarty tér) (Budapest), typically 13 November – 31 December 2026: Budapest's squares are crowded in the evenings. Official calendar.
Holidays: Public holidays: 25 Dec Christmas Day; 26 Dec Second Day of Christmas. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)
Same country. A different chapter.
Dates still up in the air?
December is fixed, but the destination isn't? Find somewhere else in Europe ↗
How we know Sources, scope & limitations
Each row is a statistical region (NUTS 2); open it for the full month, the sources and what moving your dates would change. National lines are built from the regions: season is Hungary's total tourist nights this month against its busiest month (Eurostat, primarily 2024–2025; earlier published years where needed); weather counts regions whose displayed Weather score is at least 7.0/10 (very good or better) rather than averaging across the country; visitors ranks overnight visitors per resident against all Europe's regions (for a region) or the other countries (for Hungary) that month.
A regional accommodation level is shown only where publishable money data exists; elsewhere the cost words describe a regional season against its own year, and the score starts from the national price level. Separately, Hungary's 2024 restaurants-and-hotels level is well below EU average (72 where the EU average is 100). Full method.