MarkyP

Hi,
My wife & I have been planning to leave the UK for a while & have decided that rural Hungary is the place we want to go for. We are planning on getting a place that is in need of renovation & has enough land to start a camping business. We are looking at the areas within easy reach of Lake Balaton. We will probably buy a property first & pop over several times a year to do some renovation work & finally move permanently in a couple of years time. We have never been to Hungary, but it sounds like the sort of country we would enjoy. We are not the sort of people that compare the UK to other countries & are willing to accept the country for what it is. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Peter_in_Hungary

Do an advanced search using the keyword campsite and the forum Hungary and you will see previous threads/post on this subject.

IMO Difficult to do if you are expecting to make a living out of this. The season is very short (we did tourist lets some time back and found permanent lets are better than the 3 month holiday season) and you will have (extreme) difficulty in buying any land more than 1ha unless you have an agricultural qualification.

MarkyP

Thanks for your reply. I will do some searching. Thanks.

fidobsa

I would suggest you initially come on a camping holiday and talk to people who have already done what you are planning. Tranquil Pines is one site I've heard about but no doubt there will be others run by expats.HUNGARIAN COUNTRY CAMPING - HOME

wolfi

Even here around Hévíz where there are tourists all year round (not as many in winter of course) there are several empty campsites waiting to be sold ...
One for example is in Alsopáhok just three km from the famous warm lake and even has a connection via mini train, but still it just gets too cold in autumn.
A few RVs are here from Easter until the beginning of October when the weather usually turns colder, then they all leave.

MarkyP

We are thinking about other business opportunities to cover the Winter period. My wife is doing a TEFL course & wants to teach English. Thanks for the link to the camping site. Will seriously consider staying there for a few nights next year.

scrubbedexpat142

Don't forget the language!

MarkyP

I haven't forgot the language. Will be a challenge. I've already learned a few very basic words. I speak no other language. Might also learn some German too.

scrubbedexpat142

Good for you - but I think Hungarian will keep you fully occupied! Good luck with your venture.

PaulinEger

With the greatest respect, I think you are being extremely naive. You can't possibly consider starting a business in a country that you've never even visited and do not speak the language.
You will find the language very difficult (not impossible) to grasp, the tax system is a nightmare and, as already has been said, the tourist season is very short.
Do your homework and visit several times before seriously considering starting a business here. I'm talking from experience.

FenTiger

All the guys posting here are talking from experience. I don't live in Hungary but it's a medium term plan of mine. My wife(/partner) like for some of the others here is Hungarian so for our big move in a couple of years time I've got someone who has alot of useful knowledge about Hungary to ensure things run smoothly. Having gone over there over twenty times in the last 15 years I have also made friends with other Hungarians so the transition would be alot smoother for me than someone moving over there with RAW knowledge. I haven't mastered Hungarian yet and to be honest only know enough words to ensure I'm showing respect to Hungarians so I can thank them for something or wish them a good night, etc. Not forgetting I'm very confident of ordering beers and palinka!
I've got more to add but my UK work lunch-hour is over.
PS - My wife's going to be in Hungary for a week this month, sadly I've had to stay behind to look after mainly our elderly GSD and other dog, 9 months old puppy. (Unfortunately, we don't have any close family in UK or friends locally hence reason for our plans to move over to Hungary).

scrubbedexpat142

Just another small point on the language.

I have noticed on the USA forum in the last 24 hours comments about British expats struggling to come to terms with different terminology, even though the USA & UK (almost!) share the same language. Imagine starting a business with out familiarity with the host language!

Not trying to put you off, just reinforcing the point!

wolfi

All these useful remarks remind me of my experiences (almost 20 years now):
It's very important to build a kind of network of people ypu know you can trust!

And of course that takes time and sometimes you have an ugly experience ...

PS:
This goes for every country surely but in Hungary it's really important - because there still are people who want to con you - especially if you're a "rich foreigner"!
That of course is not supposed to mean that everybody or even a majority of Hungarians are like that - but there are enough con-men and it's not always easy to see them immediately as what they are!

duztee

Seriously!
I go with PaulinEgar.
The only advantage of campsites in Hungary is you don't need to book in advance even in the high season because they are never full!
Added to Paul's points on language and taxation, the regulations on catering are also extremely difficult here, and a campsite with no catering is going to really struggle for customers.

I would suggest a serious rethink before you throw any money at all at this dream.

The Developer

Visit the place and see how you like it. If it’s good enough, don’t let language barrier and bureaucracy be a deal-breaker. I don’t know about your business model but see if you can workout a working partnership with a local and at some point learn some basic Hungarian. In the meanwhile, you could befriend some bilingual Hungarians or English speaking expats.