The route
From Serbia through the Kelebija–Tompa crossing, west across Hungary to Zalaegerszeg, then east past Lake Velence to Budapest — and south again across the plain back to Pancevo. The only motorway was on the Serbian side, Stara Pazova to Subotica; in Hungary I stayed on ordinary roads both ways and bought no vignette.
Reconstructed itinerary, not a recorded GPS track. Each marker is where a photo was taken, rounded to about a kilometre; the dashed line only joins them in time order and does not follow the road. Hollow markers are approximate phone-network positions. Blue: the way out, Pancevo → Belgrade airport → Backa Topola → Kelebija–Tompa → Solt → Hajmasker → Zalaegerszeg → Ajka → Lake Velence → Budapest. Red: the way back, Budapest → Soroksar → Varosfold → Roszke (old road) → Pancevo. The border and Lidl markers are placed from the videos' location tags; the other stops from my phone's location history (Google Maps Timeline), rounded. Click a marker for the photo.
- 21 Sep 22:12Left Pancevo
- 21 Sep 22:55Short stop at Belgrade airport
- 21 Sep 23:27Onto the motorway at Stara Pazova
- 22 Sep 00:41Petrol at OMV, Backa Topola
- 22 Sep 01:00LPG at EKO, Novi Zednik
- 22 Sep 01:08Off the motorway at Subotica
- 22 Sep 01:40Lorries queuing before the border
- 22 Sep 02:00Into Hungary at Kelebija–Tompa
- 22 Sep 04:03LPG at MOL, Solt
- 22 Sep 05:37Two-hour stop at ORLEN, Hajmasker
- 22 Sep 09:12Zalaegerszeg
- 22 Sep 11:49MOL, Ajka
- 22 Sep 13:38Lidl, Gardony (Lake Velence), paid 14:06
- 22 Sep 15:10Rakoczi Bridge over the Danube, Budapest
- 22 Sep 15:29Hotel in Soroksar, Budapest
- 23 Sep 05:19Two coffees from a machine
- 23 Sep 06:20Corvin Plaza, parked underground
- 23 Sep 13:38Lunch on Futo utca
- 23 Sep 14:25Out of the garage
- 23 Sep 14:57MOL on Ocsai ut, Soroksar
- 23 Sep 16:50Heading south near Varosfold
- 23 Sep after 18:00Back into Serbia at Roszke–Horgos (old road)
- 23 Sep 21:17Back in Pancevo
Leaving Serbia at night
I left Pancevo at 22:12 on 21 September, made a short stop at Belgrade airport and joined the motorway at Stara Pazova at 23:27. It was the only motorway of the trip: Stara Pazova to Subotica, 799 RSD at the Subotica exit at 01:08.
Two fuel stops on the way. At the OMV by Backa Topola at 00:41 I put in petrol: 24.160 litres at 207.00 RSD per litre, 5,001 RSD, which came to €42.94 on the card. At 01:00, at the EKO 34 km before Horgos, about 10 litres of LPG for €10.32. The car is a Peugeot 206 with a 1.4 petrol engine and a BRC Sequent LPG system, so it takes either.
From Subotica it is a short drive to the Kelebija crossing. Just before two in the morning, lorries were queuing along the approach. At 02:00 I was through into Hungary at Tompa.
One thing to know if you travel on a non-EU passport, as I do: on the Hungarian side at Tompa there are two stops, not one. First take the far-right lane to a small white booth, about 50 metres before the police booths, where you get out of the car and have your photo taken. Then join the normal car lane, stop at the police booth and hand over your passport again. That is twice out of the car — with winter coming, keep a jacket within reach.
Left: lorries queuing on the Serbian side just before two in the morning. Right: the Hungarian entry sign at Kelebija–Tompa.
Across Hungary without the motorway
I did not buy a Hungarian motorway vignette. Waze was set to avoid toll roads, and its route to Zalaegerszeg went along road 53 and then road 8: 336 km and about four and a half hours by its own estimate. That is slower than the motorway, but I was not in a hurry, and I wanted to see the country and film it, not a motorway.
The official 2026 tariff for a car (category D1: up to 3.5 t and 7 seats) is 5,550 Ft for one day and 6,900 Ft for ten days (official rates). Third-party purchase sites can show noticeably different euro prices. When I checked on 27 September, one seller (hu-vignette.com) quoted €19.65 for the one-day vignette, while another showed €21.39; the 10-day option was shown at €26.59. Since I was not in a hurry, I skipped the toll motorways in both directions and paid €0 for a Hungarian vignette.
Most of this part was in the dark. At 04:03 I filled up with LPG at the MOL in Solt: about 41 litres for €42.61, roughly €1.04 a litre. From Solt, Waze took me north on road 6 and then road 62 towards Szekesfehervar before turning west on road 8. At the ORLEN in Hajmasker I stopped for two hours, from 05:37 to 07:33.
Zalaegerszeg
I reached Zalaegerszeg at 09:12 and left at 10:42. It was a short stop, with no time to look around and no photos of the town worth showing.
For context: Zalaegerszeg is the seat of Zala county in the far west of Hungary, a town of about 62,000 people (2011 census) on the Zala river, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders and about 220 km from Budapest by road. The centre has a Baroque church and an 18th-century county hall, and the Gocsej Museum runs an open-air village museum. By early afternoon I was driving east again.
Toward Budapest
Heading east again I stopped at the MOL in Ajka (11:49–12:23), and between Szekesfehervar and Budapest at the Lidl in Gardony, on Lake Velence (Akacfa utca 2, Gardony). I was in the shop by 13:42 and paid at 14:06: 4,966 Ft by card for milk, two yoghurts, ham, sliced cheese, poultry cold cuts, meat salad, cheese pogacsa, bananas, three bread rolls, iced tea, a peach drink, cola and two litres of water. Four of the drinks carried a 50 Ft bottle deposit, listed on the receipt as visszavaltasi dij.
Budapest
I came into the city from the Buda side and crossed the Danube on Rakoczi Bridge at about 15:10, a tram running beside the car lanes, then drove south through Soroksar.
Left: Rakoczi Bridge, about 15:10. Right: a Budapest tram beside the car lanes on the bridge.
Left: the Pest bank from the bridge. Right: Soroksar, a few minutes before stopping for the night.
At 15:29 on the 22nd I stopped for the night at a hotel in Soroksar, on the southern edge of the city. At 05:19 the next morning: two coffees from a machine, 350 forints each (€0.98). I left at 05:59, and by 06:20 the car was in the underground garage at Corvin Plaza, where it stayed until 14:25 — about eight hours for 3,200 Ft, €8.82.
Coffee at California Coffee Company at 07:12 (3,030 Ft, €8.42) and lunch at a kebab place on Futo utca at 13:38: a small salad and breaded chicken breast, 3,990 Ft, €11.01. Before leaving the city I stopped at the MOL on Ocsai ut in Soroksar; the two card payments there (11,192 Ft and 749 Ft) do not show what was bought, so they are listed as “other” in the costs.
The drive home
Then south again across the plain, and again around the motorways: no vignette on the way back either. At 16:50 I was near Varosfold, by Kecskemet, and at 21:17 back in Pancevo. Some time after 18:00 I crossed back into Serbia at the old-road Roszke–Horgos crossing: the small one at the end of main road 5, next to the motorway crossing. Its rules set opening hours of 07:00–19:00; the Hungarian police announced 24-hour opening from 1 May 2026, so check before you plan an evening crossing.
What the trip cost
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Petrol — OMV Backa Topola (24.160 L × 207.00 RSD = 5,001 RSD) | €42.94 |
| LPG — EKO before Subotica (about 10 L) | €10.32 |
| LPG — MOL Solt (about 41 L) | €42.61 |
| Serbian motorway toll, Stara Pazova → Subotica | 799 RSD |
| Hungarian motorway vignette | €0 — not bought, toll roads avoided |
| Parking — Corvin Plaza underground garage, about 8 hours | €8.82 (3,200 Ft) |
| Coffee — two from a machine, California Coffee Company | €10.38 |
| Lunch — kebab on Futo utca | €11.01 (3,990 Ft) |
| Groceries — Lidl, Gardony (Lake Velence) | 4,966 Ft — euro charge not documented |
| Other purchases at the MOL on Ocsai ut, Budapest | €32.93 |
| Confirmed known total | €159.01 |
| Plus, not in the euro total | 799 RSD toll + 4,966 Ft Lidl |
Practical notes
- No vignette needed if you skip the motorways — official 2026 tariff for a car (D1): 5,550 Ft for a day, 6,900 Ft for ten days (official rates). Third-party sites quoted €19.65 (hu-vignette.com) and €21.39 for a day and €26.59 for ten days on 27 September. With Waze set to avoid toll roads I skipped the motorways both ways: €0.
- Small border crossings — Smaller crossings are not open to everyone. Kubekhaza–Rabe, for example, is open 07:00–19:00 and only for citizens of Serbia, the EU, the EEA and Switzerland (and EU citizens’ family members), according to the Hungarian police rules. With a Montenegrin, North Macedonian or Bosnian passport you would be turned back there — those countries do not border Hungary. Use a main crossing, or check the rules of the small one before you go.
- LPG — about €1.04 a litre at MOL in Solt (41 L for €42.61).
- Mobile data — I used my existing Maltese mobile plan in Hungary. With 30+ GB included, I didn't need a local SIM.
- Parking in Budapest — Corvin Plaza underground garage, 3,200 Ft for about eight hours.
- Paying — card payments are in forints; my card converted them (3,200 Ft came to €8.82).
- Bottle deposit — Lidl added 50 Ft per drinks bottle; it shows on the receipt as visszavaltasi dij.
- The border with a non-EU passport — at Kelebija–Tompa, first the small white booth in the far-right lane on the Hungarian side, about 50 m before the police booths, for a photo, then the normal car lane for passport control. You get out of the car twice; in winter, keep a jacket handy. I crossed at 02:00, with lorries queuing on the approach.