Vienna to Budapest by car: M1 roadworks and which vignette to buy

From Wien Hauptbahnhof to Budapest-Keleti is almost all motorway: the A4 Ost Autobahn to the Hungarian border, then the M1. You need an Austrian vignette and a Hungarian e-vignette (e-matrica). In autumn 2026, plan around the M1 widening, the A4 works on the edge of Vienna and Austria's border checks on the way back.

The navigation apps do not always agree on how much the works will slow you down. Check today's live times for this exact route with Mapssy: compare this route.

The route at a glance

Lengths are from Wikipedia; the M1's 171 km end at kilometre zero in central Buda, so the final stretch is city streets. At a steady 130 km/h, 237 km would take about 1 hour 50 minutes, before the works, the border and city traffic.

Which Hungarian e-vignette to buy

Hungary has no stickers: the e-vignette is registered to your number plate, and the M1 is tolled from the Hegyeshalom border. Prices are for cars (category D1), valid from 1 January 2026, checked 26 September 2026 on the official price list.

Two 10-day vignettes cost 13,800 Ft and three cost 20,700 Ft, so the regional one wins from the third trip. It expires on 31 January 2027 whenever you buy it.

Why county vignettes don't add up

A county vignette runs only to the first junction past its county border, and the M1 crosses four counties: Győr-Moson-Sopron, Komárom-Esztergom, Fejér and Pest. The drive therefore needs all four. The M1 regional vignette covers all toll motorways in those counties for 15,000 Ft; the operator says the legislator introduced it to compensate drivers for congestion during the widening.

Buying it without paying extra

• Use an official seller. The operator's own shop is toll-charge.hu. On 23 September 2026 it warned about sites reselling e-vignettes above the official forint price, some with a monthly membership fee.
• Type the plate and country code exactly. That is all the vignette is tied to.
• Buy before you reach the border. A same-day e-vignette is valid from purchase, not from midnight. ADAC says a driver who joins a toll road by mistake has at most 60 minutes to buy one without a surcharge: a safety net, not a grace period.
• The surcharge is 27,790 Ft if paid within 60 days and 95,730 Ft after that (2026 rates).

Austria: the vignette and the A4 works

The A4 needs a vignette all the way to the border; it has no vignette-free border stretch. For one trip, the digital 1-day (€9.60, one calendar day) or 10-day (€12.80) vignette will do (2026 prices, checked 26 September 2026). Full tables are in our vignette guide.

Since July 2024 ASFINAG has been renewing about 7 km of the A4 between Knoten Prater, where you join from the A23, and Schwechat, with completion planned for December 2026. ÖAMTC (25 September 2026) reports at least two lanes each way on weekdays and 60 km/h enforced by section control, which measures average speed.

Night closures come and go. From 28 September to 1 October 2026 the A4 into Vienna is closed at the Stadionbrücke each night from 22:00 to 05:00. From 2 to 5 October the A23 ramp onto the A4 towards the airport is shut each night from 22:00 to 05:00. Leaving or arriving late? Check ÖAMTC's list of Vienna motorway works first.

The M1 widening: what changes this autumn

MKIF, the project company, is widening the 78 km of the M1 between the M0 ring road and the Concó rest area (km 94) to three lanes each way, plus a stopping lane on each side that can be opened to traffic at peak times or after an accident. Its targets are 31 August 2028 for M0–Bicske and 31 August 2029 for the rest to Concó, with two lanes kept open each way throughout.

On 26 September 2026 MKIF announced that over the coming weeks, in stages, both directions move onto the widened Budapest-bound carriageway between the M0 and Tatabánya, two lanes each way, so the Győr-bound side can be rebuilt. The limit rises from 80 to 90 km/h, and from 60 to 70 km/h at junctions.

Into Budapest you keep your own carriageway. On the way back your lanes run on the other side, and you cross the works zone to leave the motorway or reach a rest area. MKIF says it will not close two consecutive junctions at once.

The border and the Slovak alternative

At Nickelsdorf the A4 becomes the M1. The European Commission lists Austrian controls at the Hungarian border from 16 September 2026 to 15 March 2027; Hungary runs none of its own. The checks are on entry into Austria, so any queue is on the way back. ÖAMTC says everyone, children included, needs a passport or ID card, and waits are likelier at weekends and in holidays. See Border checks in 2026.

If the A4 is jammed, an app may route you via Slovakia: A6 to Kittsee, D4 and D2 to the Čunovo–Rajka border, then the M15 to the M1. That needs a Slovak e-vignette too (1-day €8.10, checked 26 September 2026) for the short tolled D4 and D2 stretches, and Austria checks its Slovak border as well. See our Bratislava to Budapest guide.

Arriving at Keleti: parking and P+R

Keleti stands on Baross tér in District VIII. Since 1 July 2026, Budapest's four parking zones charge cars 800 Ft (A), 600 Ft (B), 400 Ft (C) or 300 Ft (D) an hour, on working days from 8:00 until 22:00 (A), 20:00 (B) or 18:00 (C, D), with a 3-hour maximum in A to C (checked 26 September 2026). The start time varies in some districts, so read the sign.

Since 1 July 2026 most districts have removed their parking meters: pay by app, text or call when you park, using the zone code on the sign. Text payment works only with Hungarian mobile networks, so BKK recommends an app for visitors; register before you travel.

Or skip central parking. BKK lists about 1,500 P+R spaces at Kelenföld, the south-west Buda terminus of metro M4, on the side of the city the M1 arrives on; the M4 runs straight to Keleti. Where P+R is paid, it costs 500 Ft per occasion from 06:00 to 22:00 and 300 Ft an hour at night (2026); BKK says most hub car parks are free. Check the sign at Kelenföld.

Checklist for the A4 and M1

• A valid Austrian vignette for every day you drive the A4, including the day you come back: a 1-day vignette covers one calendar day only.
• A Hungarian e-vignette from an official seller, bought before the border.
• Passport or ID card for everyone, for re-entering Austria.
• MKIF's M1 site checked for closures between the M0 and Tatabánya.
• A Budapest parking app registered, or a plan to use Kelenföld P+R.
• From 1 November, winter tyres when Austrian roads are wintry; see the winter rules.
• Today's live times compared on Mapssy just before you leave, and again before Hegyeshalom on the way back, where the Austrian check can add a queue.