Getting to/from Budapest airport
Budapest Ferihegy airport is located 16 km east from the centre of Budapest and is relatively easily accessible by public transport. From the airport take the bus No. 200 to Köbánya Kispest metro station (the journey takes 25 minutes) and then continue by metro to the centre (the journey takes approximately 20 minutes).
If you arrive to Terminal 1 of Budapest airport, you can also get to the centre by train. There are regular rail services from Budapest Airport (Terminal 1) to Nyugati train station.
Budapest Airport Minibus
Budapest Airport Minibus offers a little bit of extra comfort and less hassle compared to public transportation. Buy a ticket in the arrival hall of Budapest Airport and tell the clerk the exact address you would like to go to. A minibus departs when full and delivers you to the address you specified when buying the ticket. You can also order airport minibus to pick you up at the chosen address and take you to the airport. Visit Budapest Airport website for details.
Airport Taxi
The only official taxi service for trips from Budapest airport is Zóna taxi. Other companies should be avoided unless you are willing to take a risk of getting ripped-off.
Zóna taxi operates on the basis of vouchers that are sold in all terminals of the airport. They divided Budapest into zones and set the highest price they are allowed to charge for trips to respective zones. Regardless of the maximum price policy they have to turn on the meter and if it shows lower amount than the maximum allowed for the zone you pay according to the meter. All airport taxis accept credit cards. For details visit Zóna taxi website.
Budapest public transport
Most of the vehicles of Budapest public transport (except a few trams and buses) are old and tired but the connections are good and relatively frequent. Ticket prices are keep going up so public transportation rides in Budapest are no longer cheap.
Late in the evenings metro lines and main tram lines are supplemented with night buses operating throughout the night. It is possible to get almost anywhere at almost any time by Budapest public transport, so you don't need to take a risk of being cheated by taxi drivers.
Most attractions in Budapest are near metro and tram stops so you will very unlikely need to take buses (except at night).
Budapest Metro
Budapest metro has three lines at the moment: M1 or the yellow line, M2 or the red line and M3 or the blue line. The only station where all three lines intersect is Deák Ferenc tér right in the centre of Budapest.
Construction of metro line 4 is painfully slow and hindered by perpetual financial and technical problems. Currently Budapest metro 4 is scheduled to start operating in 2011.
Many Budapest's attractions (Váci utca, The house of terror, Heroes' Square and Szécheny baths) are along the metro line M1 which is also an attraction itself. The yellow metro is the oldest metro in continental Europe. One of its first passengers was Franz Joseph.
Metro stations that might be useful for travellers along the metro line M2 are Déli pályaudvar (Southern railway station), Moszkva tér (near the Castle Hill and Mammut shopping centre), Kossuth Lajos tér (parliament), Keleti pályaudvar (Eastern railway station) and Örs Vezér tere (Árkád shopping centre, Ikea).
Useful metro stations along the metro line M3 are Köbánya Kispest (bus No. 200 for the airport), Kálvin tér (near Ráday utca), Ferenciek tere (near Váci utca) and Nyugati pályaudvar (Western railway station and West-End shopping centre).
Tickets
You can buy tickets for Budapest public transport at ticket counters at metro stations or from machines. The machines are often out of order or don't function property (meaning that they don't want to swallow your coins or even eat up your money without spitting out the ticket). The array of available tickets makes travelling on Budapest public transport rather confusing:
- Single ticket is valid for a trip from point
A to point B by metro, bus, tram or trolleybus, allowing 1 change only
between metro lines;
- Transfer ticket allows 1 change between metro,
bus, tram or troleybus lines;
- Short trip single ticket is valid only on
the metro and allows you to make a trip of up to three stations;
- There are also discounted coupon books of
10 coupons available.
You need to validate your ticket before you enter the metro system and immediately upon boarding a bus, a tram or a trolleybus. This might be difficult during peak hours when the vehicles are so packed that you don't have any chance to squeeze yourself to the nearest ticket puncher.
Controls are relatively frequent and inspectors won't accept your excuse of not being able to punch your ticket because of the overcrowded vehicle. In fact, Budapest public transport inspectors are known for having no mercy whatsoever - their ruthlesness even made its way into a famous Hungarian film:
Sounds complicated? Well then it's best that you get a 1-day, 3-days or 7-days pass valid throughout the network. It is also cheaper as long as you plan to use public transportation relatively frequently. For detailed ticket pricelists and schedules visit BKV website.
Budapest Card
If you are planning to visit Budapest's museums and galleries you might want to think about getting a Budapest Card which is valid for 48 or 72 hours and among other benefits offers the following:
- Unlimited number of journeys on Budapest public transport;
- Free or discounted entrance to 60 museums and other attractions
For details about Budapest Card and on-line order visit Budapest Tourism Office website.
Taxi
Be careful when choosing a taxi in Budapest. Never stop a taxi on the street. If you do, you have a very high chance of being ripped-off. And even if you happen to flag down an honest taxi driver (not easy to find anywhere in the world) taxis are more expensive if you stop them on the street than if you call them over the phone.
Carefully check the change returned by the cabbie – not only the amount but also the currency. We've heard stories about taxi drivers returning Romanian leu instead of Hungarian forints.
Some of the reputable taxi companies include: 6x6 Taxi (tel. 266-6666), Fötaksi (tel. 222-2222), City Taxi (tel. 211-1111). If you are calling from a mobile phone you need to dial 061 before the numbers given above.