Budapest Airport - how to get to the city center?

updated 02/25/2019

After each trip, I always have an article on the topic “how to get from the airport…”.

For me, this stage of the journey is no less exciting than the flight itself. Judge for yourself, you are in an unfamiliar country, in an unfamiliar airport building and do not know where to go.

First of all, there is no need to fuss and panic. It is better to join other passengers and see where they are going.

Upon arrival in Budapest, my daughter and I went to ... Spar. The flight was very early, check-in at the hotel is possible only after 13.00, so we had nowhere to rush.

At the checkout of the supermarket, you can pay with a bank card or euro. A well-known fact is that the exchange rate at the airport is the most unfavorable, so I “exchanged” euros at the checkout, and they gave me Hungarian forints for change.

In Budapest, there are at least four answers to the question “how to get from the airport to the city center”.

1. Bus + metro

This is the most budgetary and longest way to get to the city center, which is used by practical tourists with pleasure. We have used them twice. I will try to give as detailed a description as possible.

Franz Liszt International Airport has several "tiers". If you flew to terminal B, then you do not need to rush about in search of a bus stop, just go outside. By the way, for some reason I was carried up the stairs. You don't need to do this.)

The bus stop is marked right on the pavement.

To the last metro station Kobanya Kispest the bus will take you №200E. Operating hours on the route from 4 am to 23.00. The interval of movement is approximately 10 minutes, but in the morning and in the evening the bus runs less frequently. The ticket price is 350 forints at the terminal and 450 from the driver.

From airport to metro station Kobanya by bus it takes about 30 minutes. At the last stop 200E do not try to find the underground entrance to the subway! You need an escalator to take you upstairs. This is the subway entrance.

Visually, the movements look like this:

It is better to orient yourself in advance according to the scheme and lay out the route of movement in the Budapest subway. Station Kobanya (M3) is on the street and looks more like a suburban railway station, so don't be surprised.

The transit point for us has always been a large station Deak Ferencter where three metro lines intersect at once. It takes about 40 minutes to get there.

By the way, we lived not far from the Great Synagogue, so our metro line was M2, and the station Astoria.

Difficult? Probably at first such a route may seem difficult, but in fact, half the success of any undertaking is good preparation. Get maps in your smartphone and look at the area in advance on Google maps so that you can “recognize” it later.

For example, here is a photo from Google maps of the final stop of bus 200E. As soon as you see a large mall and an OBI store, get ready to disembark from the bus.

But this large passage above the highway leads to the metro station (pictured right).

Direct bus route to the center 100E. This is a relatively new bus route, going to the center with one stop Kálvin tér. Movement interval 30 minutes. The ticket price is 900 forints. A special ticket is bought for this bus at the terminal. Opening hours from 4.00 to 23.30
Night bus 900 runs from 01.00 to 04.00. The interval of movement is 30-60 minutes. The ticket costs 350 forints (terminal) / 450 forints (driver).

There is a special service center in the airport building customer service. What is nice, the staff of the SC understand Russian and can help you with buying tickets. You can also get a map of Budapest there. Read more about buying a bus ticket at the end of the article.

2. Shuttle

A group transfer can be booked in advance via the Internet or immediately upon arrival. I booked a shuttle when I got early in the morning from the hotel to the Budapest airport. Unfortunately, that company no longer serves the direction, so I had to dig a little on the official website of the airport - https://www.budapest-airport.com

MiniBud offers a transfer for 1900 forints. It is possible to order in advance on the website.
Flibco operates not only in Budapest, but also in Germany. The website says the price of the transfer is 9 euros.
At the time of purchasing the ticket, Wizz Air suggested that I immediately book a transfer from the airport. Prices are reasonable and practically do not differ from the cost of the shuttle. Why not?
There is another transfer option - . The only Russified service offered above. At the time of updating the article, the fare from Franz Liszt Airport to the center of Budapest is 809 rubles . In order to clarify the current cost, you need to follow the link, specify the current date, the number of passengers and pieces of luggage. In the line "where" it is better to indicate the address of the hotel or find it on the map.

3. Taxi

Of course, this is the most expensive and most comfortable way to get to the hotel. Taxis can be ordered in advance via the Internet (you will be met at the arrivals terminal with a sign) or agreed on the spot with a taxi driver.

The official taxi phone number is listed on the airport website - +36 1 222 2 222. I have no idea how to order a taxi by phone in Hungary. Probably easier to find a checkered car and try to explain where to go. The cost of the trip is approximately 26 euros (7200 forints).
A proven option - the international Kiwitaxi service shows the cost of a transfer of 2 thousand and a tail for all cars (3-4 people). If you are traveling with four people or small children, then a taxi ride becomes more reasonable. In addition, immediately when booking, you can specify the need for a child seat (approximately +300 rubles)

Another international service is Getyourguide, but here the price is fixed per person - 1370 rubles. Convenient if you are traveling alone.

After weighing all the pros and cons, I would definitely choose a taxi in advance. The flight is already stressful, at least the transfer to the hotel will be comfortable.

4. Car rental

It makes sense to book a car if you plan to explore the surroundings of Budapest. Of course, there are intercity buses and trains, but the car gives an incomparable feeling of freedom. From experience, car rental at the airport is cheaper.

Check the cost of the reservation and the conditions of the reservation through a special form:

Buying a bus ticket

You can write a whole treatise about the types of tickets for public transport in Budapest. For now, I will limit myself to a general description. Maybe I'll write in more detail later.

In nature, there are tickets for 1 trip, tickets with transfers, a block of tickets for 10 trips, a ticket for 1 day and 3 days, a week pass. As you can see, there are many options. Depending on the number of days you stay in Budapest and the density of your trips, choose the best travel pass.

Tickets can be used in any type of transport - metro, tram, bus, trolleybus. Single tickets must be validated. The validity period is 80 minutes during the day and 120 minutes at night.

On the day of arrival, we purchased tickets at the terminal at the bus stop. There is nothing complicated. You can pay by credit card or cash. Having estimated in advance our movements around the city, I decided to purchase a block of tickets for 10 trips for 3,000 forints (≈ 730 rubles). Expensive, but we had 10 tickets for 2 days.

After returning from Malta, we had one day to explore Budapest and decided to purchase a 1 day pass. The ticket price is 1650 forints (≈ 400 rubles).

I hope my today's post will be useful to those who are going to visit Budapest. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments. I will definitely answer.

In dreams of a new journey, Oksana!