Budapest is one of the greatest European travel destinations
and is one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in Central Europe.
In order to get the Budapest and to enjoy it's atmosphere,
cultural and historical sites and of course the great Danube, you need to do
just two things:
- get a good bargain airplane ticket
- get to Budapest from the Budapest Franz Liszt
International Airport ( referred to as BUD )
The first step is somewhat more difficult, but you can
actually enjoy some excellent fairs from some of the major low-cost air carriers:
WizzAir
EasyJet
Germanwings
Jet2
Norwegian
RyanAir
Depending on your exact location you can check any of the
above listed companies and find a ticket for a great Budapest holiday. You
should of course expect the weekday prices to be cheaper than the weekend ones,
so you should have this in mind when planning a holiday. A cheap ticket and
several days off work are a very good combination, so you should use this
opportunity whenever you have the chance to do it.
The second step to get to Budapest is to reach the city when
you have already arrived at the Budapest Airport.
This is also a surprisingly easy task and also not a very expensive one, compared to transfer rates of the other major European airports.
when planning the details for your holiday ( including the transport ), please
do have in mind that since the 29.05.2012 the Terminal 1 of the BUD is no
longer serving passengers. All air carriers use the Terminal 2 of the BUD
airport and it's two terminals called 2A and 2B, taking into advantage of the
new and very modern SkyCourt passenger hall built between them, which hosts
many shops, restaurants and various services. Usually the Shengen citizens
arrive at the 2A terminal and the non-Shengen citizens at the 2B, but be sure
always to check this detail for your arrival and departure tickets in order to
avoid any problems.
There are several transport options, so you just have to
pick the one which suits your needs and pocket:
1) Public transport
You can get to Budapest ( or to the airport ) with a very
each train-bus change, as follows:
You should use the 200E line, which runs from Terminal 2 to
Terminal 1 and the Kobanya-Kispest metro station and the Ferihegy train
station. From the Ferihegy train station you can get a train ( numbers 111 and
92 ) to Budapest Nyugati Railway Stationto or you can use the M3 metro line
from the Kobanya-Kispest to the city center - Deak Ferenc Square. The metro
trip is recommended, as it is easier and faster. You can use the same transport
to get to the Budapest Airport for your flight home.
If you have an early night ticket ( between 11am and 4am ),
please note that bus 200E is not functioning at the time and you should use the
900 line and it's connections 950 and 950a, which will take you from the
airport to Budapest to the city center. For the 900 schedule, please check
here: http://bkv.hu/night/900vissza.html
Please note that when you switch from metro ( or train ) to
bus you need two tickets for each ride. You do not want any troubles when you
are in a hurry for your flight back home, so ensure that you actually have
enough tickets for getting to the airport.
The ticket fares are as follows:
- single ticket: 320 HUF ( current exchange rate is 1 EUR =
282 HUF )
- 10 pack tickets: 2800 HUF
Tickets can be purchased at the airport newspapers stands.
All tickets can be used for 60 minutes ( 120 at night ) for
the whole length of one bus, trolley or tram line. When using the tickets for
the Metro system you can switch lines with the same ticket, ensuring to follow
the time limit. For current terms and conditions for using the public
transport, please check the website of the Budapest public transport company
BKV: http://www.bkv.hu/en/
2) Bus Shuttle
The Budapest Airport has a bus shuttle service, which offers
door-to-door transport services, which are especially suitable for groups of
travelers. The advantages of using this service are:
- it is a very easy and fast service, which is not expensive
when used by groups. You can also make an agreements to travel together with
strangers, who are also arriving with the same airplane and are staying at a
hotel near your accommodation location. The shuttle will leave every group at
the hotel.
- you can book a shuttle up until 24 hours before your
arrival or on spot at the shuttle reception
- there are shuttles able to carry from 8 to 50 passengers,
so it can fit your whole soccer/basketball/volleyball team or even your
orchestra with all the gear safely packed.
The price of the shuttle can vary depending on the number of passengers ( the more the better ) and the exact location you need to get to (
the closer the better ).
Information about the shuttle service can and the current
prices can be found here: http://www.airportshuttle.hu/en/
3) Taxi
Taxi transport is fast, comfortable and not so expensive per
person when you are 3 or 4 people. The Budapest Airport has a preferred taxi
company ( Fotaxi - http://fotaxi.eu/ ), which is one of the major taxi
companies in Budapest and offers fixed rates ( presumably no cheating with the
use of these rates ) for the rides to and from the city depending on the exact
location of your hotel. The rates vary from 14 EUR to 24 EUR. Based on the
company information they have new cars, there are lots of vehicles located at
the Budapest Airport, the drivers speak foreign languages and they accept
credit cards ( in case you still have no HUF in you ), which are all nice
things when getting a taxi abroad.
Another taxi company, which offers fixed prices to and from
the Budapest Airport is the Zona Taxi ( http://www.zonataxi.hu/en/ ). They also
offer rates depending on the exact location you need to get to ( at the moment
ranging from 8 EUR to 18 EUR ) and we of course would like to advise you to
check both companies before your flight and choose the company you want to
use.
As these are the three major types of airport transport, we
hope that we have been useful enough with the above information. In case you
require any other type of specialized or luxurious transfer service, we
recommend that request this service from a travel agent, which uses a local
trusted agent, so you can avoid any ridiculously high prices and unexpected
surprises at the start of your trip.
We wish you a nice and memorable Budapest holiday !
