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Hungary
I've used the fixed fare taxi system (a shared minibus) every time I have visited Budapest - ask for the return fare. They will come and collect you from your hotel and take you back to the airport.
NB: you have to ring 24 hrs before and confirm collection.
They offer individual and group transfers from Budapest Ferihegy airport to any hotel in the city for a fixed price to avoid any local rip off taxis.
If you're arriving at Budapest Ferihegy Airport Terminal 1, you can now hop on a train at the airport and travel to the main downtown railway station - Nyugati (West) Station.
It costs 300 Forints (about 80p) and takes about 25 minutes. Far cheaper than other options and faster than most, expensive taxis aside.
Most of the budget airlines fly to Terminal 1. If you're flying BA or another "normal" airline, you'll arrive at Terminal 2 and this tip does not apply to you.
Terminal 1
The public transport system in Budapest is superb, and the traffic terrible, so it's a no-brainer. The new trams are the Bentley turbos of trams. Get a carnet of ten tickets at any metro station, and they are good for all transport. You must validate a ticket for each journey or part of the journey if changing. There is a brilliant website (transport maps do not exist) with an English version. This gives all routes, maps, intersections, stops - a really informative and useful site:
www.bkv.hu/angol/home/index.html
It is a simple rack and pin railway that takes you up into the Buda hills, from where you can have wonderful views over to Pest and go walking on various trails through the hills. You can also walk to the Children's Railway (a model railway entirely operated by children volunteers) from here, although we did not have time to do this I would recommend it.
It is Europe's third oldest cogwheel railway and when you go up into the snow covered hills in January its very pretty and very romantic.
It is also part of the BKV system therefore if you have day tourist travel tickets you can travel on the cogwheel railway along with the buses, trams and metro.
The lower terminus is opposite the Hotel Budapest in Buda, you can catch a tram to here from Moskva Ter and it only takes 10 minutes at most.
When departing Budapest by air (and presumably when arriving too), don't bother with the various taxi/minibus services. The public transport alternative is efficient, perfectly easy to use and far, far cheaper (about £1 each way, as opposed to £6ish for the shuttle service).
From the town centre (Deak Ter) to the airport, simply take the blue metro line to the end of the line, then jump onto the clearly signposted no: 200 bus (complete with little aeroplane logo and English announcements). It goes to Terminal 1 first, then Terminal 2, and the entire journey to Terminal 1 takes about half an hour.
You need to validate one single ticket on the metro, and then another on the bus (or vice versa if arriving). True, ticket staff don't speak much English, but they are quite keen to help, and "2 single tickets" is widely understood (if various options are proffered, single tickets are the little flimsy orange ones with perforations).
The airport minibus is expensive by Hungarian standards and not a particularly good service. The standard of driving when we took it was atrocious and on our return journey, we were kept waiting & driven on a tour of the city while they tried to fill it up with other passengers.
I am British but live in Budapest, and recommend great care with taxi rip-offs. Even meters are often doctored so you can't rely on them. City Taxis (see other tips in this section) are fine, and used by many embassies – they have English speaking phone operators.
Tel: 2-111 111
Budapest's integrated transport system puts Britain’s to shame. It comprises buses, trams, metro, commuter train and trolleybuses, all of which link up, with most running from the crack of dawn until late at night. Even in February we didn't have to wait longer than seven minutes for anything. Cheap too - a Budapest card or travel card will get you free travel anywhere within the city limits. Don't bother bringing a car as Budapest gets congested in rush-hour, even in low season. Instead, jump on a tram or metro and get straight where you want to go.
All over Budapest
There are some cycle paths in Budapest (most say too few), and it’s a really good way to see the city. You can go from Heroes’ Square to the Danube, and along both sides of the river taking in many of the sites. You can even ride all the way to Szentandre, which takes about two-three hours, and then catch the HEV (suburban train) back to Budapest (don’t forget to buy a ticket for your bike). There are lots of fish restaurants and bars along the river, which make it a relaxing day out.
A good place to hire bikes is Szoda cafe (Wesselényi utca 18), or ask at the tourist information office. They can also provide you with a map of bicycle paths in the city.
Like many European cities, you must validate your travel ticket in a punch machine when you get on public transport, like buses. Don’t forget to do this when you've just arrived. Transit police nab tourists who haven't done so for big fines. We were still struggling to find a place for our bags on the crowded bus and hadn't yet spotted the validation machine, when they got us for €25 each.
This was excellent value for money - getting free travel on trams, buses, metro - plus free entry to the zoo, museums etc and discount at other places including restaurants. It comes with a booklet detailing all offers.
We got ours at the hotel, they can also be bought at the airport and the stations.
The underground railway in Budapest provides a quick and cheap way of getting around. Unfortunately, not all the travel instructions are printed in anything except Hungarian, which means that you don't find out until too late about quirks, such as the fact that buying a ticket on some lines does not allow you to transfer to others without making an additional payment.
I discovered this the hard way. My daughter and I worked out how to get where we wanted to go by studying the map, but after we switched lines we were approached by two uniformed officials who demanded to see our tickets.
We were then required to pay a fine. I'm satisfied that the two officials were genuine but I suspect that they saw us - two tourists - as an easy target, because they followed us as soon as we got off the first train and on to the second.
The fine would have paid for several taxi fares, so other visitors to Budapest might wish to use that means of transport instead of the underground.
The summit of the railway shows you the city in all its glory - from the beautifully crafted government buildings, hidden churches, right the way along the river and even into the slightly more “suspect” areas of the city. Buy an ice cream at the top and enjoy the view.
I Clark Ádam tér; Bus 16, 86, 105, Tram 19; Open: 7:30am-10pm daily; Closed for maintenance every second Monday
A reliable taxi service. Rare in Budapest. English speaking operators too. Do not take the taxis from the rank outside the terminal, but call the number. You will be given a car number and you should look for this number - in the City Taxi crest (See the website) on the car - the car will be there in less than 5 minutes. If there are two or more of you, it's cheaper, and faster, than the Airport Minibus service. No, I'm not on commission! On request, they'll send an estate if you have lots of baggage.
Call 2111 111 or see www.citytaxi.hu
Arriving at the airport, avoid being ripped off by local taxi drivers or having the hassle of hauling luggage around while trying to find public transport in to town. Use the Airport Minibus situated in the arrivals lounge.
For under £12 they will not only take you to your hotel in Budapest but will also collect you at the end of your visit. It is a very well-run operation.
Phone No.: (+361) 296-8555
Fax: (+361) 296-8993
The phone booking service is available each day between 06.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m..
Budapest Airport website has further information:
www.bud.hu/
Budapest has three metro lines that are great for getting about, but spend a few moments enjoying the look of them too. Line 1 is the oldest (as far as Hosok Tere, anyhow - the extension to Mexicoi Utca was completed in 1973) and is undoubtedly charming (even the little cartoon fanfare noises that signal imminent arrival or departure sound chipper), but I also became quite obsessed with the grimy space-age look of the other two lines, particularly the Dr Who/Kubrick/James Bond look of the Deak Ter station on lines 2 & 3. It's all in the lights, it seems - very photogenic, in it's own brutal fashion. Deak Ter station - as someone else said, it's the Kings Cross of the Budapest system. If you can't find it, you're hopelessly lost, and perhaps in the wrong city.
On arrival at the airport the minibus service was closed, but the tourist information office got us a reliable taxi company. The tourist lady wrote down how much it should be and that is all we were charged. The driver gave us his number for the trip back, and he was again very reliable. Our hotel (like many) offered a minibus service going back to the airport, but you had to book it at least 24 hours in advance.
Three day travelcard for 2500ft (about £6.80). Make use of buses, trams, underground, trains and the cogwheel railway (this is fun for kids to get out of town for an afternoon). You just carry it with you, no need to validate it on buses etc, so no risk of being caught out and fined. Much better value than the Budapest Card if you won't be visiting many museums.
Any underground or bus station
Remember that if you are over 65 and a citizen of an EU country, you travel free on all Budapest public transport, as long as you have proof of age.
As a foreigner you will be targetted by ticket inspectors, and will not be let off by them, as locals often are.
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