Budapest - From Keleti to Ferihegy(BUD)

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Can anyone recommend the best/quickest way of transport from the train station Keleti to BUD arriving next Saturday at around 16:20?

I've come across this website http://www.zonataxi.eu are they reliable?
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Yes, they are the airport's preferred taxi company. If called in advance, the trip from the city to the airport is relatively OK, ~3800HUF, which is 15 EUR. They have new cars, 30% drivers speak English or German but they understand basic words like "airport".

There is also a bus that goes to the airport (200E), but from Keleti is not so easy to take, especially of you have luggage.
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Quote: Can anyone recommend the best/quickest way of transport from the train station Keleti to BUD arriving next Saturday at around 16:20?

I've come across this website http://www.zonataxi.eu are they reliable?
Unless ypu are opposed to using public transport or you have more luggage than you can carry comfortably, I would suggest taking the Metro. From, Keleti, take the red line going towards Deli and at Deak Ferencz Ter station, change to Blue line headed to Kobanya Kispest. There is a bus that connects the station to the Airport with plenty of space for the luggae. I have used this option 3 our of four times.

The first time when we were there, I thought there has to be a way other than using the Metro as railroad tracks ran by Airport. Now it seems there is a train from Nyugati station to terminal 1.
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Perfectly right, but your proposed itinerary includes a long walk to change metro lines at deak Ferencs, then a very long walk at Kobanya Kispest from metro platform to bus station, and then a 20min wait for the bus. For the 12 EUR difference in cost I would never bother, unless you travel alone and without any luggage. By 2xmetro and bus you can travel up to 90mins to airport, as opposed to 30min by taxi.

By train from Nyugati still implies changing metro at Deak Ferencs and then train. The train platform is far from the terminal 1, so good 5 minutes walk needs to be considered. Btw, I'm not sure if train goes until Terminal 2, where most airlines depart from. For the ones travelling there the first time, please keep in mind T1 and T2 are VERY far apart, not the usual walking distance from Prague or Warsaw.
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Quote: Perfectly right, but your proposed itinerary includes a long walk to change metro lines at deak Ferencs, then a very long walk at Kobanya Kispest from metro platform to bus station, and then a 20min wait for the bus. For the 12 EUR difference in cost I would never bother, unless you travel alone and without any luggage. By 2xmetro and bus you can travel up to 90mins to airport, as opposed to 30min by taxi.

By train from Nyugati still implies changing metro at Deak Ferencs and then train. The train platform is far from the terminal 1, so good 5 minutes walk needs to be considered. Btw, I'm not sure if train goes until Terminal 2, where most airlines depart from. For the ones travelling there the first time, please keep in mind T1 and T2 are VERY far apart, not the usual walking distance from Prague or Warsaw.
All we are doing here is presenting various modes of getting to the airport. It's for the OP to decide what's best for them. I won't take it personally if the OP takes a cab.
Since far is a relative term, I won't dispute your opinion of what's far. No public transport option is going to be devoid of walking. Pointing out the obvious involved in changing metro lines isn't adding to the information. It won't help the OP if you and I argue about what's far or what's more convenient. It all depends on OP's preferences.
Then there is the issue of getting stuck in the traffic. I use public transport whenever I can. I even took the subway from the airport to an interview in
Boston. When I submitted my expense report after the interview, the accounting people came back to ask me if I had forgotten to include the cab fare in my expense report.
As far as going from Keleti to the airport is concerned, for me, there was no extra cost for taking the metro as we had a multi-day ticket. To tell you the truth, I considered taking a taxi as we also had two children, 7 and 2. Hauling the luggage (two suitcases and two carry ons), a stroller and the kids was no easy task. It was an OR problem. One of my carry ons had shoulder straps. I took the suitcase and our older son, holding his hand on the first trip and left him on the upper level with the suitcase. On the second trip, I strapped one carry on to my back, with the other suit case in one hand and the carry on with the folded stroller in the other while my wife carried our younger son. It wasn't easier than a cab.
Clearly, if one has an aversion to walking or to making changes at a metro station, train option isn't for them.
I suppose the wait for the bus at Kobanya Kispest could be 20 minutes, for me, it has never been 20 minutes.
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Quote: Perfectly right, but your proposed itinerary includes a long walk to change metro lines at deak Ferencs, then a very long walk at Kobanya Kispest from metro platform to bus station, and then a 20min wait for the bus. For the 12 EUR difference in cost I would never bother, unless you travel alone and without any luggage. By 2xmetro and bus you can travel up to 90mins to airport, as opposed to 30min by taxi.

By train from Nyugati still implies changing metro at Deak Ferencs and then train. The train platform is far from the terminal 1, so good 5 minutes walk needs to be considered. Btw, I'm not sure if train goes until Terminal 2, where most airlines depart from. For the ones travelling there the first time, please keep in mind T1 and T2 are VERY far apart, not the usual walking distance from Prague or Warsaw.
That is my understanding too. I thought neither the train or the bus goes to Term 2 which is the only terminal I have used. Also my understanding is a separate bus connects Terminals 1 and 2.

MisterNice
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200E goes to both terminals, but stops first at T1. A full map of Budapest's transport system and timetables can be found here: http://www.bkv.hu/english/busz/index2.html

Yaatri, you were right, I was only looking at convenience from my point of view, you made a fair point.
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Thanks everyone for presenting me with all the options!

I also personally like to take public transport when convenient since you can see more than from the back of a taxi and it can also be interesting and a bit of an adventure! I remember the Boston metro system was a bit of an adventure though, I never understood the route of that silver line from the airport though I did manage to get to Cambridge in the end.

First of all, can I buy the metro and bus tickets from machines in english, since I only know a single word in Hungarian?

Quote:
From, Keleti, take the red line going towards Deli and at Deak Ferencz Ter station, change to Blue line headed to Kobanya Kispest. There is a bus that connects the station to the Airport with plenty of space for the luggae. I have used this option 3 our of four times.
I'm using this map http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,0.045447&z=15 From Kobanya Kispest I can see that 200E the bus leaves right from the station, is this right? Does this bus go to Terminal 2B for BA? Are 2A and 2B within walking distance, if the bus decides to only stop at 2A?
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2A is walking distance from 2B
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