Best / quickest way to get from Budapest Airport to the City Centre
 

Hi everyone.

I'm travelling to Budapest this weekend and staying at the InterContinental hotel, which looks to be very central. I was wondering if anyone could recommend to me to quickest way to make this journey. Will be travelling from the Airport at around 6pm local time. Any advice appreciated! :)

The quickest way will be a taxi

The best way depends on what you mean by best. The bus 100E goes from the airport to Deák Ferenc tér for 900 forints each way which is within walking distance of the IC and much cheaper than a taxi.

Even cheaper would be to take bus 200E to Kőbánya-Kispest where you can transfer to the metro replacement bus, but this may not qualify as 'best'. This trip would be included in a daily travelcard should you decide to get one.

Thanks for that. The 100E bus seems easy enough and very good value. Out of interest how long would the bus take versus a taxi and how much would a taxi typically cost?

Thanks again for your help :)

The bus / metro combo takes about an hour and includes a transfer, so I imagine it would be about the same, maybe a tad longer. I'm a Budget Traveler, so no idea on taxi, but I would guess between half hour and 45 minutes travel time.

It's been a couple years since I was there, but it was about a 30 minute drive, so your guess is pretty good. I believe it was around 8,000 HUF, but that's where I'm having a little trouble remembering. I always stay at the Marriott, which is just down the street from the Intercontinental where the OP is staying.

If I'm alone, I might take the bus. But the taxi is the easiest from the airport, especially if the OP is with other people and has heavy luggage. And my hunger level at arrival sometimes dictates how long I can stand to sit on a bus vs. just getting there quickly and finding dinner. :)

Taking the taxi is definitely the best option from my perspective. Fo taxi is the official airport taxi and they have a booth directly outside arrivals.

The referenced price of 8,000 Forints is still a good estimate as well as the travel time of 30 minutes.

If you plan to take public transport while in town, a good idea would be to purchase your travel pass at the staffed desk in the airport.

We've stayed at the IC several times and it is very well located; tram 2 makes a stop out front.

I agree. This is easy, right before the airport exit, and I've never had to wait in line. You can get basically anywhere you want to go for a decent price, and not have to worry about finding a ticket vendor after you get to the hotel.

BTW, for those who get the transit pass, Budapest has second oldest subway in Europe (oldest on the continent), and a ride on the old section is WAY cool IMHO (I am a rail enthusiast, so I may be biased ;) ).

It's short, only a few stops and barely below ground, not like today's lines that are way below ground. Moreover the stops are so close together that you may think why bother, but it's just fun. Worth a trip even if you don't get the day pass.

100E- End-to-end: 45 minutes or so

Agreed. You should get the travel pass (72 hour pass is roughly U.S. $15)

The pass is not good on the 100E bus to Deák Ferenc Square.
To use the pass, you'll have to travel via the 200 bus to Metro Line 3. I'd recommend this option. It's a bit longer to the center city, but you'll end up directly in front of your hotel.

If you decide to do this...let me know, and I'll post directions to the previously mentioned Tram 2 which will drop you off directly in front of the Intercontinental Hotel.

I agree with EmailKid that riding the old subway rolling stock is interesting. It's easy to buy the right ticket (one that includes the bus-to-rail transfer) from the staffed transit desk at the airport.

Reasons not to do this:

• It's very hot. (Subway is not air-conditioned.)
• You have a lot of unwieldy luggage or have mobility issues. (IIRC, you have to climb a flight of stairs at Kőbánya-Kispest to get to the rail platform.)
• Somebody else is paying. :D

Best and quickest? Blacklane E Class Mercedes.

That was my favorite way. As quick as a bus, but with a big backseat and a bottle of cold water and a cold towel. It was about 75 Euros

(I took the bus on the way back)

I've just arrived in Budapest. August seems to be the worst time to come; I'm attending an event so had no choice.

There is no need to find a ticket vendor as ticket machines are everywhere.

The staffed desk in arrivals is a good choice mainly because nobody else seems to know about it. There was one person ahead of me in the line when I got there.

There are also ticket machines outside at the bus stops themselves, but there were 10 people queueing up at each one, and most of them appeared to be clueless about how to use them plus unfamiliar with Hungarian currency.

I watched a 100E depart which was packed full like sardines. I wouldn't want to stand like that for 45 minutes, especially if having to pay extra (the 200E route was free for me since I bought the 5/30 ticket).

The 200E bus was also full, but many people got off at the first few stops. I had a seat all the way. The only negative was that the heating was on!

There is an escalator at K-K station, but you have to be patient and wait 1 minute extra while the driver goes round to the final stop rather than getting off at the P+R.

Hmm. We definitely stayed on to the end, past the park & ride. Will look more closely next time.

I think the reference was to metro line 1 (the "underground" if you translate the Hungarian literally) rather than to the bog-standard metro line 3 which runs to Kőbánya-Kispest.

For anyone thinking of taking this way to/from the airport (which is generally perfectly do-able if you avoid rush hours), the metro line 3 is closed at weekends, until a date to be determined, for engineering work. This means getting a replacement bus along the whole length of the line, which I wouldn't particularly recommend.