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Once you're here you have to travel in Budapest
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How to Travel in Budapest?
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Basic Information also See our Budapest Car Rental page. |
Budapest has a fairly extensive and efficient public transport system. It is cheaper than in most Western European cities. A wide variety of trams, buses, trolleys and metro trains run in the city. Be prepared for typical rush hours: vehicles are crowded and traffic can be rather slow. This would be expected in any city.
Night service is quite reliable too.
Most important types of tickets:
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Single ticket 270 HUF, (360 HUF if purchased from the driver on board the vehicle): valid on all public transport vehicles for one uninterrupted trip.
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Single transfer ticket: 420 HUF
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One-day travel card (1550 HUF): vaild on all public transport vehicles from 0:00 to 24:00 of the day indicated on the ticket for an unlimited number of trips.
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3-day travel card (3400 HUF): vaild on all public transport vehicles from 0:00 to 24:00 of the second following day for an unlimited number of trips.
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7-day travel-card (3400 HUF): vaild on all public transport vehicles from 0:00 to 24:00 of the sixth following day for an unlimited number of trips.
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Block of 10 (2350 HUF) or 20 tickets (3900 HUF).
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If you don't want to bother with buying and validating tickets, purchase a Budapest Card. You can travel with the card free of charge on all public transport services within the boundaries of Budapest. |
You'll find the most up-to-date information about tickets and their prices on BKV's website (the company operating Budapest's public transport system).
Travel in Budapest - Where to buy tickets?
You have to buy your ticket in advance. You can buy it at ticket offices, newspaper kiosks, or from ticket vending machines. Most of these machines have recently been modernized and are quite reliable.
How to validate tickets?
You must validate your ticket at the start of your journey.
Inspectors check passanger's tickets throughout the day.
An inspector usually wears dark blue uniform and a red armband.Nowadays they are in plain clothes (but still must put on the red armband) in order to disguise themselves. To avoid problems buy the type of ticket or pass that are most suitable for your Budapest-visit and to your budget.
If for some reason you don't like the Budapest Card, buy a block of 10 or 20 tickets.
Fines are high (if caught travelling without a valid ticket or pass you have to pay 5000 HUF fine on the spot) and it's not worth ruining your stay with constant watching for the inspectors.
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The metro system in Budapest is efficient and clean. Trains run from 4.30 am
to 11.10 pm.
They run quite often (2-5 minutes) during rush hours. The three lines meet only at Deák tér.
Read more about Budapest Metro!
Travel in Budapest by Tram
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Budapest has more than 30 tram lines, you can recognize them by their bright-yellow colour.
The most important tram lines:
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Trams No. 4 and 6, the busiest line in Europe: run along Grand Boulevard.
Tram No. 2: runs along the Danube, between Margit hid (Margaret Bridge) and Boraros ter.
Important: Due to the construction of the M4 metro line the route of tram 2 has been cut into two sections at its Fővám tér stop (which is a huge construction site during the works) at Szabadság Bridge from 25th June 2007 for approx. 2 years:
From the temporary stops at south and north of Szabadság Bridge tram 2 travels
- between Jászai Mari tér terminus and Havas utca, and
- between Czuczor utca and Közvágóhíd terminus
During the works you can travel on the two sections of tram 2 line with 1 single ticket, but remember to validate it again when you get on the other section of the line.
A shuttle bus marked 2V will also help carry passengers between Boráros tér and Március 15. Square.
Trams No. 47 and 49: tram 47's route has been also altered duet to M4 metro line construction works. It travels between Kanizsa utca and Budafok, Városház tér terminis.
Travel in Budapest by tram is slower but more spectacular than by metro. Especially if you take tram No. 2.
A sightseeing tour by bus doesn't come up to a ride on tram No. 2. You get a very good view of the Gellert Hill, Castle Hill, the Budapest Parliament, not to mention the Danube and the graceful bridges over it.
You have to buy your ticket in advance and vaildate it onboard at the start of your journey.
You either find red punch-machines or orange automated machines.
Trams run between 4.30 am until around 22.45 pm on weekdays. You'd better check the timetables at the stops. You'll also see the route of the tram line there.
Travel in Budapest by Bus
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Budapest has a very extensive bus route system. I personally don't like to travel in Budapest by bus, but some parts of the city (e.g. Buda Hills) can only be reached by bus. During rush hours buses are crowded and they often get stuck in traffic jams.
Buses with the number in red are fast buses, they run on the same route than the black-numbered ones, but there are fewer stops.
If there's a letter "E" after the red number, it's an express service between two terminis without any stops.
Be careful not to mix it up with buses with a number and followed by letter "É", marking a night service. ("É" is a first letter in the word "éjszaka" meaning night").
You can buy tickets from the driver but you have to pay a bit more.
You have to press a button above the doors to signal that you want to get off at the next stop.
You'll find the stops posted inside the buses, but if no one gets off or on, the vehicle won't stop, so you may lose track of stops.
Your best bet is to ask locals travelling on the bus, they'll be happy to tell you where to get off.
Unfortunately you don't have to queue at the stops, so be prepared that particularly locals tend to thrust, in order to get on the vehicle. (Actually it's true for all kinds of transportation in Hungary.)
Travel in Budapest by Trolley
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There are 14 trolley bus lines in Budapest. It's interesting that their numbers start from 70, according to the story the first line started operating on Stalin's 70th birthday.
Trolley buses operate until somewhere between 11-12 pm. You can check the timetables at the stops, they'll provide reliable information. Ticket validation is the same as on buses.
Travel in Budapest by Suburbian Railway (HÉV)
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You can travel by HÉV to the outskirts of Budapest. The Szentendre line might be interesting for tourists. It runs between Batthyány tér (it's also on the red metro line) and Szentendre.
Szentendre is a small, charming town right on the Danube bank. Don't miss visiting it if you come to Budapest for a couple of days!
Tickets within the boundary of Budapest cost the same as discussed above. Outside Budapest you pay according to the distance you'll cover during your trip.
A ticket to Szentendre is about 400 HUF, slightly more than 1,5 €. You can buy it at the station. HEV trains run every 10 to 30 minutes.
Travel in Budapest by Boat
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There's a scheduled boat service on the Danube from 1 May till 1 September, between Boráros tér and Római fürdő.
Travel in Budapest by Special Vehicles
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Budapest offers several unique means of transportation:
- the Cogwheel Railway (Fogaskerekű),
the Cable Car (Sikló),
the Chairlift (Libegő), and
Children's Railway (Gyermekvasút)
Try riding at least on one of them during your stay!
Summary of Travel in Budapest
You don't need to travel in Budapest if you come here for just a few days and would like to visit only the most important parts of the city.
You can explore it by walk. See our recommended walking tours in Budapest. if you're barve enough you can alos go biking in Budapest.
In case it's cold or a summer shower catches you, take one of the three metro lines, or trams No. 2, 4 or 6!
They'll take you to most of the places of interest.
For the brave ones: learn about car rental in Budapest!
Return from Travel in Budapest to Homepage of Budapest Tourist Guide.
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