Travel to Budapest

mayo51

Hi guys. Travelling to Budapest in two weeks. How much money would be advisable yo bring given the currency that is used over there?

exaisle

Good choice...Budapest is a terrific city...

I wouldn't bother bringing any...I'd use a debit/credit card whenever possible...you'll get the going rate. When in the airport, buy a transport card that covers all of the local buses, trams and metro, and use an ATM to get around €100 worth of Florints if you're just there for the weekend. The transport system is excellent and it being winter, you may prefer to make extensive use of the metro rather than stay above the surface, however, you won't see a lot in a metro!

It's a very cheap city to visit....if you're looking for a decent feed, visit Trofea Etterem which is on the Buda side of the Danube near Margit Bridge. It's an "all you can eat" but the quality of the food is excellent and it costs somewhere between €18 and €24 depending on the time of week. The good news is that includes beer or wine :-) and the local brew is perfectly good.

Have fun!

grimm2005

+1 for just taking out money over there. ATMs are plentiful so you won't have any issue getting cash and you'll only be charged the currency conversion rate by your bank. Better yet, if you have a Revolut account/card you can convert money in the app and you won't incur any fees.

Can also vouch for Trofea Etterem. Went there in May when I was in Budapest and it was great value. Around €20 for a general buffet "serve yourself" area as well as a station where you can ask them to cook you up fresh dishes on the grill. And of course unlimited beer, wine and prosecco is a big plus! You get to stay for around 2 hours from when you're seated.

If you stick with local beer (which is grand) it'll cost you around €2 in the ruin pubs or if you like rosé weirdly enough I found this the cheapest thing over there at around €1.40 or so for a glass!

Lia_lia

Even if you bring euros the currency exchange places in the city (not the airport!!) have pretty good rates. Better than in Irish banks anyway. That's what I did.

retalivity

Dont use the euronet atm's, they give the choice to accept their own rate (woeful) or your bank rate for conversion. When you pick your own banks rate they mysteriously go out of order. Using them 2 mins later, accepting their crap rate and surprise! You can get your money.

Had no such problems with the a actual bank atms, kh, opt etc. The euronets seem to be clustered round bars and also in the airport arrivals

mayo51

I appreciate all the reply’s guys! Thanks so much! How would one go about getting the cheapest/best transfers from the airport to the City Centre?

green n gold

www.fotaxi.hu is the website of the airport approved taxi service, their ticket booth is right outside the door of the airport, just follow the taxi arrows on the floor beneath your feet. Expect to pay 25 euro to the city center arriving there in approx 30 mins non rush hours.
Buses can be got for a lot cheaper, but involve a change from bus to metro and you needing to know exactly where your nearest stop is. There is a new bus service from the airport direct to the city centrer but only has a couple of stops so luck would need to be on your side to be near your accomodation.
The BKK (public transport) ticket kiosk is located on the left before you leave the airport terminal, public transport is excellent and few days or a week pass is well worth getting for hopping around the city (a 7 day pass was 15 euro and a few cents about 6 weeks ago). It gives you unlimited bus, tram , metro and ferry transport and once bought from the airport you just flash the ticket at inspectors , no validating or anything else.

jamo2oo9

My advice is not to buy the travel cards in the airport. They're overpriced compared to what's available in the major metro/train stations. I paid something like 30 quid for a 72hr pass and found out it can be got for less than 20 quid in the train station.

green n gold

Hmmm, not too sure where or what you bought but when coming through the airport after the baggage carousels you enter the main hall inside the main exit, the BKK selling desk is on your left, for 30 euros they would sell you a full travel pass for probably a fortnight or more. 15 Euro 30 cents got me a 7 day pass ???

ninebeanrows

Just a warning- if you are at Keleti do not get a taxi from the rank. It is run by Mafia type and they will charge you through the roof (3 times going rate).

Skyfloater

Weathercheck wrote: »

Just a warning- if you are at Keleti do not get a taxi from the rank. It is run by Mafia type and they will charge you through the roof (3 times going rate).

As I mentioned in another thread, they have a remote control button that they press when you're not looking that ticks over the meter.

jamo2oo9

green n gold wrote: »

Hmmm, not too sure where or what you bought but when coming through the airport after the baggage carousels you enter the main hall inside the main exit, the BKK selling desk is on your left, for 30 euros they would sell you a full travel pass for probably a fortnight or more. 15 Euro 30 cents got me a 7 day pass ???

This was in the airport arrival hall after baggage claim and security.

goat2

the math is or was for me. when I was there just months ago, 300 HUF to our 1 euro, It is a brilliant shopping city, Buda being the place of historic interest, and Pest being the place for shopping, a good map is all you need

green n gold

I'm guessing that you bought a "Budapest Card" which is a totally different and much more expensive option than a BKK travel only card. The Budapest card offers travel and offers and discount on attractions /museums etc as well as shopping store discounts.

exaisle

Weathercheck wrote: »

Just a warning- if you are at Keleti do not get a taxi from the rank. It is run by Mafia type and they will charge you through the roof (3 times going rate).

Don't use taxis at all if you can help it...the public transport there is super.

You can get from the airport to the city via metro and bus quite easily and the transport card covers it...

jamo2oo9

green n gold wrote: »

I'm guessing that you bought a "Budapest Card" which is a totally different and much more expensive option than a BKK travel only card. The Budapest card offers travel and offers and discount on attractions /museums etc as well as shopping store discounts.

Yeah, that's what I bought thinking it was the BKK travel card.

fdevine

Even though there were only two of us we got 24 hour group travel cards. Worked out cheaper than buying two multiple day passes each

Can be gotten at ticket vending machines. Most if not all of the vending machines have an English language option

retalivity

There's an airport express bus 100e to/from deak ferenc ter for 900huf one way. Runs from 5.30am to 12.30am, so an option if you're not on an early/late flight


http://bkk.hu/en/airport-shuttle/

Cocksy

How many days you are going to spend there? I think that for 2-3 days 300 euros will be enough

joombo

Budapest is amazing city. Always wanted to visit it at Christmas time

Mr rebel

Would it be freezing and miserable to visit in January time?

maximo31

Wondering the same as above. Thinking of going end of January.
Also what is the best option for flying in there? Flights that i have looked at all seem to arrive very late in to Budapest.

grimm2005

maximo31 wrote: »

Wondering the same as above. Thinking of going end of January.
Also what is the best option for flying in there? Flights that i have looked at all seem to arrive very late in to Budapest.

The Ryanair flights are always quite late to Budapest unfortunately but I always grab a taxi to wherever I'm staying. Taxis are cheap in Budapest particularly if you're sharing. The ruin bars are open very late so we just throw down our stuff and head out. The late flight also means it doesn't require an extra day off work.

I've never been in January but in November it's grand. Cold but not rainy at all. I've been to Krakow in January also and again it's cold and can snow a bit but never rained. I'd wager that Budapest would be similar. I definitely wouldn't let it stop you going unless you really really hate the cold. So long as you wear enough layers you will be fine. I find the eastern European countries are very doable in winter as it rarely rains.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

JustShay

Be warned on the Taxis when you arrive. There are guys standing in the exit door of the airport, who will approach you and offer you a taxi. I asked him how much it would be. It worked out he was charging €10 more than the official yellow taxis at the taxi rank. It should be around €24 into the city but they were charging €30+. Avoid these cowboys and go to the taxi rank just outside the doors!

FTA69

Equally you can just get the bus behind the taxi rank, 100E takes you straight into the centre of town (Kalvin Square) with no stops, takes about 30mins and is on the same road the taxis will take. Costs £3. You can also walk pretty much everywhere in the city centre, I didn't bother even taking a bus over there.

xlogo

Anybody recommend a hotel on or near Vaci utca?

grimm2005

xlogo wrote: »

Anybody recommend a hotel on or near Vaci utca?

I highly recommend the Loft Hostel which is on the street parallel to Vaci utca (2min walk). I've stayed there twice now and even though it's billed as a hostel, if you book the private room you get an entire one bedroom apartment separate to the main hostel on the top floor of an apartment block for about €40 a night.