Budapest

Travel to Budapest

Budapest (Ferihegy) International Airport is the country's largest airport, located about 10 miles southeast of the city centre. You should be able to get a flight to Ferihegy Airport from most major UK airports like Manchester, London Gatwick and Heathrow and Edinburgh. Low-cost airlines like Ryanair and easyJet usually give relatively cheap prices. Budapest is well served by trains as well - to get to Budapest from the UK, you can get a Eurostar to Paris and then a high-speed TGV from Paris to Munich followed by an overnight sleeper to Budapest. Or there are connections via Paris and Munich, or via Brussels, Cologne & Vienna.

On arrival in Budapest

You can get a taxi quite easily from the airport and they shouldn't be too expensive. The taxis wait at taxi ranks outside the airport and unless you have pre-ordered a taxi from a different company, do not accept offers from taxi drivers waiting in the terminal or near the terminal entrances. To travel from the airport by train, you'll find a railway station connected to Terminal 1 via a covered bridge. Frequent suburban train services run westwards to Budapest Nyugati station via Kőbánya-Kispest and eastwards to Vecsés, Üllő and Monor, and semi-fast services to Cegléd. Buses stop outside the airport terminals.

Getting around Budapest

Getting around is not a problem in Budapest. The River Danube splits the city in two areas: Buda and Pest. Aside from the very centre, the city's structure is quite easy to follow and understand. Landmarks in Buda as the Royal Castle or Citadella Castle also help you to find your way. Many of Budapest's highlights are easy to approach walking, and in the centre you find more pedestrian zones from year to year. Car drivers tend to respect pedestrians and often give way on a cross-walk even if there is no traffic light. The urban area is well covered by three metro lines, blue urban buses, yellow trams and red trolley-buses, and the whole system is easy to understand.

Travelling further afield

Hungary's national bus network is operated by 28 companies. Connections are frequent; prices are the same as those on non-Intercity trains. Long-distance buses are clean and safe, but often subject to delays. The Hungarian National Railway is MAV and GYSEV. Intercity (IC) trains are the fastest, and they're up-to-date, reliable and clean and link the major cities with Budapest. Pick up Budapest car hire if you want to explore further afield at your own pace.