USEFUL INFO

How to get around the city

The city centre of Budapest is absolutely walkable, be it for a leisurely stroll along the river bank or a longer excursion in a neighbourhood to get the feel of the city. Some streets are for pedestrian traffic only, on others there are pavements on both sides. If you cross a bike lane, make sure to look in both directions, Budapest cyclists tend to be fast and somewhat aggressive, especially if you are in the wrong. Also, it is important to know that jaywalking is punishable by a hefty fine, so keep an eye out for both traffic, and policemen!

• By public transport

Budapest has a very efficient and well-organized public transportation system. There is also a night public transport service comprised of bus lines that begin with the number 9. Tickets, daily travel cards and passes are valid for all vehicles: buses, metros, trams, trolleybuses and HÉV (suburban railway). It is important to note that the single tickets are valid for a single, non-stop journey, except on the metro network, where no new ticket is required for transfers between metro lines.

Be aware that the public transport company, BKK has introduced a front-door boarding only policy on several bus and trolleybus lines, in order that we could filter out fare evaders. On such lines only the front door can be used for boarding the vehicles in order that the drivers could check the validity period of passengers’ tickets, passes or travel IDs. So if the bus stops but the middle and back doors are not opening immediately, start to head to the front door. On these vehicles you’ll see: Felszállás az első ajtón written on the display.

The regular one-way ticket costs 350 HUF. If you plan to use public transportation more frequently, consider to buy a travel card – the 24-hour travel card costs 2,500 HUF, and the 72-hour travel card is 5,500 HUF. If you are so lucky to stay even longer, you might want to consider buying a Budapest Card, which provides you with free or reduced museum and spa entrance. For the prices of all types of daily travel cards, please click here.

Where to get your ticket:

Budapest’s public transport system operates as a pre-purchase system. We recommend that you buy your ticket or pass in advance.

You can purchase tickets through the BudapestGO app (an active internet connection is required to use mobile tickets!), and in addition to the purple ticket vending machines, you can also use BKK ticket offices and customer service centres along with our retailers to obtain tickets – on the bkk.hu/pontkereso website and in the BudapestGO app, you can find all these locations easily on a map.

Plan your route:

Although scheduled departure times appear in Google Maps as you search your route, you might want to download the BudapestGo app for a more seamless journey. This is particularly useful, as the satellite system tracks the live location of each vehicle as well as the traffic situation, and therefore it may save you from unnecessary idling in bus stops.

The web version is available also in English

Download the app from here

Know before you go:

How to validate the different ticket types:

• Paper tickets: use the validating machine – it will stamp a code on the ticket or punch a hole.
• Digital tickets: scan the code stickers, which you will find at the entrance of the metro on the front of the paper-ticket validators and outside by the doors on street-level transport. Time-based tickets must always be validated when you board a different vehicle.
• Daily travelcards and passes: no validation required.

Be sure to validate your ticket as you enter the underground if you take the metro, or look for the little metal ticket validator machines on board buses and trams. Some of these are electronic, and a flash of light shows that your ticket has been validated, but watch out for the old-fashioned ones! If you don’t see a green light, you have to physically pull down the lever after inserting your ticket to punch a hole in it. If you don’t do this, your ticket will be invalid, and you may have to pay a fine of 12 000 HUF if you come across an inspector. Inspectors wear a purple BKK arm-band, and being a foreigner will not get you out of paying the fine on the spot, so it’s better to always validate your ticket.

Additional useful links:

More info on the Budapest public transport system

Info on all tickets and passes on the website of BKK

Practical guide to Budapest public transport in English

• By taxi

There is no Uber service in Budapest, if you’d like to use an app to hail a cab, Bolt is your best bet.

Unfortunately, it happens quite often in Budapest that taxi drivers overcharge foreigners. Therefore, although it’s possible to just wave down a taxi on the street, it is always better to call a trustworthy company, and order your taxi via their call centre. Another advantage of doing so is that you will have no difficulty placing your order in English, and you can also ask for a cost estimate. Note: if you’d like to pay by card, you should signal this when you order your car. The legal taxi companies use fixed fares.

The following companies are 100% reliable:

– Főtaxi: +36-1-222-2222 https://fotaxi.hu/en/passengers/taxi-application/

– City Taxi: +36-1-211-1111 https://citytaxi.hu/en/home/

– 6×6 Taxi: +36 1 666 6666

– Tele5Taxi: +36-1 8-555-555

– Taxi4: +36 1 444-4444

• Bike rental

– MolBubi https://molbubi.hu/en/prices/

– Donkey https://www.donkey.bike/pricing/

• Electric rollers

– Lime https://help.li.me/hc/en-us
– TIER https://www.tier.app/en/

• Electric car

– GreenGo https://greengo.com/hu/index-en

• Parking
  On the territory of Budapest, there are four parking (officially: waiting) zones marked with “A”, “B”, “C” and “D”. You can find the locations of the parking zones on this downloadable map along with
  • the valid parking (officially: waiting) charge per hour applicable in the different parking zones,
  • the time period subject to parking (officially: waiting) charge applicable in the different parking zones,
  • the longest permitted time period of parking (officially: waiting) subject to charges applicable in the different parking zones.

  In case of a regular parking zone, parking charges have to be paid immediately after parking, without any warning

  • by purchasing a parking card at the parking machine to be found at the given parking zone subject to parking charges and placing the parking card behind the vehicle’s front windscreen the way that the front cover of the parking ID is entirely visible and readable for the control of its validity and entitlement, or
  • by starting the code valid for that given parking zone in the smart phone-based charge payment system, along with the successful confirmation and verification of customer ID specified by the relating legal regulation. The app is called Simple: (https://simple.hu/parkolas)

  Parking machines on the street only accept coins! At the weekend and at night, parking is for free.

  IMPORTANT!

  It is not possible to drive through Margaret Island by car, and access to the Margaret Island protected zone is only possible with a permit.

  Parking is only permitted in the pay car park at the north end of Margaret Island, after the exit from Árpád híd (Árpád Bridge).

  In the Northern car park of Margaret Island and at the parking areas of the hotels on the island, parking is subject to charges every day from 0:00 to 24:00. In these areas, parking charges are not required to be paid for 10 minutes upon starting parking, however after the 10 minutes have expired, those ten minutes are calculated into the parking period.