Travel

By plane: 

Budapest has direct flights to most major European cities. Budapest International Airport is located at the Southeastern edge of the city. All flights use Terminals 2A and 2B.

It is a 40-min ride to Budapest city center (Astoria, Deák Ferenc tér) with the BKK 100E Airport Express. The current price for a single ticket is 2200 HUF (~5.9 EUR). Tickets can be purchased at Arrivals at the BKK Ticket Office, or at the automatic vending machines outside the airport terminal. Cards payments are accepted. The shuttle’s bus stop is located at ground level between terminals 2A and 2B outside Arrivals. For further information on public transport, please see the menus below.

Alternatively, one can travel to Budapest by taxi or mini bus. Főtaxi is the designated taxi company at the airport, and for security reasons, taxis can be booked via the company’s mobile app or at the taxi booth just outside Arrivals. Travel time can be 40-50 mins to the school’s venue depending on traffic. Prices are significantly higher than public transport at ~15,000 HUF (~40 EUR). Taxis accept card payments and can issue receipts when given advance notice. Avoid hiring taxis from other companies outside the airport as these may not be regulated. Private hire mini bus services are also available at Arrivals but prices can vary per booking.

By train: 

Budapest can be reached from the west by train relatively conveniently. The busiest connection is with Vienna, where Railjet trains provide fast and convenient service (travel time is 2h40min). Furthermore, Railjet trains directly links Budapest with Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Zürich, and Munich. For other directions (Prague, Venice, Bucharest, Bratislava, Košice, Warsaw, and Krakow), there are direct connections with EuroCity and InterCity trains.

Night trains can be used to conveniently cover longer distances. Nightjet has a good network of night trains over western and central Europe, connecting cities like Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin with Vienna. As an example, one can board the Nightjet in Amsterdam at 19:30, arriving in Vienna the next morning at 9:14. After transfer to the Railjet, one can finally arrive in Budapest at 12:19. EuroNight, the other night train brand, has a limited network compared to RailJet, but it offers direct connections to Budapest from Berlin, Zürich, and Stuttgart.

Check your train travel options on bahn.de or else on your country’s rail operator’s websites.

The VLTI School takes place at Hotel Benczúr which is located on the Pest side of the city, near the City Park (Városliget) and the Andrássy Avenue. A map of the hotel neighborhood:

Traveling by public transport

Budapest has a fairly good public transport system (operated by BKK; https://bkk.hu/en/ ), with a dense network of buses and trams. There are four metro lines covering the busiest parts of the city. Public transport buses are blue, trams are yellow, trolleybuses are red, and metro cars are white.

Public transport stops are clearly indicated around the city, with the number of the service provided and timetables. Major transport hubs, as well as most stops, also have automated ticket vending machines.

From the airport

Take bus 100E (ticket price 2200 HUF ~ 5.9 EUR) and get off at Deák Ferenc tér, the terminus. Climb the stairs down to the metro station and take metro line M1 (yellow line) until the stop at Bajza utca. From there it is a 6 min walk to the hotel. The whole journey takes an hour.

From the Keleti railway station

With trolleybus 79M. When you exit the train station from the main gate, turn right and then cross the adjacent road (Thököly út). The stop is nearby to your right. Get off at the stop Benczúr utca, and walk 3 minutes to the hotel.

With bus 20E, 30, 30A, or 230. Exit the train station from the main gate, and go to the bus stop in front of the station (same side of the road as the station). Get on bus 30 or 30A or 230, and get off at stop Benczúr utca. Walk 3 minutes to the hotel. Alternative: Get on bus 20E, and get off at the first stop Hősök tere. Walk 8 minutes to the hotel.

Traveling by taxi 

All licensed taxi cars in Budapest are yellow and they (should) use the same tariff. The tariff is written on the outside of the cars, and the payment can be made with cash or bank card. You can book your taxi at a booth at the exit from Terminal 2. A ride from the airport to the hotel costs around 15,000 HUF (~ 40 EUR), and takes around 30-50 min depending on traffic. The only licensed taxi operator at the airport is Főtaxi — don’t accept offers from drivers waiting around Arrivals. They will possibly charge you way more than the official rate. Do not pay for your ride in euro banknotes.

Riding taxis within the city: It is best to avoid ‘freelancers’ and stick with the large companies (e.g., 6×6 Taxi, Bolt, City Taxi, Főtaxi, Taxi4). Most taxis waiting in central areas (e.g., railway stations) do not belong to those companies, and they will charge much more than the official rates. Order taxis by phone, via the company websites or via the company mobile apps.

BKK = Budapesti Közlekedési Központ

BKK is the public transport authority in Budapest. For the latest information, please check their website:
https://bkk.hu/en/

For your convenience, please check their trip planner:
https://go.bkk.hu/

or even better download their mobile app that combines a trip planner and mobile ticket purchases:
https://bkk.hu/en/tickets-and-passes/budapestgo/

Ticket prices

Single ticket (vonaljegy) is 350 HUF (~ 0.9 EUR), which is valid on a single line without transfers. If bought in a batch of 10 (gyűjtőjegy), the price per ticket is only 300 HUF. Valid on the local public transport lines (BKK) within the city limits.

The following tickets and passes are valid not only on the local public transport lines (BKK), but also on trains (operated by MÁV) and on domestic bus lines (Volánbusz, typically yellow buses), strictly within the city limits:

24h Day ticket: 2500 HUF

72h ticket: 5500 HUF

15 day (half-month) pass: 6300 HUF.

Note: make sure you have a valid ticket, else you may have to pay a fine of 12,000 HUF on the spot (the fine increases to 25,000 HUF if not paid on the spot). Ticket inspections are very frequent in all means of public transport. Ticket inspectors can travel in “disguise” but they must clearly display their badge and designated armband when inspecting your tickets.

The airport express bus 100E has a special price fare, 2200 HUF. You can not use a standard ticket or passes on this line. Additional tickets have to be purchased for other means of transport before and after you use the airport express bus. Note: The other airport bus (200E) has a standard tariff, but that does not go into the city center, only to the terminus of the M3 metro line, which has a complicated travel schedule. Do not use that bus.

Where to buy tickets? 

Automated ticket vending machines are located at busier stops and transport hubs. It is best to buy your tickets in advance, but the bus and tram drivers can also issue tickets (for a higher price; cash only). There is a mobile app (BudapestGO; see above) for buying tickets electronically.

Validating tickets

Be sure to validate your single tickets instantly after boarding. Paper tickets should be stamped. To validate mobile tickets, you have to scan a QR-code, located on the outside (and also inside) the vehicles (mobile data connection is necessary for validation), and show the picture appearing on your device to the driver or ticket inspector. You don’t need to validate daily tickets (24h, 72h) and passes (half-month), as they are valid until the date written on them.

On many (trolley) bus lines you have to board at the front door, and show your pass to the driver, or validate your ticket there. If you accidentally enter such (trolley) buses from any other door, you will hear a service announcement and the driver will ask to see your ticket.

For journey planning, probably Google Maps is the best, but the services of the public transport company BKK (BudapestGO app) are also fine.

More info: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Budapest