This guide of tips for traveling to Budapest, will help you enjoy all the experiences offered by one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, making the most of the time.
In this city, which was formed by the union of the cities of Buda and Pest, you can relax by taking a bath in one of its spas, stroll through its well-kept parks, enter one of its museums, enjoy a sunset from its magnificent viewpoints , take a boat trip on the Danube or cross one of the most beautiful bridges in the world, among many other things.
Based on the time we spent in the city during our trip to Budapest in 4 days, we have made this list of what we believe are the 10 essential tips for traveling to Budapest.We start!
1. What is the best time?
The best time to travel to Budapest is in spring and autumn, especially May and September, when temperatures are mild, there is not so much tourism and prices are not as high as in high season.
In July and August temperatures can exceed 30 degrees, rains are more frequent, there are points of the city saturated with tourists and you will also pay a higher price for accommodation.
In winter the thermometers fall below 0 degrees and you have the possibility to see the snowy city. A good time for a trip to Budapest is at Christmas, when in several places in the city such as Vörösmarty Square, spectacular markets full of wooden stalls are set up.
2. Entry requirements and travel insurance
If you are Spanish, to enter Hungary, you only need your ID or passport, being a country of the European Union. If you are not a citizen of the European Union you will need to check with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Hungarian embassy in your country, to see if you need a visa and to know all the entry requirements.
We always recommend that you carry your ID and passport in two different places in all EU trips, in addition to a copy in the cloud, so that in case of loss or theft, you can solve the problem in a short time.
Another of the tips for traveling to Budapest or Hungary, is that you carry the European Health Card and if you do not have it, take out the best possible travel insurance. Despite carrying the European Health Card you must take into account that there are certain services that are not covered. In this post that talks about the best travel insurance to Europe you can find all the information.
We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.
3. Money exchange when traveling to Budapest
Although Hungary belongs to the European Union, the euro has not yet been adopted as the official currency. For this reason it is important to know the best way to get Hungarian florins, one euro equals about 320 florins, without paying commissions.
To avoid paying commissions and always having the current change, we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
In case you don't have these cards, one of the best tips for traveling to Budapest, is to get money at ATMs in the city, rather than at airports and exchange offices, where the commission is higher.
4. How to get from Budapest airport to downtown?
Budapest International Airport or Ferenc Liszt, located 16 kilometers southeast of the city, is very well connected to the city center.
From the two terminals of the airport, which are together, you have these means of transport:
- Bus: You have the 100E line that will take you to the Deák Ferenc Tér stop, located in the center, in about 40 minutes for about 3 euros. These buses leave every 20 minutes from 5 in the morning until 0:30 in the morning.
Another still cheaper bus service is the 200E line that takes you to the M3 metro station, Kobanya-Kispest, in 20 minutes for one euro. From this station you can connect to the center and other subway lines.
- MiniBUD: This small minibus with a maximum capacity of 10 passengers will take you to your hotel for 8 euros. The drawback is that you can waste a lot of time, having to fill up to get out and stop at each passenger's hotels.
- Private transport: This service is the most comfortable when you wait for a driver at the exit of the terminal with your name and take you directly to the door of your hotel, in half an hour. You can book it here.
- Cab: The price of a taxi to a hotel located in the center is around 23 euros.
You can check all the information about the transfer in this post about how to go from Budapest airport to the center.
Budapest center
5. Accommodation in Budapest
If you go to travel to Budapest In high season, it is essential to book the hotel several months in advance, if you do not want to run out of seats or pay more.
Our favorite area to stay in Budapest is District V, located in the heart of the Pest part. This central area is near the important stop Deák Ferenc Tér, which allows you to have a good connection with the airport by bus and with most tourist attractions in the city, using the metro. In addition to the points of all the interest that this district concentrates, you have numerous shops, cafes, restaurants and places with good atmosphere to go out at night.
We stayed at the Maverick Hostel, located 1 minute from the Ferenciek Tere metro station on the M3 line and 700 meters from Deák Ferenc Tér, which in addition to its excellent location, has one of the best quality / price ratios in Budapest.
Another interesting area to stay is the District I of Buda, where you will have nearby the castle and the Fisherman's Bastion. In it you will also enjoy more tranquility at night than in the center and it is one of the most charming areas of the city, although it has the disadvantage of having to depend on public transport to avoid walking up the steep slope.
If you don't mind staying a little further, District VI, located near Andrássy Avenue and the museum and theater area, is also a good place to find a hotel.
If you are looking for lower prices, we recommend you to look for a hotel in the old Jewish quarter, located in District VII, where prices are usually more adjusted than in the rest of the city.
Here you can search here for the best hotels in Budapest at the best price
For more information on the best hotels and neighborhoods you can consult this post of where to stay in Budapest.
Chain Bridge
6. How to get around Budapest?
To the travel to Budapest You can be calm, since you will not have any problem to move around the city by public transport, using the efficient subway, bus or tram.
The meterBudapest has 4 lines that operate from 4: 30h to 23h and the vast majority of stops are concentrated in the Pest part.
Line 1 is the most touristic when traveling along Andrassy Avenue from near the Chain Bridge to the Heroes' Square. Line 2 is also very useful when stopping in Parliament and in some areas of Buda.
Another good way to get around the city is in trolley car, having more than 40 lines covering the entire historical center of Budapest. Among the most used lines is the 2, which runs along the bank of the Danube with stops at the Central Market, the Chain Bridge and the Parliament.
Buses are very useful for getting around the city, especially at dawn between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., when subway and tram are not operational. Also recommended are lines 16, 116 and 16A that connect the center of Pest with Buda Hill.
Another option to climb the Buda Hill where the castle and the Fisherman's Bastion are located, is to take the funicular at Clark Ádám Ter Square.
To save on transfers you can book the Budapest Card which includes, in addition to unlimited public transport, discounts to the main tourist attractions and free admission to museums.
Trolley car
7. Points of interest in the city
One of the best tips before traveling to Budapest is to review this list of the best things to do in Budapest and the 10 most essential places to visit in Budapest.
Among our favorite places in the city are the Parliament, the monument "Shoes on the Danube", the Fisherman's Bastion and its spectacular viewpoint, the Chain Bridge and Váci Utca street.
In addition to the center, for a walk we recommend the charming Jewish neighborhood with a great offer in restoration and the largest synagogue in Europe.
Another route that we love is the one that runs along Andrassy Avenue, full of historic buildings such as the Budapest Opera, which ends at the Heroes' Square, located next to the City Park.
In addition to all these wonders, you cannot leave the city without enjoying a relaxing thermal water bath in one of the best spas in Budapest such as Széchenyi and Gellert. In the Széchenyi Spa you can enjoy an outdoor bath in one of its 3 outdoor pools, while the Gellert is one of the most beautiful spas in the world.
To avoid running out of space or queuing, we recommend you book the entrance to the Széchenyi Spa in advance or this ticket that includes a relaxing massage.
In the Gellert you can book the ticket here or this ticket that includes a massage.
Other essential places of the city are the historic coffee shops that will transfer you through their furniture and decoration to past times full of luxury and glamor. Among the most prominent are the New York Café located in the Boscolo Budapest hotel and the Kávéház Centrál, former meeting place of illustrious people of the city.
To end the day, nothing better than booking a boat trip on the Danube at dusk, which will allow you to enjoy illuminated Budapest, considered one of the most beautiful cities at nightfall in Europe.
8. What to eat and where?
Another reason for travel to Budapest It is to try its abundant and delicious gastronomy. Some of its most typical dishes are:
- Goulash: beef stew with onion, potato and carrot seasoned with paprika, a very typical paprika from Hungarian cuisine.
- Langos: fried bread that can be accompanied with cream, cheese or garlic sauce.
- Csirke Bell Peppers: chicken stew in paprika cream and cream.
- I found you: fish soup with paprika, onion and tomato.
- Töltött Káposzta: cabbage leaves wrapped with various types of fillings.
- Retes: sweet similar to the strudel.
Among the most recommended restaurants that you cannot miss when traveling to Budapest, located in tourist areas, you have: Menza, Borbirosag, Rustico, Marvelosa, Meat Boutique, Varosliget Cafe, Hummus Bar and the Gerbeaud Pastry Shop, the most famous in Hungary.
For more information you can consult this post about restaurants where to eat in Budapest cheap.
In addition to all these gastronomic experiences, you cannot leave the city without having a glass of Pálinka in a “Ruin-bar” like Szimpla Kert or A38 Hajö. These rooms full of atmosphere are located in dilapidated buildings with a surprising decoration that we are sure will not leave you indifferent.
Eat Goulash, one of the best tips for traveling to Budapest
9. Routes through the city
Good advice before travel to Budapest or before leaving the hotel, especially if you do not have much time, it is to chart the itineraries through the city to optimize the time.
We recommend spending 2 to 3 full days in Budapest, so that in addition to visiting its most famous places, it gives you time to walk along its great avenues such as Andrassy and streets full of shops such as Váci Utca.
Keep in mind that all the most tourist places in the city can be visited on foot, although we recommend using the funicular to climb the Buda hill and the subway to get to the City Park.
A good option if it is your first time in the city and you want to know its interesting history is to book this tour of Budapest with a guide in Spanish that includes the skip-the-line visit to Parliament or book this free tour of Budapest for free!
Based on the experience of the time we spent in Budapest, we have made these personalized guides that will help you chart the routes according to the days you have:
- Budapest guide in one day
- Budapest guide in two days
- Budapest guide in 3 days
Fisherman's Bastion
10. Tours and excursions
Once all the routes and city tours that we include in this post have been completed tips for traveling to BudapestIf you still have time, we recommend you do some of the best excursions in Budapest.
These day trips will allow you to know some of the jewels of Hungary such as Esztergom, Visegrád, Szentendre, the Gödöllö Palace, Lake Balaton and Herend.
The cities Esztergom, Visegrád, Szentendre, located among the most beautiful on the banks of the Danube, can be visited in one day by bus or by boat.
Gödöllö Palace, the former summer residence of Empress Sissi, is one of the largest baroque palaces in the world. This palace is located less than half an hour by train from Budapest-Keleti station or by bus from the Népstadion terminal.
The last excursion includes Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe and the city of Herend, famous for its porcelain. To them it is advisable to arrive by car rental car, having no good connection by public transport.
A convenient way to visit all these places knowing their history is to book one of these excursions with a guide in Spanish:
- Book excursion Esztergom, Visegrád and Szentendre.
- Book visit the Gödöllö Palace.
- Book excursion to Lake Balaton and Herend.
More tours and excursions in Budapest here
Esztergom
Do you want to travel to Budapest?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to Budapest here
The best hotels at the best prices in Budapest here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Book the best tours and excursions in Budapest in Spanish here
50 things to see and do in Budapest
The best offers of Flights to Budapest here
The best hotels at the best prices in Budapest here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Book the best tours and excursions in Budapest in Spanish here
50 things to see and do in BudapestIf you feel like helping us complete the list of the 10 essential tips for traveling to Budapest, add yours in the comments.
