How to Get from Budapest Airport to City Center
You can always find cheap tickets on plenty of routes with the Hungarian airline WizzAir, and I often travel through Budapest. Plus, I just love the city. For those flying into the Hungarian capital for the first time, here’s the easiest and best way to get from the airport to the center and back.
Budapest Airport has two terminals: 2A and 2B. The difference is simply that different airlines land at different terminals — for example, WizzAir flies into 2B. But honestly, don’t even sweat the terminals. This isn’t Paris or Madrid with their massive distances; in the Budapest airport, walking from 2A to 2B takes all of 2 minutes.
The most optimal ways to get from the airport to central Budapest are by bus or taxi. The metro and trains don’t run to the airport. If you happen to glance at Google Maps and see a train station nearby, well — it’s not actually nearby. It’s several kilometers away, and nobody actually takes the train from the airport.
The Airport Express Bus
You can catch two different buses from Budapest Airport: the 200E and the 100E.
The bus stop is located about 100 meters to the left as you exit the arrivals area. The buses are bright blue — you can’t miss them.
Bus 200E — This is a standard city bus that heads to the M3 Kőbánya – Kispest metro station. It makes a ton of stops along the way, so it’s going to be a long ride. Tickets cost the standard public transit fare: 450 HUF (at a nearby machine) or 600 HUF from the driver.
You’re better off choosing the 100E Express. The fare is 2200 HUF — about 5.5 euros — but the express is much faster and only makes three stops right in the heart of the city: Kálvin tér, Astoria, and Deák tér. Just map out the route from the airport to your hotel on Google Maps to see which stop to get off at. Heading back to the airport, the 100E departs from these same stops.
The 100E runs daily, every 20 minutes from 03:20 to 01:20.
Tickets for the express bus — just like for any other transport in Budapest — should be bought at the machines at the stop. There are several machines; people tend to swarm the first few they see, so there are often lines. Just walk about 50 meters further ahead — there are a couple more where there’s usually nobody.
How to buy tickets for the airport express and all other public transport in Budapest
Here’s a photo of the first few machines, right next to the 100E stop.
This is your standard ticket machine for Budapest public transport. You’ll find the exact same ones scattered around the city at metro stations and on the streets. So, if you need to, you can grab your regular city transit tickets at the same time.
To buy your tickets, just do the following:
- The express bus ticket is highlighted as a separate option: “Direct airport bus ticket.“
You’ll need to choose between a 100E express ticket for just the airport trip or a round – trip (in which case, two tickets will be printed). You can just grab a one – way for now and buy the return ticket later at any machine. That’s what I usually do — “One way trip.” - Select the number of passengers.
- Double – check your purchase and hit “Payment without VAT invoice” — I’m assuming you aren’t here on a business trip.
- The machine takes cards! It’s much better to pay by card — it’s just easier. Cash is only accepted in Hungarian Forints. If you have a contactless card, you don’t need to insert it — just tap it on the reader (I showed where that is in the photo above).
- The tickets will print in a few seconds. Along with the tickets, the machine spits out a receipt that looks roughly the same size as the ticket itself. I took a photo of it specifically so you don’t get them mixed up and toss the wrong one!
- When boarding the bus, you must validate your ticket in the puncher or show it to the driver (sometimes there’s a special “ticket – ripper” person on duty at the 100E stop).
Buying Transport Tickets Online
You can also buy public transport tickets directly in the app, and for the 100E, you can even pay by card when boarding the bus! This is by far the best choice.
All the details are here — Budapest: How to Use Public Transport.
Taxis from the airport
There is no UBER in Budapest. Well, there used to be, but after protests from the anti – progress crowd, it was shut down. There are local alternatives:
- Főtaxi — the oldest taxi service in Budapest. To avoid the classic “scam” of driving in circles around the entire city to run up the meter, it’s better to book through the app.
- Bolt — the European Uber, which works not only in Hungary but in many other European countries as well. I use it just as much as Uber. You catch my drift — unlike Főtaxi, the app can come in handy in other countries too.
In the arrivals area, you’ll naturally be greeted by local “gypsy cabs.” Just ignore them, walk out of the building, and you’ll see the Főtaxi rank immediately — or just order through the app. There is some weak Wi – Fi at the airport. But of course, everyone is using travel eSIMs (highly recommend Yesim) these days anyway, so there’s no real need to go hunting for Wi – Fi networks anymore.
Taxi rides in Budapest, including those from the airport, are metered. The base fare and price per kilometer are displayed on the side of the car; waiting at traffic lights or in a jam (a rarity) is also charged. A trip from the airport to the center will run you about €30-40.
Private and Group Transfer
If you’ve read this far and decided to go with a taxi — I actually recommend booking an individual transfer. It’s like a taxi, but better: they meet you with a sign and whisk you away to your hotel or any address in Budapest — you could even head straight to Hévíz if you feel like it.
The perks of a transfer are that the price is known upfront and doesn’t change; you can pay the full amount online and not worry about settling up with the driver.
I book my transfers through KiwiTransfer. The cost will be a little higher than a taxi, maybe 5-10 euros more. But it’s a transfer, with all the benefits: the meet – and – greet with a sign, online payment, and that extra sense of security in an unfamiliar city. Just remember to book your transfer in advance, at least 8 – 12 hours before your trip. It’s not a taxi; it won’t just go racing out to meet you the second you click.
If you’re traveling solo, you can opt for a shared shuttle bus to your hotel. Group transfers also need to be booked ahead of time; for Budapest airport, miniBUD (~€16) is your best bet.
