Budapest Guide, Author at Budapest Guide

No traffic at Budapest Airport until tomorrow morning!

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Budapest Guide

A message has just been sent out from Budapest Airport containing the following information:

“The relevant services are making every effort to repair the electrical problem in the control tower at Budapest Airport. Ensuring the reliable operation of the equipment in the tower, guaranteeing the safety of aviation, is of the utmost importance. Consequently, Budapest Airport will remain closed, and will not launch or receive flights, until midnight tonight. At the moment the plan is for traffic to resume at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, Saturday 8 December, but this could still be subject to change.

Passengers who hold bookings for flights due to depart this afternoon or tonight are advised not to come to the airport, but to contact their airline. The airlines and Budapest Airport are making efforts to take care of passengers who are already at the airport.”

We have already transported people today back to the town who could not leave Budapest. Check with your airline to get further information on this, and enjoy your extra time in Budapest as good as possible!

Does senior citizens travel free on public transportation in Budapest?

Posted on December 5, 2012August 29, 2017 by Budapest Guide

I have seen on another website that Hungarian citizens and citizens of the European union over 65 years travel free of charges in the transportation network of Budapest? Is that truly so?

Thank you for the question. The answer to your question is yes. People aged 65 or more travel free of charge with the public transportation in Budapest as long as they have a passport confirming their age. But, it is not enough that the passport confirms their age, it also needs to show that the person traveling comes from an EU nation or an EEA nation. If your passport confirms your age above 65 and home country (within the EU or EEA), then you can use the public transportation system in Budapest for free.

This question was originally answered in 2012, but as of August 29th in 2017 the answer remains the same. Let us all hope the answer will not change in the near future.

Does pensioners travels free in Budapest? — Do pensioners travel free in Budapest with public transportation?

If you have further comments or questions related to this, please use the comment field beneath.

What museums are open in Budapest during Christmas?

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Budapest Guide

I am going to Budapest from December 22nd – December 28th. I wonder what museums can be visited during this period?

We do not have a full list of museums open in this period, but here you can find some general information which will hopefully help you. What we can tell is this general information:

General museum information
Most museums are open on December 22nd and 23rd.
Most museums are closed on December 24th and 25th.
Most museums reopen on December 26th, though some with only temporary exhibitions available.

Some museums who follow this pattern:
Museum of Fine Arts
Hungarian National Museum
National Gallery

Just for your information:
Most museums are closed on December 31st, but most of them are open on January 1st again.

Private transfer from Budapest to Belgrade?

Posted on November 25, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Is there any company offering private transport from Budapest to Belgrade? How far is the travel distance and how much does does it take?

First of all, thank you for the question. We can help you out with a private transfer from Budapest to Belgrade (and back) if that is requested. The distance from Budapest to Belgrade is 380km if you go on the shortest possible way. In time this should take 5 hours, but do not be surprised if it takes a bit more. This route goes towards Szeged in Hungary and from there you go across the border of Serbia, travel towards Novi Sad and from there towards Belgrade.

If you want such a transfer from us the price for two persons 115,000 HUF. All fees are included in this transfer. This is for one way. If return is required on the same day that can be arranged for a bit higher cost. If return transfer is on another time then the price will be the same for the return transfer as for the transfer to Belgrade. Contact us if you want this service!

Pig slaughtering on December 8th

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Budapest Guide

A very traditional Hungarian program in December, January and February on cold days is pig slaughtering. It might sound cruel, but for many this is a big celebration as they throughout the day prepare sausage, ham and lots of other stuff and eat traditional pig slaughtering food throughout the day. At the end of the day the fill up their freezers with the meat prepared during the day.

We hereby invite you to come and see how this takes place and to eat the food together with a mixture of other tourists and locals!

The program is as follows:

5.00 – Slaughtering of the pig (we are still sleeping then)

8.00 – Pick up at your hotel and transportation to the farm where the program takes place

9.30 – Arrival at the farm and breakfast time
The breakfast is a real farm breakfast with ham, meat and lots of delicious stuff. After the breakfast you are free to help out with the work on the slaughtered pig, or simply relax in the farm building. A small wine tasting will also be added to the program between breakfast and lunch.

13.00 – Lunchtime (with food you will not get served in your Budapest hotel)
After the lunch you can either stay at the farm and help out with the work, or you can join in on a small excursion to the nice town Kecskemet not far from the farm. The transportation is included in the price in case you want the excursion.

18.00 – Dinner time (eat some of the food that has been prepared during the day)
After the dinner you can buy meat, salami and ham to bring with you home. After the shopping we get back on the bus and travel back to Budapest.

Would you like to join us on this? The program will take place once only and that date is December 8th. The price is 20,000 HUF per person which includes transportation, 3 meals and a small wine tasting. If you want to join, contact us and inform us about amount of persons, a mobile number and the name of your hotel in Budapest. We will get back to you with further information as soon as we receive your message.

Merry Christmas and look forward to hearing from you!

Is Iberostar Grand Hotel Budapest far from city centre of Budapest?

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Thank you for the question. Iberostar Grand Hotel Budapest is located not far from the city centre of Budapest and Vaci utca. The hotel has a beautiful location by the Liberty square of Budapest, which is a quiet, but beautiful spot in Budapest. The distance from the hotel to Vörösmarty square where you can find for example Hard Rock Cafe, Gerbeaud and lots of shopping places is less than 1km. According to Google maps this is only 800 metres, which can be made on foot easily in less than 10 minutes.

Along the way you will find lots of nice restaurants like Tom George, clubs such as Ötkert and enjoy the view towards the Saint Stephens Basilica as you walk across the Zrinyi utca.

Enjoy Budapest and hope this answer was good for you!

What is the fastest way to come to Budapest from Vienna International Airport?

Posted on November 21, 2012September 3, 2024 by Budapest Guide

Thank you for the question! There are quite a lot of ways to get to Budapest from Vienna International Airport. I guess it is important to get to Budapest as soon as possible since you write fast. We will still write some different solutions and in the descriptions we will describe whether we believe it is a fast or a slow solution, and the pros and cons with the different options.

1) Bus with Orangeways
Orangeways have a great bus service and the prices are very good. Normally one person from Vienna International Airport to Budapest will cost about 3500 HUF, which is close to nothing for this distance. The pro is that the bus stops at the airport and will take you to Budapest in an easy and quick way without many stops before arriving to Budapest. The negative is the fact that the bus only departs 4-5 times a day, meaning that you might have to wait for a while before your bus actually leaves. More information at orangeways.com

2) Bus with Eurolines
Eurolines is another option if you want to travel directly with bus from Vienna Airport to Budapest. They are a bit more expensive, but their buses leave at different times than the Orangeways buses, so you could choose the company with the departure time best for you. More information at eurolines.com

3) Train to Vienna and from Vienna to Budapest
This is a slower version because you will first have to travel to the center of Vienna and then from there to Budapest. This is for sure also the most expensive version, but if you prefer train to bus, you could consider this. The City Airport Train costs 12 Euro (the same as the bus ticket with Orangeways to Budapest) and takes you to Vienna in about 15 minutes. There you will need to get to the right railway station (using for example public transportation) and travel from there to Budapest with train.

4) Private transfer
There are quite some companies arranging private transfers between Vienna Airport and Budapest. These cost more, but they are the most efficient way to arrange this transfer if you are willing to pay for it. If you want this you can contact us and we will send a driver for you. Parts of the payment needs to be done beforehand. The price for such a transfer for two persons is 70,000 HUF, for three persons 75,000 HUF and keeps increasing with amount of persons. If you want this, write us an email!

We hope these answers will help you and wish you a pleasant stay in Budapest! For more information about Vienna, why not visit the Vienna Guide?

Should I stay in Buda or in Pest?

Posted on November 21, 2012June 4, 2021 by Budapest Guide

I’ll come to Budapest the 4th of December, with my baby and my husband, will stay 4 nights. I want to know what is better to take an hotel in the part buda or pest? Can you advice me an hotel?

Thank you for the question. Our short answer to your question is that Pest is the ideal place to live as a tourist, but it is important to live in the central part of Pest, and not somewhere far away from the city centre. Buda is much more quiet area, more hills and somehow nicer, but Pest is the are with shopping, most museums, restaurants and activities, so therefore Pest is the best side to stay at. A much longer article on the subject can be found here.

Our hotel recommendations for this period would be to stay in one of these hotels
– Kempinski (5 stars)
– Eurostars Budapest Center (4 stars)
– Hotel Erzsebet (3 stars)

Good luck and enjoy your stay in Budapest!

Is there a post office at Budapest Airport?

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Is there a post office at Budapest Airport? If yes, where can I find it and what are the opening times?

Thank you for the question. First of all, there is a postal office at Budapest Airport, at Terminal 2A. Earlier it was a post office at Terminal 1 as well, but since the terminal was closed down earlier in 2012 that is no longer operative. If you want to visit the post office it is open from Monday till Friday from 8.00-12.00 and from 12.30-15.30. It is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

This information is correct as of November 14th, 2012, but in the future this might change (opening times etc), so if you notice that this information is no longer correct, please write a comment!

Can we buy a card of transport for 1 week (hetijegy) on the Internet?

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Budapest Guide

Thank you for the question. Unfortunately this ticket can not be bought online. The only thing you can buy online which also works for public transportation is the Budapest Card, but in most situations you will only receive this once you arrive to your hotel (you buy it online and then the company will deliver them to your hotel so they will wait for you there as you arrive). If you want more information and order the Budapest Card, you can do so here. The one week transportation card can only be bought at larger metro stations around in Budapest.

You will find several other similar questions and answers here.

Ask your Budapest question!