Category: transportation

Do passengers over 65 years travel free with public transportation in Budapest?

Posted on by Budapest Guide

A leaflet about Budapest says that passengers aged 65 and older may use public transportation (such as subway, trams and buses) for free. Is this true? My only ID to prove my age is my passport. Is that enough?

First of all thank you for the question. This is a very popular question asked by many, so we will try to answer your question giving all necessary information. It is true that public transportation is free for some people above 65 years, but not for all. Transportation is free for those aged 65+ fitting into one of the following groups:

  • Citizens of Hungary or other EU, EEA Member States or Switzerland aged 65+
  • Foreign citizens aged 65+ who get pension from the Hungarian Pension Fund
  • Foreign citizens with Hungarian nationality aged 65+ and their relatives aged 65+ upon Act LXII/2001
  • Foreign citizens aged 65+ on the basis of a special international agreement
  • Refugees 65+

    It is the first category listed which is interesting for most of the people visiting our page. This means that if you are a member of a nation within the European Union or a member of the European Economic Area like Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you are entitled to free usage of the public transportation in Budapest if you are above the age of 65.

    This means that you can simply enjoy the usage of buses, metros and trams in Budapest at no cost, but it is very important that you always bring your personal ID with you to be able to identify yourself as a person above 65 years from a EU, an EEA country or from Switzerland.

    I hope this answer helps you out. Feel free to come with comments, feedback or other stuff using the comment field on this page.

    • How to get from Budapest Airport to Sziget Festival (Obudai Island)?

    Posted on by Budapest Guide

    I will arrive to Budapest Airport Terminal 2, and wonder how I can get from here to the Obudai Island where the Sziget Fes(z)tival is arranged. Can you please help?

    In general we would recommend arranging with an airport transfer which is not especially expensive, but it will take you directly from the airport to the island and it is a very efficient way of getting there. Still, if you want a more advanced and public transportation way of getting to the Obudai Island, Sziget Fesztival, the following can be a working solution.

    First travel with bus 200E from Budapest Airport Terminal 2 to Köbánya Kispest (metro station). From there you can travel with the metro to Deák Tér, then change to the red metro and travel to Batthány Tér (red metro). There you can change to the HEV traveling towards Szentendre. You need to stop at Filatorgiat, and then you are there.

    Another option, much easier, is to travel with the special bus for the Sziget Festival from Liszt Ferenc Airport (Budapest Airport). This will be operating between August 4th and 8th between 9 in the morning and 00.30 every day, every second hour. On August 13th this bus will be operating from 3.00 til 14.00 transporting people back to the airport. We do not know anything about the actual cost of this bus, but it seems like a good solution to get from the airport to Obudai Island
    (this information is valid for Sziget Fesztival in 2012…)

    In case you are confused, Obudai Island is the same as Hajogyári sziget and Óbudai sziget. These are just other versions of the same place.

    Is it a ticket to use public transport for 2 days valid for the whole family?

    Posted on by Budapest Guide

    No, there are no 48-hour tickets available. The only option is the 48-hour Budapest Card, but that costs 10,000 HUF almost and you need to visit a lot of museums for this to be worth the price. You could consider the “csoportos 24 órás jegy“, or as it would be in English: “Group ticket for 24 hours“. This can be used for up to 5 persons travelling together all the time, in the same wagon. The price is 3100 HUF and is worth using for families and larger groups traveling together. IF you are three persons, then the price for two such cards would be only 6200 HUF, compared to three persons buying the Budapest Card would cost 30,000 HUF.

    You can buy this tickets described here at the larger metro stations around in Budapest.

    You could consider the 72 hour ticket if you stay for three days which costs 3850 HUF per person.

    Budapest transportation

    Ask your Budapest question!

    Where can I buy public transportation tickets?

    Posted on by Budapest Guide

    Where can I buy public transportation tickets in Budapest?

    You can buy tickets for the public transportation in Budapest at almost all metro stations (except from some station on the yellow line travelling between Vörösmarty Tér and Mexikói Út). In addition to this you can buy some tickets at newspaper/magazine shops (Relay) and other small stores around in Budapest. Some bus stops have small ticket sale stands from where you can buy tickets, but in general the only safe place to go where you for sure can buy tickets are the metro stations. They have different opening times, but often they open 5.00 or 6.00 in the morning and stay open until 20.00 or even later in the evening.

    Ask your Budapest question!

    Can I buy a one week transportation card at Budapest Airport?

    Posted on by Budapest Guide

    Can I buy a one week transportation card at Budapest Airport? Or maybe a single day ticket or a three day ticket?

    It is not possible to buy daypass, three-day pass or a week pass at Budapest Airport. The only thing you can buy at the airport is single tickets, a package of ten single tickets and Budapest Pass. In most situations we do though not recommend the Budapest Pass, as that only is worth the money for those who plan to visit A LOT of museums and so on. For the normal usage of public transportation and maybe for visiting a few museums it is better worth simple buying a normal Budapest transportation ticket (3-day pass or 7-day pass) and later paying full entrance fee on the different places.

    What to do then? As you arrive at the airport you can buy a single ticket at the Relay shop at the airport. Enter the bus, validate your ticket and travel to Köbánya Kispest (end station of the bus). There you can buy all tickets available, also the 1-day pass, 3-day pass and 7-day pass, and from there you can travel on with the metro to the city center of Budapest.

    Ask your Budapest question!