Means of transportation

Public transportation

Budapest has a very well-organized public transportation system, with buses, metro, trams, suburban railways, and 18 night bus routes. It is very easy to travel around Budapest with public services. For more info, you can visit the BKVrt site, which has a lot of information, including ticket prices, timetables and routes.

It might be a good idea to purchase the Budapest Card, which can be bought at underground stations, tourist offices, travel agencies, and hotels. It allows you to use all public transport without limitations and gives free entrance to over 60 museums, plus offering discounts in shops and restaurants. The price is about 15€/17$ for a two-day card, and 20€/22$ for a three-day card.

Taxis

Authorized taxis will have yellow number plates and yellow taxi signs on them. You can call them by phone: they will usually get there in 5-10 minutes, and the operators will usually speak English as well; calling a cab by phone is usually cheaper than hailing one on the street. There are several private taxi companies, but there’s an imposed price ceiling that is valid for all of them, so be sure to check the price beforehand and that the driver turns the meter on before starting. If you arrive at the airport, take a minibus because taxis charge a lot for the airport-city route. Beware of unauthorized taxis, as they will most likely rip you off.

By car

It is not advisable to travel around Budapest with your own car, since traffic is very slow and if you don’t know the city well it is easy to get lost in traffic jams or take ages to cross the river on the few bridges.