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. For a long time, the transportation in Budapest was free for people above 65 years, if they have a Hungarian passport or a passport from another country within the European Union.
As of 2024, this has changed, meaning that public transportation in Budapest is free for everyone above 65 years, as long as they can confirm their age with a passport of official ID card.
Information from the public transportation company in Budapest about free transportation in Budapest (April 2024).
All you need is a passport or an official ID that confirms that you are older than 65 years. If that is okay, you can easily travel by any tram, bus, or metro in Budapest and if asked, show your ID. You do not need to buy tickets for any of these vehicles at all.
Isn’t that delightful? And it is also a great improvement that this is available for anyone, not only for Hungarians and people from the EU. If you come from Canada, the United States, Mexico, India, China, Japan, or anywhere else, this information is valid for you as well!
I hope this answer helps you out. Feel free to come with comments, feedback or other stuff using the comment field on this page.
Thank you for the question! This is a good question and, at times, a tricky question. The local government has removed more and more free parking spots in Budapest, but there are still some. Here we will write about some of those free parking spots.
First of all, in large parts of the city, it is free parking on Sundays and after 22.00 in the evening (on the other days). However, this is in general, so make sure to check it out as you park your car to know if this is valid for where you would like to park your card as well.
General advice is to never to leave valuables in your car because, as in all other cities, there are people in Budapest as well who like to steal valuables from cars, so if you have lots of valuable stuff in your car, you better go to a secure parking lot instead with guards, to make sure that you, your car and your values stay safe!
Free parking in Budapest
Campona
You must park outside the city center if you want 100% free parking in Budapest. You can park mostly anywhere in the 22nd district of Budapest and in other “outside districts” such as the 4th district, the 17th district, and many others. Still a better option is to park in the giant parking lot by the shopping mall Campona outside the city center of Budapest. From there, you can travel with public transportation buses to Moricz Zsigmond Korter, Bikas, Park, or Ujbuda center, and then you can travel further on with the green metro line to wherever you want to in Budapest
You can type Campona Budapest in your GPS and you will be taken to the mall and its giant parking lot. This is probably the best option right now if you want a 100% free parking in Budapest.
Market Central (Vecsés, Fő út 246-248)
This is a shopping area very close to Budapest Airport. Here you find all sorts of stores, such as Tesco, Praktiker, DM, kik, Deichmann, SportFactory, Lidl, Müller, Burger King, and many others. A large parking lot is in front of the complex, and you can leave your car here for free. From here you can travel by bus 200E towards Köbanya Kispest and travel on the blue metro line from there to the city center of Budapest.
The parking lot along the main road connects the city center with the airport. You should, of course, be careful with leaving valuables in the car, just like you should anywhere else in the city.
P+R parking in Budapest (not free, but very cheap).
It is hard to find free parking in Budapest at central locations, but there are a couple of P+R parking options that will allow you to leave your car at a cheap price and then travel on with public transportation to all of Budapest within a few seconds. These were completely free until July 1st in 2023, but they now require a payment. Luckily, they are still cheap, making them great options!
What is the price of the different P+R parking options in Budapest?
The price is 350 HUF per entrance (valid between 06.00 and 22.00). In other words, if you arrive at 8.00 and leave at 21.50, you only pay 350 HUF (less than 1 euro) for the entire parking time. If you leave your car there for the night, you need to pay 105 HUF per hour between 22.00 and 06.00. If you arrive at 10.00 on a Monday and leave the parking lot at 10.00 on a Wednesday, you will end up paying three-day tickets (3×350) and also 16 night hours (16×105). The end result is then 2730 HUF, approximately 7 euro. The parking lot is guarded, meaning that it should be considered fairly safe to leave your car in this and other P+R locations in Budapest for a couple of days
1) Etele tér P+R (not free, but cheap)
You can type this name into Google Maps, leading you to a big parking lot in Budapest. It is located next to a big shopping mall named Etele Plaza, and from here, you can travel by metro line 4 to Kalvin square and Fövam square which are central locations in Budapest. Be aware that many people use this option on weekdays, meaning it might be hard to find a free parking lot, but if you are patient and lucky, it should work out nicely!
2) Örmezö P+R (not free, but cheap)
This is located close to the first parking lot mentioned (Etele tér P+R), on the other side of the railway lines. It is the perfect place to start your trip to Budapest as you can leave your car for free and travel by metro to downtown. You can buy tickets at the metro station. If you’d rather travel by tram to central Budapest, that can also be done using tram 49.
3) KÖKI Terminál P+R (not free, but cheap)
This isn’t entirely free, but it is quite close to free. It is located next to metro line three (the blue line) and the station named Köbanya Kispest. It is a part of a giant mall, meaning that you can easily shop at this location besides parking your car.
The mall is between the main city center of Budapest and the international airport, making it ideal for those traveling between the city and the airport or who just want a good location for parking their car. It is possible to buy tickets for longer periods of time here, including a ticket valid for 30 days. Such long-term tickets must be bought in the parking office at the -1 level of the mall.
Above you can see the prices and tickets available for parking at Köki Terminal in Budapest.
4) Arena Plaza parking lot (this is not P+R, making it much more expensive than the other options)
The parking lot belonging to the Arena Plaza shopping mall can be used for free. It is not super central, but by walking a bit you can reach the Keleti Palyaudvar, and there you will find two metro lines, making it easy to get on from there in town.
November 2022 update. You can now only park for free for 2 hours in Arena Plaza. After this, all the following hours will cost 300 HUF (appx. 1 Euro). The parking lot is possible to use during the opening times of the Plaza itself.
5) Bikas Park (this is not P+R, so it is more expensive than the other options)
This is not very central, but this location has a metro station, and from here, you can easily travel to central locations using public transportation. It is also nice to know that this entire region has free parking, so if you cannot park at the large parking lot on the Bikas park, then you can also park for free in the streets around the park. Be aware of the fact that it is a local market at Bikas Park every Saturday, so all cars have to be removed from the spot before the market starts (they have to be removed latest on Friday evening before midnight).
This is a great place to leave your car if you come to Budapest by car and want to do a day of sightseeing before traveling in the evening. You can also leave your car here for days, but that isn’t a normal thing to do. If you leave your car here, make sure not to leave it from Friday to Saturday as it will be removed due to the market (a great local market in Budapest).
December 2022 update: The local government just changed its policy about Bikas park. Since December 5th in, 2022, you need to pay a parking fee here of 300 HUF per hour between 8:00 and 18:00 on weekdays. It is still free parking here on Saturdays after the market has finished (around 13.00) and on Sundays.
Would you like to get to the Danube Arena in Budapest for the FINA World Championship in 2017? Coming from the city center or from the airport? This is how!
The FINA World Championship will be arranged in Budapest between July 14th and July 30th in 2017. In this period the brand new venue named Danube Arena (Duna Arena) will be used for the swimming and diving competitions, but it is not clear for everybody how to actually get to the arena. We are here to help!
How can I travel to the Danube Arena?
Get to the Danube Arena (Duna Arena) with public transportation
If you want to get to the venue using public transportation, then you can use either metro, bus or tram. The best of these methods are the bus, because that will take you all the way to the venue itself, and you do not need to walk especially much. Here are the summary of the three methods:
With bus 15 or 115
With these buses you can travel from the city center of Budapest directly to the Danube Arena. The buses stop at Astoria and Deak Ferenc square (both have metro stations). You can use the normal public transportation tickets on these buses, and be aware of the fact that you need to have bought your tickets before getting on the bus.
Using the metro
You can travel with the blue metro line to the stop named Forgach utca. From there you need to start walking in the direction of the Danube, and within less than 10 minutes you will be by the Danube Arena, ready to cheer for your favorite contestants.
Travel by tram
Tram line number 1 in Budapest is a sightseeing trip in itself. If you jump on this tram line, you need to get of at Nepfurdo utca (just before/after the Arpad bridge). From there you just walk along the Danube to the arena, and you will be there in less than 10 minutes.
Get to the Danube Arena directly from the airport
If you arrive with airplane, and needs to get directly to the arena, then the best way is to prebook a taxi. We can help you out with private airport transfers, and our drivers will take you directly to the venue if that is requested by you. You can read more about out airport transfers right here.
If you rather use public transportation, then you can take the new bus 100E from the airport directly to Deak Ferenc square, and change to bus 15 or 115 right away. You can also travel with bus 200E from the airport to Kobanya Kispest. There you change for the blue metro line, and you travel all the way to Forgach utca, and walk the rest of the distance from there.
Questions or comments?
Have you got an answer to your question? Do you still have questions left? Use the comment field beneath, and we will do our best to help you out!
I will arrive to Budapest Airport around 23.30 and wonder how to get to the city center? When does the last public transportation bus leave from the airport?
Thank you for the question! The last bus (200E) that leaves from the airport to Köbánya Kispest (where you can change to the metro) leaves from Budapest Airport at 22.52 every night. That is quite early, but this is timed in such a way that you will get to Köbánya Kispest just in time to reach the last metro leaving from there at 23.15 (if the bus is a bit delayed you will though not reach the last metro).
In your case this means that you will not reach the last bus and be able to use public transportation with such a late arrival. You could therefore consider a private airport transfer, or the usage of the official Airport Taxi or a minibus shuttle at the airport. The usage of the minibus shuttle is probably the cheapest, but then you will not be able to leave the airport at once, but you will have to wait for a while for a group to come together, and only then you will leave the airport, which is not the best, at least not when you are tired and want to get to your hotel in a hurry!
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.
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.
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!
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?
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!
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.
Can we buy a ticket of transport for week on Internet?
Thank you for the question. At the moment you can not buy Budapest public transportation tickets online. The online option of purchasing tickets online is if you decide to buy a Budapest Card for 24, 48 or 72 hours. You can find more information about the card and buy it online at the following page. It is worth knowing though that in most situations we do not recommend the usage of this card, as most people will use less money buying a simple transportation card and then enter the different museums, activities and sights paying full entrance fee!
Are there any free parking spots in Budapest?
Thank you for the question! The last bus (200E) that leaves from the airport to Köbánya Kispest (where you can change to the metro) leaves from 
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?
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.
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.
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.
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 
