Taxi Archives - Budapest Guide

How to get to the Athletics Stadium in Budapest?

Posted on August 16, 2023August 18, 2023 by Budapest Guide

Budapest is hosting the World Championship in Athletics during the summer of 2023. It is the biggest event ever arranged in Hungary, and a brand new stadium awaits athletes and the audience. But how can you easily get to the stadium? Can I park my car by the stadium?

We have written a thorough article about the World Championship in Athletics in our Budapest Guide, and there you will find lots of information about the event and also answers to frequently asked questions. We have touched on traveling to the stadium, but in this article, we will give you more in-depth answers.

Can I park my car by the Athletics Stadium?

If you come to Budapest by car to look at the World Athletics Championships, then you probably know that finding a parking lot might be a problem. There is no big parking lot next to the stadium. What should you do then?

There are several options.

1:) Park your car elsewhere and use public transportation.

This is a great option, and it might be the easiest solution. In other words, travel to the city center of Budapest, with tram line number 2 to the end station, and walk to the stadium from there. You can read more about public transportation options later on in this article.

2:) Go shopping in OBI.

There is a OBI store (do it yourself retailer) close to the stadium. This parking lot might get packed during the event, but it might be a solution (OBI will probably not endorse this option, so don’t tell them that we came up with the suggestion). Buy a hammer and some other necessary accessories, leave your car in the parking lot, and walk to the stadium.

3:) Park your car in TESCO

A TESCO store at Soroksari út is very close to the venue. Here you pay for your parking based on the length of your stay. It is very cheap, so it will not cost a fortune, and it might be the best solution for those arriving to Budapest by car for an evening or a daytime event.ű

I want to get to the stadium by taxi!

Things are very easy if you want to use a taxi to get to the stadium. Find a taxi, book a taxi via your hotel or restaurant, and let them drive you to the stadium. There will for sure be many pirate taxies around the stadium, so only use taxies you have ordered yourself, or taxies belonging to an acknowledged company such as Radio Taxi, or you can use the service BOLT.

I want to use public transportation.

Several buses, trams, and trains (HEV) are traveling near the Athletics stadium. The best options for getting to the stadium is by using tram line number 1 or 2 and then leaving the tram at the stop Közvágóhíd. Tram number two travels along the Danube, making it Budapest’s most beautiful tram ride. This is the ideal tram if you live in the city center of Budapest.

Tram number one travels along the big ring in Budapest, making it a great solution if you live nearby this popular ring in Budapest. It starts on the Buda side near the Árpad bridge, and ends up on the Buda side again by the Kelenfoldi railway station (along the way, it travels on the Pest side and stops next to the Athletics stadium).

You can travel with the green train number 7 (HEV) to the stop Müpa – Nemzeti Színház. A public transportation boat will also travel to the Athletics stadium during the World Championship in Athletics.

Can I travel by bike to the stadium?

It is possible to travel by bike to the new Athletics Stadium in Budapest. There are many places for parking your bicycle near the stadium, and there are fairly good bicycle roads leading to the stadium. Of course, the bicycle roads in Budapest cannot be compared to those in cities such as Amsterdam, but they are improving little by little, and it is possible to use a bicycle to get to the stadium.

That’s it. You are now ready to travel to the stadium during the Worl Athletics Championships in Budapest. Do not forget to be early to the stadium, and be prepared for delays during entrance to the stadium and with public transportation (something that might happen when thousands of people travel to the stadium with public transportation simultaneously).

If you have any comments or questions, write them below! If you want to read more about other events, concerts, festivals, and markets in Budapest, take a look at this page.

Watch out for wrong currencies as you travel with taxi in Budapest

Posted on September 7, 2016September 7, 2016 by Budapest Guide

The taxis in Budapest does not have the best rumor in the world, and that is easy to understand. Watch out for how much you pay and for the change you get back as you use the taxis in Budapest.

Last week we arranged a guided tour for a nice group of Scandinavians in Budapest. They were a pleasant group and we had a great time together as we discovered Budapest together. Along the way the guide told them a couple of good advises concerning taxi traveling in Budapest:

Order your taxi from your hotel or your restaurant.
Do not jump on taxis on the street.
Watch out for the change they give you back, and especially pay attention to receive back money in the right currency.
The fact that a taxi is yellow does not guarantee you anything.

Those were the advises we gave. 48 hours later we met the group again to go on a half-day trip to Szentendre with wine tasting and more cool stuff. They had some interesting stories to tell by then!

Some horrible Budapest taxi stories

First taxi rip-off in Budapest

First of all some of the ladies in the group had traveled alone. They jumped on a taxi on the street and by the time they reached their hotel he wanted them to pay 40,000 HUF (a normal fare in Budapest should cost between 1500-4000 HUF). They did not really know for sure how much that was by then, and the driver looked really scary, so they paid. It didn’t take much time before they knew they had been ripped off heavily.

Second taxi rip-off(s) in Budapest

Then it was interesting to hear that several other people in the group had experienced the same problem that we told them about during the guided tour. They paid for the taxi ride (which had a okay fare), but then it was time to receive the change. Instead of getting back 10,000 Hungarian Forint they receive Indonesian money (which has no value at all compared to the Hungarian Forint). Some others received change in another currency as well. Some of them discovered it and got really made at the driver (who according to the tourists almost peed in his pants), while someone only discovered that they had been tricked a few moments later.

Budapest taxi rip-offs

It is incredibly common with such rip-offs in Budapest. 95% of such things happen when you jump into a cab on the street. Avoiding such will save you from most trouble. But, stay alert and if you jump into a cab on the street, feel free to write down the number plate (before you enter) so that you have something to fight with in case there should be trouble in some kind of way. If you are afraid of a fight, do not jump on a taxi on the street instead.

Change in taxi prices from Budapest Airport (and in the rest of Budapet)

Posted on September 16, 2013 by Budapest Guide

There are lots of changes taking place in the taxi business in Budapest. The most visible change is that more and more taxis are turning yellow. Another change is that fares are going up.

Until now visitors coming to Budapest just jumping in a taxi at the airport would get a set fee based on what area of the city they were going to, at least if they used the official Airport Taxi company named Fő Taxi. Due to the changes this has now changed, and you will not be able to know the price of your ride to your Budapest hotel before you actually arrive, because how much you pay is based on the length of your ride in kilometer and in time. The fee you pay per kilometer and the initial fee for just jumping into a taxi has also been raised. The new initial fee is 450 HUF and the new kilometer fee is 280 HUF.

For you as a tourist this means that traveling with taxies in Budapest has gotten more expensive, but do not be afraid, it is still cheap (if you are not tricked). As you come to Budapest Airport your taxi towards the city center has also gotten more expensive, maybe with 1500-2000 HUF compared to earlier. This means again that our fares for prebooked and private airport transfers cost exactly the same as if you just jump into a taxi at the airport, however you will know the price beforehand and you do not have to fear that you are being tricked by a driver taking slow roads, standing in lines on purpose and so on.

Enjoy your taxi ride and enjoy Budapest.

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!

What is the problem with the taxis in Budapest?

Posted on August 27, 2012November 27, 2013 by Budablogger

Budapest is not the only place in the world to be known for tricky taxi drivers, but when you come as a tourist to Budapest you will for sure do good to have some basic knowledge about the taxis in town. This article will therefore give you advices on how to deal with the taxis in Budapest and information which will hopefully help you avoid overpayment and other sorts of taxi scams.

The largest groups of tourists coming to Budapest arrive from England, Germany, USA, Italy and Scandinavia. For these groups Budapest is normally said to be a cheap city and that is true. One of the activities said to be cheap is to use the local taxis, but that is only true if you get in a real and nice taxi taking paid as he should, and not more than that. Before coming up with our advices let me start with some typical stories I have heard from lots of tourists I have been speaking with in Budapest.

Bad stories about taxis in Budapest

Some nice gentlemen I once guided lived in Hotel Astoria and traveled with taxi from their hotel to Szechenyi Furdo. They ordered the taxi to the bath via their hotel and the trip to the thermal bath costed 2000 Forint. Once they finished their swim in the refreshing springs of the bath they left the building and jumped in a taxi waiting outside. Once arriving to their hotel the taxi driver told them to pay 10,000 Forint for their return trip. The guys only had a 20,000 Forint bill so they paid with this and got 10,000 back. Later they went to the shop to buy something and wanted to pay with the 10,000 bill. They then got to know that the bill they received from the taxi driver was not 10,000 Forint, but 10,000 Romanian Lei (an old bill). They took the case with a smile, but compared to the transfer to the thermal bath they paid 18,000 Forint for more the return transfer (about 65 Euro).

Some reporters from national television once jumped in a taxi outside WestEnd CityCenter pretending to be tourists. They asked for a trip to the Hungarian Parliament (about 1,5km from the shopping mall). Their driver took them on a nice city sightseeing driving them a distance of 7km before arriving to the Hungarian Parliament where he asked them to pay 7000 Forint. They then asked for a formal bill and told the driver to write it to the name of the TV channel (in Hungarian). He then threw them out of the car, and they did not have to pay!

Earlier this year some other guys I guided had to pay 6000 Forint for a small distance trip. Heavy overpayment, but okay. They paid with a 10,000 Forint bill. The driver gave them back 2×200 Forint bills. The tourist was aware and told the driver that he had given them back wrong. The driver said sorry, and said it was a big mistake, and gave them 2×2000 Forint bills. Speaking with the guy the day after I told him that the 200 bills are not in use in Hungary anymore (and hasn’t been for a while), so again this was a typical way a local taxi driver tried to trick a tourist.

Last week I spoke with four nice men. One guy had went to a night club while the other three guys went to Szimpla Budapest. Around 2.00 the three guys wanted to see if everything was okay with the last guy, so they jumped in a taxi on a street and told the driver to take them to the night club where the last guy spent his night. Well, they tried to, but since taxi drivers know where to bring people (against money), the driver didn’t at all want to take the group to the night club, but always tried to bring them somewhere else. In the end they kind of ended up there, but still they had to fight hard to get there!

: One of the safe taxi companies – City Taxi

Advices on how to enjoy Budapest taxis

I guess you would like some advices on how to enjoy Budapest taxis and how to avoid stories such as these mentioned earlier. Here comes some advices which hopefully will help you, though one can never be 100% sure.

1) Walk on foot!
This is the cheapest and safest, but of course, there are times when you need a taxi and then you can forget this advice

2) Do not use taxis waiting on the street
There are lots of taxis standing at busy places in Budapest waiting for people to jump into them. These are typically around night clubs, in the vicinity of Vaci utca, close to shopping centers, in the City Park area and mostly all around Budapest. To jump into one of these is risky, at least if you do not want to be tricked. If you still want to try this, look for a taxi with an official name (City taxi, Radio Taxi, Fő taxi etc…), a telephone number and maybe a list of prices on the doors of the car. If the taxi only has a taxi sign on the top and maybe a taxi name on the side, but nothing else… skip it!

3) Call and order a taxi yourself
There are quite a lot of taxi companies in Budapest which can be trusted and who send nice taxies who do not trick you around. The most praised taxi company is City Taxi and their phone number is +36 1 211 1111. They allow you to pay with card in the taxi and I have not yet heard any complaint on their services. Another company is Fő Taxi. This is the same company which is responsible for the taxi transfers from Budapest Airport to the city center. Their phone number is +36 1 222 2222. Both companies have English speaking operators, so wherever you are in Budapest, give them a call and they will normally have a taxi waiting for you within 10 minutes.

4) Ask for help from your hotel or restaurant
If you live in a nice hotel or have eaten at a nice restaurant in Budapest they can normally help you order a nice taxi. They have an agreement with a company, meaning that they receive some money for every guests they order a cab for, and thus it is important for them to use a company trustworthy and offering good service. In most cases (90%) this works perfectly. If it doesn’t then you should report it to the hotel, and if you have the guts to do so, ask for the name of the driver and write down his license plate number so you can give that information on to the hotel/restaurant as well.

These were just a few advices which will hopefully help you and make your stay in Budapest even more enjoyable. A last piece of advice is to never ask your taxi driver for advice on where to go, especially not if you are looking for a night club. This advice is not only valid in Budapest but lots of other places around the world as well, but since they know where to deliver you against money, they will in most cases take you to the most expensive places and often the quality is not as high as what you pay for.

Good luck and enjoy your ride!