Air
The national airline is Malév
(MA), operating flights to more than 40 cities. For further
information, contact Malév Hungarian Airlines (telephone
number: 0870 9090 577).
Other airlines serving Budapest include Aeroflot, Air France,
British Airways, easyJet, KLM, Lufthansa, Sky Europe, Swiss, United
Airlines and Wizz Air.
Approximate
flight times: From London to Budapest is 2 hours 20 minutes.
International airports
Budapest Ferihegy (BUD)
Located 16km (10 miles) from the city with a journey time of approximately
45 minutes.
There are now 2 passenger terminals, A and B.
Facilities
Duty-free shop, florist, newsagent, bar and restaurants, bureaux
de change, banks, tourist information centre, gift shop and post
office.
Transport
Regular coach and bus services are available to the city, costing
around Ft800 for the centrum bus and approximately Ft2100 or Ft3600
return for the airport minibus, which runs to and from any address
within the city.
The 93 bus runs an express service between the underground terminus
at Kobánya-Kispest and the Ferihegy
terminals, however you need a pre-purchased or season ticket.
Taxis are available at all times at the airport and the major car
hire companies are represented.
Departure tax:
None.
Sea/River
From April to October there is a daily hydrofoil service run by
MAHART between Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava.
The journey costs approximately €75 for a single and takes
6 hours. Reservations must be made in advance. 20kg of luggage may
be carried free of charge. Passengers arriving by boat are advised
to reserve a taxi through the shipping line, as none are readily
available at the dock.
For further details contact MAHART at Belgrád rakpart, 1056
Budapest (telephone number: (1) 484 4013, fax number: (1) 266 4201,
e-mail: passnave@mahartpassnave.hu,
website: www.mahartpassnave.hu)
Rail
Direct rail links connect Hungary to 16 European
cities and there are 47 international trains daily to Budapest.
Inter-Rail, Eurotrain and RES concessions are valid on the Hungarian
State Railways (MÁV). Between Dresden
and Budapest there is a car transport system. The
Wiener Waltzer from Basel travels via Zurich, Salzburg
and Vienna to Budapest. First and second-class day carriages run
from Basel through to Budapest and both sleeping cars and couchettes
as far as Vienna. and there is a minibar service in Switzerland
and Austria, and a dining car in Hungary.
There are 2 main routes from London, via Paris
or Brussels via (Eurostar) to Vienna (including
a Paris-Vienna EuroNight service), where several direct trains run
daily to Budapest-Keleti, or via Brussels (Eurostar) to Munich,
where several direct trains run daily to Budapest-Keleti (including
a EuroNight service).
Luggage allowances: 35kg for adults, 15kg for children.
Note
Tourists leaving Hungary by train must pay their fare in convertible
currency. Most generally recognised international concessionary
tickets are accepted in Hungary. For further details contact MÁV
at Budapest VI, Andrássy út 35 (telephone number:
(1) 461 5500 (international timetables) or (1) 461 5400 (internal
timetables), website: www.mav.hu).
Seat reservations are strongly advised for all the services.
Road
Route is via The Netherlands, Belgium and Austria and
from Vienna via the E5 Transcontinental
Highway which passes near Bratislava (Slovak
Republic).
Bus connections are available from most major of the European cities,
check for further details with Volanbusz.
Eurolines,
departing from Victoria Coach Station in London, serves destinations
in Hungary. For further information, contact Eurolines,
52 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1V 0AU (telephone number: (08705)
143 219).
The Channel Tunnel
Eurotunnel operates trains 24 hours per day through the Channel
Tunnel between Folkestone in Kent and Calais in France.
Eurotunnel operates 3 to 4 passenger trains per hour at peak times
and the journey takes approximately 35 minutes. All vehicles from
motorcycles to campers can be accommodated. For further information
contact Eurotunnel Reservations (telephone number: (08705) 353 535,
e-mail: callcentre@eurotunnel.com,
website: www.eurotunnel.co.uk).
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