Before and during
Budapest essentials
The practical answers, written out properly: money and cards, transport tickets, tipping, the scams that genuinely exist, how the baths work, and what to do when something goes wrong.
Money, cards and exchangeHungary uses the forint, not the euro. Cards work almost everywhere — the traps are all in how you convert.BKK tickets and travelcardsOne ticket system covers the metro, trams, buses and trolleybuses. For a short stay a travelcard almost always wins.Tipping and the service chargeAround 10% is normal — but check the bill first, because many places already added 12–15%.Safety and the scams that actually existA safe city with a small number of very specific commercial traps. Knowing them is the whole defence.How the thermal baths workWhat to bring, how the lockers work, and the rules nobody tells you before you are standing there wet.When to visit BudapestSpring and autumn are the comfortable months. Winter is underrated, and August is hotter than people expect.Budapest with childrenAn unusually easy city for families, as long as you know which pools and which hills to avoid.Emergencies, pharmacies and health112 for everything. What an EHIC actually covers, and where to find a pharmacy at 3am.
Before you go
Airport transferBudapest Airport is 24 km out with no direct metro. A fixed-price private transfer is about thirty minutes, door to door.Book a transfer →Flights to BudapestCompare fares into Budapest Ferenc Liszt (BUD) across hundreds of airlines and agencies.Search flights →Data & eSIMHungary is in the EU, so EU roaming applies and most European visitors need nothing. Worth it if you are arriving from outside the EU.Get an eSIM →Claim for a delayed flightUnder EU rules a delay over three hours on a flight into or out of the EU can be worth several hundred euros. Most people never claim it.Check your flight →
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