Budapest, Hungary
By bus in Budapest
While many travellers leave out this possibility, arriving to Budapest by bus can be an easy and painless option. The city is connected to Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine by direct lines. Although most of connections are not as frequent as they were before the low-fare airlines revolution, they still run two or three times a week; from Austria and Slovakia daily. Prices tend to be slightly lower than train fares, but higher than a discount air ticket. Travelling by bus is a very competitive option if you catch your bus to Budapest in a city not covered by budget airlines (in Strasbourg, France, for example). All the international lines are logoed by Eurolines, whose site offers a good way to check prices, timetables and book your ticket. Some special discounts may not be available via Internet.
Hungary’s national bus network is operated by 28 state run companies, united in Volán Association. If you arrive to Budapest from another Hungarian city, bus is often the best option. Connections are frequent, prices are lower than Intercity, but somewhat higher than regular train rates (price sample as of February 2007: Gyor-Budapest, 1h 50 min, HUF 1890). It is expected a joint tariff system for railway and bus network for late 2007. Long-distance buses are clean and safe, but often subject to delays. Buy your ticket at the station ticket desk before boarding; if you do not take your bus at a main station, it is possible to buy a ticket from the driver. It is a good idea to reserve your tickets for national holidays, Friday and Sunday evenings beforehand. It is NOT possible to book a national ticket via Internet, but you can check Volán’s official timetable . It is available only in Hungarian, but easy to use: “honnan†means ‘from’, “hová†is ‘to’; write your departure date in format year/month/day, leave the other parameters alone and press “keresésâ€, ‘search’. Check the results on the next page. (“Autóbusz állomás†will mean ‘bus station’, while “naponta†is ‘daily’).
Budapest’s main bus stations are very well connected to the rest of the city, although they are located in outer zones. All of them are safe and (relatively) clean. Use your common sense and sit only in taxis logoed by bigger companies.
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