Budapest airport to city centre: 100E, 200E, taxi

Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport lies about 16 km south-east of the city centre, and there is no direct train into town. You have three good options: the 100E Airport Express bus straight to the centre, the local bus 200E to the metro, or a taxi or transfer. The short answer: take the 100E – it runs around the clock to Deák Ferenc tér in about 40 minutes. Just make sure you have the right ticket, because an ordinary Budapest single ticket is not valid on it.

Budapest airport to city centre: the options

Times: 100E from BKK, 200E to Kőbánya-Kispest from the timetable (bus only, plus the metro ride), taxi as pure driving time to Deák Ferenc tér based on OpenStreetMap, without traffic. At rush hour, allow considerably more for the taxi and the buses.

The 100E Airport Express: the easiest way

The 100E is the bus most visitors take. It leaves from the airport terminal and runs non-stop to Kálvin tér and on to Deák Ferenc tér, the central square where three metro lines meet. According to BKK, Budapest's transport authority, the journey takes about 40 minutes.

• Hours: around the clock, seven days a week. During the day it runs every 6 to 10 minutes, in the morning and evening every 10 to 15 minutes, and at night roughly every 30 to 40 minutes.
• Ticket: the 100E needs its own airport shuttle single ticket. If you already have a Budapest travel pass (for example a 24-hour or 72-hour pass – not the 15-day pass), an add-on ticket for the 100E is enough; it is sold in the BudapestGO app. Ordinary single tickets and passes alone are not valid.
• Buying: with a bank card at the Pay&GO device on board (it sells and validates in one step), in the BudapestGO app, or at ticket machines and BKK sales points.
• Boarding: only at the front door. Paper tickets are checked by staff; mobile tickets are scanned at the reader outside the bus.
• Free travel: according to BKK, people aged 65 and over from any country travel free on the 100E.

From Deák Ferenc tér you are within walking distance of the Basilica, the Jewish Quarter and the Danube. If your hotel is elsewhere, the metro lines M1, M2 and M3 start right there.

Bus 200E and metro M3: with an ordinary ticket

The 200E is a normal city bus. It runs from the airport to Kőbánya-Kispest, the end of metro line M3, in about 25 minutes; from there the M3 takes you into the centre, with stops at Ferenciek tere, Deák Ferenc tér and the Nyugati railway station. The 200E also runs around the clock (at night it ends at Határ út, also on the M3).

On the 200E you need an ordinary BKK ticket or pass – the airport shuttle ticket of the 100E is not accepted here. The route makes sense if you buy a 24-hour or 72-hour pass on arrival anyway, or if your hotel is near the M3 line in the north of Pest. With luggage it is less comfortable than the 100E, because you change from bus to metro.

A variation: the 200E stops at Ferihegy railway station, from where trains run to Nyugati station in the centre. Check the timetable before you rely on it, because these trains run less often than the metro.

Taxi and transfer

The official taxi partner of the airport is Főtaxi, with order stands at the arrivals exit. Use the official stand rather than accepting offers in the hall. Without traffic the drive to Deák Ferenc tér takes about half an hour (21 km); at rush hour it can take much longer.

A pre-booked transfer makes sense if you arrive late at night with children, with a lot of luggage, or as a group of four or more: a driver waits in the arrivals hall with your name and takes you to the door. Airport transfers in Budapest^* can be booked with Welcome Pickups. Our article on when an airport transfer pays off compares the options for ten airports.

Which option suits whom?

• First visit, hotel in the centre: the 100E to Deák Ferenc tér – simple and direct, day and night.
• Staying several days with a travel pass: buy the pass and the add-on ticket for the 100E, or take the 200E and M3 with the pass alone.
• Late arrival, children, lots of luggage, group: a taxi from the official stand or a pre-booked transfer.
• Hotel in the north of Pest or near Nyugati: the 200E and M3, or the train from Ferihegy station.

If you come from outside the EU, for example from the UK, set up mobile data before you land so you can use the BudapestGO app straight away – a travel eSIM for Hungary^* (Airalo) is usually cheaper than roaming.

On the day you leave

The 100E runs the other way from Deák Ferenc tér and Kálvin tér to the airport, also around the clock. Plan with the 40 minutes of the timetable plus a buffer for traffic. If your flight leaves in the evening and you have already checked out, you can use luggage storage in central Budapest^* (Radical Storage) while you spend a last afternoon at a thermal bath or on Castle Hill.

How long to stay and what to see is in our article how many days in Budapest, with plans for one to four days.

Budapest trip planDay by day, with map and tips

How YesTrip helps you plan

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