Budapest Airport to the city centre: the 100E bus, the 200E and metro, a taxi or a shuttle

💡 The Short Version: Bus 100E runs from the airport to Deák Ferenc tér in 40 minutes, round the clock, every 10 minutes or so by day. It needs its own ticket, HUF 2,500 (about £5.80), which you can buy by tapping a bank card on board. No other ticket is valid on it, not a single ticket and not a 24-hour or 72-hour travelcard. The cheaper route is bus 200E to Kőbánya-Kispest and metro M3 on an ordinary ticket. Taxis have no fixed price: the meter runs a HUF 2,100 airport base fare plus HUF 520 a kilometre. Or book ahead: GetYourGuide’s shared airport shuttlead, run by miniBUD, the airport’s official shuttle provider, is from £14.36 (4.6 stars from 10,965 reviews).

The options, compared

There is no train to the airport terminals: the 200E connects to MÁV trains at Ferihegy railway station.

The 100E Airport Express

HUF 2,500 · 40 minutes · round the clock · its own ticket

Bus 100E runs between the airport and Deák Ferenc tér, where three metro lines meet, via Kálvin tér, and BKK gives the journey to the city centre as 40 minutes. The bus stops are on the arrivals level between Terminals 2A and 2B. In the city it stops at Kálvin tér, Astoria and Deák Ferenc tér on the way in, and boards at Deák Ferenc tér, Kálvin tér and Astoria on the way out; the Astoria stop is served only between 00:04 and 04:47 (Budapest Airport; BKK).

The 100E Airport Express waiting at the airport, signed for Deák Ferenc tér. Photo: Salsim5774, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• The ticket: the 100E needs the HUF 2,500 airport shuttle bus single ticket. An ordinary single ticket, a 24-hour travelcard and a 72-hour travelcard are not valid on it. A holder of a Budapest pass (not the 15-day pass), a Pest County Pass or a Hungary Pass buys the HUF 1,000 add-on ticket in the BudapestGO app (BKK).
• How to pay: tap a bank card, phone or watch on the Pay&GO device by the driver, which buys and validates the ticket in one tap, up to five tickets at a time. You can also buy the ticket in the BudapestGO app, at a BKK ticket machine, ticket office or customer service centre.
• Boarding: front door only. A mobile ticket is validated by scanning the code outside the bus, and a paper ticket is validated by the staff at the stop. The articulated low-floor buses have room for suitcases.
• How often: BKK says every 6 to 10 minutes on Mondays and Fridays and every 7 to 10 on the other days, by day; every 10 to 15 minutes in the mornings and evenings; and every 30 to 40 minutes on average at night. The airport’s own page gives slightly different figures, so allow for a gap of about 10 minutes by day.
• Who rides free: people over 65 of any nationality, and children under 14 with a Hungarian student ID.
• The Budapest Card includes one 100E airport round trip only on the 72-hour PLUS card and as one of the choices on the 72-hour FLEXI card: see the Budapest Card.

Bus 200E and the metro

An ordinary ticket · bus 200E to Kőbánya-Kispest, then metro M3

Bus 200E runs between Terminal 2 and Kőbánya-Kispest metro station day and night, and takes BKK single tickets, travelcards and passes. The 100E airport ticket is not accepted on it. A single ticket covers one vehicle with no change except between metro lines, so for the bus and then the metro buy a 30-minute ticket (HUF 600) or a 90-minute ticket (HUF 850), which allow changes, or a 24-hour travelcard (HUF 2,750). The time-based tickets are bought in the BudapestGO app, and the code is scanned again at each change of line (BKK).

The platforms at Kőbánya-Kispest, the M3 terminus where the 200E ends. Photo: Bilykralik16, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• Ferihegy railway station is a stop on the 200E, with MÁV trains to Nyugati station in the city.
• At night, the 200E is extended to Határ út station, where the airport lists night buses 914, 914A, 950, 984 and 985 to the centre. The night network was reorganised from the night of 1 to 2 July 2026, so check the route in BudapestGO before you rely on a number (BKK).

Taxis and ride-hailing

A regulated meter · airport base fare HUF 2,100 · no fixed price

There are no fixed fares into town. BKK’s fare table for licensed Budapest taxis reads: base fare HUF 1,300, airport base fare HUF 2,100 for journeys to and from the airport, HUF 520 per kilometre, and HUF 130 per minute when the car is travelling below 15 km/h. The price is the same at every hour and for every company, and you can pay in cash or by card (BKK).

• Főtaxi is the airport’s official taxi. Taxis wait at stands at the entrances of Terminal 2A and 2B, and Főtaxi works out a fare from your exact address before the trip starts. The airport warns that taxis not under contract that offer rides in the terminal can be risky (Budapest Airport).
• Uber: order in the app and you get a six-digit PIN at Terminal 2A. Walk to the pick-up point in front of the terminal and give the PIN to the driver; larger XL cars, for up to six, are ordered at Terminal 2B (Budapest Airport).
• A licensed taxi is yellow, with “minősített budapesti taxi” on the left front door and the fare table on the dashboard and rear doors. BKK lists Bolt, City Taxi, Elit Taxi, Főtaxi and Uber Taxi as the licensed companies, and takes complaints on +36 1 3 255 255.

Shuttles and private transfers

From HUF 2,499 a person on a shared shuttle · private transfers £44.79 to £52.69

miniBUD is the airport’s official shuttle provider, with a fixed price from HUF 2,499 a person to the centre, and its own page lists unlimited baggage, child seats and free Wi-Fi (Budapest Airport). GetYourGuide’s shared airport shuttlead is run by miniBUD and is from £14.36 (4.6 stars from 10,965 reviews). You validate the voucher at a miniBUD information point in the baggage claim, and the listing limits luggage to one large suitcase and one hand piece a person.

• Private car: the private transfer for up to two peoplead is £44.79 to £52.69 (4.8 stars from 311 reviews), and the driver waits in the arrivals hall. Another private transferad is from £15.10 a person (4.4 stars from 539 reviews), in a car, SUV, minivan or minibus by group size, with 60 minutes of waiting time included.

After you arrive

• From Deák Ferenc tér, metro M1, M2 and M3 meet, and the Chain Bridge and the Danube promenade are a short walk. Budapest public transport explains the fares, and why contactless works on the metro and the 100E but not on trams or other buses.
• Where to sleep: where to stay in Budapest compares the districts by how you reach them, and hotels near the Hungarian Parliament lists the hotels beside the river.
• The tourist tax is added by the hotel and is not in the cab fare or the ticket price.

Deák Ferenc tér, where the 100E stops, with the Anker Palace beyond the trees. Photo: Random photos 1989, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

For what to book before you fly, see what to book before you go in Budapest. To plan the days, see 3 days in Budapest and Budapest in one day. For the river, Danube river cruises compares the boats, and most day trips from Budapest start from the stations in the city.