In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Danube Bend is three towns on three timetables: Esztergom (the basilica), Visegrád (the hilltop Citadel) and Szentendre. On your own it is a 1 hour 5 minute train to Esztergom, two buses and the HÉV home, about 12,000 HUF (£27) with entries. The Danube boats are suspended for low water, so every tour returns by coach and you should plan the way back by road or rail. Or book a tour: Cityrama’s Danube Bend day tripad (£72.24, 4.3 stars from 652 reviews, 9 hours) includes the guide, coach and lunch and costs about £45 more than the loop; it saves working out three timetables and the walk up to the Citadel (GetYourGuide).
Going on your own
The loop runs north to south, so that you finish at Szentendre with the HÉV to Batthyány tér. Fares are full adult second-class fares from menetrendek.hu.
The Danube Bend, seen from the hills above Visegrád. Photo: Szilas, Wikimedia Commons.
- To Esztergom: MÁV from Nyugati, 1 hour 5 minutes, 1,120 HUF each way, every 30 minutes (40 trains a day each way). Volánbusz takes about 1 hour 20 minutes for 840 HUF.
- Esztergom to Visegrád: bus, 38 to 50 minutes, 600 HUF, hourly.
- Visegrád to Szentendre: bus, 34 to 50 minutes, 550 HUF.
- Szentendre to Budapest: HÉV H5 to Batthyány tér, 39 minutes, every 20 minutes, with the last train around 23:48. A Budapest ticket plus a suburban-section ticket for the stretch beyond the city boundary comes to about £2 to £3; the Szentendre guide has the ticket rules.
- Straight to Visegrád: Volánbusz from Újpest-Városkapu takes 1 hour 15 minutes and costs 745 HUF, hourly, if you want to skip Esztergom.
- The Citadel climb: the Citadel is on the hill above Visegrád. The hiking tour that includes it puts the climb at about 250 metres and 45 to 60 minutes on foot.
- The day: take a train from Nyugati by about 08:00. The Citadel’s cash desk shuts 30 minutes before closing, which is 17:00 until 26 October and 16:00 from 27 October.
| The loop on your own | HUF | Pounds |
|---|---|---|
| Train, Budapest to Esztergom | 1,120 | £2.50 |
| Bus, Esztergom to Visegrád | 600 | £1.50 |
| Bus, Visegrád to Szentendre | 550 | £1.50 |
| HÉV, Szentendre to Budapest | about 1,000 to 1,200 | £2 to £3 |
| Esztergom Basilica combined ticket | 5,600 | £13 |
| Visegrád Citadel | 2,800 | £6.50 |
| Total | about 12,000 | about £27 |
Boats. MAHART’s notice lists its Budapest to Szentendre, Budapest to Visegrád, Visegrád to Esztergom and hydrofoil services as not running from 13 July to 11 October 2026 because of low water (mahartpassnave.hu). When the boats run they are seasonal: the Szentendre boat’s timetable covers 14 March to 1 November and 5 to 27 December, and the hydrofoil runs on listed weekends only, with advance tickets. The Szentendre fare is 5,000 HUF one way and 7,000 HUF return. Treat a boat as a bonus when it runs, never as the way back.
Tours from Budapest
A tour costs £45 to £66 more than the loop and saves the planning: three towns, two bus timetables, the climb to the Citadel and lunch. It does not save money. All four coach tours below return by coach while the boats are suspended. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price for one adult.
Cityrama’s day trip
From £72.24 · 4.3 stars from 652 reviews · 9 hours
Cityrama’s Danube Bend day tripad stops at Visegrád, Esztergom and Szentendre with a guide in English and Spanish, and a guide who is sometimes bilingual. The price includes the coach and lunch; the boat ticket in the listing applies only on days the boats run. Entry to the Visegrád Royal Palace is not included. It is a GetYourGuide bestseller.
With a 3-course lunch and a stop in Slovakia
From £92.64 · 4.1 stars from 943 reviews · 9½ hours
Danube Bend and Szentendre with lunchad opens with a 15-minute photo stop on the Mária Valéria bridge to see Esztergom from the Slovak bank, then Esztergom for 80 minutes, Visegrád for 105 minutes including a 3-course Hungarian lunch, and Szentendre for 80 minutes. You meet at the Eurama office 30 minutes before departure, hotel pickup is optional, and you must carry a passport or ID card. Guides work in Spanish, English, French, German and Italian and may run bilingual. The full-day Danube Bend tourad (£92.64, 4.2 stars from 505 reviews, 9 hours) runs the same itinerary with 90 minutes at each town.
On foot to the castle
From £60.43 to £67.14 · 5.0 stars from 10 reviews · 8 to 9 hours
The small-group forest tourad walks for 75 minutes along former royal hunting paths to Visegrád Castle, with an optional lunch, before Szentendre. The Visegrád hike with a castle tourad (£127.48, 4.9 stars from 7 reviews, 8 hours) takes the train from Nyugati to Nagymaros, crosses to Visegrád by ferry, climbs about 250 metres and includes the Citadel ticket and a guide; it depends on that ferry running.
Which to choose
- The loop on your own if you are happy with two bus timetables: about £27, against £72.24 to £92.64.
- Cityrama’s tour for the lowest price with lunch.
- The Program Centrum tour for the Slovak photo stop and a fixed 3-course lunch, at £20 more.
- The forest tour if you want the walk to the castle.
What to see
Allow a full day. Esztergom and Visegrád are the two stops that need a ticket, and Szentendre is free to walk; it has its own guide with Skanzen, the open-air museum.
Esztergom Basilica on its hill above the Danube. Photo: Pudelek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Esztergom Basilica. Church free · combined ticket 5,600 HUF · church 08:00 to 17:00 from 1 October. A cathedral on the hill above the Danube, with the crypt where cardinals including József Mindszenty are buried. The combined ticket covers the dome-lookout (3,300 HUF on its own), the treasury (2,100 HUF) and the crypt (800 HUF). The crypt and treasury open at 09:00 and close at 17:00, with last entry at 16:40 to the crypt and 16:30 to the treasury; the dome-lookout is open from 09:00 to 16:30. Guided tours in English cost 25,000 HUF per group of up to 50, booked by email, plus tickets (bazilika-esztergom.hu).
- Visegrád Citadel. 2,800 HUF · 09:00 to 17:00 until 26 October, 09:00 to 16:00 from 27 October to 30 November. A hilltop fortress built around 1250 to 1260 by Béla IV, with exhibitions on the Holy Crown, the castle’s history and medieval weapons, and the view over the bend. Exhibitions are free on Friday 23 October 2026 (parkerdo.hu).
- Visegrád Royal Palace. 2,200 HUF · Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00. The lower royal palace by the river, with Gothic and Renaissance rooms. It is a short stop and the one to cut if the Citadel runs late (visitvisegrad.hu).
- Skip: a guided tour of the basilica unless you are in a group, because the English tour is booked by email and priced per group.
Practical information
- Hours: Esztergom Basilica’s ticket sales close at 17:20. The Royal Palace is closed on Mondays.
- Passport: carry it on the Program Centrum and Eurama tours, which stop on the Slovak side of the river.
- Holiday: the Citadel’s exhibitions are free on Friday 23 October 2026, and Sunday 1 November is a public holiday.
- The way back: the HÉV from Szentendre runs every 20 minutes until about 23:48, so the day does not depend on a boat. Day trips from Budapest has the table of what each trip costs.
The Danube Bend is one of the day trips from Budapest; Szentendre is the town to do alone if you have half a day, and Gödöllő is the other half-day trip by suburban train. For a longer day, Vienna and Bratislava is the longest, and the Puszta horse show is sold as a tour. What to book before you go to Budapest has the city tickets, Budapest public transport has the HÉV and the stations for Nyugati and Batthyány tér, and 3 days in Budapest shows where a full day out fits.
Common questions
Can you take a boat from Budapest to Visegrád or Esztergom?
Not at the moment. MAHART lists its Budapest to Szentendre, Budapest to Visegrád, Visegrád to Esztergom and hydrofoil services as not running from 13 July to 11 October 2026 because of low water. The Visegrád to Esztergom and Budapest boats are seasonal even when the river is high, so check mahartpassnave.hu for your date and plan the way back by bus or train.
How do you get from Budapest to Esztergom?
MÁV trains leave Nyugati every 30 minutes and take 1 hour 5 minutes for 1,120 HUF each way. Volánbusz takes about 1 hour 20 minutes for 840 HUF.
How much does the Danube Bend cost on your own?
About 12,000 HUF (£27) for the whole loop with entries: 5,600 HUF for the Esztergom Basilica combined ticket, 2,800 HUF for the Visegrád Citadel, 1,120 HUF for the train, 600 HUF and 550 HUF for the two buses, and about £2 to £3 for the HÉV home from Szentendre.
Is a Danube Bend tour from Budapest worth it?
It costs £45 to £66 more than the loop on your own, and in return takes care of three timetables, the Visegrád hill and a 3-course lunch, and the two Program Centrum and Eurama tours add a photo stop on the Slovak side of the river. It saves effort, not money.
