In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Szentendre is the H5 HÉV from Batthyány tér: 39 minutes, every 20 minutes, about £2 to £3 each way. The old town is free to walk, and Skanzen, the open-air museum, is 4,000 HUF on ordinary days and closes for winter on 1 November. The Danube boat is suspended for low water, so plan to return by HÉV. Or book a tour: the half-day Szentendre tourad (£59.49, 4.1 stars from 381 reviews, 4 hours) adds a guide for the old town and costs about £54 more than the HÉV; it does not include Skanzen. A self-guided bike packagead (from £24.65) rides the 25 km to town on the EuroVelo 6 path (GetYourGuide).
Going on your own
Szentendre is the end of the H5 line, and the first trip to try if you have half a day.
Fő tér, Szentendre’s main square, with the Serbian cross. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- By HÉV: H5 from Batthyány tér, 39 minutes, every 20 minutes, with the last train from Batthyány tér around 23:48 (menetrendek.hu). Batthyány tér is on the M2 metro line.
- The ticket: a Budapest single is 500 HUF for the city section. Beyond the city boundary at Békásmegyer you need a suburban-section ticket priced by distance, from 400 to 600 HUF, and the two together come to about £2 to £3 each way (bkk.hu). A group of up to 10 can buy BKK’s H5 tour ticket for 6,200 HUF, valid for the day between Békásmegyer and Szentendre, with the Budapest part on its own ticket.
- By boat: MAHART lists its Budapest to Szentendre boat as not running from 13 July to 11 October 2026 because of low water. When it runs it costs 5,000 HUF one way and 7,000 HUF return, and the 2026 timetable covers 14 March to 1 November and 5 to 27 December (mahartpassnave.hu). Buy in advance, and come back by HÉV.
- The day: go to Skanzen when it opens at 09:00 and walk the old town afterwards, because the museum closes at 17:00 and the town does not.
| The day on your own | HUF | Pounds |
|---|---|---|
| HÉV, return | about 2,000 to 2,400 | £4.50 to £5.50 |
| Skanzen, ordinary day | 4,000 | £9 |
| Old town | Free | Free |
Tours from Budapest
A half-day tour costs £59.49, against about £5 for the train. It saves nothing and adds a guide. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” price for one adult.
Half-day tour
From £59.49 · 4.1 stars from 381 reviews · 4 hours
Szentendre Half-Day Tourad walks the old town’s streets and returns by boat or by bus; with the boat suspended, expect the bus. The Artists’ Village tourad (£59.49, 4.2 stars from 71 reviews, 4 hours) is the same shape with fewer reviews. Neither includes Skanzen.
By bike
From £24.65 · 4.6 stars from 38 reviews
The self-guided bike tourad is an (e-)bicycle ride of 25 km from central Budapest along the Danube cycle trail (EuroVelo 6), with an optional boat or train transfer back. A second rental package, Szentendre by Bikead (£25.35, 4.7 stars from 37 reviews, 8 hours), offers a return by bike, boat or train. With the boat suspended, the choice is the bike or the train.
Wine in a cellar
From £34.37 · 5.0 stars from 7 reviews · 1½ hours
A tasting of five wines in a 100-year-old cellarad in Szentendre includes cold dishes and time with the winemaker.
Which to choose
- The HÉV. About £5 return, and the old town needs no ticket.
- The half-day tour if you want a guide through the old town and no planning.
- The bike package if you want to ride the EuroVelo 6 path, at about half the price of the tour.
What to see
The town is the free half of the day and Skanzen is the ticketed half.
Thatched farmhouses at Skanzen, the Hungarian Open Air Museum. Photo: Palickap, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Skanzen, the Hungarian Open Air Museum. 4,000 HUF on ordinary days, 5,000 HUF on festival days · 31 March to 31 October, Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00. A museum of buildings from across Hungary, at Sztaravodai út 75 on the edge of the town. Students and children aged 6 to 26 and seniors aged 62 to 70 pay 2,000 HUF on ordinary days and 2,500 HUF on festival days. On set days early and late in the season a 1,200 HUF “walking ticket” is sold, a second visit in 2026 is 30% off, and the museum’s internal train is 1,400 HUF for an adult. A bicycle or pull-cart is 2,000 HUF and parking is 2,000 HUF (skanzen.hu). It is closed on Mondays and from 1 November, except the St Martin’s Day festival on 14 and 15 November.
- The old town. Free. A baroque town where the Danube meets the Pilis hills, known as the artists’ village, with narrow streets and a viewpoint over the river.
- Skip: the museum on a Monday, because it is closed, and any day after 31 October, apart from 14 and 15 November.
Rooftops and painted houses in Szentendre’s old town. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Practical information
- Skanzen season: 31 March to 31 October. The museum is closed on Mondays.
- Last train: the H5 leaves Batthyány tér for Szentendre until about 23:48. Check the return time on BudapestGO.
- Boat: the Danube boat is suspended for low water until at least 11 October 2026; see Budapest’s day trips for what else runs.
Szentendre is one of the day trips from Budapest. It is also the last stop on the Danube Bend day trip, which adds Esztergom and Visegrád, and Gödöllő is the other half-day trip by suburban train; for a full day, Eger is the longest by train that needs no tour. Budapest public transport has the tickets and the M2 and HÉV connection, What to book before you go to Budapest has the city tickets, and 3 days in Budapest shows where a day out fits.
Common questions
How do you get from Budapest to Szentendre?
Take the H5 suburban railway (HÉV) from Batthyány tér, which is on the M2 metro line. The journey takes 39 minutes, trains run every 20 minutes and the last leaves Batthyány tér around 23:48. The ticket is a Budapest ticket plus a suburban-section ticket for the stretch beyond the city boundary, about £2 to £3 each way.
Is Skanzen open in winter?
No. Skanzen, the Hungarian Open Air Museum, is open from 31 March to 31 October, Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 17:00. It closes for winter from 1 November, apart from the St Martin's Day festival on 14 and 15 November.
Can you take a boat from Budapest to Szentendre?
Not at the moment. MAHART lists its Budapest to Szentendre boat as not running from 13 July to 11 October 2026 because of low water. When it runs it costs 5,000 HUF one way and 7,000 HUF return, and the 2026 timetable covers 14 March to 1 November and 5 to 27 December. Plan to come back by HÉV.
Is a Szentendre tour from Budapest worth it?
Only for the guide. The half-day tour costs £59.49 against about £5 return on the HÉV, and it covers the old town, not Skanzen. A self-guided bike package (from £24.65) is cheaper and uses the EuroVelo 6 path along the Danube.
