E-Ticket System for the Public Transport
Public Transport Tiecket Budapest
It will be over with the little orange strips called “Vonaljegy” that you need to validate in trams, busses and the metro in Budapest soon. Well not too soon but at least starting from 2014 progressively a new so called E-Ticket system will be introduced. Plan is to have it all done by 2014 which is not a tough deadline I would say.
The tickets will be step by step replaced with a plastic card which is based on the same technology as PayPass and many people know already from cities like London where the Oyster Card also replaced paper tickets.
The first step will be to replace time based tickets such as monthly tickets which allow owners to travel unlimited within Budapest. As a second step than the one time tickets will fade out and the last step is the installation of automated entrance and exit stations that might will probably result in less jobs in the public transport sector as inspectors will drop out by 2015.
Additionally the city is planning to introduce P+R parking spots connected to the HÉV stations which are the suburban trains and also for Metro Line M2. With this step obviously the heavy city traffic should be reduced.
The entire project is connected to a cost of 1.1 billion HUF which is roughly 3.75 million Euro.
Cost of Living in Budapest
If you are thinking about to move to Budapest for studying or working here you have to face the daily life and costs in Budapest and Hungary. Most people moving here from all over the world come to Hungary because of the job, just think about big companies such as Vodafone, Mercedes or Audi, or the second reason is love. So you come to the country, find an apartment and start your job but there are of course duties that have to be done. From my own experience I can tell you that there are a lot of things that have to be taken care of from paying the bills for gas to shopping your daily supplies. In this article I would like to give an overview about how much do things cost, something like the Big Mac index, and what you have to expect to spend for your daily life. Please note that all prices are just approximate numbers and can change very fast such as cigarettes or gasoline. To get an idea how much Hungarians can afford, the average net income in Hungary is around 120.000 HUF per month.
Cost for Food in Budapest
- Daily Menu in the business district – 1.300 HUF
- Fast Food Menu (e.g. Big Mac menu) – 1.200 HUF
- 1kg of chicken breast – 1.200 HUF
- 1 liter of milk – 250 HUF
- 1kg of tomatoes – 480 HUF
- 12 Eggs – 400 HUF
- 1kg of normal, local cheese – 800 HUF
- 1kg of apples – 300 HUF
- 1kg of potatoes – 330 HUF
- 0,5l can of beer – 200 HUF
- 1l bottle of normal quality red wine – 1.800 HUF
- 1l Coca Cola – 330 HUF
Housing costs in Budapest
- monthly rent for a 85 m2 furnished downtown apartment – 125.000 HUF
- monthly cost of utilities such as gas, electricity, heating etc (2 people in a 85 m2 apartment) – 40.000 HUF
- 8MB internet flatrate per month – 5.000 HUF
- 40″ flat screen TV – 150.000 HUF
- Microwave – 20.000 HUF
- Cleaning help (hourly rate) – 2.500 HUF
Costs for Clothes in Budapest
- Pair of Levis 501 – 25.000 HUF
- 1 pair of Adidas trainers – 20.000 HUF
- 1 pair of average business leather shoes – 18.000 HUF
Costs for Transportation / Mobility in Budapest
- Volkswagen Golf 2.0 TDI – 4.300.000 HUF
- 1 liter of gasoline – 420 HUF
- 1 ticket for Public Transportation – 360 HUF
- Monthly ticket for Public Transportation – 9.000 HUF
- Taxi from the airport to the city center – 3.000 HUF
Costs for Personal Care
- 6 days of normal medicine against flue – 1.500 HUF
- Average Deodorant – 580 HUF
- Regular Hair Shampoo – 750 HUF
- 4 rolls of toilet paper – 370 HUF
- Tube of toothpaste – 470 HUF
- Standard Mens haircut – 2.500 HUF
Costs for Entertainment in Budapest
- Basic dinner for 2 persons in neighborhood area – 4.500 HUF
- 2 cinema tickets – 2.500 HUF
- 2 theatre tickets – 7.200 HUF
- Dinner for 2 in an good restaurant incl. wine and dessert – 10.000 HUF
- 1 cocktail in a city center bar – 1.300 HUF
- Cappuccino in the downtown area – 500 HUF
- 1 beer in the pub – 450 HUF
- Monthly fee in the fitness studio – 15.000 HUF
- 1 package of Marlboro cigarettes – 690 HUF
Please keep in mind, as mentioned above, that prices are only approximate as they very much depend on the place and also change very fast. A proper dinner for 2 can also be 6.000 HUF only or exceed 15.000 HUF easily. Beer in a real kocsma can be 300 HUF only but in trendy bars don’t be surprised to pay 750 HUF. This article should just give a rough overview of what to expect for certain services. If you have a special request for a service or product or you disagree strongly with a point just drop me a line in the comments.
This article was written in Daily Life, General, StudyHungarian Name Days
Hungarians are really crazy about name days. Especially older people rather celebrate their name days than their birthday which is basically drawing the attention away from their age. You can find big parties going on just like you celebrate your birthday. In Hungary it is tradition that you give a present for somebodys name day or at least some flowers to girls. Nevertheless this is reason enough to give you the list of Hungarian name days by date.
Weather in Budapest
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The weather in Budapest and Hungary is a normal Middle and Eastern European weather. It has definetly peaks, especially in the winter wich can hurt because it can get down to 20 degrees below zero but that’s really rarely. The average temeperature during winter months is -5 to -10 degrees celsius. In the summer time in Budapest cafes, pubs and bars get out their chairs and tables to serve the guests on the streets or in the backyard. This time is for sure the one when you want to come to Budapest.
Twin Cities
Partner and friends!
As all cities do, Budapest has many twin or partner cities all over the world. With its 2 million inhabitants Budapest has quite big cities as twin cities e.g. New York City or Berlin. Check out the list of all twin cities of Budapest.
Train Stations Budapest
Keleti, Nyugati, Déli
There are three major train stations in Budapest. Déli pályaudvar which is the biggest train station on the Buda site, Nyugati pályaudvar which is the biggest train station and Keleti pályaudvar which is the most frequented train station in Budapest.
For international trains I would start looking at Keleti pályaudvar as there are the most international trains leaving and arriving if you are going to the west. For trains leaving and arriving from the east the Nyugati pályaudvar is the right to look for.
Tourist Offices
Where to go for information!
Of course, most information about Budapest you will get here on BudapestAgent.com but once in the city without mobile device and you need a Budapest map or some information about traveling or whatever you might probably want to see a tourist office near you. So here are adresses of official tourist offices in Budapest. But don’t be shy, Hungarians are friendly people and most probably will help you if you can.
Taxi in Budapest
Horror trip?
Taxis are the best way to get from A to B in Budapest as they are quite cheap and you don’t have to worry which way to go. Nevertheless there are many taxi companies trying to ripp tourists off and make some extra money. phenomenon which I haven’t seen anywhere else is that the taxi is cheaper if you call it by phone than if you catch it on the street or let the hotel call it. Also pay attention on where the taxi driver is going with you as some try to cheat and take longer ways to earn more money but that is usually not the case. Therefore it is useful to always have the number of your favourite taxi company with you just in case you need a taxi. The companies listed below are all reliable and speak Enlish so you can choose which ever sounds best to you.
Public Transport in Budapest
Hév, tram and bus!
If you decide to travel by public transportation in Budapest during your stay the first thing you should do is to get a map of the bus, tram, metro, HÉV network. These are the four major transportation ways in Budapest. Usually you get the maps on any big square like Deak Ferenc tér, Oktogon, Moskva tér and so on. But also on the train stations and at the Budapest airport. There you get tickets as well. You can choose between single tickets and weekend tickets or if you stay longer it would be good to get ticket for a complete month.
Hungarian National Holidays
Celebration and fireworks!
Many of the national holidays in Hungary are the same as in other countries such as Easter, New Years Eve or Christmas. Of course there are some differences but mostly they are similar. One thing here in Hungary that differs and was new to me since we don’t have this rule in Germany is that bank holidays have to be compensated on another day. Means if the public holiday is on a tuesday and you get the monday off it is very likely (most of the time even regulated by the law) that you have to work the following saturday and have only sunday off that weekend. A rule which I don’t really like but OK.
Anyways, here are the public holidays in Hungary.
Embassies
Your country in Budapest!
If you need a new Visa, have a passport problem or anything else that is related to your country and needs official attention than you will find here the embassies in Budapest of the countries where most of the visitors come from. Are you missing your embassy or know another address than drop me an email.
Budapest Card
When traveling to Budapest you already have thousands of choices on what to see, where to eat and what to do during your stay in the capital of Hungary. The Budapest Card gives you very good discounts on several activities you can do in Budapest (see a full list below) and therefore narrows your choices down a bit, which doesn’t mean that you can’t do anything what is not featured in the Budapest Card.
Included in the Budapest Card is a unlimited usage of the Budapest public transport system, which is the most effective way of traveling through the city. The regular fee for a 72h ticket is 3850 HUF (which is approximately 12 Euros) and makes already 75% of the entire price of the Budapest Card which in the 72h version is 5200 HUF (approx. 16 Euro). Just by using the public transport it almost justifies the entire Budapest Card but there is of course more to benefit from.
The Budapest Card gives you discount for more than 100 services within the city such as free or discounted museum entrance and other cultural programs, reduced price on selected Budapest Sightseeing Tours, discount for restaurants, car rentals, spas and baths in Budapest and on top of all that a travel insurance for the time.
For Online purchase of the Budapest Card click Here. Now have a look at the full list of discounts, it is long but have a look what services you actually save money on before you come, I bet there are several services which are on your to do list.
Car Parking in Budapest
Where to park and how to pay!
The Budapest Car parking situation is as difficult as in all other major cities as well. On the street in Budapest you will not find a parking place for your car unless you are very lucky. The other possibility for car parking in Budapest is to go into a parking garage. Car parking here costs around 200 to 300 Forint per hour which is quiet cheap compared to other cities. Of course the price depends on the location of the parking garage. In general car parking in Budapest is a bit better than in other cities but not much less of a hassle.
Emergency Calls
Just in case…
I really hope you will never need one of these services but just in case it is good to have them. In case of emergency you should write down the following number for help. You can find here the numbers of the police, fire fighters, the ambulance and the Hungarian Car Club which helps you if you have trouble with your car. The general number of emergency is 112.
First words in Hungarian
Tessek?
Hungarian is a very difficult language so what you definetly need is a teacher or a language school guiding you through the first weeks of your learning process since the logic behind the language is nearly impossible to understand. Nevertheless with a few words in Hungarian, e.g. ordering your beer, will amaze Hungarians.
Budapest Map
Find the right place
This Budapest map is provided by Google maps to see the map in a bigger scale or to see a Hungary map please visit the Google Maps website. Further we have listed below some good Budapest maps.
Budapest Airport Transfer
Transfer to Budapest!
The Budapest airport is located around 16km in the east of Budapest along the main road 4. Here you can find out which transfer is the best for you after your flight to Budapest. There are four major ways to get to the airport. The transfer is recommended by Budapest Airport Minibusby, Metro and Bus, by Taxi or by Car.
Budapest Airport
Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport /Ferihegy 1 & 2!
Budapest airport or as it is called “Ferihegy” Liszt Ferenc International Airport is seperated in two terminals which basically devide the low cost airlines from the charter flights. Terminal one which was a long time shut down got rebuild a couple years ago due to the mass of low cost airlines who arose in the last years. A good investment because nowadays the Budapest airport is on a high standard even though it is quiet small compared to other airports in Europe. Terminal two which was the regular airport is still in a not very nice shape. Devided in two parts (a and b) big airlines like BA, Malév or Lufthansa arrive and depart here.
Flight to Budapest
Prices, airlines, airports, transfer!
Budapest Airport
A flight to Budapest is nowadays quite cheap due to the fact that low cost airlines discovered Hungary as an attractive destination. The history, the beauty of the city, the nightlife, cheap beer prices and much more made Budapest one of the most attracting destinations in Central Eastern Europe for young and old travellers from all over the world. No matter if for sightseeing, recreation in one of Budapests baths or for a Stag Weekend Budapest is worth a trip. So here is some information you need to know for your flight to Budapest.
Budapest Picture
A picture says more than thousand words!
It is very difficult to find THE one picture of Budapest. Therefore we selected some really nice ones to give you an impression on what Budapest looks like. The pictures of Budapest just give you a sneak preview to see and feel the real beauty of the city you need to come around and make yourself a picture of Budapest.
