BASICS - The Rough Guide to Budapest - page 30

GETTING THERE
Budapest is easy to reach by air from the UK, with a number of airlines flying from
several airports. There are no direct flights from North America, Australasia or South
Africa so you will need to change planes at a European hub. Travelling overland from
the UK is another option, though this inevitably takes much longer and usually works
out far more expensive.
To get the very cheapest fares, you'll need to book weeks, if not months, in advance, with
the highest fares from June to September, Christmas and New Year. You'll get the best prices
during the low season, November to February.
Most airlines prefer you to book online these days, and you can find some great deals, but
always check the small print as most budget airlines are non-changeable and non-refundable.
Another option is to contact a general flight or travel agent - these have similar deals on
flights and services, and some are particularly geared towards youth,student and independent
travel. Other specialist tour operators can book you onto a variety of city breaks or themed
tours in Budapest.
A BETTER KIND OF TRAVEL
At Rough Guides we are passionately committed to travel. We believe it helps us under-
stand the world we live in and the people we share it with - and of course tourism is vital
to many developing economies. But the scale of modern tourism has also damaged some
places irreparably, and climate change is accelerated by most forms of transport, especially
flying. All Rough Guides' flights are carbon-offset, and every year we donate money to a
variety of environmental charities.
Flights from the UK and Ireland
Flying time to Budapest from the UK or Ireland is between two and a half and three hours,
depending on your departure airport.
There are currently several budget airlines flying from the UK to Budapest: easyjet (
easyjet.com ) , which flies from London Gatwick and Luton; Norwegian Air ( norwegi-
an.com ) , which flies from London Gatwick; Wizz Air ( wizzair.com ), which flies from
Luton; Ryanair ( ryanair.com ) , which flies from Bristol, Manchester and Stansted; and Jet2
( jet2.com ), which flies from East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Tickets with these airlines can be obtained from as little as £80 return, including tax.
The demise of Malév, the Hungarian national airline, in 2012 left British Airways (
ba.com ) as the only national carrier flying direct from the UK (daily from Heathrow). Return