BASICS - The Rough Guide to Budapest - page 35

by buying a transfer ticket (530Ft); just remember to validate the second portion of the ticket
before you board the metro. Your best bet is to buy your tickets (and collect a public transport
map)fromthe BKK(BudapestTransportCentre) deskinsidearrivals,nexttotheBudapest
Information desk. Otherwise, you can buy tickets from the vending machine next to the bus
stop (350Ft), or from the driver on board, though this will cost you 450Ft. With a Budapest
Card , available from the Budapest Information desk, it's free to travel on the bus from the
airport.
By train
The Hungarian word pályaudvar (abbreviated “ pu .” in writing) is used to designate a train
station .OfthesixinBudapest,onlythreeareimportantfortourists,butnotethattheirnames,
which are sometimes translated into English, refer to the direction of services handled rather
than their location.
Mostinternational trainsterminate atPest's KeletiStation ,onBarosstérintheVIIIdistrict.
It's still something of a hangout for hawks and hustlers - particularly people offering cur-
rency exchange - but just simply ignore them all. The best source of tourist information here
is the Mellow Mood agency (June-Aug daily 7am-10pm; Sept-May Mon-Sat 8am-4pm;
1 343 0748, mellowmood.hu ), whose offices are to the right of the big glass doorways at
the station entrance. It can also book accommodation and organize transport to its hostels.
You can get all tickets and passes from the excellent BKK public transport customer centre
(daily 5.30am-10pm) located in the underpass. There are also 24-hour left-luggage lockers
here (400Ft/600Ft for 24hr).
NyugatiStation , north of central Pest in the VI district, is the second most useful terminus.
It has left-luggage lockers next to the international ticket office. To reach Deák tér, take the
blue metro line two stops in the direction of Kőbánya-Kispest.
Some trains from Vienna arrive at Déli Station , near the Vár in Buda, and just four stops
from Deák tér on the red metro line. There are left-luggage lockers here but no tourist office.
Avoid all offers of a taxi at any of these stations - you'll almost certainly be ripped off. In-
stead, look out for taxis from the companies listed, such as Fótaxi. Better still, call one.
By bus or hydrofoil
Internationalbuses and services from the Great Plain and Transdanubia terminate at Népli-
getbusstation , 5km southeast of the centre at Üllői út 131 in the IX district. The internation-
alticket countersareonthemainconcourse,wherethere'satravelcentre,withdomestic tick-
et counters located downstairs, which is where you'll also find the left-luggage office (daily
6am-9pm; 300Ft). An underpass links the bus station to metro line #3 (blue), from where it's
just six stops to Deák tér in the centre.