Budapest Transport Card

Highlights

• Access unlimited metro, tram, bus, HÉV suburban railway, and ferry travel for 24 or 72 hours
• Save 15% on Budapest’s best attractions including Széchenyi Baths, Hungarian Parliament, and Danube river cruises
• Use a digital QR code delivered straight to your email. Activate whenever you’re ready

Tickets and Prices

Note:

• Youth tickets must be purchased together with an adult ticket.
• Children under 6 travel free and don’t need a ticket.
• The Airport Shuttle Bus add-on is only available in combination with an adult ticket.

What’s Included

How It Works

1. Buy online through the booking form. You’ll get a QR code in your email within a few minutes.
2. Save the QR code to your phone. A screenshot is fine, no app or printing required.
3. Activate on your first use. Scan the QR code at any metro turnstile, tram reader, or bus validator. Your 24 or 72-hour clock starts now. The timing matters: activate at 9:00 on your first full day of sightseeing, not late at night on arrival. This is how you squeeze maximum value from the card.
4. Show the code every time you board. Metro gates, tram validators, and bus drivers can all read it.
5. Claim attraction discounts by following the link on your voucher. This opens a booking form where you can select your preferred attractions, dates, and times. Book popular venues right after purchase; availability at peak times fills up fast.

Budapest Transport Card vs Budapest Card

These have confusingly similar names, but they’re different products. One is streamlined transport coverage. The other bundles museum passes, walking tours, and extras.

The Transport Card is your pick if you’re staying one to three days and want unlimited transport to hit a handful of major sights. Staying four to five days? The Budapest Card makes more sense; it includes museum entries, walking tours, and a Danube cruise. The Card costs more upfront but pays for itself if you’re doing a lot of sightseeing. For shorter trips or light attraction-visiting, the Transport Card wins on price.

Is It Worth It

• Budapest’s layout works against you without it. Buda and Pest sit on opposite banks of the Danube, the hills are steep, and the city’s most visited spots: the thermal baths, Parliament, the Great Market Hall, the Jewish Quarter, and Castle Hill are scattered across a wide area. You will be on public transport constantly, whether you plan it that way or not.
• It changes how you move. When your transport is already covered, you stop calculating and start exploring. You jump on a tram because you saw something interesting out the window. You take the metro one extra stop to check a neighborhood. You hop the Danube ferry instead of walking the long way around. None of that happens when you’re weighing up individual ticket costs in your head.
• The attraction discounts add up for the sights most visitors already plan to see. Anyone visiting the thermal baths or joining a guided tour of Parliament, both standard stops on a Budapest trip, will find the 15% off meaningful enough to notice.
• Pick 24h for a single packed day, 72h for a two- or three-day stay. Over a longer window, most visitors rack up enough rides to justify the transport alone, and the attraction discounts stack on top.

Insider Tips

• Activate in the morning on your first full day. If you scan late at night, you burn hours of your window while you sleep. Start it at 9:00 on your first full sightseeing day.
• The M1 metro is worth riding for its own sake. It’s continental Europe’s oldest underground railway and a UNESCO site. The yellow line between Vörösmarty tér and Hősök tere takes minutes and the stations are worth seeing.
• Take the Danube ferries instead of taxis when crossing between Buda and Pest. The D2 and D11 ferries are covered by your card, faster than road traffic, and the river views are far better than a cab window.
• The metro closes around 23:00, so night buses are your friend. All BKK night routes are included. No need to hunt for a taxi when the last train pulls in.
• The 100E airport bus isn’t included in the base card. Add it at checkout or buy a separate ticket at the airport kiosk on arrival.

FAQs