How to Get to and From Budapest Airport From City Center by Bus
Do not pay for bus tickets with credit card on the bus
Getting to and from Budapest Airport from the city center by bus is very easy. The 100E bus from the airport runs from right outside the arrivals hall. The bus to the airport drops you off at the departure hall. It couldn’t be any easier.
The bus leaves the city center from just down the road from Deak Ferenc ter Metro station.
The bus runs throughout the day and night. The buses also stop at Astoria ter and Kalvin ter Metro station.
You can see the bus timetable below.
Buying your bus tickets
Tickets cost 2,200 HUF per person. That’s just over $6.
At the airport, there is a ticket machine that takes cash and credit cards. It’s easy to use and there are usually staff around to help.
In the city center, you can buy from the Metro ticket machines.
Don’t buy tickets on the bus using a credit card
We were passing the airport bus stop in the city center and asked the staff about buying tickets. There told us there wasn’t any need to buy in advance because we could buy on the bus using a credit card. There is a ticket machine next to the driver.
So, that’s what we decided to do. A staff member clicked the machine to select two tickets. I scanned my credit card using my Google Pay app. The green tick appeared but a message on the machine said I needed to scan again. I did that and the same thing happened.
The staff member asked if I had another credit card because the first one didn’t work. I used a different card and it worked.
When I next checked my app, it showed two transactions with zero value. I thought all was well.
On the day after, it showed that I’d made two transactions for 4,400 HUF. That means I bought 4 tickets with the first card and another 2 with the second card. So, I’ve paid for 6 tickets for 2 of us.
Even though the ticket machine showed the transaction failed, my credit card was still charged.
As we’re no longer in the country, I now have to find a way to get this refunded which might be difficult or impossible.
I would suggest buying tickets in advance so that any problems can be sorted out more easily.
