Explore BUDAPEST on a BUDGET: 10 Money-Saving TIPS by a Local | Hungary Travel Guide

[00:00] Are you looking for ways to save some money on your next trip to Budapest? Do you have questions like can I taste the local flavors without spending a fortune at fancy restaurants? Or should I use the public transport pass or am I good with just single tickets?

[00:14] And how do people want to take my valuable tourist money? Well in this video we're going to cover those questions. Let's do this! When you travel one of the things you will definitely spend money on is food.

[00:29] Now if you come to Budapest and try to taste the local flavors but don't want to spend a lot of money, luckily there are some options. One of them is to look for restaurants that have daily

[00:42] set menus. While the portions may not be super huge, the prices may be half as cheap as eating alacarta. Just do note that these menus may only be available for lunchtime on the weekdays and your choice

[00:55] will be very limited, but you'll surely get something tasty for less money. However if you still wish to have the power of choice, you can also go to these eating houses we call Kifuzda. There you can choose from ready-made dishes and pay less than in a proper restaurant.

[01:12] The food selection may be simple, but there surely will be something Hungarian like Perkut or Poprikash. The only thing you need to remember is that most places only operate on the weekdays. One more tip about food is related to chimney cake, a sweet delicacy that you must try if you come

[01:29] here. Many shops in the city center unfortunately add the so-called tourist tax to their pricing, but chimney cake is a simple food item and if you walk around Budapest, especially at major train stations and subway stations, you can find small booths selling them for half the price.

[01:46] And here's a side by side comparison. One of them cost 4 euros the other one, 2 euros. I mean the length looks the same. One of them is actually a little bit thicker and maybe it looks more gorgeous

[02:00] because of the amount of walnuts, but is it 2 euros better? Let's find out. So first the 2 euro one. It's a chimney cake and now the 4 euro one. It's a little bit nicer, but if you still want to

[02:16] spend less money for a chimney cake, you can easily go with the cheaper one as well. This behind me is a market hall and you might be wondering, Akos, why are you showing this market hall

[02:31] to us? This is not the famous central market hall, but the thing is I would still recommend visiting that famous market because of the way it looks on the inside. But besides visiting and having a look,

[02:44] I wouldn't really spend money there on food and souvenirs to be honest, the place is more of a tourist attraction than something catering to locals. However, if you wish to have a local market experience,

[02:56] there are many smaller and cheaper places around the city, where you can also grab something to eat with better quality and cheaper price tag than in the popular central market hall. Going to a thermal bath is definitely an experience we can highly recommend for you to do,

[03:24] and places like Sichini, Gailert or Rudash offer probably the most Instagrammable experiences thanks to the gorgeous architecture in the backdrop. However, they will be also the most expensive.

[03:38] Luckily, if you want to focus on the hot thermal waters, you can save some money with going to the smaller and lesser known establishments. These include places like Valley Bay, Lukach or Dondar,

[03:51] but some of the traditionally outdoor baths and swimming pool places like Palatinos or Poshcal also offer thermal buffs, and the cost of some of these places may be just a third of what the big three

[04:04] are asking for, and perhaps if you go to some of these, you will not get your Instagram picture, but you'll definitely save some money and have some quality relaxing time in the thermal waters.

[04:21] Now, when it comes to sightseeing, there are many enthusiastic people who are offering free walking tours that you can join. Now, while it's called free, it's customary to honour the tour guide with some tips at the end of your journey. It's totally up to you how much you tip,

[04:35] but if you go for a paid walking tour, you'll be spending around 30 to 60 euros per person, but if you tip 10 or 20 euros in the end for a free walking tour, you'll be saving some money.

[04:48] Now, when I was young, I tried to amaze girls by telling them that I knew a secret about the Fisherman's Bastion, and unfortunately, it never really worked. But anyways, maybe with the secret,

[05:01] you can save some money. So, the Fisherman's Bastion is one of the most attractive locations in Budapest for tourists, and if you wish to go up the wall, you'll need to buy a ticket, which is 1,200 on-game in foreign or 3 euros. But this requirement for a ticket is only between certain hours.

[05:19] So, if you come before 9 o'clock in the morning, or after 9 in the evening during summer, you can enjoy the nice view for free, and also have less people. This isn't just a tip for those who wish to spend less, but who may look for a romantic spot as well.

[05:41] Now, for the last tip about sightseeing, let's focus on the Danube River. There are many river cruises that offer trips along the river, where you can get some excellent views of the gorgeous buildings. The ticket prices will be more expensive for evenings,

[05:56] since that's the most popular time with the lid-up buildings. But here's the thing, I personally think that just walking on the banks of the Budapest side and the Pesh side, you can get a better and more relaxing experience at your own pace. Perhaps this may cost a little bit

[06:12] more of your time, but for sure it will keep 20 euros in your pockets. Now that I spoke so much in this video, it's time to grab some water, because my throat is really

[06:26] dry at the moment, and luckily Hungary and Budapest is blessed with some excellent quality water, so if you happen to find a lovely fountain on the street, you can refill your water bottles. Probably not just a good way to save some money, but also save the environment, because you know,

[06:45] less plastic garbage. By the way, if you use the Budapest Go app, you can actually enable a feature that will show you where public fountains are located in the city.

[06:57] Alternatively, there is the Visla Luhaya application, or water reservoir up in English, which shows you establishments where you can just enter, and by showing the app, they will fill your bottle with water for free.

[07:11] By the way, if you find this video useful so far and want to help us to reach more people on YouTube, then support us by pressing that like button. Thank you very much, and maybe also leave a comment about how your trip here in Budapest went. Now let's continue on our list.

[07:25] Budapest has some interesting and unique museums you can visit, like the House of Terror, the National Art Gallery, or the Museum of Fine Arts. Many of these museums in the city offer

[07:40] free entry to their permanent exhibitions for families and people under the age of 26 on specific days of each month and Hungarian national holidays. You can find the link in the description below to check these dates and perhaps one of the days your visit lines up perfectly with a date

[07:57] when there's free entry to one of the museums that interests you. There is also a very unique event each year called the Night of the Museums where for one cheap ticket, you can visit almost any museum

[08:09] here in the city starting from late afternoon deep into the night. When you come to Hungary, chances are you'll land with a plane at the front list international

[08:21] airport and since it is not located right in the city you will need to find a way how to get from there right here to the heart of Budapest. Getting a taxi will likely be the most convenient

[08:34] as it takes you directly to your hotel, but unsurprisingly it will also be the costliest, with a price around 12,000 Hungarian forints or 32 euros. However there are some ways to reduce

[08:47] on that cost, for instance there is the mini-boot service. This may be an ideal option for families and larger groups since the prices are per person. For example, if there are eight people or more,

[08:59] the price goes all the way down to 2500 forints per person, which altogether is much cheaper than three or four taxis. But in case of solo travelers or smaller groups, perhaps the public transport

[09:12] is the best way to save some coins. Special service bus 100e has a ticket price of 2200 Hungarian forints or roughly six euros and it takes you directly to the city center. Just remember the public transport

[09:26] passes are not accepted on the 100e bus, but as a new feature you can use tap and pay with your credit on the bus. Now if you wish to further reduce your cost, take the regular public transport bus 200e.

[09:39] The regular ticket is accepted, which is 450 Hungarian forints or about one euro. But just note that it takes you to the subway station called Kubanya Kispesht in the outskirts and from here you'll need to use

[09:53] another single fare ticket to get into the city. Perhaps that is the most adventurous and longest way to get into the city, but it's also the cheapest, with roughly two to and a half euros altogether, so you can save some money for a beer later that evening.

[10:10] Now that you are in the city, it's time to get around and if you enjoy walking, you're gonna love Budapest because it's a really walkable city. But in case you want to save some time on traveling around, the public transport is cheap and easy. And in case you are like me who loves

[10:25] to plan a lot ahead, you may even be able to save some money. The daily passes are generally the easiest options, but take a look at their prices. If you buy a 24 hour pass, that costs 2500 Hungarian

[10:39] forints. However, if you use it less than six times, it's cheaper to buy single tickets. And when you buy a 72 hour pass for 5500 Hungarian forints, you'll get your money's worth if you use

[10:51] the public transport more than 12 times, or an average four times a day. However, if you stay longer than three days, then perhaps you can look at the 15 day long pass. I know it's 15 days,

[11:03] it could be long, but it's only 800 forints more than the 72 hour pass. So even for four days, it's really worth it. But in general, if you plan your days and see how many times you'll actually

[11:15] use the public transport, you may be able to save on your cost with the single tickets. For planning, you can use Google Maps or the Budapest Go app, where you can also buy digital tickets and passes when you are here. Regarding single tickets, there's one more tip. They are valid for the

[11:31] whole subway network, which means you do not need to validate another single ticket if you want to transfer from one line to the other. But there is another fun and cheap way to explore the city,

[11:44] and I'm not talking about these guys here. No, no, no, no, no, I'm talking about these lovely bicycles. They are called Moel Booby, and their base price for a month is a thousand forints. However, you must make sure that from the pickup point to the drop-off point, your travel should not exceed

[12:00] 30 minutes. It's a really fun and cool way to explore the city, and maybe work out a little. Now I'm just gonna come out and say it, I'm not a huge fan of the Budapest Quad,

[12:14] but that doesn't mean that you can't necessarily save some money with it. The way the Budapest Quad works is that besides being a regular public transport pass, it also gives you many different perks and different attractions.

[12:27] Entry to some will be completely free, and some will offer a level of discount. So we try to figure out if the Budapest Quad is worth it or not, did the math, and here is the verdict. The 24-hour Quad we can easily forget. It just

[12:41] shouldn't exist to be honest. When it comes to the 72-hour and 72-hour Plus Quad, you can technically save money. However, there is a big butt. First of all, you'll need to spend

[12:53] a lot of money. The basic 72-hour Quad is roughly 60 euros, and the Plus is almost 100 euros. If you plan a super detailed schedule for yourself for three days, where you go to a thermal bath, visit a lot of museums and join walking tours,

[13:09] you can technically save money. We saved about 12 euros with a plan for the 72-hour Quad. As for the 72-hour Plus Quad, there are some more perks, like mini-boot service from the airport, a river cruise, and other discounts. There, you can technically save around for the euros.

[13:27] But, and here is the butt, you'll need to plan a lot. Your day will be super packed, and you need to go through it at a breakneck speed. So can you save money with the Budapest Quad?

[13:39] Yeah, but it will be challenging. And finally, after spending an entire day of exploring the city and having fun, you'll probably need a place to stay. Probably not this one. It may not shock you when I say that

[13:56] hotels and Airbnb's will be the most expensive in the middle of the city, but if you start looking for accommodation away from the center, you can save some money with some cheaper hotels. I would suggest looking at the subway lines, the tram lines like 4 and 6, or major bus lines,

[14:14] like 7 or 5. Since using these public transport options can quickly get you into the center, and you can also save some money on your accommodation. Hope you guys found this video useful and also enjoyed it, and perhaps when you come to Budapest,

[14:29] you will save some money. Thank you very much for watching. If you want to see more content like this, make sure to subscribe to the Stuffed Cabbage Adventures channel. Thank you again for watching. See you in our future videos. Bye!