Budapest

[lilyfire]

We’re off to Budapest in August for five nights. There are a few useful threads here about what to see etc and it all sounds great and am really excited. Would like to go to Szechenyi Spa and maybe others. Can anyone advise about whether it’s a good idea to book in August please?
Any cheap ish or mid price restaurant recommendations would be really welcome plus generally any views about must dos!
Also I’m not sure whether it’s a good idea to get a Budapest card for travel, entry etc so would be very grateful for views.

Are you taking kids? That would definitely affect my spa and restaurant recommendations

Thanks for the reply. I’m taking three 15-19 year olds.

I’d definitely recommend browsing round the Central Market Hall. You can even get guided tours with tastings. There are some lovely reasonably priced home style meals and Hungarian snacks like Langos at the upper floor food stands and eateries.
Ape Regina is a really good Italian/Mediterranean restaurant with bottomless food and drinks for a fixed price within a given 2 hour window. Great for feeding hungry teens!
Retek Bisztro does amazing Hungarian food at a reasonable price. Very very popular so you may need to book.
We went to Szechenyi on a weekday and got our ticket in advance on Klook. We probably didn’t need to book, but I would just to be on the safe side.

@lilyfire Time Out has great recommendations. Definitely use their guide for restaurants.

Mazel Tov is a fabulous restaurant within a ruin bar! You should definitely try it, food was superb.

I loved Mazel Tov.
Visit the island (st Margaret's?) and see the fountain at night. It's an amazing show.

The hop on hop off bus was a great way of exploring and we used it as a way of public transport.

Memento Park if you are interested in communist history. We all found the statues fascinating.

https://www.mementopark.hu/en/home/

Thanks so much for all the ideas - much appreciated.

Blatant bump here as we have just booked a holiday for 3 days.

How far is the airport from the city centre? We chose not to use the airport transfer option and thought we could hedge our bets with a local taxi. Was that the right thing to do?

Margaret Island for the kids, recommend spa there and the foundation show, they can also hire bikes.

We went a few months back and I would definitely recommend the following:

• walking to see fisherman’s bastion - amazing views and some lovely shops and cafes. Located near Buda castle so can do both
• thermal baths are a must, we booked in advance through the app get your guide - glad we did this as people were being turned away on the day
• market hall was a great way to spend the afternoon, lots of lovely fresh local produce
• ruin bars and street food - a must do!
• we also booked an evening river cruise through get your guide, was around £15pp with a drink and saw all the parliament buildings along the river. Would recommend this at sunset or in evenings so everything is lit up.

we also loved the local dishes of chicken paprikash and local beers! Enjoy!

Thank you!

@Firesgoneout - you can get taxis just outside the airport terminal. It’s an official taxi booth. Not sure how much it is these days. From memory it’s about 30/40 mins into centre.

We used this service www.minibud.hu/?lang=en&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9fqnBhDSARIsAHlcQYSg1v9jF0a0c8yjzmUoTwUtEOZhL9zaMlj90QU4yuxFLR6Mc9Vq7B8aAlGSEALw_wcB

Didn't book in advance - there is an office when you arrive at the terminal, pay in Huf and it's cheaper than 6 euros per person. We only waited about 5 minutes for our transfer bus to arrive- they give you a number and it appears on a screen in their waiting area - and the transfer we arranged through them back to the airport was great as well.

Just a warning about taxis more generally. At the airport, the official booth is really obvious. In the city, we got majorly ripped off by a ‘freelance’ taxi which looked exactly like an official one. It’s a big problem apparently, so an app like Bolt is a good idea.

Other than that we had an amazing time, and public transport is fab - really clean and prompt trams, tubes and buses.

We loved Gellert spa and did a brilliant guided tour which included a strudel stop (which I fully expected to be quite tacky, but which was incredible!)

Some great ideas! My kids are 8 and 11 so hoping there is lots for them over 3 nights.

Bump

The Bolt app is very reliable for taxis in Budapest. I’d also recommend the Bubi app for hiring street bikes, especially if you are going to Margaret island.

I had this thread from February, it may be useful

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/holidays/5000599-budapest-this-month-advice-on-what-to-see-please

You could also take a day trip to Lake Balaton - it's about an hour away by car but I think there's also a train.

The lake is really beautiful and great to swim in.