Looking for "home base" in 2026

That sounds wonderful - two of my favorite cities!

I have only spent time in Krakow but have not used it as a jumping off spot. I do use Budapest and it’s well connected by air for a number of places to enjoy a long weekend (or a week). AirBnB seems to be the best platform for finding apartments for me.

Wroclaw, Poland. Olomouc. Czech Republic.

Then there is your travel style or your expectations. If I were in a small city like Krakow, I would be on the road a lot as the city is too small for more than a week or two (for me). Being on the road a lot is cost. I've been in Budapest for about 3 years now and have yet to run out of new neighborhoods, markets, architecture, history, etc to explore. The city just never ends. BUT, I also like to travel and for that other than Austria and Germany and Slovakia for my patients on a train ... well ... I must fly. I suspect Krakow has the edge on train travel.

Fortunately, Budapest is well served by the discount airlines. Not many places you can’t reach in under two hours and under $50. Between Ryan and Wizz you can reach all of the conventional Western European destinations cheap, fast, easy, but what has been most interesting for me has been the old communist bloc countries and a few unexpected destinations: Albania (Tirana), Armenia (Yerevan), Azerbaijan (Baku), Bulgaria (Bourgas, Sofia), Croatia (Zadar), Cyprus (Larnaca), Georgia (Kutaisi), Lithuania (Vilnius), Czech Republic (Prague), Moldova (Chisinau), Poland (Katowice, Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw), Montenegro (Podgorica), Romania (Brasov, Bucharest, Tigu Mures), Turkey (Antalya, Istanbul), UAE, Jordan, Israel, Malta, Morocco, and most every destination in Western Europe.

If you are going to use Krakow, then I suspect your tourism side trips are going to be mostly Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland and those are very interesting and beautiful destinations. Do check the train times as there are some mountains that create some longer journeys. But I suspect that train travel has more options out of Krakow than out of Budapest. A whole world out there to explore. In the event you want to move a bit further away for a trip, check the discount airlines that serve Krakow and see where they go. I did a quick look and the coverage is pretty good.

Finally, cost. I hear good things on prices in Krakow, but I suspect Budapest is less expensive and if you are spending more time exploring the city then that would keep costs down too.

Another location? Again, it depends on your expectations. Montenegro but I wouldn’t do it without a car, the same with Croatia; but with a car there is a whole amazing world in the Balkans.

Kraków airport is not much smaller than Budapest. >11 million passengers last year. You only have to look at the arrivals/departure data to see that it has flights all over Europe and beyond. Plus there is also Katowice airport just 1.5h away for more choice. I suggest you clarify what you expect from your home base. Surely not day trips to other countries? Other countries may look close on the map but in reality the distances are not suitable for day trips.

Both cities are great, but I would pick Budapest.
From there you can explore Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and more.

Yup, the Budapest airport does half again more traffic than does the airport in Krakow. But the Budapest airport is doing pretty good: https://hungarytoday.hu/budapest-airport-voted-the-best-in-europe-once-again/ I think it pretty darn easy to negotiate but to be fair I have done it so many times that I am not a good judge.

I suggest you clarify what you expect from your home base. Surely not
day trips to other countries? Other countries may look close on the
map but in reality the distances are not suitable for day trips.

Excellent point. It will be all about expectations. But I cant imagine staying in Krakow or even Budapest for 90 days and not traveling and that’s even implied in the title “Home Base”. From Krakow I would imagine you would want to do more traveling. By train or bus most of what would be practical (for me at least) will be in Poland or Slovakia or The Czech Republic. Then you have to turn to flights; and discount airline flights would make a big difference. From Hungary you train travel may not be what you want because the practical destinations (again for me) are going to be Austria, Germany, Slovakia and maybe Romania. Then you have to turn to flying.

So now, maybe its about flight time? I think Budapest would win at being closer to the most interesting places in Europe. But that’s based on what I think is interesting.

Then, what should be first, is which city and which culture is going to be more enjoyable and fulfilling to live in. I cant do comparisons because I have only lived in one of the two. But the one I live in welcomed me in quickly and completely and I am perfectly at home. But Krakow might be the same. No idea.

remember the 90 day in 180 Schengen limit, and that both arrival and departure days are counted.

I would suggest two mid-size towns in Hungary are worth investigating: Pecs and Eger. Pecs is about 2 hours by train south of Budapest.

Pecs is filled with great cultural sites, good restaurants and lively people. A highlight is the town square and Kiraly Utca, the walking street. I happily spent two evenings in the center of Pecs, as it was filled with people and plenty of eating and drinking emporia. There are no cars, no noise, no fumes, no worries. Some of the buildings in Pecs -- the Town Hall, the National Theater, the Hotel Palatinus -- look like they were designed for a charm bracelet.

Pecs is packed with museums and religious sites. For me, the highlights were the Zsolnay Porcelain Museum and the synagogue. I had never heard of Zsolany porcelain, but the family-owned company was the biggest in Hungary on the eve of World War I. And the company's porcelain, especially the architectural systems, was stunning. The synagogue, which dates to the mid-1800s, was well described and once housed a thriving community. I also visited the Csontvary Museum (art works by a beloved Hungarian painter), the Modern Hungarian Art Museum, the Cella Septichora (Roman crypts) and imposing cathedral.

Eger is two hours northeast of Budapest. It's a charming town. Rick wrote a blog on it: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/enchanting-eger

To Nigels post, spend s week fly fishing with me and Schengen is no longer a problem.

To Craig's post. Pécs and Eger get a thumbs up as do Tihany and Győr.

Based in any city for 90 days is rather difficult and very expensive. If you will be "gone" from your home base half of that time, why have a home base and incur the additional rental cost? Unless you are planning day trips only, having a "base" just seems a great deal of added cost with round trip air fares and additional nights in hotels away from your base.

I would consider planning on several home bases in different countries and stick to day trips to reduce your expenses and get some experiences in different home base cities.