Budapest hotel & how to fly (or train) to Cluj Romania

Hi, Judy B. Hotels are very individual, but you might find this post as a great place to start researching for what you want. Many of the ones listed are near Andrassy, which is probably where you would aim for.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/rs-forum-favorite-hotels-and-their-cost

I personally have only stayed at the K+K, but others on the forum have stayed at the Casati, Moments, and Medos (I have reservations there for next year).

I would suggest 4 nights, if possible. You may arrive with jet lag and 4 nights will give you 3 days.

I took a glance at Google Flights and it looks like heading to Cluj will require a stop and change along the way. Flying into Bucharest gives you some choices of non-stops. Other nonstop options are Targu Mures and Brasov.

If you are over 65, public transportation in Budapest is free, including the 100E bus from the airport to Deak Ferenc ter. There is an amazing amount of information on Budapest from Mr. É on the Hungary forum. It sounds like a wonderful trip! I plan to be in Romania in September, as well, and heading back to Budapest afterwards instead of before. :)

To fly to Cluj Tarom is probably your best bet. The Bucharest airport is a fairly easy airport to negotiate and you will be doing Schengen to Schenen so that helps.

The hotels on that list are all well located for tourism and well reviewed. You should have options in your price range.

One of about a dozen excellent posts on Cluj
https://europebetweeneastandwest.wordpress.com/

When visiting the official Wizz and Ryan websites neither shows service from Budapest to Cluj Napoca. Wizz does fly to Bucharest. The flight arrives about 10pm. Ryan i do not believe has any service to Romania.

Judy, I'm flying from Bucharest to Budapest in early October via TAROM airlines, which is Romania's main airline, and found a nonstop ticket for around $65 one way. So you might want to check with them.

ETA: I do know that TAROM has flights from Cluj, but they are much more expensive (right now i'm seeing around $167). So it might be cheaper to fly into Bucharest and then take the train to Cluj. That said, it is a long train ride.

K+K Hotel Opera should fit your criteria. The location was really perfect.

This info will likely not be very useful for someone coming from Budapest, but for the possible benefit of others considering Romania, I researched travel from USA (Washington DC) to Bucharest and returning from Cluj for a tour this September and found that the best fares and schedules were on Turkish Airlines via Istanbul.

Thank you everyone for your comments and guidance. I have decided not to go to Budapest at this time. I have made my flight arrangements for the Romania tour. Everything is pretty much set at this point. I am going on an Adventures with Sarah 12 days tour of Romania. I'm looking forward to learning about this mysterious (to me) part of Europe.

Sometimes the simple approach is best. Its a wonderful country .... enjoy it and do us a report when you get back.

I agree, Mr. E, too much hopping around for me. The 12 days in Romania actually turn out to be 14 days with the travel days. It sounds good on paper to say oh, this marvelous place is so close, why don’t we add a few days to see it. I’ve travelled enough to know how tiring it is to pack up every few days and go somewhere else. I will return and visit Budapest sometime. And, when I go, I know you will help with expert advice and assistance.

It sounds good on paper to say oh, this marvelous place is so close, why don’t we add a few days to see it.

I agree. When I first started planning my Romania trip, I was trying desperately to add in Bulgaria. I spent weeks agonizing over it, and finally gave up. Bulgaria will have to wait. But I totally get the urge to add in other places!