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Budapest to VIE

Posted by on

Going from central Budapest to Vienna airport on a Friday in October for a late afternoon flight. Found train service from Keleti that takes about 3 and 1/4 hours with 1 transfer in Vienna. Then there are two direct bus services: Flixbus from Nepliget and Regiojet from Kelenfold. Buses are about half the price of the train and less total scheduled time. I'm figuring its down to the buses because it avoids a transfer (however easy) and cost. We'll be allowing plenty of time in the event of traffic the bus might run into as opposed to the train.

Any thoughts on the differences between the two bus lines from the standpoint of reliability, comfort, convenience?

Posted by
7158 posts

Avoid Flixbus at all cost.

This is not a particularly helpful answer. Nothing wrong with posting a negative opinion of something but it would be more helpful if you gave a little explanation of why you're saying that.

Posted by
262 posts

Looking over other sources (Tripadvisor etc) I can't pull up anything specific to that route but generally both bus lines get very uneven reviews - some no problems, some major problems. Likely depends on the country, route, staff and whatever else happens that specific day. In any event, from skimming the internet, I can't get any sense of what my experience might be. So rather than letting $25 and a 20 minute transfer stand in the way of catching a less than daily flight I think we'll take the train.

Posted by
3961 posts

We are traveling soon from Budapest Keleti Station to Vienna. I would agree with Sir James E. - take the train.

Posted by
6 posts

The vast majority of Flixbus services are run by subcontractors, hence the uneven reviews about people assuming them all to be one company. The reason these concerns are a bit overstated and the bus is the more comfortable option is because they make a stop right at the airport, while with the train you arrive at Vienna's main train station and have to switch to the S-Bahn taking you to the airport, adding 30-45 minutes of extra travel.

Budapest to Vienna is most likely the busiest international bus line and I've taken it many times with multiple companies, never had a problem.

Posted by
1632 posts

Let me clarify about my comment on Flixbus--I took it three times and it always ran late (45-120 min). I heard the same criticism from my fellow passengers. For each of these three trips, I boarded from the first departing station, and therefore it should not that late. Also, their claim of free wifi is not always correct.

Regiojet was a lot better, but their network is smaller. The bus was clean and there's a bus attendant serving free hot drinks.

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