First Visit To Budapest - advice?

However, I believe it's best to buy the pass from an 'office location'
rather than one of the machines. Yes/No? Where will I find these
offices? Are they actually called 'Transport Ticket Offices' or what?
And do I have to validate the 15-day pass...in the office or where?

Will say BKK on the banner. There is one in the arrivals hall of the airport on your left.

https://bkk.hu/en/news/2021/04/bkks-customer-service-centres-at-liszt-ferenc-international-airport-reopen.6359/

Can anyone who's travelled with WA verify the following for me ?
Trying to contact WA is beyond a joke!!

I have flown Wizz a few times but don't remember the particulars you ask about. But that's good as it means there was nothing disturbing or unusual about the process.

Despite having then checked-in and carrying only a small,
regulation-size cabin bag, do I have to front up at WA's airport desk
FIRST to check passport, bag size BEFORE going through Security?

If you have a boarding pass, just go to security and the gate.

I figure on buying a 15-day travel pass, though it's against my Scottish nature to waste things, seeing I'll only be there for 7 of those days. As far as I know it's not allowed for me to even 'gift' the remainder to a fellow tourist

Correct. There used to be a 7 day pass but it went away. Lol. And you can’t gift because the recipient must be able to document they are the purchaser - might be a touch difficult for them.

And do I have to validate the 15-day pass

If you buy it at the airport when you arrive, it will be ready to use when you buy it. You do nothing else except keep it safe, with you, and be ready to show it should you be asked to by an inspector.

I would've thought they'd send outward AND return...maybe I'm wrong there, though

Nope. You only get the outbound boarding pass now - and the return boarding pass when you check in (online) for your return flight home.

RETURN JOURNEY: again check-in 48 hours before leaving. However, since I'll have no access to a printer, then the RETURN boarding pass will have to be downloaded to my smartphone...Yes/No?

Correct. (Except I don’t remember WA’s schedule and am too lazy to look.). And lest you feel like an unwanted UK tourist, we Americans have to do all this same stuff. 🤣 All this is SOP these days. Be sure you follow all the WA luggage rules. I usually pay extra and check my bag, but that is just my stress-reducing strategy. But if you do that, you do have to check in at the counter. And yes, I agree direct flights are best!

fancy staying near Andrassy avenue

Great location. With a week, you could also look at an Air BnB apartment to compare prices.

Enjoy!!

Many thanks to all who've taken time to reply so far...

I have some other queries about the 15-day pass + using the Metro etc

Looks like I'll be landing in Budapest around 10 in the evening of 30 April, assuming the plane isn't delayed.

Once I've cleared Customs, then, who knows what time I'll emerge. .
I'm guessing this BKK office will be closed at that hour so no chance of buying the pass at the airport.

Please correct me if I'm wrong but by my reckoning, I'll be taking the 100E bus into Deak Ferenc terminus, then the M1 Metro (I think) to the Andrassy area, assuming I've previously booked a hotel there (or Air B& B as was suggested)

MY QUESTIONS:

1. I'll need a ticket for 100E into town...can I do this ON THE BUS (say, contactless) or do I have to mess about with a machine?
   If contactless, then how will I validate?

2. METRO TO ANDRASSY:
   I'm guessing the ticket will have to be bought via machine again > must this also be validated onboard?

3. 15-DAY PASS > if the Arrivals BKK office is closed when I arrive, then where next day can I buy it?

The next day - 1 MAY - is actually my birthday.and I note a National holiday...Good choice, Hungary!!
I guess you'll be planning a special ceremony just for little ol' me!!..LOL

However, that may present a problem since I figure all BKK offices will be closed so folk can celebrate my arrival!...Yes/No?
No big deal, since my birthday will be a 'getting my bearings day' by 'walking' anyway...unlike when I was born !!

I can then find a BKK office the following day...At a Metro station, maybe...or????

1. GENERAL TRANSPORT QUERY:

So I know where to get on/off trams/buses/Metro: is there a VISUAL DISPLAY onboard each type that shows progressively each stop?

1. HOTEL: Anyone have first-hand recommendation for a hotel in the Andrassy district?

Please forgive my 'newbie' status with these queries, but I just need to be clear about any pluses or minuses.

Regards
Hugh

METRO TO ANDRASSY:
I'm guessing the ticket will have to be bought via machine again > must this also be validated onboard?

NOOOOOO!!!! On the Metro, you MUST validate before you enter the metro station. There are validating machines located at the entrance of the metro stations. There are ticket checkers and they are very strict!!! They won't accept the "I'm a tourist and I didn't know." You will be fined on the spot.

Here's what the BKK web page says about it:

Where are the validating machines located?

On the metro network, the rows of validating machines are located at the entrance of metro stations. Please note that the row of machines is also a platform boundary line: if you cross this line without a ticket or a non-validated ticket, you can already be fined! At most stations, a white line is painted to indicate the boundary.
The validating machines stamp the starting time of your trip onto your ticket. Tickets need to be validated by stamping them at the start of your trip on metro lines M1, M2 M3 and M4. Tickets allow transfers between the metro lines, but return trips (going back in the opposite direction) and interruptions (leaving the metro area) are not permitted with the same ticket. You will need a new ticket in those cases.

There are a lot of websites detailing how they got fined for not stamping their ticket before they entered the metro station. And the fine is hefty and payable on the spot.
Here's an example of one of them:

https://welovebudapest.com/en/article/2015/11/10/kontroll-issues-budapest-s-public-transport-ticket-inspectors/

GENERAL TRANSPORT QUERY:
So I know where to get on/off trams/buses/Metro: is there a VISUAL DISPLAY onboard each type that shows progressively each stop?

Yes, there are route maps usually above the windows that show the stations in order. But you yourself will have to keep track of station stop you just left and count the number of stops to your destination.

There are wonderful Youtube videos on how to use the Budapest metro and buses. Just go to YouTube and search for how to use the Budapest metro

I'll need a ticket for 100E into town...can I do this ON THE BUS (say,
contactless) or do I have to mess about with a machine?

If contactless, then how will I validate?

Yes, you can do contactless on the bus. This is new and I dont know much about it.

METRO TO ANDRASSY: I'm guessing the ticket will have to be bought via
machine again > must this also be validated onboard?

15-DAY PASS > if the Arrivals BKK office is closed when I arrive, then
where next day can I buy it?

If you have the 15 day pass, you absolutely DO NOT NEED TO VALIDATE a ticket on the metro. Just show it if asked. If the office is closed you can download it using the BudapestGO app or buy one at one of the vending machines the next day. Most metro stations have vending machines and there is a ticke office with real people at the Deak Fernec ter metro stop.

I can then find a BKK office the following day...At a Metro station,
maybe...or????

Again, you can use a vending machine at most metro stations or you can go to the office in the Deak Ferenc ter station or you can use the App.

GENERAL TRANSPORT QUERY: So I know where to get on/off
trams/buses/Metro: is there a VISUAL DISPLAY onboard each type that
shows progressively each stop?

Yes. But life is easier if you know the end station for the direction you are going. But this information is rather prominently displayed in each metro station. Less so prominent at the tram stations. But still not hard to figure out with google maps.

HOTEL: Anyone have first-hand recommendation for a hotel in the
Andrassy district?

Yes, the K+K Hotel Very nice. The Hotel Moments not first hand but gets written up well on the forum. I live here so I stay at Home.

I'll need a ticket for 100E into town...can I do this ON THE BUS (say, contactless) or do I have to mess about with a machine?
If contactless, then how will I validate?

If it is a busy time at the airport, there may be a queue for the 100E bus and there may (or may not) be an attendant standing at the entrance to the queue with a validation machine. If there is an attendant, you will NOT be able to join the queue and buy your ticket on the bus. Instead, you will need to purchase your ticket so that it can be validated by the attendant with the machine, prior to joining the queue to board the bus.

If the attendant uses the machine to validate your ticket, then that's it, your ticket is validated for that ride.

You can purchase your ticket (as discussed above) at the BKK office inside the arrivals hall, at the machine located near the bus queue, or anytime in advance on the phone app.

On the return trip, the same may be true. There may be an attendant at the stop for the 100E bus back to the airport. If so, the same thing may apply - they may ask to see your ticket (paper or digital) prior to boarding the bus. Ticket vending machines are located at the 100E bus stops or you can buy the ticket in the app, either at the time you need it or in advance.

Based on the way you asked the question about the ticket for the 100E bus, I think you know already that it is not covered by the 15 day transit pass.

Also, if there does not happen to be an attendant at the queue to board Bus 100E, then you DO have to validate that bus ticket when you board. If the attendant is there, by scanning your ticket with their little machine, they have validated it for you.

Listen to CWSocial. I've never ridden it. Here is the website for the bus: https://bkk.hu/en/travel-information/public-transport/airport-shuttle/ It says you can do BPPay&Go (that is wave your card as you enter the bus), but apparently not? Those things have popped up at a few of the metro stations too. I am too old and closed minded to use the App, so it will years before i try BPPay&Go.

You probably COULD do that, if it weren't for the helpful attendants standing there telling you otherwise :-)

They were quite determined not to let people hold up the queue by boarding the bus first and trying to buy a ticket there. If there weren't a queue, they might not be as adamant.

(I rode the 100E to and from the airport in October, 2023. The attendants were at both the airport and at Deak Ferenc ter)

Hungarian efficiency

Effectively, the attendants act as dedicated ticket agents. No ticket, no boarding.

A lot to take in there and thanks to all goes without saying!

I've now read quite a few comments from various sources that tourists are far too easy game for these so-called 'inspectors', despite legitimately buying a ticket and not being able for one reason or another to validate.

These 'inspectors', while I accept they have a job to do, don't appear to have any common sense or humanity about them.
Just 'following rules' of course - the old Nuremberg 'defence', still warped to this day, would likely be their 'excuse'
Seems to me they might just have loved Communist rule and this is their way of re-living it.
Also many locals 'know all the 'tricks' of avoiding paying, so draw your own conclusions about that. What came first: chicken or egg?

All in all, their attitude and fines smack of little more than a questionable revenue-gathering exercise that does little to foster good public relations with visitors to Budapest in particular and indeed to Hungary as a whole,
A little bit of honey brings more congenial results for national reputation than any dose of vinegar. Come ask the Scots how to be hospitable to their guests....

One simple bad experience of any country or city can be enough to put you off it for life....and 'bad-mouth' it at every opportunity from then on.

Regards

My experience with the inspectors was quite different. When I encountered them in a metro station and couldn't connect underground, they showed me how to bring up the barcode on my phone without internet and then helped me scan it.

All with a smile and kindness.

Since this will be your first visit to Budapest, I hope you will encounter the same respectful and helpful workers.

That may actually be another value of the attendants at each end of the 100E bus ....you have the benefit of their assistance to make sure that you ARE validated, before boarding the bus and finding that you cannot.

The attendants I encountered at each end of the bus (airport and city) seemed patient and helpful with those who were trying to board and had any difficulties.

I'll add one additional thought that impressed me favorably: if it were purely a revenue gathering exercise, the ticket checkers and attendants might have been primarily stationed at exit gates and checking tickets of passegers who had just ridden.

The considerable majority of ticket checkers that I saw, such as those at the 100E bus and metro stations, were all stationed at entry points, checking the tickets of passengers entering stations. At that point, there would have been no possibility of any fines, though of course it did ensure that each passenger had a valid ticket.

I thought it was a reasonable approach.

The rules are simple. So simple a 5 year old can figure it out.

The inspectors that I've seen have been gentle and polite. But no ticket = 12,500 ft on the spot.

What's my experience? I average maybe 10km and 4 to 6 on and off a day between underground, bus and tram.

I get checked almost every day. Some days 2 or 4 times. Fines to date? = 0. I don't speak Hungarian, except for "uborka" and I suspect I look like a tourist.

But rarely a day goes by and I don't see some group of tourist kids getting busted .... usually on the trams.

So what you read might be the rants of self described victims, cause nothing is THEIR fault.

BUT! If you are concerned and you think the inspectors will be a negative impact on your enjoyment you might want to rethink things.

And if you have a 15 day transit pass, it's even easier.

Hello again...
I have a query about Wizz Air procedure for checking-in and getting a boarding-pass.

I'd like to have BOTH a printed copy AND mobile boarding pass on my Android smartphone.

The following link shows Wizz Air options for checking in:

https://wizzair.com/en-gb/information-and-services/booking-information/check-in-and-boarding

If I choose 'check-in online', as I understand it, WA send an email with a link to enable PRINTED COPY.

However, does that then mean I can't return to the above link and this time ALSO choose 'Download App' to get a 'digital mobile boarding pass'?

In short, is it either one or the other: online check-in for printed copy of pass or mobile check-in for digital copy - but NOT BOTH?

I'd appreciate some guidance, preferably from someone who's done this or who's well-versed in WA's way of working.

Regards

Hmmm, I can’t answer because I have only used WizzAir for flights when I had no ability to print at check in time. However I have done as you describe for other airlines. So it would be a good bet you can.

Hello TexasTravelmom....thanks for taking time to reply.
I agree with you. With other airlines, I've had both without any problem...but these were not 'budget' airlines.

That said: having both a printed and digital boarding pass is simply a fail-safe (particularly with WA's apparent other incompetence!) but the way WizzAir check-in page 'looks' you can only check-in either online for a printed copy or via their app, not both.

I may be totally wrong there, but if WA were just easy to contact and be helpful like other airlines, then I wouldn't have to reach out to the good folk of Texas and RS forum! That's why I hoped someone here set could things straight on what is a simple query on passes.

With 'new' things ie me travelling to Budapest and with WA, I prefer the old but wise advice: Fail to prepare? Then prepare to fail....No point in kicking yourself AFTER the event when you could've found even simple things out in advance. Right?

From the outset, as my initial query shows, I was wary of using WA...but I've used up enough of good folk's time on this forum, though grateful nevertheless for their help and input.

If actual experience of my trip gives me clear answers on WA and all things 'Budapestian' (!), then I'll relay that info here so others will know the score.

Thanks again, TexasTravelmom...

Wizz Air says:

If you check in with the app, you have the following options:
retrieve your boarding pass via the app when your phone is connected to the internet
visit wizzair.com from your mobile's browser, enter your flight confirmation code and print your boarding pass
If you are using iOS operating system, you can also save your boarding card to the Wallet