This is just a quick note on new taxi experiences I had on my Oct. 2025 trip to Budapest, which may have been my 8th time to be there (I have lost track).
When I take taxis, I use FoTaxi from the airport to town. I use my credit card to pay.
Then I use City Taxi from town to the airport. This is usually an early morning so I schedule the day before through the app. I do not have a payment card saved in the app, so I use my credit card to pay after I arrive. (Cash is also fine.)
The app COULD make you worry on a first time because although it works fine, it’s not quite as sophisticated as Uber. Don’t worry. Just make sure your pick up address and drop off address are entered correctly.
Be a few minutes early for City Taxi pick up - they always are for me. Also remember that sometimes they can’t stop exactly where you are standing (traffic laws), so keep an eye out for potential stopping places close to your pick up location. If you are at a hotel, it won’t be an issue.
So…. Here is what happened to me in October. I was staying at a hotel but I needed two taxis for the following morning. In the City Taxi app there isn’t a way to ask for 2 taxis (that I could find) and I didn’t have telephone capability to call them.
So I asked my hotel desk to call City Taxi and ask for 2 taxis. The receptionist wanted me to choose one large vehicle at a fixed rate (€40 for a regular taxi or €58 for the large vehicle) that was advertised on a sign in the reception area, which I would need to pay in cash - either euros or forints.
- I didn’t have that much in cash.
- I have never had to do that and didn’t want to start.
So she made a phone call, which I assumed was to City Taxi like I had asked for.
The next morning 2 taxis arrived as scheduled and I paid for both via credit card upon arrival at the airport. At a fixed rate, and it was a different company. One was $48 (€41) and the other was $46 (€40). The meter for the $46 taxi stopped running at this amount and the driver told me all taxis have a fixed rate. I do not know what the other driver did.
Two weeks later I took City Taxi to the airport (called on my app from my apartment). No fixed rate, the meter ran the whole time and the cost was $38 (€31). I did NOT take advantage of the apartment manager’s offer of a fixed rate airport drop off of - you guessed it - €40.
In the big scheme of things, this isn’t a major financial problem. It’s not a scam. And sometimes you pay for convenience and that is the best answer.
But it IS why I will continue to tell people to download the City Taxi app ahead of time and use it yourself. (If you can make calls, the office speaks English just fine.) Some cities, like Paris and Madrid, have mandated flat rates to and from the airport. Budapest does not.
None of this addresses Bolt or Uber - I have yet to use them in Budapest. But I just did a trial run and as opposed to giving me an exact figure, Uber gave me a range which matched the range I have experienced in the past with the meter, so it looks like they also use a metered amount (closer to €35).
There’s nothing wrong with paying extra if it’s easier - I don’t mind when I make that decision (like I do when I choose a taxi over the much cheaper 100E airport bus). But I want to know the facts and THEN make the decision. Just thought I would pass that along.