Vienna to Budapest by train

Why don’t you take the Regiojet train#1031 from Vienna to Budapest Deli for €9? It departs at 10:47 and arrives at 13:14. With all the money saved you can take a taxi from the train station to your hotel. Or you could take a later train going to Budapest Keleti for $35. You’ll see other trains for far less than what you seem to be looking at www.TheTrainline.com
You can buy the Regiojet train tix for as little as €9 per person at www.Regiojet.com
Cheers!

Why don’t you take the Regiojet train#1031 from Vienna to Budapest
Deli for €9?

Kinko that would most likely be the one the OP is referring to as 1) it goes to Kelenföld not Keleti and 2) while the national trains stop at Kelenföld the price is the same as going into Keleti (or that’s the case on the few I have seen)

But the OP's problem is probably that the OP is buying the ticket from the wrong company. Maybe someone convinced the OP to use the third party TheTrainline or OBB (without checking MAV).

If the OP were to purchase the tickets from the Hungarian national rail site the fare would be 17 to 21 euro plus 2 euro for the seat assignment in 2nd class. I promise the difference between 2nd and 1st is minimal, but if you do want 1st that runs 29 to 39 euro …. Yes, on 13 May.

Go to https://jegy.mav.hu/ to buy the ticket, be sure you also buy a seat reservation. Then download the App on your phone so presenting your ticket will be easy on the train. Note you will an email with your ticket, but it will have two attachments. One is the actual ticket the other is the seat assignment. If you use the app on your phone the conductor will makes short work of any confusion.

Okay, then Kinko’s idea. RejionJet, a private train company. They do start at 9 euro (at 7:30 in the blessed morning), so figure close to 12 euro starting cost for a reasonable time that vs 17 on the national trains. I think the 12 euro includes the seat assignement but not sure about that. The big difference is with Rejiojet you end up at Kelenföld or Deli train station which are both like a big outdoor commie era bus stops …. cause that’s what they are. Still, getting into town isn’t hard as there is an underground <15 minutes, and there are some trams <35 minutes that allows you to see some of the outskirts of the city on the way in. On the other hand the national company takes you to Keleti and grand old 19th century rail station which might be more in keeping with the theme of the holiday if the extra 5 to 7 euro doesn’t bother you. Keleti is also well connected and close to the city center. It’s a matter of preference.

Okay, next question, Hotel Victoria which is indeed far from Kelenföld, but its also far from Keleti and for that matter far from most tourist things. So, take a taxi is the easiest advice. If you do that call City Taxi.

BUT!!! Two people and three pieces of luggage isnt the end of the world and if you wanted to use public transportation here is the route from Kelenföld: https://maps.app.goo.gl/KSpAfw6GsN1taTNG6 What the map doesnt say is either the 19 or the 41 tram will work and that for me it would be easier to stay on the metro one more stop to Szent Gellert ter and get on the trams at that point. This really is a low pressure fun trip. The metro leg is the newest most modern metro in the city and a snap to use. The tram leg could either be antique equipment or a brand new tram. Luck of the draw.

From Keleti, no real difference. The same metro line in the opposite direction. https://maps.app.goo.gl/57NYDd6PH2KJoKxu5. About the same time too. Either works. Old commie station or old turn of the century station 12 euro vs 19 euro.

Thanks so much Kenko and Mr E
As per Kenko's suggestion I bought tickets on regio jet and got them for 41 euros, so that's quite useful
The ticket is till Deli, and I think it is one stop after Kelenfold, right ?

Mr E thanks for the Google map, let me check that out

Final question. You are in Budapest from some time on the 13th until some time on the 15th. So lets say that means a 48 hour some kind of card will suffice.

No, you really dont want a "Budapest Card". It will cost nearly $50 and you will never get the value back out of it.

But you do need a 24 hour "Budapest TravelCard". You are going to need it too because your hotel is not very well situated. But worry not, a little extra time on the tram system will get you around just fine. Here is the card: https://bkk.hu/en/tickets-and-passes/prices/24-hour-budapest-travelcard/ Its less than $8. With it you can hop on and off any public transportation in town and only need to show the card when asked (see why paper is easier). UNLESS you are 65 or older, in which case you need Ziltch, Nada, Nothing. Just ride and keep a photo ID with your birthdate within reach for if or when you are asked (you wont be I bet).

You have several options to buy the Budpaest TravelCard. Download the BudapestGo app and buy the card and store it electronically on your phone, or buy a paper one at the train staion. I vote for paper, but both work. At Keleti the office is down the stiars, center front and on the right. Or in both stations you can use a vending machine. Just go slow and read ever screen. You are going to need a bit more so I will send you a PM.

Well you got ahead of me. Okay the maps no good from Deli and Deli is not as convenient for you. Get off at Kelenföld. By the way Deli is another Commie Bus Stop train station. If you do end up at Deli, then take the M2 Metro to Batthyány tér and then the 19 or 41 tram one stop down river. https://maps.app.goo.gl/iqkbgKyvY9ZU1wxy7 ..................... or a taxi.

Here is the City Taxi web page. Down load their app, it works like Uber. https://citytaxi.hu/

Sorry you will miss the Keleti Station .... one of europes great ones.

I bought tickets on regio jet and got them for 41 euros,

I am curious, thats for multiple tickets, right?

The ticket is till Deli, and I think it is one stop after Kelenfold, right ?

Could we please stipulate once and for all that in Budapest the RegioJet train to/from Vienna originates and terminates at the Deli station? Deli is also the terminus for the Metro M2 line - and it is only four stops from there to central Pest - where you can transfer to the M1 or M3 lines, grab a taxi or tram, etc. at Deak Ferenc ter? Yes, Deli is a relatively "modern" Soviet era station, with little character, but it gets the job done.

Note that there is a design flaw in the RegioJet website - if you specify Budapest as your start or end point, it will default Kelenfold - you need to specify Budapest Deli - which is one stop beyond Kelenfold when approaching Budapest. Note that when I made the trip to Vienna, more people boarded at Kelenfold than at Deli.

For the budget traveler, or anyone who appreciates a good value, RegioJet is an attractive option for travel between Budapest-Vienna-Prague. And seat reservations are included in the ticket price.

Here is Man in Seat 61 on Deli:

https://www.seat61.com/stations/budapest-deli.htm

Could we please stipulate once and for all that in Budapest the
RegioJet train to/from Vienna originates and terminates at the Deli
station?

Sure, but, and there is always a but, if you go to RegioJet and you put in Vienna to Budapest without picking stations it will sell you a ticket to Kelenfold. Which is what starts the confusion. AND, trains begin where you get on and end where you get off and getting off at Kelenforl will save the OP about 15 minutes travel time. For the OP in this case, really doesnt matter other than more time on the train, because they are staying on the Buda river bank and either the M4 (kelenfold) or the M2 (deli) will get the job done as well as the job can be done and in about the same amount of time.

It is sort of a shame its mostly underground trip and they wont see much of the city. But they can take a taxi and that works. Their grand entry into Budapest will be a bit of a bust at either of those stations, but they have another whole day in Budapest to make up for that. And the hotel is Buda only adds 30 or 40 minutes to the sightseeing day (if they dont return to the hotel during the day) so thats not the end of the world either.

I presume the man in Seat 61 did actually visit Deli? Here are a few videos that don’t look like his pictures. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine station. Ive used it a number of times. Functions well. But adds nothing to the tourism aspect of travel.

https://youtu.be/vXDiE3_OR00?si=FWYNryFKRB4dtGro
https://youtu.be/xEA41oWo5QI?si=ORFD3sNJG9mjhpoA
https://youtu.be/ON-NmwZ34xw?si=46zWRS4O8MtgpyK4
Kelenfold is about the same.

On the otherhand, Keleti: https://youtu.be/H1ezorhD9HI?si=a9uxJoU2JpWMiySu and https://youtu.be/8M_dMa-BkEg?si=mBXa3nwJPj3KixFV

Thank you all for your advise. You guys are amazing

So I think we will take a taxi from whereever we get down - to Boutique hotel, since it might be faster rather than getting onto public transport

So now for taxi, which is better station to get down - Kelenfold or Deli?

I am looking for the travel card, it shows 2500 ft. I want to know whether it is essential since we need to buy 3 and that will 7500 ft
Is it not possible to move around by foot. Or are there far off attractions that we might miss out

Thanks

Ok so one more thing. Since we will not be taking the train to Keleti, which seems to be a tourist attraction in itself, I think the travel card would be good, so we can take a train to Keleti next day and just see it. Am I right

Get off at Kelenföld. It’s a little closer and a tiny bit nicer than Deli. Use the City Taxi app to call a taxi. Do not hail a taxi or get in one at a taxi stand unless it says City Taxi on it. The app will show you where to stand to meet the taxi, the number of the taxi and the license plate number. The ride will take you 15 minutes and cost you less than 4.500 ft (less than $12.50). If you buy a travelcard and take the M4 + Tram 19/41 the trip is essentially free. Taxis take cash and credit cards.

You have chosen to try and do Budapest in less than 2 days. And you have chosen to stay in Buda as opposed to Pest where most of the sights, entertainment restaurants, etc. of interest to tourists on a first visit are located. Neither is a terrible thing, but it will help if you make good use of your time and that will be greatly benefitted by using the public transportation. I planned out a walking only tour once and it came out to about 9 miles and about 4 hours of walking with no stops and at a good pace.

While there are trains in the conventional sense that do make up part of the public transportation system, they are few and mostly head out of town. They are called the HEV and you will not be using them. So talk in terms of the Metro (the underground “trains” labled M1, M2, M3 and M4), and talk in terms of the Trams (the light rail “trains”) and in your case maybe a bus or two; and of course walking.

Yes, the 48-hour Budapest Travel Card is 2.500 ft which works out to about $3.50 a day. The other option is single tickets which if you buy in books of 10 will cost you 4.000ft ($11). Because of where your hotel is located I can not imagine a scenario where each in your group would use less than 4 tickets a day (and I think 6 is more likely): so $4.40 per day per person. Then with tickets you must validate them (the travel card no) and if you forget to validate the fine is 12.000 ft ($34).