Budapest Card: Free Public Transport, Spa & Museums with Delivery

Totally negative review of the Budapest Card, which I do not recommend to anyone. Not at all cost-effective, Matthias Church not included contrary to what is advertised, Vasarely Museum closed, impossible to take the cruise due to lack of water on the Danube, and to top it off, I was forced to pay for my trip to the airport even though it was supposedly included... A total rip-off!

This card should be a great convenience, getting you into everything for free. Ok, having all public transportation accessible is great. On the other hand, too many attractions are not free, but only offer discounts. So I'm not sure that I got my money's worth out of it. Also, unlike in other cities like Prague, the card is not an app but has to be physically picked up. True, they can deliver it, but if like me your tardy and you want to have it Right Now, you have to go downtown to pick it up.

Do NOT buy this - it is very expensive and does not give you what you think for the money. Just buy a pass for the public transport from public transport not this one. Plus sometimes when they scan your card, they say you haven't paid. Even thought you bought a 72 hour card and you are only 1 day in. You will save money by avoiding this.

I purchased a Budapest card for 4 days last week. I received a guide book dated 2025/2026 with the card. The prices I paid were either 20% more or the reduction was reduced from 20% to 10%. The hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus listed in the book is no longer included. Save your money and pay as you go for attractions and services.

Last Monday the 9.3.26 I bought a Budapest Card for 35`000 Forints for 4 days in the baggage claim terminal of the Budapest Airport. I was given a 2025/2026 Guide book. Soon afterwards we learned that the (discounted) prices in the book that said what we would pay with the Budapest Card were about 20% more expensive than printed- for i.e., the Synagogues and thermal baths and airport transportation. In addition, the On-Off Tour that I was looking forward to using was not free anymore . I find this false advertising and I certainly cannot recommend this card to others because of that. Hint: for unlimited public transit tickets, one can buy tickets at any ticket booth for a fraction of the Budapest Card rates. However, I can say that I very much enjoyed the Buda and Pest walking tours that were organized by the BKK, especially with Zoli, who spoke fantastic English and was very interesting and entertaining. I learned that I could have booked the same directly through another source for only 14 Euros.

Using the Budapest card is very convenient for public transport, because they are included, but for attractions you have to be careful what is included and what is not. You also have to consider how long you plan to stay in Budapest, as the card is valid in hours, depending on how long you choose to make it last. We did the 72 hours plus, but going back is not worth it, because for 50 euros more each, it included a wine tasting in one place, a langos in another and the entrance to the Matthias church (only church because the Tower is paid separately). So yes, very convenient, but be careful to evaluate which one is worth buying.

Absolute waste of money. We arranged to collect our passes at the airport to discover the pick up point is actually at the ibis hotel near the airport. Unfortunately for us they wasn't able to supply us with the passes we had been charged for. The 48h pass. So they most unhelpfully gave us a list of 4 alternative addresses. Basically sending us on a wild goose chase as none of these other addresses could supply us with these passes. Basically we lost probably a day and a half of our stay in Budapest. When we finally got the passes from a 5th address we were able to do the two walking tours and the boat tour, which would have been cheaper and less stressful to do these tours independently. We have since complained to the supplier who has ignored our email which sums up our much they care

Do not buy this card which is a pure scam! I am used to travelling in European cities and I take the passes every time: this one is absolutely unprofitable, transport is included except that to and from the airport, visits included are not necessarily according to the map (we had the 96h we needed for example the 72+ for the Mattias church) few must visits included... Really it's not worth the cost!

Some activities mentioned as included do not correspond to reality so you should update the guide not to mislead customers I give you an example the chocolate museum is not included

Budapest Card ... Do this and save, if you stay for more than three days!!! We stayed 5 hours and took the Budapest card for 15 days at a cost of about 15 euros, ONLY FOR USE of unlimited means (72h 13 euros). No for bus 100 that takes you to the airport (costs 5.50euro more), but it includes the 200 that takes you the same... I had a great time, also because there are no subway turnstiles, but it is full of controllers You take it directly out of the airport and need document I've seen it on some sites and tested it.. DO NOT DO the 72h