A guide to Budapest, Hungary

I just went on one of the best girl’s trip I’ve ever been on. My friend and I scored the cheapest tickets to Budapest from Germany and it was so worth it. I documented 95% of the trip so I could share tips and recommendations with you incase you ever choose to go to Budapest!! Here’s a guide to Budapest, Hungary. This way you can also eat your way through the city, be spontaneous with a tattoo, and just explore without any schedule other than having the absolute best time.

first, let’s talk about traveling to Budapest. Ryanair had some fantastic deals for Cyber Monday that I could not pass up. I bought one round trip ticket to Budapest from Stuttgart for $11.10. A TOTAL STEAL. Ryanair had multiple locations for just 5euro one way and it was the absolute perfect 3 day trip.

We had limited flight times to choose from so we took off at 730am and landed just before 9am. It was a fast, easy flight so no complaints. For 3 days, my friend and I ate to our hearts content and explored and wandered the beautiful city center.

When we arrived in Budapest, we bought an airport shuttle public transportation pass round trip ticket. This ticket let’s us hop on the bus from the airport all the way to the city center. It cost 900HUF or almost $3USD. For a 30+ minute ride, this was a no brainer. A taxi would’ve cost at least 30euro. We also bought a 72-hour public transportation pass for any bus or metro rides while we were in Budapest. The 72-hour pass cost 4.500HUF (about $15USD) so that ended up being worth it for us as well since we were going to be exploring all over the city.

Our airbnb was pretty great. It was the perfect size for 2 people, we had comfy beds, it was close to so many fantastic restaurants and not far from the bus and metro lines we needed to get on. The best thing about the Airbnb was the price. We got our flights so cheap and then the airbnb was pretty inexpensive for 3 days as well.

We did a few fun things while we were in Budapest. Exploring and adventuring all over the city, figuring out the bus lines and getting them mixed up, lots of eating. We did so much.

eat + drink

deep burger – it was delicious. they had some amazing pulled pork burgers which drew us in. The cocktails were DELICIOUS (even at 11am). If you wanna go into a slight food coma, try the Deep Mac Burger. the food was delicious and the price was fair for the amount of food we got.
drumpf bistro – this place is gluten free friendly!!! the food was AMAZING and the aesthetics were so picture perfect. it was a low-key breakfast at a very hipster, urban-vibes, super beautiful restaurant. their breakfast was amazing and they also had some delicious looking lunch and dinners.
retros langos – listen. I knew I had to try Langos. I kept hearing about them and they sounded delicious. I wasn’t in the mood for goulash but I did know I wanted some real Hungarian food. Langos did the trick. These come loaded or simple. you can choose so many toppings and combinations. Hungarian street food is one of my favorite things. only downside was it was an actual food truck, not a restaurant we could go inside and eat in the warm.
Mr. Funk – We were craving some sweets after our tattoos. This donut shop is so close to SO many restaurants and a super fun place to chill for some dessert. I needed to try their Freak Shake (shake with 2 donuts on top!) and they also had some incredible flavors for their donuts. we got the Oreo Freak Shake and the apple pie donut.
Bubu – obviously I needed to have some boba while we were in Budapest. it was a nice caffeine boost and delicious jasmine tea!
Brunch Bistro Budapest – We brunched so hard. their mimosas were amazing, the avocado toast was FANTASTIC. and if you can add smoked salmon to your meal, do yourself a favor and ADD IT.
Hanami Sushi Bar – for our last dinner, we wanted something low key because we were exhausted. the sushi was yummy, the gyoza was AMAZING. only downside was the small restaurant sitting area.
ruin bars – Budapest is known for their ruin bars. Bars that are in some really rundown, old buildings. they’re sprinkled all over the city and the really cool ones are in the Jewish Quarter. There was one about 5min (walking) from our Airbnb so our last night we went in and grabbed a drink and just chilled in the bar for a bit.

things to do

Szechenyi Thermal Baths – Budapest is KNOWN for their thermal baths. It’s such a great experience especially when traveling because it makes you unwind. The baths were the most relaxed I’ve been in a while. the outdoor heated pool was open and wasn’t too busy on a Wednesday afternoon. We bought the basic spa ticket — access to the pools and a private locker for our belongings. We paid 24euro for a ticket that was valid from 9am-6pm. Massages were an additional 20euro and up. Bring a towel and some flip flops if you’d rather not purchase them there. We bought our tickets online to skip the line and just walk in and through with to get our locker keys.
Hungarian Parliament Building – this building is STUNNING. whether you go during the day or in the evening. The largest building in Hungary, on the Danube River, and has a beautiful gothic style to it. Free to walk around and check it out outside.
Velvet Ink Wolf Tattoo – My friend and I randomly decided to get tattoos while we were in Budapest because why not? I got a simple one line tattoo husky outline and am so obsessed. The artists were fantastic and so talented. Also, their prices are so reasonable for such great work!