Vienna to Budapest - 15 Best Ways to Travel in 2024

The most popular way to travel from Vienna to Budapest is by train. There are frequent and comfortable trains connecting the two cities, with departures every hour and Vienna to Budapest train time a bit over two and a half hours. The first train from Vienna to Budapest departs from the Austrian capital shortly before 7 in the morning, the last at 21:55. Half of the connections are served by high-speed RailJet trains, known for the comfort onboard, with complimentary wifi, restaurant, or quiet zone if you want to relax during your trip. The rest runs as EuroCity trains which are slightly less fancy but still very comfortable. 

Vienna to Budapest train ticket
The Vienna to Budapest train cost is affordable, starting at €13, although what you pay depends on the train you take and when you purchase. The best place to buy the ticket is online at the website of either Austrian Railways ÖBB or Hungarian Railways MAV - it’s worth checking both as the price might vary between them, even for the same train. If you prefer to get your ticket the traditional way, head to the central train station in Vienna - Hauptbahnhof, and do it in the customers’ center, located on the right side, when entering the building from the street level. If you decide to go from Vienna to Budapest by train at the last minute, be sure to have time to spare to buy the ticket as the lines can get long here, especially during peak hours. 

Vienna to Budapest Eurorail pass
If you travel around Europe using Interrail or Eurorail pass, you can use it when getting from Vienna to Budapest by train. The seat reservation is optional for the international trip from Austria to Hungary; however, it is recommended, especially if you travel during peak hours. The reservation costs €3, and you can get it online on the website of Austrian Railways as well as at the train station. 

Train stations in Vienna and Budapest
In Vienna, all the trains depart from the central station - Wien Hauptbahnhof, where you can quickly get to using public transport - it is served by the red metro line U1 (stop “Südtiroler Platz-Hauptbahnhof”). When arriving in Budapest, you can use two stations: Kelenföld, on the Buda side of the city, reachable by green metro line 4, or Keleti, more centrally located in Pest, from where you can use red metro line 2 or green metro line 4 to get to your final destination in Budapest.

The most exciting and efficient way to travel between the capitals of Austria and Hungary is to join the Vienna to Budapest tour. You will get from one city to another comfortably and trouble-free, with some excellent Vienna to Budapest sightseeing along the way. 

This is a perfect option for those who would like to see more than just the capitals and learn more about the history, culture, and customs of the visited places. You will travel in an air-conditioned minivan, in a small group of max eight people, with a tour guide who will tell you all about places you see along the way and will answer all your questions. 

On this Vienna to Budapest Transfer Tour, you will stop in four locations, each of them interesting, packed with history, and definitely worth visiting. The price for this transfer starts at €85; you can learn more details about the tour and book the place here.

The Vienna to Budapest sightseeing transfer takes around 9 hours, starting at 9 in the morning in front of the Cafe Mozart, next to the Opera (you can easily reach the place by public transport - three metro lines and numerous trams); if you book a private option, the pick-up is included. 

Stop 1: Sopron
After departing from Vienna, your first stop will be Sopron, a charming Hungarian town on the border with Austria. You will wander around the cobbled lanes of the Old Town, where it feels like time has stopped. 

Stop 2: Eszterháza Palace
From Sopron, it’s a short drive to the next stop - Eszterháza Palace - probably the most beautiful palace in the region, often called “the Hungarian Versailles.” You will be able to admire this architectural gem and wander around the beautiful garden. For an extra fee, you can visit the palace inside too. 

Stop 3: Györ
Another place you will see on this Vienna to Budapest tour is Györ, where you will see some impressive Baroque architecture as well as the stunning Town Hall from the early 20th century. Györ is one of the most important cities in the history of Hungary; hence you will learn more about the country’s past here. 

Stop 4: Tata Castle
The last stop before arriving in Budapest is the Tata Castle, dating back to medieval times. You will walk around the castle and romantic gardens and enjoy beautiful views of nearby Lake Öreg and its surroundings. You will reach Budapest around 18:00, where you will be dropped off in the central location, at Erzsebet Square, from where you can easily continue your journey to your final destination in the city.

Another popular way to travel from Vienna to Budapest is by bus. There are departures throughout the day, at least once an hour, so you can easily find the best connection for your itinerary. The Vienna to Budapest travel time is under 3 hours. 

The leading company serving this route is Flixbus, which operates comfortable buses with complimentary wifi and power sockets next to every seat. The Vienna to Budapest bus price varies between €9 and €29 - if you buy the ticket well in advance, you can expect the lowest price; the jump up once it’s closer to the departure day. You can get the ticket online at the Flixbus website. 

Bus stations in Vienna and Budapest
In Vienna, most buses depart from the bus station at Erdbergstrasse - a bit away from the center, but you can quickly get here by metro - U3 orange metro line to the station “Erdberg” gets here. A few connections start from the central train station - Hauptbahnhof - we described above the best ways to get there. Be sure to check where your bus departs from to avoid mistakes. In Budapest, all the buses arrive at Nepliget station on the Pest side of the city. It is located on the blue M3 metro line, which will take you to the city’s center quickly and hassle-free. 

Vienna Airport to Budapest by bus
If you want to travel from Vienna airport to Budapest, you can also use Flixbus. A few daily buses operate the direct service between the two places, arriving at Nepliget station in Budapest.

Despite the proximity of the capitals, there are direct Vienna to Budapest flights. However, we don’t recommend taking those, not only for the negative impact on the environment but also for the high price and long travel time, compared to other modes of transportation. 

If you still decide to fly from Vienna to Budapest, you can choose from three daily direct flights, departing in the late morning, mid-afternoon, and in the evening. The Vienna to Budapest flight time is only 45 minutes, but with getting to and from the airport, as well as the security control, it can take you around 4 hours to get from central Vienna to Budapest. 

Vienna to Budapest flight price
One-way Vienna to Budapest flight cost starts at €128 and can jump to over €300 a few days before the departure. You can book them online at the Austrian Airlines website - the only airline which serves this route.

Airports in Vienna and Budapest

Getting to Vienna airport from the center of the city is easy; you can either take a direct City Airport Train departing from Wien Mitte station (travel time is 16 minutes, one-way ticket costs €14,90) or use the slower suburban train S7, also from Wien Mitte (travel time is 25 minutes, one-way ticket is €4,10). In Budapest, you can take the direct airport bus 100E that will take you to the city center in around 40 minutes; the ticket costs 2.200 HUF.

If you want to be fully flexible on your trip, you can go for a Vienna to Budapest road trip. The distance between the capitals is only around 250 km, so you can quickly get from one city to another in under three hours. 

However, you can also use this opportunity to see some interesting places along the way, such as a picturesque 12th-century Liechtenstein Castle, charming Sopron, or the Baroque gem Győr. You could even do a slight detour and visit Slovakia, especially its capital Bratislava. Going from Vienna to Budapest by car lets you plan your trip according to your needs and interests. 

The downside of such a trip might be the price - if you rent a car only for a one-way trip, you need to pay more than when returning the vehicle to the same location. For Vienna to Budapest road trip, you can expect to pay around €700 for a rental car.

If you don’t want to drive yourself (or the cost is too high) yet would like to stop in some interesting places between Vienna and Budapest, you can choose the private transfer. This way, you can plan a door-to-door trip that works best with your itinerary and do some sightseeing when getting between the capitals. 

The standard price for Vienna to Budapest private transfer is around €250 for a car with an English-speaking driver. You can expect a travel time of about 3 hours, but you can also make a longer journey out of this trip and, for an extra fee, add some stops along the way. The most popular ones are Liechtenstein Castle, Sopron, Győr, Bratislava, the UNESCO-listed Benedictine Pannonhalma Archabbey, or Esztergom, with the largest church in Hungary. 

You can also choose the private sightseeing transfer for your trip from Vienna to Budapest (we talked in detail about the group option above). The whole journey will take you about nine hours, with four interesting and beautiful stops along the way, in Sopron, Eszterháza Palace, Györ, and Tata Castle. This is a great way to travel hassle-free between the cities and see more than just the main sights. Pick-up and drop-off are included too.

If you like traveling on two wheels, you will enjoy a pleasant trip from Vienna to Budapest by bike. The distance between the two capitals, almost 300 km, can be leisurely done in around a week, including a few interesting stops. You can follow the Danube River, connecting both cities. Besides discovering the Austrian and Hungarian countryside, you will be able to visit another country along the way - Slovakia. 

When cycling from Vienna to Budapest along the Danube, you should plan sightseeing breaks in places like Bratislava - the capital of Slovakia, Győr with its stunning Baroque architecture, as well as Esztergom, Visegrad, and Szentendre along the Danube bend just before Budapest. Since this is a popular bike route, part of the Danube Cycle Path, you can expect good infrastructure along the way. 

Vienna to Budapest bike tour
If you don’t want to organize such a trip yourself, there are Vienna to Budapest bike tours you can join. This way, all you need to worry about is enjoying the ride and admiring the beautiful views around you; everything else will be taken care of for you. 

A good alternative to trains or buses when traveling from Vienna to Budapest is carpooling. This is a popular way of getting around in Europe; all you need to do is connect with the driver, arrange the pick-up/drop-off location details, and you are ready to go. 

The best place to look for Vienna to Budapest car-sharing options is the BlaBlaCar website. You need to set the profile there, and once you are logged in, you are free to look for Vienna to Budapest carpool rides. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t find many offers well in advance; it’s best to look for rides a few days before the trip, as that’s when most drivers put up their ads. 

What you pay for the Vienna to Budapest BlaBlaCar ride might vary depending on the ride as each driver sets their price, but generally, you can expect around €20-25. 

Before choosing the ride, be sure to read the fine print, as sometimes the pick-up or drop-off points are far away from the center, and you need to consider getting to/from the location. But in general, Vienna to Budapest car sharing can be a good way to travel and meet new people.

If you like the adventure and the thrill of unexpected travels, hitchhiking from Vienna to Budapest might be a fun way to get from Austria to Hungary. This is a popular route, so you might have some competition when scoring a ride, but then, you shouldn’t wait too long to find a car willing to take you. 

The best place to start your Vienna to Budapest hitchhiking is the OMV petrol station on A4/E58 Ost Autobahn motorway. To get there, you need to take the metro U3 orange line in the direction of Simmering to the second-to-last station Enkplatz and change there for bus no. 76A to the bus stop 7. Haidequerstraße. From here, it’s a short walk to the petrol station. 

Since this is a popular way to travel from Western Europe to Romania, when arranging a ride with a Romanian driver, be sure to ask beforehand if it will be free of charge, as it’s customary in Romania to pay a small fee when hitchhiking.

Walking from Vienna to Budapest might seem like a crazy idea to many. Still, it is doable, and some travelers might find this option appealing. 

You can count around two weeks for Vienna to Budapest walk, but the final duration of this trip depends on you and what you want to see along the way (as we’ve already mentioned above, there are many great places to visit between Vienna and Budapest). The most pleasant way to walk from Vienna to Budapest is along the Danube River - following it, you will need to cover a distance of around 300 km. If you decide to try this option to get from Vienna to Budapest, you can expect to get the full insight into Central Europe and what it offers beyond the big, famous cities. 

Those who enjoy traveling in style can choose a luxurious option when getting from Vienna to Budapest - a private jet. It is a pricy way to travel, but at the same time, it is an unforgettable experience. 

You can expect to pay at least €6.000 for the Vienna to Budapest charter plane. The travel time from Vienna to Budapest by private jet should be around 2-3 hours, including getting to and from the airport.

Going for a Vienna to Budapest RV road trip is an excellent idea if you are traveling with a motorhome. You don’t need to hurry, you can stop in numerous places along the way (we’ve already covered the best ones in this article) and enjoy the slow travel in the less popular yet still amazing spots in Central Europe. 

You can find many campsites between Vienna and Budapest where you can park your campervan for the night before you continue your journey towards the capital of Hungary.

Those who like the freedom of motorcycle travel will surely enjoy the trip between the two capitals. You can take different roads from Vienna to Budapest by motorcycle - on the highway to test your machine and its power and speed or on the backroads to have a slower journey where you can also enjoy the smaller and less known destinations. 

The best Vienna to Budapest scenic road is along the Danube River, with winding roads, beautiful landscapes, and picturesque spots along the way.

Another interesting and unusual option to get from Vienna to Budapest is on the Danube River. Many popular cruises include the Vienna to Budapest boat trip, but they usually take around ten days and operate between Passau in Germany and the Hungarian capital (or even further, all the way to Romania). You can find a few offers with shorter Vienna to Budapest cruises that cover both cities and Bratislava and a short detour to the picturesque UNESCO-listed Wachau Valley.

If you don’t have time for such a long, albeit great trip, you can choose a shorter option and get from Vienna to Budapest by boat in one day. The journey takes around 5-6 hours, and along the way, you can admire beautiful views and some highlights of Central Europe - Bratislava castle and the UFO Bridge in the capital of Slovakia, and the Danube Bend in Hungary. Currently, Vienna to Budapest by hydrofoil tour is suspended, but it’s worth checking for any changes in the itinerary.

Speaking about using the Danube River on your trip from Vienna to Budapest - you can also do it a crazy way and use a hovercraft. With an average speed of around 60 km/h, you could get between the capitals in about 5 hours.

This is probably the least popular option, but you can also travel from Vienna to Budapest on horseback and feel like in the old times when it was the only way to get around. You would need at least three days to make such a trip but plan for more so you can take roads less traveled and through the countryside for the full horseback riding experience.