Budapest Budget: 2 Day Cost Breakdown

I spent 2 days in Budapest on a budget to see if it’s possible to travel cheap in Europe.

In this guide, I’ll show you exactly what I spent, where I stayed, what I ate and how you can explore Budapest almost for free.

Total Budget Overview

While the total cost including flights was 320 CHF, the actual cost in Budapest was only around 100 CHF for 2 days. This makes Budapest a very budget-friendly destination.

Accommodation

I stayed at an Ibis Budget Hotel and the total cost for 2 nights was 81.73 CHF. Since we were two people, I only paid around 40 CHF, which makes it extremely affordable.

The hotel was simple, clean, and perfect for a short trip. If you want to save money:

Stay slightly outside the city center
Share a room with someone
Look for budget hotels or hostels

Room at Ibis Budget Hotel in Budapest with bed, pillows, window and simple interior

Food

Food in Budapest is very affordable, but how you eat makes a big difference. I spent around 48 CHF for 2 days, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

Here’s exactly what I did:

🥐 Breakfast:
We went to Lara’s Coffee & Brunch and had a bowl and tea
🍽️ Dinner:
We ate at Chris Bistro (only 2–3 minutes from the hotel) and had a meal with a drink
🥨 Local food:
I tried a chimney cake, which you can find everywhere in the city (prices vary a lot, some places are much cheaper than others)
🧀 Hungarian specialty:
We ate Lángos at Retro Lángos Budapest, which is affordable and even offers gluten-free options

Budget tips:

Supermarkets are VERY cheap → perfect for making sandwiches (bread + cheese = cheap lunch)
Replacing just one meal per day with supermarket food saves a lot
Bakeries are a cheaper option for breakfast than cafés
Food trucks are NOT cheaper than restaurants (sometimes even more expensive)

Transport

We only used public transport twice:

From the airport to the city
From the city back to the airport

The main station is: Deák Ferenc tér M

Everything else, we walked.

Day 1: ~20,000 steps
Day 2: ~15,000 steps

Walking is the cheapest and best way to explore Budapest.

💡 Other options:

Budapest Card (24h): ~40 CHF
Includes:
- Free public transport
- 40+ museums and attractions
- Free access to Szent Lukács Thermal Bath
- Free Danube cruise

You find this card in the city or on the Website: buk.hu

App: BudapestGO
Shows routes and lets you buy tickets.

Free / cheap activities

One of the best things about Budapest is that you can see almost everything for free from the outside. We didn’t go inside churches or buildings because most of them cost money, but honestly, the views and experience from outside were already amazing.

You can:

Walk across the Chain Bridge
See Parliament from the river
Explore Buda Castle
Enjoy views from Fisherman’s Bastion
Walk through parks and the city

…and spend 0 CHF.

2-Day Itinerary

Day 1

Morning
We took the bus from the airpot to the city and went straight to a supermarket to buy food for later.

From there:
8 min walk → St. Stephen’s Basilica
12 min walk → Chain Bridge
We crossed the bridge and enjoyed the view from the park on the other side.

Then:
11 min walk → Buda Castle
We sat on a bench and had our supermarket sandwiches with a view over Budapest.

Afternoon
14 min walk → Fisherman’s Bastion (amazing views)
18 min walk → Parliament viewpoint

Then we walked along the river and crossed back over the Chain Bridge:
~29 min walk → Parliament
We sat in the park, enjoyed the weather, and relaxed.

After that:
~30 min walk → back to the hotel
On the way, we found many cute cafés and restaurants.

Evening
We walked 2–3 minutes from the hotel to Chris Bistro for dinner.

After that, we explored the area, checked out food trucks, and compared prices.

Day 2

Morning
We went to Lara’s Coffee & Brunch (2 min from hotel).

Then:
~35 min walk → Heroes’ Square
The walk there is really nice with beautiful streets.

From there:
5 min walk → Vajdahunyad Castle

A beautiful castle with a huge park, perfect for relaxing or having a picnic.
You can even enter parts like a chapel for free.

Afternoon
~33 min walk → back into the city

We went to Retro Lángos Budapest for food.
On the way, we found a cheap chimney cake, which is worth trying.

We passed the Basilica again and then went to the bus station.

From there, we took the bus back to the airport.

Evening
We were back home in the evening.

Budapest is one of the best budget-friendly cities in Europe. If you: