Getting There
By Boat -- From April to September, boats run between Budapest and the towns of the Danube Bend. A leisurely boat ride through the countryside is one of the highlights of an excursion. All boats depart Budapest's Vigadó tér boat landing, which is located in Pest between Erzsébet Bridge and Szabadság Bridge, stopping to pick up passengers 5 minutes later at Buda's Batthyány tér landing, which is in Buda and is also a Red line metro stop, before continuing up the river.
Schedules and towns served are complicated, so contact MAHART, the state shipping company, at the Vigadó tér landing (tel. 1/318-1704; www.mahartpassnave.hu, click on the British flag) for information. You can also get MAHART information from Tourinform.
Round-trip prices are 1,330 Ft ($6) to Szentendre, 1,390 Ft ($6.25) to Visegrád, and 1,460 Ft ($6.60) to Esztergom. Children up to age 14 receive a 50% discount, and children under 4 can travel free if they don't require their own seats.
The approximate travel time from Budapest is 2 hours to Szentendre, 3 1/2 hours to Visegrád, and 5 hours to Esztergom. If time is tight, consider the train or bus (both of which are also considerably cheaper).
By Train -- To Szentendre -- The HÉV suburban railroad connects Budapest's Batthyány tér with Szentendre. Trains leave daily, year-round, every 20 minutes or so from 4am to 11:30pm. The one-way fare is 320 Ft ($1.45); subtract 125 Ft (55¢) if you have a valid Budapest public transportation pass. The trip takes 45 minutes.
To Visegrád -- There's no direct train service to Visegrád. Instead, take the train departing from Nyugati Station to Nagymaros. The trip takes 1 hour, and there are 20 daily trains. From Nagymaros, take a ferry (RÉV; tel. 06/80/406-611) across the river to Visegrád. The ferry dock is a 5-minute walk from the train station. A ferry leaves every hour throughout the day. The train ticket to Nagymaros costs 436 Ft ($1.95); the ferry ticket to Visegrád costs 200 Ft (90¢). The train-to-ferry trip is much more enjoyable than the long, slow bus ride.
To Esztergom -- Seventeen trains daily make the run between Budapest's Nyugati Station and Esztergom. The trip takes about 1 1/4 hours. Train tickets cost 436 Ft ($1.95).
By Bus -- Approximately 30 daily buses travel the same route to Szentendre, Visegrád, and Esztergom, departing from Budapest's Árpád híd bus station (tel. 1/329-1450; at the Blue line metro station of the same name). The one-way fare to Szentendre is 282 Ft ($1.25); the trip takes about 30 minutes. The fare to Visegrád is 451 Ft ($2), and the trip takes 1 1/4 hours. To Esztergom, take the bus that travels via a town called Dorog; it costs 563 Ft ($2.55) and takes 1 1/4 hours. The bus that goes to Esztergom via Visegrád takes 2 hours and costs 732 Ft ($3.30) (fare is determined by number of kilometers of travel, and this is a longer route). Keep in mind, of course, that all travel by bus is subject to occasional traffic delays, especially during rush hour.
By Car -- From Budapest, Route 11 hugs the west bank of the Danube, taking you to Szentendre, Visegrád, and Esztergom. Alternatively, you could head "overland" to Esztergom by Route 10, switching to Route 111 at Dorog.
