Planning a Trip

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 a boat 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 it continues up the river.

Schedules and towns served are complicated and change sometimes due to water levels of the river, 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 2,085 Ft ($11/£6) to Szentendre, 2,235 Ft ($12/£6.35) to Visegrád, and 1,460 Ft ($7.90/£4.15) to Esztergom. Children under 6 ride for free, children ages 6 to 15 receive a 50% discount, and students receive a 25% discount with the ISIC card.

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 station with Szentendre. On the Pest side, you can catch the HÉV from the Margit Híd, Budai Híd Fo stop on trams 4 or 6.Trains leave daily, year-round, every 20 minutes or so from 4am to 11:30pm. The one-way fare is 500 Ft ($2.75/£1.50); subtract 230 Ft ($1.25/75p) if you have a valid Budapest public transportation pass. The trip is 45 minutes.

To Vác -- An incredible 85 trains leave from Nyugati Station during the week and 58 on weekends giving you lots of freedom on time of day to go. However, shoot for the train that leaves 5 minutes to the hour, since the trip is only 25 minutes. Other trains can take 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hour for unknown reasons. The one-way fare is 525 Ft ($2.75/£1.50) each way. All of the trains are locals, so no reservation is needed.

To Visegrád -- There's no direct train service to Visegrád. Instead you can take 1 of 28 daily trains departing from Nyugati Station for Nagymaros (trip time: 40 min.-1 hr.). From Nagymaros, take a ferry across the river to Visegrád. The ferry dock (RÉV tel. 26/398-344) is a 5-minute walk from the train station. A ferry leaves every hour throughout the day. The train ticket to Nagymaros costs 900 Ft ($4.75/£2.50); the ferryboat ticket to Visegrád costs 200 Ft ($1.10/55p) for adults and 100 Ft (55¢/30p) for students.

To Esztergom -- Twenty-five trains make the run daily between Budapest's Nyugati Station and Esztergom (trip time: 1 1/2 hr.); IC trains are not available on this route. Train tickets cost 900 Ft ($4.85/£2.55).

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 375 Ft ($2/£1.10); the trip takes about 45 minutes. The fare to Visegrád is 750 Ft ($4.05/£2.15), and the trip takes 1 1/4 hours. To Esztergom, take the bus that travels via a town called Dorog; it costs 675 Ft ($3.65/£1.90) and takes 1 1/4 hours. The bus going to Esztergom via Visegrád takes 2 hours and costs 750 Ft ($4.05/£2.15; 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 traffic delays, especially during rush hour.

By Car -- From Budapest, Route 11 hugs the west bank of the Danube, taking you to Szentendre, Vác, Visegrád, and Esztergom. Alternatively, you could head "overland" to Esztergom by Route 10, switching to Route 111 at Dorog.