I thought to be an expert when it comes to travel in Budapest, but I was totally wrong. This time we totally screwed up the arrival, and I will now write some advice on the public transport and how to avoid the same mistakes, and also give some advice about moving on.
About Budapest public transport and getting away from the airport. This info is from 2013/July.
It is less tricky, but there are some things that you need to remember, especially if you arrive at the airport [http://www.bud.hu/english] in the evening time. The local transport is efficient but has some twists. I have now been there twice and the public transport ticket machine has not been working. Not the one anyway, that you can use with credit card and notes, and which is located on the right hand side when you step out from the arrival lounge and take the direction to the local 200E bus which takes you from the airport to the end station of the blue M3 metro line.
There are several options for the tickets. If you have coins (HUF, Hungarian Forints) there is another ticket machine at the bus stop which you can use or buy a ticket from the driver. You need two 350HUF tickets to get to the centre and you need to stamp the first ticket in the bus. The ticket from the machine costs 350HUF and 450HUF from the driver. Also I am not sure if you are allowed to buy 2 tickets from the driver...and then you might be in trouble at the metro entrance. This time there was 2 guys by the bus selling the transportation tickets for the same price as from the machine. They might not be there all the time, maybe only during the tourist months.
First take the bus 200E to Kőbánya-Kispest and change there for the for the blue metro M3. There is a big new shopping mall at this metro end station you can do some shopping on the way and it is also easy to spot from the bus. The bus ride from the airport is 15-20min. The Tesco supermarket is open until 22.00 and you can make some purchases there to get coins for your next metro ticket (again there is only the coin operated machine). And now, be sure to buy the 350HUF ticket for the rest of the ride. The cheaper 300HUF ticket allowes only to travel 3 stops and it is marked as 'short ride' and the info does not tell you (the English setting) that it is only valid for 3 stops, it is of course told in Hungarian. To avoid the 16000HUF penalty per person, be sure to take the 350HUF ticket! Or you can also buy the 24h or 72h ticket if it suits better to you needs.
At the metro station most of the tourists get in hassle, because they have bought only one ticket from the bus driver and have stamped it in the bus and are not allowed to get to the metro. I was told the previous time (luckily I ended up talking with some students) to buy the ticket from the bus driver and not stamp it in the bus, but at the metro station. Clever, but it works only when there is no inspections at the bus. If you have any doubt, do not try and buy 2 (350HUF) tickets.
In the evening time there are inspections at every entrance of the metro, so, there is no way to travel without the ticket. Wikitravel page [http://wikitravel.org/en/Budapest] is also informative.
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The best general info (with search) about Budapest I have found from this "We <3 Budapest"-site. The only problem they have in the portal, is the lack of a full map with all locations mentioned, other than that, I can totally recommend; http://welovebudapest.com/en
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