See Budapest in only 2 days? We will try.
Map image source: ViaMichelin website
Budapest will be the sightseeing start point for our Eastern European Road Trip that spans 8 days and 5 countries; Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland and Austria.
Making a 2 Day Travel Plan for Budapest.
Our first tourist stop for sightseeing is Budapest. Or should I say Buda and Pest? Until looking into this trip planning, I had thought it was one city but that seems only partially correct. technically, it’s one city but people who visit and come back to tell me stories say it feels like two cities, BUDA and PEST. In the words of CNN from their article titled Buda vs. Pest: One city, two personalities states, “Buda and Pest may be within spitting distance of each other across the Danube, but they developed quite independently.”
So, the first thing any visitor should know about Budapest is there is BUDA side and PEST side. Between the two is
Danube River and connecting those two is the famous Budapest Chain Bridge. Here is a photos from Pixabay that show the city, river and Chain Bridge.
The second thing a visitor should know that is there is A LOT TO SEE & DO IN BUDAPEST. Seriously. There are bus tours, boating tours, baths to visit, walking tours, a Segway history tours, food tours, and even a TukTuk tour!
Below you’ll find our pre-trip plan for our 2 days in Budapest, and after that you can find some recommendations and links to help you plan your own unique Budapest vacation travel itinerary.
Check back with this website in the future, because we will be sharing stories, experiences, photos, recommendations, and likely some interesting stories from locals on our podcast, Amidlife Traveler. Enjoy & Happy Travels!
2 DAY BUDAPEST ITINERARY
How to Choose Where to Stay in Budapest
It seems that most hotels and apartments are located on the modern PEST side. A travel guide writer who is also a friend of mine recommends staying on the PEST side because that’s the convenient walking hub of tourist buzz and city nightlight life (restaurants, shops, tour meeting points, hotels).
But, we’re taking a tad bit of a risk in going against that advice to instead check out a brand new hotel on the historic BUDA side that just opened up in March 2018: Hotel Clark, Budapest. It is located at the end of Budapest’s famous Chain Bridge and below Buda Castle. Did we make the right choice? We’ll see.
We chose the Hotel Clark not just because the hotel is brand new and looks stunning, but mostly because we are very keenly interested in walking the historic areas and Buda Castle. We want it to be convenient to admire this architecture and learn about the castle’s history and myths, so we have booked a cool guided tour for this. We like idea of the historic Buda side our home base and hopefully it will prove fairly quick and easy to get over to the Pest side for when we need to meet for our bike and cruise tours.
RECIPE TO PLAN YOUR CUSTOM TRAVEL ITINERARY
When planning any vacation trip itinerary on our own, we mix in a variety of locations, experience types, and activities. Typically we combine short day tours with guides, along with self-guided (apps, guide books, maps) and then some free time. We also like to combine a mix of city and nature; hanging out and something active (walking, cycling, kayaking, etc); bring in cultural experiences by meeting locals to hear their stories or learn history, and/or learning and taste locals foods and beverages.
The end result? Well, it’s a formula really. Or a recipe on how to plan an ideal vacation itinerary.
Here’s our 1-2-3 formula for planning a unique vacation itinerary:
- General introductory highlight tours
- Special interest places or tours
- Free time
Intro Tours for Highlights & Sights:
– Danube River Cruise (we chose 24 hour pass, unlimited use, booked on Get Your Guide)
– Half day guided bike tour (Budapest has LOTS of bike tours, we booked on Get Your Guide)Unique Special Interest:
– Storytelling, Buda Castle “History & Myths Evening Walking Tour” (Mysterium Tours, booked on Get Your Guide)
– Self-Guided Food Tour & Walking Tour of Ruin Bars & Jewish Neighborhood (via iPhone app: Bitemojo)Free Time/Self Guided:
– Free time, is well, free time so we’re not sure yet. But the Bitemojo Budapest app is self-guided so we can tackle that whenever we feel like it. Other fun is count to include walking, shopping, eating, and picture-taking.
Here are links to the Budapest tours we booked with Get Your Guide
BITEMOJO APP: SELF-GUIDED FOOD & WALKING TOUR OF BUDAPEST
What a great idea, a self-guided walking tour with food stops along the way. Love it and can’t way to try this out. The night tour even takes visitors to famed Budapest ‘Ruin Bars’… fantastic!
MORE THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN BUDAPEST HUNGARY
Although we chose that Myseritum castle tour, the boat cruise, the bike ride and the BiteMojo app shown above for our Budapest visit, you might want to do something else on your vacation. To help, here are vacation ideas and tours for things to do in Budapest that can be quickly and easily booked online. Some of the things you will find:
-Bike tours in Budapest
-Walking tours in Budapest
-Parliament building tours in Budapest
– Danube river sightseeing cruises in Budapest
– Visit a famous bathhouse in Budapest
-Budpest Pub Crawl
– Underground caving tour in Budapest
CLICK HERE FOR THE BIG LIST OF BUDAPEST THINGS TO DO, Get Your GUIDE
CLICK HERE FOR ALL ABOUT BUDAPEST, Expedia
A TRAVEL GUIDE WE’RE USING: LONELY PLANET
Although we love technology information access, apps and maps on mobile phones there is also an old-school side that still enjoys sitting at home before the vacation booking process, planning with a good printed guidebook. For our Eastern Europe Road Trip, we’re using this one, Eastern Europe from Lonely Planet. It contains excellent introduction information for every country on our road trip, plus other countries we will visit later.
FIND HOTELS & VACATION RENTAL HOMES IN BUDAPEST
Did you know that Expedia offers not just hotels, but also vacation rentals for apartments and homes too?
Here are some examples: 2 Bedroom Apartment Rentals & 2 Hotel suggestions
BIKE TOURS IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
DANUBE SIGHTSEEING CRUISES IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
OTHER GREAT DAY TOURS & THINGS TO DO IN BUDAPEST