Changes

== Hitching This petrol station is the most popular spot with hitchhikers in ==all of Budapest, many young people use it to go to Balaton.. It is at the very beginning of the motorway that splits after a few kms into motorways M1 and M7. Some cars stop here only for the McD, so positioning yourself somewhere at the exit and thumbing or holding a sign works well. Asking around at the gas station is even better, ignore the clerks telling you to thumb.

If your driver There is only going another petrol station around Budapest on 200m down the ring road, and but it gets so little traffic that it is not entering the city, the best exit points are Dabas-Soroksár (close to M5, south-east) from which you can take a bus to Népliget, and Dunakeszi-Újpest (close to M2, north) from which you can take bus 104worth going there.

# Take bus 8E from ''Keleti pályaudvar'' (Keleti train station) in the direction of Kelenföld vasútállomás M, (These directions are and change at BAH-csomópont for leaving bus 139), or take bus 139 from ''Széll Kálmán tér'' in the city centredirection of Gazdagréti tér, and get off at ''Nagyszeben út'' (not Nagyszeben tér!). See [[Budapest Ferihegy international airport]] for hitching Walk back 100m east in the direction the bus came from therealong Budaörsi út and you will see the OMV petrol station and McD on the right.)

=== Northwest towards [[Bratislava]], [[Vienna]] M1 {{E|60}} & Southwest towards [[Zagreb]] M7 {{E|71}} ======= Option 1: Motorway service station M1/M7 (OMV) '''Kelenföld''' ====1. # Take bus 8E metro 4 from ''Keleti pályaudvar'' (Keleti train station) in to the direction of last stop ''Kelenföld vasútállomás M, (and change at BAH-csomópont for bus 139), or take bus 139 from ''Széll Kálmán tér'' . Walk through the underpass and up the steps in northwest direction. Continue along the direction of Gazdagréti tér, and get off at ''Nagyszeben footpath till you reach the main road Budaörsi út'' (not Nagyszeben tér!). Walk back 100m east in Cross the direction the bus came from main road and turn left and walk west for 250m along Budaörsi út and till you will see reach the OMV petrol station and McDonalds on the right/ McD.

2. Take metro 4 from ''Keleti pályaudvar'Personal experiences' to the last stop ''Kelenföld vasútállomás''. Walk through the underpass and up the steps in northwest direction. Continue along the footpath till you reach the main road Budaörsi út. Cross the main road and turn left and walk west for 250m along Budaörsi út till you reach the OMV petrol station / McDonalds.

This petrol station is at the very beginning ''A friend and I wanted to hitchhike to Vienna from here. Upon arriving, we encountered a couple of the motorway that splits after other hitchhikers going to Balaton. We found a few kms into motorways M1 and M7single seat going to Vienna within 30 mins. Many cars stop here also because of Upon speaking to the McD's (thumbing other hitchhikers, I found them a ride within five minutes by asking at the exit works well, as many cars go only gas station. Another hitchhiker arrived and together we found a ride to McD's and do not tank)the Austrian border within an hour. Alternatively, there is also an Agip petrol station about 200m further along the road- [[User:Rebew|Rebew]] (Aug.2021)''

'''Edit July 2015''': '''Do not go I was able to get a ride in under an hour going to directly to Vienna. It was early morning so there!wasn't that much traffic (1 car every 2-3 minutes) but seems like a good spot. I think it's worth holding out for a ride across the border if you don' Motorway under construction = bad place! Much better option is t want to take bus 272 end up in Western Hungary somewhere. I had a sign saying "Wien" but the ride was from Moricz zsigmond and stop at Budaörs, benzinkúta Hungarian.- [[User:AloysiusDente|AloysiusDente]] (March 2024)''

'''Edit August 2015'''==== Option 2: We went there and after the OMV petrol station, there is an other one (like 1 minute walking further), and you can hitchhike directly on the road front of it. The construction is actually great because cars aren't going that fast. Got a ride to Vienna in 10 minutes. BAH-csomópont ====

==== Option 2 : OMV petrol station BAH-csomópont ====Take bus 8E, 110, 112 from ''Keleti pályaudvar'', or 139, 140, 140A from ''Széll Kálmán tér'', as in Option 1 but direction of Kelenföld vasútállomás M and get off closer to the city centre at stop ''BAH-csomópont''. Alternatively, trams 17 and 61 stop here. Also, you can walk ≈4.5km west from Keleti train stationto the beginning of ''Budaörsi út''.<br/ >This place is closer relatively close to the centre than in Option 1, but center and there is a lot of traffic to the M1 and M7. It appears like this is the only option in the list that nobody has specifically spoken against.

 Take metro 4 from ''Keleti pályaudvar'' to the last stop ''Kelenföld vasútállomás''. Take bus 172 or 173 and get off at stop ''Budaörs, benzinkút'', which is right at the Agip service station.<br/ >It has a lot of traffic to both motorways and can be a great place if you get a chance to talk to drivers, though the staff of the petrol station may not allow it. Note: This is a bad spot, even though it looks perfect - it's next to the motorway, but most cars come there from the small local road and are driving only in the vicinity. Went from there 4 times, waiting time from 1h to 3.5h.

 Take metro 4 from ''Keleti pályaudvar'' to the last stop ''Kelenföld vasútállomás''. Then take a local train to ''Biatorbagy'' (it costs about EUR 1 (HUF 370)). From the station, turn right for 20m, and then right again at the roundabout under the railway tracks along Dózsa György út for ≈350m until you reach a main road. Turn left (northwest) and follow this national road 1 for 2km to a turning on the right. Walk north along this road for ≈750m under the motorway bridge to the service station on the north side of the motorway.<br/ >If you are ready to invest some time to get to the first petrol station after the motorway splits, you should do so because it is a perfect spot because as essentially all the cars there are going towards Vienna/Bratislava.

 Starting from inside the city (between Moszkva tér and Kelenföld) is a possibility worth trying, especially because there are some good spots that are quite popular among local hitchhikers. Pros are that you don't need to spend any money on transport; cons are that there is a lot of local traffic and so waiting times could be very long. (In real nobody will take you, go out to the edge of the city).

 ==== Option 1: Start of M5 motorway Gyáli út ==== Take the metro tram 4 or 6 to ''Határ útBoráros tér''. Then , then take bus [http://www.bkv.hu/busz/84e.html #84E], [http://www.bkv.hu/busz/89e.html #89E] number 54 or [http://www.bkv.hu/busz/294e.html #294E] 55 to the stop ''Naszód utca (Használtcikk piac)Gyáli út''. Walk straight for 75 m and then turn left on the street ''Gyáli út''. Here After about 150 m there is a curve in the road, turn right there and walk to the motorway (it's not yet a motorway officially, so you can start hitchhike there). There is no road or pavement leading there, but it's easy to hitch (you should cross. You will see a Citroen car lot half complete ramp on your right going on the other side of the roadmotorway. A sign "Szeged" is usefulIt's basicaly a 100 meters long lane with no traffic on it, it's ideal for cars to stop, and you are also visible from a long distance. If you take bus 84EAs of January 2017, you can continue straight onto there is some construction which leaves no space for stopping except on the exit lane of the motorway to a OMV petrol station that you can hitch fromnearby.The spot still worked quite well

==== Option 3: Gyáli út ====Take tram 4 or 6 to ''Boráros tér'', then take bus number 54 or 55 to the stop ''Gyáli útRadnó utca''. Walk straight for 75 m and then turn left There is a petrol station on the other side of the noise barrier wall. You could also thumb at the bus stop on the street bus-only lane. If you want to go any further, option 3 is about 800 meters down the road. ''Gyáli út'I got a ride to a rest station near Kecskemét within 30 minutes. My driver told me that thumbing at the bus station would've been a better idea. Kecskemét was good to hitchhike, but the tourists are annoying. After about 150 m there This is also a curve in the roadperfect route to go to Kosovo, turn right as 90% of drivers will be going there and walk to the motorway . - Rebew (it30/07/2021)'s not yet a ' ==== Option 3: Start of M5 motorway officially==== Take the metro to ''Határ út''. Then take bus [http://www.bkv.hu/busz/84e.html #84E], so you can hitchhike there)[http://www.bkv.hu/busz/89e. There is no road html #89E] or pavement leading there, but it[http://www.bkv.hu/busz/294e.html #294E] to the stop ''Naszód utca (Használtcikk piac)''s easy . Here you can start to cross. You will hitch (you should see a half complete ramp on your right going Citroen car lot on the motorwayother side of the road. A sign "Szeged" is useful. It's basicaly a 100 meters long lane with no traffic on itIf you take bus 84E, it's ideal for cars you can continue straight onto the motorway to stop, and a OMV petrol station that you are also visible can hitch from a long distance.(This information is unconfirmed; maybe this is the OMV in option 2.)

 Take the metro 3 to ''Népliget''. Take bus [http://www.volanbusz.hu/en/timetable/lines/line/?menetrend=2204 Volánbusz 608] to ''Inárcsi elág (M5-ös út)''. After approximately 30km, it will leave the motorway and go to Inárcs. Remember the way and get off the bus at the first stop (shortly past where the town starts) and walk back to the OMV petrol station where the bus left the motorway. Take care, because there is no sidewalk and cars/trucks can be quite fast. It is the first big petrol station on M5 after Budapest [http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16/47.2750/19.3289] and there will be cars and trucks to all the southerly destinations - just ask around. You can look for foreign plates if you want to leave the country.<br/ >Transport will cost 350 HUF for a metro ticket and HUF 650 for the bus (Sep 2015)

To get out of Budapest, get to the public transportation hub ''Móricz Zsigmond körtér''. You can take Take tram 61 from near the train station ''Déli Pályaudvar'', or tram 6 from ''Blaha Lujza tér.'' , or ''Ferenc krt''. You can also take bus 7 from ''Ferenciek tere''. Once you are at , to ''Móricz Zsigmond körtér''. From here, cross the street, and walk further on for about 20 m and get on 20m. Take bus 33 or 33A. After approximately 27 minutes, you’ll see a big shopping mall called Campona on your left. Get and get off at the next stop, ''Budatétényi Sorompó''(the stop after the big shopping mall Campona on your left). From the bus stop, turn back and walk in the way direction the bus just camefrom. Cross the street at the first crossing to your right(Növény ut. There’s no street sign, so no name). That street has a railway overpass that crosses over it. Walk under the overpass and in a couple of minutes you'll arrive at a busy road. This is road #6 that goes south to Pécs. Turn left on that road and start hitching before the traffic light near the bus stop. There is enough room for cars to pull over there.

For food, bathroom, and buses, get dropped of at the Tesco in Pécs. There's a bus station there where cars can stop.  

#==== Option 1: Junction & Petrol station on M3 bevezető ==== Take trolleybus [http://www.bkvbkk.hu/trolleybusen/timetables/#74.html #74] from the centre ''Károly körút (Astoria M)'' near the Astoria metro station . Get off at ''AstoriaSárrét park''). You can go until Turn back in the direction from where the last stop, but it is better trolleybus came from and walk ≈50m along Ungvár ut. Turn right and walk 200m along Rákosszeg park to get off one stop before the lastend. From there, you should hear the noise of the M3 motorwayTurn right on Kacsóh Pongrác út. Just follow it, and walk back a bit (100m to the opposite direction of the cars)entrance slip road, or turn left on Kacsóh Pongrác út. and you'll find an entrance and also a walk 50m to the OMV petrol station. #From the metro stations ''Astoria'' ==== Option 2: M3 Junction ====  Take bus 7, 7E, 8E, 108E, or 133E from ''Blaha Lujza tér'' take bus [http://www.bkv.hu/english/busz/173evissza.html #173E] and get off at the last stop ''Újpalota, Nyírpalota út''. Walk northwest 1km along Szentmihályi út. to the big street on your left for about 10 minutes, check sliproad at the signs and get onto beginning of the motorwayM3 proper. It's not the best hitchhiking spot, but it works after a while. If you get stuck here, walk 2km along the motorway to the service station. #==== Option 3: M3 Junction Mogyoród ==== Take the metro 2 to the last stop ''Örs Vezér tér''. Cross the big square and then from From the HÉV (regional train station), take a train 8 in the direction ''Gödöllő'' and get off at the station ''Mogyoród''. Five minutes' From the station, walk left 20m on Vasút ut. Turn right and walk ≈400m along Gödöllői ut. Then turn right and walk from here is an ≈500m along Szadai út. until you reach the entrance sliproad to the M3 motorwayon the right. Alternatively, while two kilometres further on, there is also a petrol stationon the motorway.#To get to [http==== Option 4://hitchwiki.org/maps/?placeMotorway service station M3 ====6982 this spot] take the Take bus [http://www.bkv.hu/bus/5.html #5] from somewhere ''Blaha Lujza tér'' in the centre. Quite a long ride as you need to direction of Rákospalota, Kossuth utca and get off in the stop Szentmihályi at ''Juhos utca''. Walk ≈450m northeast along Régi Fóti út. Walk You will see a Lidl supermarket on the [http://mapsright.googleTurn right on the small road and walk southeast for 1km crossing over the motorway bridge.com/maps?saddr=Budapest,+Fogat+utca,+Magyarorsz%C3%A1g&daddr=Szentmih%C3%A1lyi+%C3%BAt&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sll=47(You can see the service station on the left from the bridge).556285,19Take the first road left after the bridge and walk ≈700m until you see the big Praktiker store.127476&sspn=0.008298,0.021136&geocode=FTiy1QIdk8MjASm_8iAXWNpBRzFKKo2vPH0kSQ%3BFYqd1QIdCOwjAQ&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=16&dirflg=w&z=16 big Turn left and walk through the car park to the end and jump over the small-ish fence and once past the road], youwill be on the petrol station. There is a McDonalds and KFC here too. ''ll see ''''Option 5:'''''' Kacsóh Pongrác út bus station''''''  Take M1 to Mexikói út metro station and cross the railways in the underpass to the bridge over itRóbert Károly körút where you will find Kacsóh Pongrác út bus station. ThatIt's a very safe place to stop and it is directly before the entrance to the motorwayM3 highway.(Waiting time as a woman 10-15 min, hichhiked many times here) 

#Take metro line 3 to the end of the line where you will find a bus station. Take the airport bus, it will stop at terminal ==== Option 1, stay on the bus until the second to last stop before the airport. You will notice that the city ends quite abruptly. Prior to this you will see a : Agip petrol station, this is the last petrol station for at least 10–15 km. From the second to last bus stop you will have to walk back to this station. There is no good place to hitch after this point for around 10–15 km as the on national road is motorway. Later on there are more hitching opportunities and it's easy to get dropped off somewhere useful. #Take a regional train from the train station ''Nyugati Pályaudvar'' to the station ''Üllő'' (it costs about HUF 550 and takes 30 minutes). You can walk through the town to a big roundabout where there is a MOL petrol station.4 ====

Take metro 3 to the end of the line at ''Kőbánya-Kispest''. Walk to the bus station on the other side of the #4 road. Take the airport bus 200E and get off at the second to last stop before the airport: ''Vecsés-nyugat''. Walk back along the road ≈600m and you will reach the Agip petrol station & McDonalds.<br/ > ==== Option 2: Üllő roundabout & MOL petrol station ==== Take a regional train from train station ''Nyugati Pályaudvar'' to ''Üllő'' (550 HUF and 30 min ride). Walk ≈700m southwest on Deák Ferenc ut. till you reach the main road through the town Pesti út. Turn left (southeast) here and walk 2km along Pesti út to the large roundabout and MOL petrol station at the end of town. You can also hitch 100m past the roundabout on national road 4; although there's no shoulder, there is some space for cars to pull over and stop. 20/09/17 Tried option 1 for 3 hours and then went to option 2, waited maybe 30min. === Option 3: M3 Highway for Debrecen === Take a subway till station Mexicói út after walk 4 km ( it's pretty far and I saw a bus 25, but didn't check from where is it going ) till you cross Ozman utca( or around it) it will be a gas station OMV, the road is going among M3 highway, and here some cars are going to a gas station from Highway to this road and back to the highway, and also there is a bus stop after a gas station, where is very convenient to stop the car.  === M2 North towards [[Slovakia]], [[Kraków]] ([[Poland]]) M2 {{European Route Number|77}} ===

Get on one of the very frequent ''Vac''-bound trains ==== Option 1: Motorway Junction Sződliget ==== Take a train from ''Nyugati Pályaudvar'' (which is in the main train station) direction of Vac and and get off at the ''Sződliget''-stop which is roughly a half hour train ride(HUF 550/EUR 2and 30 min ride) . When you get off Walk south along the train walk find platform to the road (Dunai fasor). Turn left (east) and take a left. Follow it for about 200 meters until you get walk ≈400m to the entrance sliiproad over the motorway and then just stand bridge. Stand on the motorway hitchhiking instead of the onramp sliproad as there's a a lot of space to pull over and people don't really drive to too fast at that stretch of the road.  ==== Option 2: Motorway service station (Shell) ====

Alternatively, you can take Take a train from ''Nyugati Pályaudvar'' to "Dunakeszi Gyártelep‎" (HUF 150/300) and walk 3.5 km to the petrol station on the E77 (Hungarians call it Road Number Two). The walk is 40+ minutes but its pretty straight-forward straightforward - check this [http://goo.gl/maps/bCKPV map] . From Pipa st. you can see the sign of the petrol station in the distance, and it will help you to navigate.

The motorway only has two lanes, and cars are going pretty slow, so it's not a problem to cross it. Once you get there its great spot to catch a long drive! You can be picky, so best wait for someone going straight to Poland because once you get to the Slovak border , the road is getting bad and this is your best shot.  If you're heading to [[Poland]], you'd most likely be better off finding a direct lift to Poland from the Hungarian- Slovak border rather than getting short lifts through Slovakia. Trucks go until the Chyzne border crossing between Slovakia and Poland, where it's easy to get a lift to Krakow or further to Warsaw.

Budapest has an extensive public transportation system consisting of a metro, buses and trams. A single ticket is about 1.15 (a set of 10 tickets is about EUR 9.90). After you buy your ticket, you have to validate it. There are red machines on buses and trams that punch a hole in a different place on your ticket each day, which is how they determine if you validated your ticket that day (or at least not the day before...).  Inspections on buses and trams are rare except for the most popular lines (e.g. buses 7, 7E, 173 and 173E and trams 4, 5 and 6). Rush hours are usually safe when the trams/buses are too crowded for the inspectors to walk through the vehicles. If you want to be safe, hang around the machine and if you see an inspector coming, punch your ticket immediately.

In the metro there Inspections on buses and trams are inspectors posted at rare except for the entrance to the platforms during all operational hours who will demand to see your ticketmost popular lines (e.g. Most of the time they check those who are entering buses 7, 7E, 173 and 173E and don't bother with people who are leaving the platform trams 2 (Keleti railway station is one notable exceptionvery frequent), so if you see no conductors at 4 and 6). Rush hours are usually safe when the entrance then you trams/buses are finetoo crowded for the inspectors to walk through the vehicles. Either If you take your chance that there will want to be no checking at the exitsafe, or take hang around the bus/trammachine and if you see an inspector coming, you punch your ticket immediately. You can usually also get pretty much everywhere without off the metrocarriage when you see inspectors getting on as usually at least some of them will wear uniforms.

If you get caught without a valid ticket, Be careful: the official fine on the spot is HUF 8,000, which is about EUR 27. Do not let yourself be fooled with another amount, it is HUF 8,000system has changed, and the received paper is valid for travelling that day. But if you controllers are cool enough often escorted with a public area inspector who has the right to stop you can get away without paying at alland demand for your ID cards.'

At around 20:30 or later, In the ticket metro there are inspectors that stand posted at the entrance to the escalators go homeplatforms during all operational hours who will demand to see your ticket. Most of the time they check those who are entering and don't bother with people who are leaving the platform (Keleti railway station is one notable exception), meaning so if you can get on see no conductors at the metro for freeentrance then you are fine. Be aware also Either you take your chance that if they have controls while you there will be no checking at the exit the station, they announce it as you get off the train and again every 2 minutes or so ("Please have your tickets ready for inspection as you leave take the station.") If this happensbus/tram, simply you can get back on pretty much everywhere without the next train and get off a stop before or after your chosen stopmetro. Do not try and run Oftentimes you can also just walk past any these inspectors if they have at the entrance or flash them a control - they used ticket without stopping. Be careful changing lines at Deák Ferenc tér, usually there are notoriously aggressive controllers on stations of Line 2 and will have no problem chasing you3.

If you get caught without a valid ticket, the official fine on the spot is HUF 8,000, which is about EUR 27. Do not let yourself be fooled with another amount, it is HUF 8,000, and the received paper is valid for travelling that day. But if you are cool enough you can get away without paying at all. On the trams and buses the inspectors legally aren't allowed to touch you. Avoid speaking English or German to the controllers. Instead, pick the most obscure language you know and keep them busy until the next stop. When the doors open, simply exit the tram and walk away. Never give the controllers your ID or passport. Maybe try searching for it or your ticket until the next stop, then get off the tram/bus then. Some of the controllers will try to take you to a cash machine if you say you have no money. Same system applies - simply walk away from the controller. I've also heard of people stalling the controller for so long that the controller gets bored and walks away.

Some of At around 20:30 or later, the controllers will try ticket inspectors that stand at the entrance to take the metro go home, meaning you to a cash machine can get on the metro for free. Be aware also that if they have controls while you say exit the station, they announce it as you get off the train and again every 2 minutes or so ("Please have no moneyyour tickets ready for inspection as you leave the station. Same system applies - ") If this happens, simply walk away from get back on the controllernext train and get off a stop before or after your chosen stop. I've also heard of people stalling the controller for so long that the controller gets bored Do not try and run past any inspectors if they have a control -- they are notoriously aggressive and walks awaywill have no problem chasing you.

If you want to sleep outside in summer, you can do so anywhere in Buda hills. Other possibilities These places are the two big parksabandoned after dark, Margitsziget (47.528694far from people,19.047618) and Városliget (47.513566,19.085126). Margitsziget is an island in the Danube and it's a popular place to walk and escape from the busy city in the nice weather. Városliget is about the same. In both places you could find hidden places where nobody would bother you at night. Although there are sometimes used by homeless people still awake at nights, especially young ones, but they won't harm you. Homeless people are harmless. In case the weather outside is not very warm nor welcoming, the mall Duna Plaza, in the northern part of the city XIII district, metro stop Gyongyosi utza offer great opportunities to find a shelter and not being discovered by security guards. In a cold night of november ('13) [[User: Fedecicco| Fede]] I found a perfect spot to lay down on his mat and sleep, behind the high bar of a closed (but open..) pub on the 2nd floor, next to the restaurants, emergency exit stairs on the back, at the highest floors are also a good option. Toilets are closed at night and security go around to check when they close the building around 02:00. Another safe option for the winter time would be the '''airport''' - unfortunately you can’t blackride the bus that goes there since the driver checks everyone, but the combined ticket for the Metro and the bus is 530 HUF (~1,15€). If you buy the ticket from the driver instad of the vending machine, it’s 600 HUF. The staff doesn’t care about the people sleeping there and no one checks if you have a flight ticket. Might also be a good option if you’re planning on hitchhiking from there in the morning.

At Örs vezér tere, there's an IKEA with a great food court. Just take a left after you come up the stairs to avoid all the showrooms unless you enjoy playing there to raise your appetite :-)  On the top floor of the central market at Fovam ter, there are many food stalls, popular among tourists, most of whom are ignorant fuckers who order what they want but not what they need, i.e. A LOT of leftovers on the table. There are public tables where these fuckers eat and they are not frequently cleaned by workers, thus easy opportunity for table diving. Please do this, even just once or twice. I have seen big sandwiches and baked potatoes and such being left after a single bite. We should make wasting food a crime.  == Nomadwiki & Trashwiki == {{nomadwiki}}