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→Option 4: Motorway service station M1 Biatorbagy
(These directions are for leaving the city centre. See [[Budapest Ferihegy international airport]] for hitching from there.)
'''Take care! Due to increasing popularity of car-sharing services and the risks of the refugee crisis drivers are less wiling to pick-up hitchhikers. If you are not a european face your chances are minimal."
=== Northwest towards [[Bratislava]], [[Vienna]] M1 {{E|60}} & Southwest towards [[Zagreb]] M7 {{E|71}} ===
Take bus 8E, 110, 112 from ''Keleti pályaudvar'', or 139, 140, 140A from ''Széll Kálmán tér'', in direction of Kelenföld vasútállomás M and get off at ''BAH-csomópont''. Alternatively, trams 17 and 61 stop here. Also, you can walk ≈4.5km west from Keleti train station to the beginning of ''Budaörsi út''.<br/ >
This place is relatively close to the 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.
*''Great place to hitchhike. It took us half an hour to get a ride all the way to Prague.' -- September, 2017 [[User:Kossabossa|Kossabossa]]
==== Option 2: Motorway service station M1/M7 (OMV) '''Kelenföld''' ====
However, people using this spot say:
(The construction work is over, and the junction is significantly rebuilt! Do not trust on Google Streetview, it shows the old system. Most traffic heading to the motorway AVOID the McDonalds on new lanes, you can try at the exit of the OMV station, or at the area of the AGIP (will be rebranded to MOL) petrol station.)
*''Do not go there! Motorway under construction = bad place! Much better option is to take bus 272 from Moricz zsigmond and stop at Budaörs, benzinkút. [See Option 3]'' -- July 2015
*''We went there and after the petrol station, there is another 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.'' -- August 2015
*''Definitely don't go here, it's a really bad spot. Cars coming around the corner, driving fast and they have no time to see you. Got picked up after 3 hours luckily because the guy knew there were a lot of hitchhikers on this spot.'' -- July 2016
==== Option 3: Motorway service station M1/M7 (Agip) '''Budaörs''' ====
*''I tried this option and it is not working. There is not local train nor bus going to "Biatorbagy".'' -- January 2017
**As of July 2017, both S10/G10 (direction Győr) and S12 (direction Oroszlány or Komárom in the late evening) go from Budapest-Déli via Kelenföld to Biatorbágy - check https://www.mavcsoport.hu/en for timetable and price (still HUF 370) -- [[User:Ans|Ans]] ([[User talk:Ans|talk]])
This option works super good in June 2019
==== Option 5: Various spots near the city centre ====
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).
=== South towards [[Szeged]], [[Serbia]], [[Arad]] ([[Romania]]) (M5) {{E|75}} ===
==== Option 2: Petrol Station OMV on Nagykőrösi út ====
Take tram 4 or 6 to ''Boráros tér'', then take bus 54 or 55 to the stop ''Radnó utca''. There is a petrol station on the other side of the noise barrier wall. You could also thumb at the bus stop on the bus-only lane. If you want to go any further, option 3 is about 800 meters down the road. Edit from other hitchhikers: Petrol station seemed to be a good spot. However we (2 guys) waited almost 2 hours. It's a good idea to bring a Hungarian flag.
==== Option 3: Start of M5 motorway ====
==== Option 4: Motorway service station M3 ====
Take bus 5 from ''Blaha Lujza tér'' in the direction of Rákospalota, Kossuth utca and get off at ''Juhos utca''. Walk ≈450m northeast along Régi Fóti út. You will see a Lidl supermarket on the right. Turn right on the small road and walk southeast for 1km crossing over the motorway bridge. (You can see the service station on the left from the bridge). Take the first road left after the bridge and walk ≈700m until you see the big Praktiker store. Turn left and walk through the car park to the end and jump over the small-ish fence and once past the road, you will be on the petrol station. There is a McDonalds and KFC here too.
''''''Option 5:'''''' Kacsóh Pongrác út bus station''''''
Take M1 to Mexikói út metro station and cross the railways in the underpass to the Róbert Károly körút where you will find Kacsóh Pongrác út bus station. It's a very safe place to stop and it is directly before the entrance to the M3 highway. (Waiting time as a woman 10-15 min, hichhiked many times here)
=== East towards [[Szolnok]], [[Debrecen]], [[Oradea]] ([[Romania]]) {{European Route Number|60}}, (4) ===
==== 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. I spent 10 mins and caught a straight car to Debrecen. ( dec 2017) *July,2018 I used the google map to go to this OMV station, got off at metro station Mxicoi Ut and took the bus 25,price 350Huf, you cannot blackride because the driver only open the front door, got off after 8 stops, walked 300m aross the bridge. There is little traffic comes to the petrol station, so I stood on the petrol station roadside, and it took me 5 minutes to get a lift.
=== North towards [[Slovakia]], [[Kraków]] ([[Poland]]) M2 {{European Route Number|77}} ===
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 2 (very frequent), 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. You can usually also get off the carriage when you see inspectors getting on as usually at least some of them will wear uniforms.
'''Be careful: the system has changed, and the controllers are often escorted with a public area inspector who has the right to stop you and demand for your ID cards.''' Its better to buy a day ticket for such EUR 3. In the metro there are inspectors posted at the entrance to the platforms 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), so if you see no conductors at the entrance then you are fine. Either you take your chance that there will be no checking at the exit, or take the bus/tram, you can get pretty much everywhere without the metro. Oftentimes you can also just walk past these inspectors at the entrance or flash them a used ticket without stopping. Be careful changing lines at Deák Ferenc tér, usually there are controllers on stations of Line 2 and 3.
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.
== Sleeping ==
If you want to sleep outside in summer, you can do so anywhere in Buda hills. ''(Double check the place at daytime: these places are abandoned after dark, far from people, and sometimes used by homeless people. Its much better and safer to find some other alternative).'' Other possibilities are the two big parks, Margitsziget (47.528694,19.047618) 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 people still awake at nights, especially young ones, but they won't harm you. Homeless people are harmless. ''(Margitsziget: strong police control, they will not leave you to sleep there. At the Városliget there are construction works with plenty of security guards, also not an ideal place).''
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]] 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.
Try the market at Újbuda Központ (Vásárlócsarnok) and you can maybe get some free vegetables from the sellers there.
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.
