Spreadsheeting: How Much I Spent in Budapest

Budapest was another one that was definitely not on the original plan, so I didn’t initially budget for it. But, as I was spending extra time in Europe, it seemed like the perfect city to visit – and it was! It was pretty budget-friendly as far as Europe goes, and it was a beautiful, fun city!

In all, in 3 days in Budapest, I spent $264.61.

How did that work out?

Airfare: $0
I took the train in from Brasov – I actually took the overnight train and got a cabin, which is a big part of the expense for Budapest.

Visa: $0.00
Hungary has a free visa on arrival for US citizens.

Accommodations: $74.53
I’ve definitely been getting “hostel fatigue” so for Budapest I tried staying in a nice hostel to see if that would help. It did, a bit! The hostel was quite nice, with a huge kitchen, living rooms, and even a quiet room to sit and work on the computer!

Activities: $20.16
The only real activity I did that cost money in Budapest was going to the Thermal Baths (totally worth it!) And then I paid a Euro to walk up a viewpoint on Fisherman’s Wharf (also worth it).

Transportation: $82.14
This was the overnight train from Romania (mostly) – that ticket was $74, and then I got a 24-hour ticket for Budapest’s public transit.

Food: $55.22
I ate a lot of incredibly tasty street food. Though I will say – the gyros in Budapest are not quite as good as the gyros in Greece!

Miscellaneous: $32.57
I found a great deal on a new pair of sneakers at the Adidas Outlet, which was awesome!

Ultimately, it came out to an average of about $88.20 per day. I was hoping to keep it right around $85/day, so I feel good about it!

I’m glad I went to Budapest. I feel like it was the most quintessentially European place I’ve been so far. I fell in love with the city, the architecture, and definitely the Danube!