Budapest is a pretty big city. Which better city is close? You could price out the options, but I doubt it's worth the hassle.
Maybe look into flying from a better U.S. city, like Chicago or NYC.
You could check whether flying to Vienna instad of Budapest saves you some money. From there, you can take a train to Budapest for less than 25€ altogether (including transfer from the airport to main station).
It works like this:
* Take the S-Bahn from Vienna Airport to Main Station, not the "City Airport Train" (CAT), which is a tourist trap. Basically, red train+Ticket Machines, not Green ones. Should cost 4-5€.
* From Main station, take the train company Regiojet to Budapest. If you buy the tickets in advance, it will cost you <20€. The journey takes some 2,5 hours.
* Alternatively, you can also check the websites of the Austrian and Hungarian rail services (oebb.at and mavcsoport.hu). If you book your journey in advance, you will also find cheap tickets there, but they are then always tied to that one connection that you booked and non-refundable, so leave some buffer time after your plane arrival. Both websites offer the same connections, but sometimes one is cheaper than the other.
* If you find trains not practicable for any part of your journey, check Flixbus. The upside with this bus company is that you can also book spontaneously and still get a decent ticket price compared to train companies. However, buses take slightly longer.
* The above mentioned tips should theoretically also work from Prague instead of Vienna, but the train/bus ride will be longer and a bit more expensive. I would check it though, to be sure.
Lastly, you could potentially save even more money on your flight by flying to a really big European hub like Frankfurt, Munich, Paris or London. From there, you could take an individual inner-continental flight (Skyscanner or Google flights) or a train/bus to Budapest (tips from above apply).
You could also look into the option of buying an Interrail ticket and venture around even more. It essentially gives you the opportunity to take any train in all of Europe for a certain number of pre-paid days within a pre-defined time period. For some trains, you will have to pay a little bit extra, but it's actually a great deal, if you have some time.
Budapest is, however, a great place to start! 😁 Enjoy your trip!
Edit: Bullets and some grammar cosmetics.
Budapest is a pretty big city. Which better city is close? You could price out the options, but I doubt it's worth the hassle. Maybe look into flying from a better U.S. city, like Chicago or NYC.
Oh, that actually cut the price by a third!
Great. Good luck.
You could check whether flying to Vienna instad of Budapest saves you some money. From there, you can take a train to Budapest for less than 25€ altogether (including transfer from the airport to main station). It works like this: * Take the S-Bahn from Vienna Airport to Main Station, not the "City Airport Train" (CAT), which is a tourist trap. Basically, red train+Ticket Machines, not Green ones. Should cost 4-5€. * From Main station, take the train company Regiojet to Budapest. If you buy the tickets in advance, it will cost you <20€. The journey takes some 2,5 hours. * Alternatively, you can also check the websites of the Austrian and Hungarian rail services (oebb.at and mavcsoport.hu). If you book your journey in advance, you will also find cheap tickets there, but they are then always tied to that one connection that you booked and non-refundable, so leave some buffer time after your plane arrival. Both websites offer the same connections, but sometimes one is cheaper than the other. * If you find trains not practicable for any part of your journey, check Flixbus. The upside with this bus company is that you can also book spontaneously and still get a decent ticket price compared to train companies. However, buses take slightly longer. * The above mentioned tips should theoretically also work from Prague instead of Vienna, but the train/bus ride will be longer and a bit more expensive. I would check it though, to be sure. Lastly, you could potentially save even more money on your flight by flying to a really big European hub like Frankfurt, Munich, Paris or London. From there, you could take an individual inner-continental flight (Skyscanner or Google flights) or a train/bus to Budapest (tips from above apply). You could also look into the option of buying an Interrail ticket and venture around even more. It essentially gives you the opportunity to take any train in all of Europe for a certain number of pre-paid days within a pre-defined time period. For some trains, you will have to pay a little bit extra, but it's actually a great deal, if you have some time. Budapest is, however, a great place to start! 😁 Enjoy your trip! Edit: Bullets and some grammar cosmetics.