Budapest is one of my favorite cities and packed with things to do but sometimes I like to explore other parts of the country. A Szentendre day trip offers exactly this – a different world just 40 minutes away from the capital city. While Szentendre may be the cheapest day trip from Budapest, it is certainly one of the best. This charming village certainly exceeded my expectations and some. It seriously feels like stepping into a pastel-colored postcard.
I took a spontaneous day trip to Szentendre on a really tight budget. I wanted to hike up to a viewpoint overlooking the famous Danube Bend, and I set up early to visit Szentendre right before it. Although I could have spent more time here, I still loved every minute of it. With cobblestone alleys, quirky museums, riverside views, and chimney cakes on every corner, this little town is packed with charm. You can easily do all of it for under €10.
Let’s get into exactly how to get there, what to see, what to skip, and how to make the most of your Szentendre day trip!
Table of Contents
How to get to Szentendre from Budapest
There are 3 options on how to get to Szentendre, all being fairly easy and cost effective in my opinion. These are a suburban train ride H5, the plain and standard bus as well as getting a boat on the Danube and dropping you off in this postcard village.
Szentendre Day Trip by Train.
The H5 sub regional train is the most straight forward option you can get to reach Szentendre. Almost an extension of the metro network, this old train with 3 carriages gets you into Szentendre train station in 40 minutes.
The sub regional train departs from Batthyány tér station which can be found right across the river from the famous parliament building. It can easily be accessed by the metro M2 line.
How to get to Szentendre by Bus
The bus is another option to get to Szentendre and it will get you to approximately the same place. The main bus terminus for Szentendre is right outside the train station. The bus then continues on the main road which slightly shortens the walk into Szentendre but it is not as straight forward so I would just suggest you get off the terminus and walk it from there.
You can get bus number 880 from Újpest-Városkapu bus station which you can reach via the metro line M3. You will need to time this bus as it is hourly as opposed to the trains which leaves every 15-20 minutes. This bus also keeps going up to Visegrad, Domos (for the best Danube Bend Lookout hike) and Ezegrom.
Szentendre Day Trip by Boat
The final option to do your Szentendre Day trip is by boat. Boat cruises up the Danube are definitely a thing and is definitely a great thing to experience if you have the time. These boats also continue up to Visegrad, Domos before going all the way to Eztegrom. This option however is more expensive and more time consuming and since I was pressed with time (and as always, money!) I visited via train.
What to Do on a Day Trip to Szentendre?
While there are not really a lot of main attractions in Szentendre, the attraction is really the town itself. Here is my route which I took to explore Szentendre including all of the best photo spots, the well known and some more hidden ones!
Walking through the colorful town center
Right after you arrive at the bus/train station, there is around a 10-15 minute walk before arriving in the main town. You will know once you cross a bridge and get into the more pedestrianized zone with shops and tables dominating the street.
Main Square in Szentendre
Keep walking straight down the street in the picture above and you will find yourself in the main square where it is dominated by the Serbian Orthodox Blagovestenska Church. Turning left and up the street you will find a really narrow ally way which barely holds 2 people passing at a time leading you to another church dedicated to St John the Baptist.
Best Photo Spots in Szentendre
Continuing further down from the church, keep an eye out on your side streets to the right. They all lead down next to the Danube River but the one before last is dominated by the most colourful umbrellas dangling across the street. This makes it a unique photo opportunity for all instagram fanatics.
That is not all, another fantastic photo spot and you can even straight up relax at is to take a left and head uphill instead down the river. You can find this spot marked as Tanner’s cross on google maps. It is a bit of a climb especially in the heat but it is worth it as this is the view that you get form it. It was definitely a highlight of my Szentendre day trip
Explore the Danube Riverside
The final thing to do after you explored all the corners and narrow roads of Szentendre is to head down to the Danube river and have a lesiruely stroll or sit on the banks with an ice cream in hand and soak it all in.
Cost Breakdown: €10 Day Trip
This is a cost breakdown of all of the costs that are available. As you can see the only cost incurred is the travel to get to Szentendre. Tickets and passes can be bought online. You can find all the information on the official Budapest transport website. Some Budapest day passes also include the price to get to Szentendre as well making it essentially a FREE day trip.
| Transport Mode | One-Way Time | Return Ticket Cost |
|---|---|---|
| HÉV Suburban Train | ~40 min | ~1,000 HUF (€2.50) |
| Bus (Volánbusz) | ~35–45 min | ~1,200 HUF (€3.00) |
| Boat (MAHART ferry) | ~1 hr 15 min | ~4,000–4,500 HUF (€10–11) |
Other costs might include grabbing an ice cream or Hungary’s famous chimney cake and grabbing a souvenir, maybe a fridge magnet to take back home. You will have plenty of money left from your original €10 to spare!
Final Must Tips for your Szentendre Day Trip
To make the most of the village of a Szentendre day trip I would recommend the following tips on what to take with you, how do you plan your day and where to rest.
Best time of day to visit
I really cannot stress this enough. Go as early as you can! Other pesky tourists will take away from the charm of this place. Shops do not open before 10am in Hungary, be there at 9, you will have plenty of time to stroll around and grab shots like the pictures I showed you with virtually no one around. I experienced this first hand as tourists flooded in around 11 when I came to leave with queues of people to take pictures of the umbrella street as well as the main square was filled with people.
Be there at 9, 9:30 at the maximum, if before even better!
What to pack and Where to relax?
You can really go into Szentendre with nothing really just your preferred payment method. There are places where you can buy a snack and water albeit might be slightly more expensive than having bought at a mini market in the capital. You can take your snacks/drinks down by the river or up by Tanner’s cross.
How to plan your day? Half day or full day trip
I would personally make it into somewhere in between and say that the optimal time to properly explore Szentendre is around 3-4 hours. You can spend longer if you want a more relaxed but my style is to visit as much places as I could and I combined this with one of the longest hikes I did to visit the Danube Bend.
My final recommendation: Half day trip combined with Visegrad/Danube Bend/Eztegrom
Szentendre Day Trip: Final Thoughts
A charming village like Szentendre is hard to find within minutes out of a major city but this village certainly exceeded my expectations. While I do not really want to spend too much time in these types of villages I longed and wished to have spent some more time here relaxing and taking in the views of its cobbled alleys. I didn’t have this much fun exploring a village since I visited the hidden village of Peille in the French Riviera
I definitely would recommend to visit Szentendre to anyone that is visiting Budapest. While it is a day trip you can easily combine it with other stuff to do in Budapest or continue up the river like I did to either Visegrad or hiking the Danube Bend. Another great half day trip which you can do is the Elizabeth Tower, the highest point in the Budapest area
Furthermore, if you enjoyed visiting Budapest, then you might want to visit Vienna especially during Christmas time which we conveniently have a guide to all of Vienna’s Christmas markets! Thanks for reading and let us know if you have any questions about anything Szentendre or how to get lost traveling on a budget!
