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Budapest by Train from London: Route and Tickets

By The Travel FieldbookPublished on Updated on 6 min read
An Eurostar train at a platform beneath the arched roof of St Pancras station in London.
A Eurostar train at St Pancras International, London, the train’s London terminus. (Christian Lue · Unsplash License · Edited)

You can travel from London to Budapest by train via Brussels and Vienna, with an overnight Nightjet between them. From St Pancras International, the journey continues to Budapest-Keleti and then by metro to Deák Ferenc Square in the city centre. The sleeper’s departure days and your choice of berth determine which connecting trains to buy.

Train or flight from London?

Rail services
Eurostar → ÖBB Nightjet NJ 40425 → ÖBB/MÁV Railjet or EuroCity → M2
Nightjet from Brussels-Midi
19:06, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

Overnight rail rather than a Heathrow flight

Pros

  • Avoids flying, with a couchette or sleeping-car berth for the overnight stage.
  • Suits a longer trip when you can arrange connections around the sleeper.

Cons

  • Two long-distance changes mean more luggage handling, especially with children.
  • Berth choice and separate tickets affect the budget; advertised return-based fares are not one-way journey prices.
  • Flying suits a shorter break with fewer long-distance changes.
  1. From St Pancras International, take the Piccadilly line at King’s Cross St Pancras to Heathrow Terminal 5: just over an hour, without changes.
  2. British Airways’ direct Heathrow–Budapest flight takes about 2 hours 30 minutes.
  3. From Budapest Airport Terminal 2, take BKK’s 100E to Deák Ferenc Square: about 35 minutes, without changes.

For the same St Pancras–Deák Ferenc Square journey, allow roughly 4 hours 10 minutes of travel, plus airport processing, boarding and service waits.

Allow roughly £60–£220 per adult one way for the flight, rising with demand and extra luggage. Heathrow access costs £5.80 with contactless or Oyster, or £7.00 with a paper ticket. The 100E single costs HUF 2,500 for one uninterrupted one-way trip, while eligible pass holders pay HUF 1,000 for an add-on ticket.

  • Direct London flights: Heathrow, British Airways; Stansted, Ryanair; Luton, Wizz Air.
  • The 100E runs around the clock daily, averaging every 30–40 minutes at night.

St Pancras to Brussels

Direct Eurostar journey
As little as 1 hour 58 minutes; varies by departure
Timetable example
Thursday, 1 October 2026
Departures that day
10, roughly 1–2 hours apart
First / last that day
06:16 / 19:34

Eurostar takes you directly from St Pancras International to Brussels-Midi, also called Brussels-Zuid: both names mean the same station. Choose a departure that leaves room before the sleeper, rather than relying on the fastest journey.

For British passport holders, your passport must have been issued less than 10 years before EU entry and remain valid for at least 3 months after EU departure. Submit Advance Passenger Information, including document details, as soon as possible before departure, because you cannot collect tickets until you provide it.

Short visits need no visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, but longer stays or business travel may require one. If you also hold an EU, EEA or Swiss passport, carry both and enter your British passport details for Advance Passenger Information.

Brussels to Vienna overnight

At Brussels-Midi, change from Eurostar to the direct ÖBB Nightjet for Vienna Hauptbahnhof, shown as Wien Hbf on tickets and station displays. You can choose a couchette berth or a sleeping-car berth, with availability varying by service.

Booking one sleeping-car berth does not necessarily give you a private compartment. Sleeper compartments hold one, two or three passengers, so a single berth in a double or triple means sharing. Choose sole occupancy if privacy matters, rather than assuming that a berth booking includes it.

Fares depend on capacity. Settle on suitable sleeping accommodation before buying the connecting Eurostar and Budapest tickets, especially when travelling as a family.

An ÖBB Nightjet train at Wien Hauptbahnhof.
An ÖBB Nightjet at Vienna’s main railway station, Wien Hauptbahnhof.
Lukas3333 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited

Vienna to Keleti

From Vienna Hauptbahnhof after the sleeper, ÖBB and MÁV run direct Railjet, Railjet Xpress and EuroCity trains to Budapest-Keleti about hourly. Match both the train and Budapest-Keleti station on your ticket, rather than treating Budapest’s stations as interchangeable.

Railjet takes about 2 hours 20 minutes to Budapest-Kelenföld, an earlier stop than Keleti. Stay aboard for the station named on your ticket.

Rail tickets and reservations

  1. Choose the Brussels departure day and Nightjet accommodation through ÖBB’s website or app. The sleeping-berth offer starts at €79.90 per person per leg, including VAT, based on an online second-class return from Brussels. The berth reservation is included, whereas a seat-only ticket gives no berth.
  2. Buy Eurostar through its website or app. Standard starts at £39 per adult per leg with a compulsory return purchase, for travel 21 October 2026–31 January 2027, subject to availability and blackout dates.
  3. Buy Vienna–Budapest through ÖBB or MÁV’s sales channels, allowing room after the sleeper’s arrival.

Return-based starting offers are not the price of your intended one-way journey. Eurostar Standard exchanges have no fee up to one hour before departure, while a refund up to seven days before travel costs £25.

If delay or cancellation causes a missed connection, the Agreement on Journey Continuation can help with separate tickets: Eurostar, ÖBB and MÁV participate. Keep your original tickets, obtain delay confirmation from the delayed train’s staff, then contact the missed-train operator’s station staff. Continuation is on that operator’s next available service at no extra charge, subject to seat availability. This is continuation help, not a through-ticket’s full passenger-rights protection.

Keleti to Deák Ferenc Square

At Budapest-Keleti, follow the M2 signs to Keleti pályaudvar metro station. Take a train towards Déli pályaudvar and alight at Deák Ferenc tér, Deák Ferenc Square. The ride and walking take about 11 minutes without changes, plus your wait for a train.

Buy a single ticket from a machine or in BudapestGO: HUF 500 for one uninterrupted one-way journey. A single bought on the spot costs HUF 700.

DaysDaytime windowDaytime intervalEarlier / later
Monday–ThursdayAbout 05:45–21:452–5 minutes10 minutes
FridayAbout 05:45–21:455 minutes10 minutes
SaturdayAbout 07:00–21:155 minutes10 minutes
Sunday / public holidaysAbout 09:00–21:152–5 minutes10 minutes
M2 intervals from Keleti towards the centre

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: fares and charges and services.

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