Change only a small amount at Budapest Airport, enough to cover the bus into town (a 100E ticket is 2,500 HUF, about 6.5 €), and handle the rest in the city, where rates are far better. Hungary uses the forint (HUF), not the euro, and the exchange desks and standalone cash machines inside Terminal 2 give some of the weakest rates you will find anywhere in Budapest. Pay by card where you can, withdraw forint from a proper bank machine if you need notes, and always ask to be charged in forint rather than your home currency.
Budapest has one passenger terminal, Terminal 2, so the money options below are the same wherever your flight lands. This guide covers what is actually in the building, which machines to skip, and how little cash a typical arriving traveler really needs.
Should you exchange money at Budapest Airport at all?
Only a little. The exchange counters in the arrivals and departures areas open during most flight hours and are easy to find, but their forint rate can sit well below the official mid-market rate, in some cases by a double-digit percentage. For a family changing a few hundred euros, that gap is real money gone before the holiday starts.
The forint trades at roughly 380–400 HUF to the euro, and that rate moves daily, so treat every figure here as approximate rather than fixed. A sensible plan is to change or withdraw 20,000–30,000 HUF (about 50–75 €) for your first day or two if you want notes in hand, then top up in the city center, where exchange offices compete street by street. Budapest is heavily card-friendly, so plenty of visitors get by on almost no cash.
Which ATMs should you avoid at BUD?
The blue-and-yellow Euronet machines are the ones to walk past. They stand in the arrivals hall and around the central SkyCourt, they are the first cash machines most people meet after baggage claim, and they pair high withdrawal fees with a poor built-in rate. Pulling your first forint from one of these is the most common money mistake travelers make at the airport.
Use a cash machine tied to a Hungarian bank instead. OTP, Erste, Raiffeisen, CIB and K&H run ATMs with fairer rates and clearer fees. Wherever you withdraw, a few habits protect your money:
- Always choose to be charged in forint (HUF). When a machine offers to "convert" the amount into your own currency, that is dynamic currency conversion, and it adds a markup on a rate you did not pick. Decline it and let your home bank handle the exchange.
- Withdraw once, not in dribs and drabs. A single larger withdrawal spreads any flat fee across more forint than several small ones do.
- Check your bank's foreign-withdrawal fee before you fly, so the screen at the machine holds no surprises.
- Cover the keypad when you type your PIN, the same as you would at home.
How much cash do you actually need on arrival?
For most people, very little. The cheapest way into town is the 100E Airport Express, and a single ticket is 2,500 HUF (about 6.5 €) in 2026, with buses leaving every 10–15 minutes during the day. The on-board reader takes contactless bank cards through the Pay&GO system, so you can tap and ride without a single forint in your pocket. Prefer paper? The BKK machines and counter at the terminal bus station sell the ticket too.
Cash still earns its keep for small things: a coffee from an independent kiosk, a market stall, a washroom attendant, or a tip. A modest forint reserve covers those moments. If you would rather take a taxi, an official Főtaxi ride to the center runs around 10,800 HUF (about 28 €) and accepts cards, though paying in forint keeps the driver's own conversion out of the fare.
Exchange counter, bank ATM, or card: what gives the best rate?
Ranked from worst to best for a visitor arriving with euros or another foreign currency:
- Airport exchange counter: the most convenient option, and usually the most expensive. Rates here can run a double-digit percentage below mid-market.
- Euronet ATM in arrivals: looks like an ordinary bank machine but behaves like the exchange counter, with extra withdrawal fees stacked on top.
- Hungarian bank ATM, charged in forint: a solid middle ground when you genuinely need notes. A fair rate, a modest fee, and no hidden conversion once you decline DCC.
- Paying directly by card: for most purchases this wins. Your card network rate sits close to mid-market, and a fee-free travel card removes the small foreign-transaction charge altogether.
The pattern holds across every option: each layer of "help" the airport offers to convert your money for you costs a few percent. The closer you stay to your own bank's rate, the more forint you keep.
Common mistakes that quietly cost you forint
We compared the options arriving travelers reach for first, and the same traps surface again and again:
- Pulling cash from the first Euronet machine in arrivals instead of finding a bank ATM a short walk further on.
- Tapping "Yes, convert to my currency" at an ATM or card terminal. It feels safer in a familiar currency and almost always costs more.
- Changing a week of spending money at the airport counter rather than a small float, with the balance done in town.
- Paying in euros at shops or taxis. Some places take them, but the in-house rate favors the seller. Forint is what you want in your wallet.
Plan your first hour at the airport
Before you land, set your card to charge in local currency by default if it offers that, and note your bank's withdrawal fee. After you clear arrivals in Terminal 2, walk past the exchange desk and the Euronet machines, tap a contactless card for the 100E into town, and keep a small forint reserve for anything that is cash-only. If you would rather skip cash and machines on arrival entirely, a pre-booked airport transfer is paid online in advance, so you step off the plane and into a waiting car with nothing to exchange.
For official terminal services, see Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, and for the airport bus fare and ticket options check BKK, the city transport authority. A few minutes of planning stops the airport from taking its own cut of your holiday budget.