Hi All

Am going to the Hungarian G.P. this aug and would be grateful for any help or advice.

This is only my 2nd "live"G.P. and am really looking forward to it. In particular am hoping for some

help with getting to and from the circuit

Thank you
Ragdoll

There's a free shuttle bus to and from the circuit for grandstand ticket holders (though there was nobody checking tickets when I was there). The buses leave from what I think is a bus station - it's accessible via the subway. There should be more details on the Hungaroring site.

Thanks for the info. Did you find the buses reliable and were there enough of them. Would'nt want to miss the action because of long wait for bus.

They were very frequent - just waited until they were filled then headed off. Always seemed to be a few buses there.
These were the times last year. Pretty much the same as the year before. It's at least a 10/15 minute walk from the church square to the track itself (all uphill). And it could be another 10 minutes to your seat (if you have one) depending on where you're planning on being.

29th of july 2005.
Friday

Árpád bridge: from 07.30 till 11.00 every 5-10 minutes

Mogyoród church square from 16.00 till 18.30 every 5-10 minutes


30th of july 2005.
Saturday

Árpád bridge: from 07.00 till 11.30 every 10-20 minutes

Mogyoród church square: from 14.45 till 18.00 every 10-20 minutes


31th of july 2005.
Sunday

Árpád bridge: from 07.30 till 11.00 every 5-10 minutes

Mogyoród church square from 16.00 till 18.30 every 5-10 minutes

Thanks again. We have tickets to the Red Bull grandstand (they were a good price) which I believe is just before the start-finish straight. I know there is not much overtaking at this track but I hope the atmosphere is good. Did u enjoy the race last year.

I have no idea where Red Bull is - wasn't there in 2004 (when I was there) and it's not on the circuit maps. Good bit cheaper than the other stands though. Cheaper than the GA which is odd.

I had a great time. The race was dull, but everything else made up for it - we had a great view from Silver 3 - right down the very front (which meant the fence got in the way of the pictures). Loved the city. Can't wait to go back some time.

I think red bull are putting up their grandstand next to silver 3. Not sure if we will be able to see the start finish straight but as long as we can see the cars at some point that will be fine. Normally I find it too expensive to go to the races but decided to take a chance on the red bull tickets. I persuaded some of my family that they would enjoy a visit to Budapest and while they are sightseeing my son and I are going to the race. I have also been to spain in the pre alonso days. We had seats on the pit straight . Watching the drivers and TV crews during the build up to the start was fun. During the race you could feel the sound waves hit you as the cars went past. The atmosphere was great .

If you're near Silver 3 you should have a good view. From there we could see the grid (but not the first corner) and most of the second half of the track. My g/f who's not really an F1 fan had a great time.
The entrance onto the track after the race is beside Silver 3 heading away from s/f straight.

Enter via gate 8, and don't walk all the way around to gate 6 - it's a long walk, especially when cars are on track!

Thanks for all your help. It looks like we will need to allow a good 30mins to get to our seat from the bus drop off point. One last question. Were there plenty of big screens. It can be hard to follow the race at the track without them.

Easily. It's all uphill, and there are plenty of people walking slowly.
All the grandstands were lined up with TVs, so you should be able to see one. They were clear even in the blazing sunshine.

I presume you have your accommodation sorted but we stayed here and it was really nice. Regular bus service into the city.
And go visit the Gellert baths (even if you're not staying there). They're fantastic.
Don't worry about asking more questions! I'm glad to help.

It looks like I will have to go into training as I am not as fit as I used to be.

We have provisionally booked somewhere to stay but may take a look at the place u recommended.

We are staying in Budapest for 5 days so will make a point of seeing the Gillert baths.

I am taking my radio in the hope that there will be some info that we can pick up during the race.

Can I ask how u got to the hotel from the airport. Do u know if taxis were a reasonable price.

There was some mini-bus service that did drops to all the major hotels - see the second option on this page. It was very handy - took a while though as it was doing the rounds to quite a few places.

It had never even occured to me to bring a radio.

When we were in spain there was commentary in english which could be picked up on your radio. It was a short range broadcast for people at the track. It was helpful but sometimes difficult to hear due to the car noise.

I cant think of anything else to ask at the moment but your comments have been very helpful.

There was english commentary from the loudspeakers around the track. They were hard to hear though - I found I couldn't hear it if I was wearing earplugs, or if the cars were passing.

sorry a final question. How long did it take on the bus to get to the circuit

Eh, about 30/40 minutes I think. Felt like longer though - the bus was packed to the limits.

The bus leaves you here, and leaves from here.

The maps are great . Really lets u see where everything is. Cant wait to get there.

http://members.atlasf1.com/sir_frank/

Some pics

http://forums.autosport.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56433

Some info

Thanks Sir Frank

Anything you want to know I can help, do ask.

Sir Frank any advice would be welcomed. Do you know if it is easy to get a taxi to and from the circuit. When I was in Spain it was almost impossible to get a taxi, especially on the way back. I'm getting worried about the walk from the bus especially if it is very hot.

Got my tickets today

Ragdoll,

Taxi's to the circuit from the town centre are quite expensive. Can't help on getting back I'm afraid-got the bus both times.
If you do get a taxi, make sure you bully the driver into taking you right up to the gate (on the wonderfully named Bernie Avenue) rather than dropping you off earlier and leaving you an (extra!) 10 minute walk.
Budapest rocks, great city to go out in the evening if the weather is fine (which it usually is).

Have a great time!
Ginga

Thanks Ginga. Any other tips would be welcomed.
Ragdoll

Hi all
Let me join the club - me and my girl actually.
This will be my first GP attendance - 14 years after I started watching the sport
We're really looking forward to a nice weekend in Budapest, considering it'll probably be my only vacation this summer

So...to the questions:
-As we will be moving around with the public transport, we consider getting two of those travelcards. Where can we get them?
Are they available at the airport, so we can use them to go to the city? As it seems we'll be using
the "Hev" thingy to the hotel, so is it usable with these cards?
-I'm wondering whether the bus to the circuit will be available for the pitwalk at thursday? Oh by
the way - does the bus have intermediate stops, or it goes from the Arpad (spell?) bridge to the
circuit directly?
-What about the aqua park near the circuit - I think we saw some shots of it during the world feed
last year. Seemed nice considering the heat . Anyone tried it?

Right now I'm full of questions most of them meaningless...but hey I'm excited so excuse me
I'll post more of them later

Thanx and see you at the circuit (wow finally I can say that)

I'll find out later where we got our subway tickets (hopefully my girlfriend remembers), but it was a boot of tickets I think. Maybe the travel card is new. You can probably get it in the airport though.

Dunno if the bus runs on Thursday, but there are no stops on the route.
Didn't get to try the aqua park!

Usually there are some taxi companies that charge fixed rates to the Hungaroring and back, I cant recall the rate but its essential that you arrange the price of the trip before you step in the car. This will guarantee that driver takes the shortest route.

http://www.hungaroring.hu/hungaroring_en/f1/tourist_info
http://www.hungaroring.hu/hungaroring_en/f1/traffic_info

Aquapark I havent been to, there are usually masses of people there for the race weekend so it could be very crowded.
http://www.hungariantravelinfo.hu/aquarena.htm
http://www.aquarena.hu/

Transport info: http://www.bkv.hu/angol/home/index.html

From the airport I strongly recommend taking a taxi or the airport bus which is operated by the airport. http://www.bud.hu Sadly, I dont know anything about the travel cards you mention. What kind of travel cards are these? BKV?

Most of the info you are requesting you can find on the sites which I linked to in my previous post.
Ask again if sg is not quite clear and I will try to answer.

Hi, Sir Frank, thanks for your response

What I ment by travelcard is the 7-day travelcard mentioned on this site
http://www.budapesthotels.com/touristguide/Travelcards.asp
and not the Budapest card which gives discounts at some museums and so on...

By airport bus do you mean Airport Mini Bus, or bus line N 200 ? In the latter case -
I suppose bus 200 is usable with the travelcard, but can I get a travelcard at the
airport?

And last - is such a travelcard valid for the HEV ?

Apologies if these questions seem insignificant but that's just me - confused, excited and ignorant

What I meant was airport minibus. Bus line 200 I never used, but I wouldnt recommend it. I imagine you will arrive with quite some luggage and it takes 20 mins just to get to the underground station. This is the cheap way but actually I never heared anybody take it (ppl usually get a drive from a relative or a taxi/minibus) I dont know your budget but I dont think airport minibus is that expensive. BTW where are you planning to stay? Some parts of town are not that easy to get to from the airport by mass transportation.

Suburban railway (HÉV) ticket outside Budapest it is distance-based; the fare for one section 104 HUF
(This is from BKV website, I think it means that if you used the HEV outside the city border, which you will going to the Hungaroring, then you will have to buy extra tickets) I assume you will buy the 7 day travel card.

http://www.bkv.hu/angol/jegyek/index.html
http://www.bkv.hu/angol/penztarak/keruletek.html
http://www.bkv.hu/angol/penztarak/bp_kivul_hev.html

Looking at the last 2 links I dont think you can buy the 7 day travel card at the airport. You will need this card for the HEV for the Budapest part of the route, but outside the city you will need another fare that you can buy on Örs Vezér Tere: http://www.fomterv.hu/images/off/ut/ors_vezer_ter.jpg
The ticket booth is the round one in the nearest corner of the opposite square. (Ah! the memories, I used to buy ticks here when I was 13 in '93!)

http://hampage.hu/kozlekedes/sinek4/orsvezer.jpg

You will arrive at the left bottom part of this pic with the metro.

I hope this was of help.

Anything you need, ask! I can recommend you places to go to, visit or eat at. PM if you like.

Sir Frank, thank you for being so helpful
I think we'll follow your advice concerning the airport minibus...especially if the weather is bad
Now I have a clearer picture of the city transport, thanks to your info

So it's time to start packing

Cheers

Im glad if I could help. I hope you will have a good time!