Riding out of Budapest

October 20, 2012

We used our extra time in Budapest to get some jobs done - mailed home the trailer and camping gear, plus we booked our flights home. We are not riding to the Black Sea this trip - that will be for next time. However, we are still getting to Istanbul - we'll cycle on to Belgrade, Serbia and fly to Istanbul for a few weeks and then on to Vancouver, via Amsterdam.

We were prepared for a difficult ride out of Budapest and we had read that the traffic is challenging and that there is a confusing lack of signage. The advice was to take the train to the city limits from the East Train Station. We rode to the train station and discovered that the Bikeline Map's advice was wrong as no trains leave that station for where we wanted to go. The staff were very helpful and tried to direct us to a suburban line but we decided to ride our bike instead. We didn't have any trouble getting out of the city. It probably helped that it was a Sunday and that we were very familiar with Budapest after spending a week there. The problems began when we were near the city limits and faced with choices and confusing signs that lead us in the wrong direction. People along the way were most helpful and we followed secondary roads to Dunaharszti (off the route) and found a Panzio which included breakfast.

We stayed close to here. The route initially follows the river before going across the river and inland to the train station.

Traffic is heavy in Budapest, but cyclists can ride on the wide pedestrian sidewalks, and this one also has a cycle lane. At present, Budapest has 170 km of cycle lanes. They are committed to having over 300 km of cycle lanes by 2015.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 3,499 km (2,173 miles)

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