Budapest Public Transport - The Complete Guide - Tickets, prices, tips 

I believe the 7 day card (as well as monthly cards) require an ID/Passport # and you have to have that ID/Passport on you when you are travelling or you could get fined. From what I have read all you have to do is show the card, and if they ask you, the ID/Passport as well. So, no validation required.

Correct, as Nick said, no validation required (start and end date will be printed on the card) but you will need a passport / id card for it. The id of your passport / ID card has to be entered, when you buy it from the machine.

You don't need to validate. The 7 day card cannot fit into the slot of the validation machine anyway. When asked by inspector, show him your 7 day card by holding it firmly in your hand. If asked for ID, please remember to hold your ID with your hand firmly, use both hands if needed, the inspector can read it just fine. Don't just give your ID away. Some inspectors are actual inspectors, some are fake inspectors, and there have been reports of both hunting down tourists and scamming them. The way it works, once they get hold of your ID, they will force you to withdraw cash from ATM. Whether they have the BKK arm band, or give you a receipt or show their inspector ID or not, it doesn't matter much, because many times these can be fake anyway. They can be physical (pushing, shoving you), intimidate you, threatening to call police. Don't worry, the police sees this a million times. Let the police come, or better, re-take your passport, be aggressive yourself and just leave. If you happened to make a mistake and cop a fine, which shouldn't happened unless you forgot to bring your ID, then the fine is HUF 8000, and will be the same if you pay off within two days at a few BKK offices. This is truth you can confirm in official BKK website. Beware they will lie to you to instil fear, so you withdraw cash on spot and they will pocket it. Always insist that you don't pay on spot. The ability and threat to pay on spot is why the scam is so rampant for decades. Two more tips. When you are buying the 7 day card, select your name to be printed on the card is good enough. Remember to write your name the way it appears on your ID. In this case, your passport, so it should be your Last name First name. Always use your passport as your ID for inspection, because there has been report that "inspectors" claiming that using drivers license doesn't apply to foreigners, which of course is false but you are at their mercy. Also bring your actual passport, not a copy, not a photo in your phone. There has been a report of this harassing scam too. The lady tourist got lucky because her apartment host retrieved her passport from apartment and went to meet her at the station. Guess what? The scam inspector didn't even check her passport, and just let her go when he saw a local who would come defending. You can read a lot of scam stories about Budapest metro online. But you should be safe with the 7 day card and do what I said here. If you want to thank me, thank me by spreading this message to help fellow travellers. Budapest is beautiful, unfortunately BKK and the scam inspectors have totally ruined a lot of travellers' impression of the country who won't be coming back.

@@jlryan Great tips, heading to Budapest in one week.

@@jlryan Thank you so much for the info!

Hello, It depends on how much you use the metro. You can use 72 hour travelcard (no validation required) if you use it more than 12 times / person / 72 hours.

In the zone of Budapest, yes you can use it as many times in the given time as you like, and on any BKK vehicles you want

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