Budapest Challenge Proves a Full Three-Day Trip Can Still Cost Just 1,500 Shekels

Israeli reporter Itai Galon was sent to Budapest to test whether a classic European getaway can still be done on a strict budget of 1,500 shekels, including airfare, three nights of lodging, food, entertainment and attractions. The trip, published on June 24, 2026, was designed against the backdrop of rising flight and hotel prices in Europe and in Israel.

Galon arrived in the evening and found a rental room costing 350 shekels for three nights, about six minutes on foot from Váci utca in Pest. He then began tracking every expense, starting with coffee at 1,500 forints, about 14 shekels, and a 24-hour transit pass for 2,750 forints, about 26 shekels. He visited Fisherman's Bastion on Buda Hill for free, rejected the 53-shekel ferris wheel as too expensive, and bought a kürtőskalács for about 15 shekels instead of the 23-shekel version sold at a more touristy spot.

On the first day he also ate at McDonald's in Nyugati station, where nine nuggets, fries and a Coke Zero cost 23 shekels. He crossed the Chain Bridge, which he described as a free viewpoint, passed St. Stephen's Basilica without entering to save money, and spent the evening in the Jewish Quarter, now a nightlife hub, where a large noodle dish cost 23 shekels and a gin and tonic cost 33 shekels.

The next day began with breakfast for 23 shekels, then a 44-shekel entry to the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest in Europe. He later ate a 30-shekel meal of hamburger, fries and Coke Zero. Israeli tourists told him Budapest was much cheaper than home, and one said many prices were nearly half of what they pay in Israel, while another said the city felt full of Israelis. By the final evening, Galon concluded the challenge succeeded: El Al flights booked in advance cost 747 shekels, lodging cost 358 shekels, and all other expenses came to 395 shekels, bringing the total to exactly 1,500 shekels.