trying to book hotel, can anyone tell me how one would travel from the castle Buda side to the Pest side, how long in time?

Thank you

You can walk it in about 20 mins across the bridge or hop on the metro and that can take about the same time...hope this is helpful but it depends where in Pest you are going. I am off to budapest in May.

I prefer the Pest side, for a hotel.

The castle area on the Buda side is beautiful but rather remote from the centre of the city.

Yes, you can walk across the Chain bridge or the Erzebet bridge in 20 minutes or less.

Dear Tania, hello from Budapest!
My experience is that my guests prefer staying on Pest side near the river. If you love historical areas, the Castle district is very nice but in the evenings you will need a cab to cross the river. I agree with the others, daytime walking is fine, but do not forget it's a huge city! If you need any more info, you are welcome!
Gabriella Török, private guide in Budapest

Hello Gabriella,
You mentioned that a cab should be taken to cross the bridge at night time. I had thought that would be a nice thing to walk, see the lights and take pictures. Our hotel is near the Chain Bridge (Sofitel). Can you give more reasons why we should take a cab? Unsafe? Poor lighting? Anything else we should know? We always go walking at night (in safe places). Are there better places to walk to see the night lights? Thanks for all your information. We are counting the weeks!!

hi
i would also say that Pest side is better, more active, but Chain Bridge is in the centre, so you dont have to worry about distances.
anyway most of the touristic sites and go out places are in pest side. public transport even at night is very good, and as you said crossing the bridge can be beatiful at night. (the lights of the bridge turned off at midnight). the old town is not that big. i guess you will not go often outwards the big boulvard of pest.
have a nice stay!

Hi I was in Budapest this summer. My sister and I walked all over the city at night and felt very safe. The public transit is very good. We had a three day Budapest card so we could just hope on and off buses, trams and underground. The only places we felt uncomfortable were in the underground walkways in the evening. There appeared to many homeless people and gypsies sleeping there at night.Also beware of pick pockets.