Itinerary & Other Help required
 

Dear Friends,

Finally our Tickets are booked and we are super excited and looking forward to our trip in May. Now that our tickets are booked, I have a few questions and request for some advice please....

1. We arrive on April 29th by 11 a.m. and we will be ready to explore post Lunch. We plan to proceed to Vienna on 3rd May evening...Request help in planning our itinerary please during this 3.5 days. We hope 3.5 days in enough to see all the main sights. We have booked our hotel at Hotel City Inn, Futó u. 55, 1082
   
2. Do we need to take a Budapest Card. Is it worth it...or can we manage without one.
   
3. Any suggestions where we can join some free walking tours
   
4. Are there any food tours available.
   
5. What would be the approximate cost per person at at Ruin bar for say 2 beers, an appetiser and a main course. (This will help us calculate our budget).
   

Look forward to help please...

Regards,
Nitish

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I'm guessing you are staying in Budapest (not clear).
Free tours, well given that most likely your currency is way more powerful than theirs why not pay for a tour, they are very good.

You are based a bit far from the centre at that hotel, so either get to understand the local public transport system or do a lot of walking

You should visit the central market (easy from where you are) and eat in the market.
Do at least one spa Széchenyi Thermal Bath is the best for me, but it is a fair hike
Go up the Fisherman's bastion just for the views and try and get to an old coffee house while you are up there rather than say the Hilton.
Parliament (nah)

Prices, well try searching under say "Szimpla Kert" and you should be able to find a menu etc. I'm guessing 6000 forints but maybe as much as 10,000 so roughly $10 to $20.

Agree with bilbo, why are you not staying somewhere more central? Can you change the hotel?

Have no idea about the Budapest Card, I do buy a transport pass. Public transport is fine, but be sure to validate individual tickets. It is worth walking the length of Andrassy ut (one way).

Why do you want a tour? Budapest is easy to do on your own. I did once hire a private guide, but that was for a tour specifically focused on Art Nouveau.

The Central Market was totally overrun by tourists last time I was in Budapest. Agree about the Szechenyi. Walk up Andrassy ut and visit Heroes' Square on the way, take the metro back.

More things to do in Budapest (but any guidebook will have a list): https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com/?s=budapest

Waling around Budapest: https://flic.kr/s/aHskDQ8rCm
Most of the photos are geotagged and can be correlated to a map of Budapest.