Busójárás 2027: Dates, Parades, Tickets and Travel Tips

Busójárás 2027 is expected to run from Thursday 4 February to Tuesday 9 February 2027 in Mohács, southern Hungary ¹¹. The organiser has not published a 2027 programme yet, so these dates are an expectation taken from a tourism calendar, and the organiser's website is the place to confirm them ¹. Some calendar pages also still carry the 2026 dates of 12 to 17 February, which is one more reason to check ¹¹.

The date moves because the festival closes on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, and the organiser ties its timing to the first full moon after the spring equinox ¹²⁵. The listed last day, Tuesday 9 February 2027, sits one day before Ash Wednesday on 10 February 2027 ¹¹. Six days is the usual length, running from a Thursday to the Tuesday of the Carnival Burial ¹².

Busójárás 2026 ran from 12 to 17 February 2026 with six days, 27 venues and more than 140 programmes ¹. The 2025 edition ran from 27 February to 4 March 2025 with about 100 events at 24 venues ¹⁰.

• Expected 2027 dates: Thursday 4 to Tuesday 9 February ¹¹

• 2026 edition: 12 to 17 February ¹

• 2025 edition: 27 February to 4 March ¹⁰

• The biggest days are the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and Shrove Tuesday ¹⁰

Tip: Hold a room for the Saturday and Sunday nights first, then add Monday and Tuesday once the programme appears; the two biggest days in 2025 each drew about 40,000 visitors ¹⁰.

The organiser's visitor page lists no entrance fee for the town-centre programme of Busójárás in Mohács, so the parades, stage shows and bonfires take place in public streets and squares ³. The official programme adds that some workshops and events are ticketed ². The one price named in the 2026 programme was 2,000 HUF for the interactive carnival workshop for children on Monday at the Kanizsai Dorottya Museum ⁷.

That makes the real cost of a trip transport and food, not tickets. A Magyarország24 pass gave 24 hours of unlimited train and bus travel across Hungary for 4,999 HUF in 2026, and the Baranya24 pass covered Baranya County for 990 HUF ⁸. The express bus seat reservation from Budapest cost 300 HUF ⁴. One guide quoted the direct bus at 8 to 10 EUR and the train with a change in Pécs at 13 to 16 EUR ¹⁷.

The currency is the forint, and ATMs are widespread ¹⁸. Cards work at most hotels, restaurants and shops, but small outlets and market traders often cannot take them, which matters for street stalls and craft fairs ¹⁸¹⁹.

• Parades, stages and bonfires: no entrance fee listed ³

• Children's workshop on Monday: 2,000 HUF in 2026 ⁷

• Express bus seat reservation: 300 HUF in 2026 ⁴

• Day pass for Hungary: 4,999 HUF in 2026 ⁸

Tip: Carry cash in forints for stalls and the craft fair, and keep a card for the train, since small sellers around the squares may not take one ¹⁹.

Budapest to Mohács is a bus ride of about 2 hours 50 minutes or a train journey with a change in Pécs, and the drive is about 201.5 km ⁴¹⁷. In 2026 the extra express buses ran non-stop from Népliget bus station to Mohács bus station, left Budapest at 07:35, 08:35 and 09:35 and returned from Mohács until 20:35 ⁴. Seat reservation was mandatory ⁴. One guide put the regular direct bus at 3 hours 5 minutes and the train at 4 hours 38 minutes ¹⁷.

By rail, the Mecsek InterCity runs between Budapest and Pécs about every two hours, and in 2026 special Busó trains ran between Pécs and Mohács about every two hours via Villány, in just under one hour ⁸⁴. The first one left Pécs at 09:24 and reached Mohács at 10:25, and the last left Mohács at 21:04 ⁴. The railway station is a 15 to 20 minute walk north of the centre, while the bus station is a few minutes from the main attractions ⁴.

By car, parking in the centre is very limited. The organiser's advice is to park on the Újmohács side and take the ferry or a passenger boat into the festival ³. The 2025 advice was to leave the M6 at the Nagynyárád exit and approach from the south ¹⁰. Cars arrive mostly on Saturday and Sunday between 10:00 and 14:00 ³.

• Pécs to Mohács: just under 1 hour by Busó train in 2026 ⁸

• Szekszárd and Baja: direct buses of about 1 hour ⁴

• Tour buses drop off at Szepessy park; the PB car park is free ³

Tip: Fly into Budapest and book the seat reservation for the express bus before you leave home, because 2026 boarding at Népliget required a ticket bought in advance ⁴.

The six days build from a children's carnival on Thursday to the Danube crossing and Grand Busó Parade on Sunday, then end with the coffin burning on Shrove Tuesday ¹²¹⁰. The 2026 programme gives the pattern, and the 2027 times are not published yet ⁷.

On Thursday 12 February 2026 the carnival parade left the Sokac circle at 14:45 for Széchenyi Square, and children's jankele and little busós took the streets at 15:00 ⁷. Friday and Saturday were stages, craft fairs, exhibitions and dance houses at the Mohács Market from 19:00 ⁶⁷.

Sunday 15 February 2026 was the main day. The busós prepared on the island side from 09:00, a cannon shot at Sokacrév started the crossing at 12:30, the parade left Kóló Square at 14:00, the carnival coffin went into the river at the ferry port at 16:30 and the bonfire was lit at 17:30 ⁷⁶. On Monday the busós traditionally go from house to house around Kóló Square ¹⁰. On Tuesday 17 February 2026 the last parade left Kóló Square at 14:30, the group photo on the City Hall steps was at 16:00 and the coffin burned on Széchenyi Square at 17:30 ⁷.

• Sunday: crossing, parade, coffin on the river and bonfire ⁷

• Tuesday: final parade, group photo and coffin burning ⁷

• Dance houses nightly at the Mohács Market from 19:00 ⁶

Tip: Watch the crossing from the Sokacrév bank and then walk with the parade to Széchenyi Square, because the bonfire in 2026 followed the parade by about three and a half hours ⁷.

The busó is a figure that scares winter away, and the whole costume is built to be loud and frightening ⁹⁵. The mask is carved from willow wood and was traditionally painted with animal blood, and the sheepskin hood is the element that makes a busó a busó ⁵. A short sheepskin coat is worn fur-side in, with straw-stuffed trousers, hand-knitted wool leggings and leather bocskor shoes ⁵.

Cowbells called kolomp hang from a belt or cattle rope, and each busó carries a rattle or a feathered wooden club ⁵. Escorts called jankelé keep onlookers and children away and strike teasers with sacks that were once filled with ash or flour and now usually hold rags or sawdust ⁵. Young Sokac women in traditional dress with covered faces walk with the groups ⁵.

The tradition belongs to the Sokac, a Catholic community of Croatian origin who settled around Mohács from the late 1600s ¹⁶. The best-known legend says they scared the Ottomans out of town by crossing the river at night in frightening masks, though historians doubt it, since Mohács was freed in 1687 and large-scale Sokac settlement began about a decade later ⁵¹⁶.

• Mask: willow wood with a sheepskin hood ⁵

• Noise: kolomp cowbells, rattles and feathered clubs ⁵

• Escort: the jankelé, who hit teasers with sacks ⁵

Note: Do not tease a busó. The jankelé hit back with sawdust-filled sacks, and the masks limit what the wearer can see below eye level ⁵³.

February in Mohács averages a high of 7°C, a low of 0°C and a mean of 3°C, with about 51.66 mm of rain over 7 rain days and about 127 hours of sun ¹⁴. That is cold for standing still, and the bonfire on Széchenyi Square is lit at dusk, so the coldest hour is also the one where you wait ⁷.

The Danube banks are slippery, and the organiser asks visitors not to stand near the water ³. The bonfire throws large flames and sparks that can burn clothing, so stand back from it on both Sunday and Tuesday ³. The organiser asks visitors to keep the full width of the road clear during the parade, because standing inside the route is dangerous ³.

Wear layers that you can sit in. A long coat, thermal underwear and waterproof boots cover most of February, and cotton and thin soles do not ¹⁴.

• Insulated waterproof boots with a grip

• Hat, gloves and a scarf for the bonfire

• A coat you accept may get sawdust or ash on it ⁵

• Hand warmers and a small thermos

• A phone battery pack, since cold drains batteries

Tip: Wear dark outer layers. Busós and their escorts use ash, flour and sawdust, and light coats show every hit ⁵¹⁷.

Book your Mohács room as early as the dates appear, and plan a fallback in Baja, Pécs or the Villány wine region ¹⁷. One guide lists Baja at about 30 minutes, Pécs at about 45 minutes and Villány at about an hour from Mohács ¹⁷. The organiser's pages list no accommodation, and its Tourinform office in Mohács at Széchenyi tér 1 can be reached on +36 69 505-515 or at mohacs@tourinform.hu ²⁰.

Staying in Mohács puts you within a short walk of the parade route, the bus station and the stages. It also lets you leave the crowd at night without a timetable, which matters because the last 2026 train to Pécs left at 21:04 and the last express bus to Budapest at 20:35 ⁴. Staying in Pécs works if you take the trains from Pécs, which took just under one hour in 2026 ⁸.

The trade-off is the last connection. After the Sunday bonfire at around 17:30, the exit roads are congested ³. A bed in Mohács avoids that queue and the 02:00 night ferry gamble ³.

• Mohács: best for late nights and walking to the parade

• Baja: about 30 minutes away, buses of about 1 hour in 2026 ¹⁷⁴

• Pécs: about 45 minutes away by road ¹⁷

• Villány: about 1 hour away, wine villages and pensions ¹⁷

Tip: Ask the Tourinform office in Mohács for private rooms before you give up on the town, since the organiser's pages list no accommodation ²⁰.

Sokác bab, also called cserepes or köcsögös bab, is the dish of the Sokac community: a slow bean stew cooked in a clay pot ¹⁶. The pot sits beside the fire, not in it, so the stew cooks gently for about 2 to 3 hours and is served hot with fresh bread ¹⁶. Typical ingredients are soaked dried beans, smoked bacon, beef and pork shank, carrot, parsnip, celery, onion, garlic, paprika and bay leaf ¹⁶.

During the 2026 programme, the Saturday afternoon "Merriment with the Busós" on Síp Street included Sokac bean cooking and tasting, and the "Flavors of Mohács" live cooking took place at Busóudvar at 10:00 ⁷. The same day a Serbian gastronomy showcase ran at the Serbian Church courtyard from 11:00 ⁷.

Farsang food is heavy because the season follows pig slaughter, which supplies much of the fatty, smoked food of late winter ¹⁶. Guides to the festival list lángos, kolbász and fánk among the street food ¹⁷. Eat early on Sunday, since the main street fills before the parade and most queues grow after 14:00 ³⁷.

• Sokác bab: bean stew from a clay pot, served with bread ¹⁶

• Street food: lángos, kolbász and fánk ¹⁷

• Craft fair and cooking demonstrations in the town centre ⁷

Tip: Eat the bean stew on Saturday, when the cooking and tasting ran on Síp Street in 2026, rather than on Sunday when the parade pulls everyone to Kóló Square ⁷.

Keep children close and agree a meeting point before you enter the crowd, because a busó mask restricts the wearer's view to objects at eye level ³. The organiser also advises avoiding strollers where possible, and putting a note with the child's name and a parent's phone number in a pocket ³. If someone is lost, report it at once to stage staff, security or the police ³.

The Thursday carnival is the child-centred day. In 2026 the children's jankele and little busós took the streets at 15:00 and children's folk dance and busó group performances followed on the Széchenyi Square stage at 15:15 ⁷. A mother and baby rest area was listed at the Kossuth Theatre in Mohács ³. Pets should stay at home because of the noise, cannon shots and crowds ³.

Older relatives will find the bus station about 20 metres from the festival, while the railway station is a 15 to 20 minute walk ³⁴. Emergency help is on 112, with police on 107, ambulance on 104 and fire on 105 ¹⁸.

• Meeting point agreed before the parade ³

• A note with the child's name and a parent's phone number ³

• Emergency number 112 ¹⁸

Tip: Choose Thursday or Saturday for young children, and leave the Sunday parade street for when they can stand two rows back ⁷.

Your phone does three jobs in Mohács: the ferry and train timetable, your meeting point, and the day pass. About 40,000 visitors came on each of the Saturday and Sunday of 2025, all in the same town centre, so a busy mobile network is a fair thing to plan for ¹⁰. A data plan that works the moment you land in Hungary saves you from hunting for a SIM shop on arrival.

An eSIM is the simplest way to arrive with data already working. You install it at home, switch it on after landing, and keep your own number for calls. See the Hungary eSIM page if you want to compare plans before you fly. No source gives a per-day figure for Mohács, so choose a plan you can top up.

• Install the eSIM before leaving for Budapest

• Screenshot the ferry timetable and the bus reservation

• Download an offline map of Mohács and Újmohács

• Share a live location with your group before the Sunday parade

Tip: Save the organiser's programme page and the transport page offline the evening before, since both change from year to year ¹⁴.