Flights to Budapest

I use http://www.kayak.com for booking flights and it usually works pretty well. It automatically compares many sites and returns the cheapest fares. You can also sort and filter the flights by number of connections, travel time, etc. I don't think you are likely to find any direct flights to Budapest, but you should be able to get decently priced ones with only one connection. I was recently researching flights to Bulgaria and was able to find lots of relatively inexpensive flights from LAX that connected through Germany.Alternatively, you could fly into London and try to get a flight on a budget airline, like you suggested. Ryanair flies from London Stansted to Balaton, which is about an hour train ride from Budapest. If you can though, I would suggest a flight on Easyjet, which flies directly from London to Budapest. I've also found that flying on Easyjet is more of a comfortable experience from a service standpoint. The staff are friendlier and they usually send you to main airports rather than remote airports that are really an hour or two outside of town they advertise (like Ryanair).

Student travelers should also consider www.statravel.com. They offer great student rates as well as the flexible "Blue" Ticket, which allows you to change flight times and other details for a 25$ fee. Much better than most similar deals.