Information on Budapest

[Aimee]

Recently returned from my long planned trip to Budapest, Vienna and Prague. In Budapest I stayed at the Leo Panzio hotel which is right off the Vaci Utca, great location 3 star hotel.The concierge warned me of the gals tht strike up the conversation and try to lead you to a massageplanete and then you are presented with an outrageous bill. He further said that there were NO pickpockets. In the evening I ran across several of the teams of ladies trying to pull the scam and on different occassions I observed them trying the scam on other guys but never witnessed them having any success. During my two evenings in BP I walked around a lot and never felt threatened. No pickpockets and nobody that looked like a pickpocket ( of course, that is not to say that they do not exist). I tried the Thai Massage after I was led to believe it was with a happy ending. The massage cost $40 and then the gal wanted another $60 for a HJ (without her getting naked or anything). I passed on that opportunity. Later walking the street some pretty young thing sitting on a bench spoke to me and I responded but did not sit and have conversation. Later it occurred to me that this may not be a scam gal because she was alone whereas the scam gals were always in twos. I went back to the area but she was gone. Damn!! Later a similar situation with a long legged blonde honey. This time I sat and inquired what she was doing this evening. She told me she was working. And work she did in my hotel room for $50. She first bathed and then proceded with BBBJ in to cowboy and various positions. I got my money's worth.
There was a shill on the vaci utca leading guys to a strip bar about 3 blocks away called the Danube Bar. Nothing really going on there but you could get a gal out for $170. Went into one other strip club and did not feel comfortable there with a couple of big goons hanging around. Also visited Old Man's Pub and it was packed. Nice place to go for a drink or two and ccheck out local talent.
In conclusion, let me say that I found the area quite safe if you keep away from bad situations. Felt much more comfortable in Budapest than I did in Prague.

 

[Becks]

Well, this is what happens to the young and inexperienced... and uninformed.

However, you CAN be well-informed, even if you've never been to Budapest before. How? Keep reading this forum. There are all kinds of threads on the subject of "Vaci utca" in the folder "Budapest", right here in this forum.

 

[Brad S.]

budapest was indeed a nice place, but i wanna share a story here of what happened to me when i was there,i hope you guys beware of this..
i went out alone and to a table dance club at vaci street,written at the enterance buy 1 beer to enter,so i did bought 1..
then came 2 gals on their undies came to serve me,they requested me to buy them drink so that they will dance for me naked.I saw the menu price,and bought 2 energy drink for them,which came along with an alcohol like vodka,I din think much about it,just enjoy the night.
I start to realise they keep pouring the vodka for me,and it finishes very quickly,and as soon the vodka finish they asked for the bill,and the bill was about 500 euro,i was totally fucked to see such amount,i was young and scared,and more people came surrounding me waiting me to paid, and i have no choice, blindly i paid them.They offered me another girl to do private lap dance and there goes my first and my worst of night to go to a strip bar..

 

[Alesana. ?]

Your 40-pound suitcase should be no problem; if one 40-pound suitcase was your only luggage, this would be easy!

The hard part is the 2nd luggage, the garment bag that you have to carry, in addition to your suitcase!

Another hard part is the 3rd piece of luggage, your carry-on-luggage that you're taking, IN ADDITION TO your suitcase AND garment bag!

YOU SHOULD ENJOY YOUR TRIP, however, the problem is, when you get on the (city) bus in Budapest, at the Airport, you will create for yourself way too much stress! You will worry about WAY too many things like... how do I pay the fare?.... is this the right bus?.... am I heading in the right direction?.... when and where do I get off this bus?... where can I put my 3 pieces of luggage?.... how do I make sure no one grabs one of my luggage?... do I get there on time?

With ONE piece of luggage, your trip would be a LOT easier!

Too many pieces of luggage? This is why MANY throw themselves to the mercy of a cabbie!

 

[Tina M]

Well, thanks for more good advice. Can't help the luggage thing. as it is I will have to find a way to ship a 40 pound suitcase home from Venice before I begin my journey to Budapest. When on my own I don't like to have much luggage as it just makes me that much more of a mark when I have my hands full.

 

[Fideal]

Coonie, Of course, you don't have to take a cab. As you can see on http://www.bud-airport.hu/english/transport , the distance you want to cover is only approx. 14 miles, and you will have many choices of transportation.
#1: Shared mini buses (erroneously called "microbuses") take you directly from the airport to your hotel, motel, or any other destination within the city limits of Budapest.

#2: Bus service is also very good. For only about USD $1.25 (approx. 1 Euro, isn't it very cheap?), take bus #200, which is operated by BKV, a large transportation company owned by the city of Budapest. Bus #200 is a 25-minute ride to the nearest subway stop in Kispest/Kobanya, which is a residential suburb of Budapest. Once you're on the subway (erroneously called "metro"), you've made it... you can go anywhere and fast! For bus #200, see the time table on http://www.bkv.hu/busz/200vissza.html . This web page is mostly in Hungarian. From left to right, the 6 columns are as follows: Names of bus stops... Approx. time in minutes, from the airport... Hours (Notice this is Military/24-hour clock).... Minutes on workdays.... Minutes on Saturdays.... and Minutes on Public Holidays. For example, if it's a Wednesday, and if it's not a public holiday, there's a bus #200 that departs at the Airport at 8:06 a.m.

#3: You can also ask a friend with a car to pick you up at the airport.

The more luggage you've got, the fewer options you will have. Ideally you want to travel light. Have only ONE small backpack, or no luggage at all, and you will have up to 5 options. Alternatively, travel with lots of hard to carry luggages, and you will feel lucky to be able to get into one of the minibuses. If you have real heavy luggage and/or more than one suitcase, often you will have no choice but throw yourself at the mercy of a cabbie, and pay an arm and leg.

 

[gavilan_rood]

Mike, you are a plethora of knowledge.The responses you gave are pretty much what I expected and hoped for. Sometimes the posts I read can get me a little uptight. I have travelled a lot of the world mongering in most of the hottest spots and consider myself street savvy but have still made some mistakes.
Would you have a suggestion as to how to get to town from the airport? I will be carrying a garment bag and carry on luggage. Do I throw myself to the mercy of the cabbies?

 

[Piggy]

The 5th District is a MIXED USE area of residential and commercial buildings. Stores are on the 1st floor, at street level, and lots of old-fashioned apartments are on the 2nd.... 6th floors, in those same buildings, above the stores. When you're at street level, you find it's a mix of locals and tourists. There you find expensive, fancy, brand name stores where both tourists and the locals mingle. What makes that area so special is that...
#1: There's no automobile traffic, so you feel free, undisturbed, and safe.
#2: There's a high density of small stores, boutiques in the area.
#3: A great many of the stores in the area are high class stores (like the ones in Rodeo Drive, in Beverly Hills, CA).

No, not really. 99% of the time you won't be harrassed at all. Keep in mind, the vast majority of the locals are non-violent and non-aggressive. Expect some good folks to approach you about once in every hour. They may ask you for directions. Or, they may ask you to change money. Or, they may invite you to spend some of your money at their restaurants. For the most part, whatever they ask you for will be legitimate and ethical.

However, (maybe once or twice a week) you will encounter a few exceptional situations where you will meet conmen (or conwomen). Therefore watch out for any swindles. The unfortunate thing is, conmen (and conwomen) are all over the WORLD. Hungary, especially Budapest, and especially the 5th District in Budapest, is no exception. View http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidence_trick .
Don't get the wrong idea. And let's not get paranoid. The 5th District is NOT NYC with empty office buildings after 5 p.m., and NOT downtown LA with boarded up residential dwellings. In sharp contrast, the 5th District of Budapest is safe, even late at night. At night the 5th District is vibrantly alive! 7 days a week! Until about 2:00 a.m.! In the 5th District there are great theaters (and night clubs) that make you feel very safe.

Of course, as always, use your common sense. Stay in well lit areas, and you will be very safe!

If there's any danger, it's NOT about muggings and/or murders! If there's any danger, it's about conmen and conwomen. And they can can pop up at any place, including seemingly safe restaurants.
Budapest is not much different from, let's say, Prague. However the conmen and conwomen of Budapest tend to be more slick and/or more aggressive. This explains why hundreds of tourists have had bad experiences in about 10 restaurants/bars in Budapest. The other 19,990 restaurants/bars in Budapest are safe. Keep in mind, in Budapest there's an enormous number of eating places/restaurants/coffee houses/bars/pubs.

In my opinion, public transportation is more fun, which is also cheaper than cab rides. Cabbies may charge you an arm and leg. However, even when they're not trying to scam you, they can still cost you an arm and leg, because, in the DAY time, traffic in Budapest moves slowly, and you pay the cabbie by the minute. It's no fun to keep watching the meter that keeps advancing, while you're going nowhere, and sitting in traffic. Daytime traffic is heavy, bumper to bumper, and there's no one to talk to, and the cabbie will not speak English. At least, on street cars, city buses and subways you can approach pretty girls under the guise of asking for directions.

There's no guarantee that they'll respond to you. However, you could try and keep trying. In the worst case they will pretend to ignore you, but you will LIVE! And there's no reason NOT to approach another pretty girl 5 minutes later.

Late at night, watch out for buses, subways, etc.! Find out when is the last train (or bus) is. If it's getting too late, if no one is in the passenger waiting area between 11:00 p.m. and 12:30 a.m., chances are you've missed your LAST bus/train/streetcar. That's the time you want to flag down a cab, unless you want to walk, which is OK... the locals do it all the time, walking is healthy, but you will waste a lot of time, walking and walking, and walking.

Don't get excessively paranoid! When I was, it ruined most of my vacation. I rented a car in Germany, had little or no car theft insurance for Hungary. I was excessively concerned about car theft because I rented a car, and drove into Hungary. And because my Herz rental car was a big, beautiful, brand new Ford.

In retrospect, I should've taken public transportation, should've had no valuables with me, or on me, should've dressed like the locals, and should've enjoyed my trip. Because there's a LOT to be enjoyed.... if you plan your trip well... if you DON'T play the role of a "big shot".... if you DON'T play the role of the "rich foreigner".

 

[Maz]

Ok, I'm getting a little confused here. The fifth District as I understand it is a tourist area, right?If I look like a tourist I will at least look like several hundred other tourists?As such will I be continually harrassed? Is this a place where you definitely dont want to be at night by yourself? I will probably not monger there because of all the potential problems and I can save myself for the rest of my trip to Vienna and Prague. However, I would like to be able to go out at night for a couple of drinks and dinner. Maybe to a decent club where I can, at least, have some conversation with the opposite sex. Is this doable???????

Also, must I walk everyplace I want to go. "Don't take taxi (Scam). Public transportation---watch out for pickpockets.

 

[Gbubb]

Agreed. Be careful. Especially in Budapest. And, especially in the 5th District in Budapest (Budapest, V. kerulet).

Besides copying, carrying around, and avoiding all of those establishments, here are some additional things you can do...

#1: When in Budapest, DRESS like the locals. This is easier said than done. The problem is, we, "foreigners", stand out like a sore thumb.

#2: When in Budapest, especially in the 5th District, TALK like the locals. This is easier said than done. If you don't speak the local lingo, simply shut up. Or, use non-verbal communication. I'm saying this because there are all kinds of people, the good, the bad, and the ugly, who keep loitering in or around the Vaci utca and the 5th District. Some of them keep eyes and ears open for tourists who are talking in English/German/French/etc.

However, not all people are bad! Keep in mind that, statistically speaking, the vast majority of people (in Hungary) are GOOD.

 

[Catlover101]

Yes, I took advantage of these 1 euro fares and can confirm they are real.

Budapest is not a prime mongering destination. Many scams. Read this before you go there to know the clubs and scams to avoid:

http://budapest.usembassy.gov/tourist_advisory.html

Jim

 

[Kratnoff]

Hey, Gandjim, Thanks for some great information. I booked with Sky Europe. Fare was 1 Euro plus taxes,etc of 27E for total of 28E. Fare 1 Euro?? Sounds almost too good to be true!!But............now I have to figure out how to get my approximate 65 pounds of check in luggage down to about 45 lbs. They charge 8 e for each kg over 20kg. I will be getting off a 22 day cruise and that is why I have so much luggage.
NOw, does anyone have any suggestions as to good hotel. I want to be near the action minimizing having to deal with the cab drivers. Would like to spend less than $125/night. Two nights in BP before heading to Vienna.

 

[Neenee]

Sky Europe is a low-cost airline which used to have direct flight from Venice to Budapest. Check their website if they still have it for the dates you want:

http://www1.skyeurope.com/en/

They also fly from other Italian airports like Milano, which is not too far away from Venice, just in case.

Jim

PS: Sky Europe is a reliable airline flying new Airbus. I used them a few times myself.

 

[classigal888]

Am travelling from Venice to Budapest and then on to Vienna and Prague. Have not been able to find travelto BP from Venice by train except for one leaving late evening and travelling all night. Plane connections are not all that great either. Best flight I found was Vienna to London to 'Budapest. Anybody got any good ideas???????

 

[Monkey Cheese]

This is expected of Hungarians. In Hungary, indoor waiting rooms / outdoor benches are "not for sleeping". Additionally, at train stations, you can't even rest your eyes, while sitting on a bench. The moment you close your eyes, a cop will appear in front of you all of a sudden, and harrass you. I believe these arbitrary rules were created back in the Communist era when the cops used every possible reason to harrass the residents of Hungary. And then, now, 30 years later, they do the same. Not much has changed in Hungary in the last 30 years. Except maybe Hungarians have a bit more money, there are way too many cars, traffic is heavier than ever.

This is expected of all passengers of public transportation in Budapest. First you're supposed to buy up to 10 tickets, and then once you've boarded your train/streetcar/bus, you're expected to push through the crowd, to get to one of those little mechanical devices, and validate your ticket. Those devices and this rule were created back in the Communist era, when the city wanted to save money and the city's BKV/HEV eliminated the jobs of ticket collectors, and promoted them to be law enforcement types/cops of the BKV or HEV. Enforcing these new rules became yet another way to harrass the people. And then, now, 30 years later, the city's BKV/HEV cops do pretty much the same as they did before. IMO, not much has changed in Hungary in the last 30 years, except, I recall, in the Communist era, foreigners were well respected and not fined. -- And, in the 1970s, even in some of the best known hotels like Hotel Astoria, foreigners used to be able to get FREE SEX. Or, at the most, the girls charged 100 HUF (about USD $5).

 

[Moonlightheaven]

Just wanted to point out on my trip to Budapest that at night right outside of my hotel the marriot I saw at least seven girls right outside the marriots front door. Most of them were hot and agressive. I don't have a price for you since I had a female with me from a bar I picked up. Hope it helps.

 

[Annabel]

If you read through these boards about Budapest, you'll end up the following advice, which I wholeheartedly recommend:

1) Street action is minimal, not worth searching for

2) Bars, clubs, stripteases are too dangerous - rife with scams.

3) There are TONS of ridiculously beautiful girls available - they just have to be found in the following manner:

Prior to trip: Search online sites. Find one that has some English speaking girls. Call/email them (they sometimes have emails online). You can call ahead of time, before arriving in Budapest, to weed out the ones that don't actually speak English (which is, sadly, a majority of even the ones that say they do). You won't be able to make more prior arrangements than that - but you'll have a solid number to call when you arrive.


On arrival: Call the girls that speak decent English - until one answers the phone. Ask prices - typically 15,000 to 20,000 Fts for incall. More for outcall. Lots of girls only do incall.

Incall: The problem with incall is finding their place - when you call, she'll give you general directions, and tell you to phone again when you've arrived within a block of her house. Problem is, the pronunciation is so off the wall, that nobody will understand you when repeat the directions (this has happened to me, even while arranging with fluent english speakers). If you can stomach the frustration, it is the cheaper option.

Outcall: The problem, as mentioned, is that many girls don't do it, and the ones that do will charge more. It is worth it if you can splurge though, and is definitely less frustrating. The other benefit is having a big, comfy, western style bed to play on - her place is likely to have a hard couch, at best.

One outcall girl that I've tried (though I tried her incall, she mentioned that she mostly does outcall to foreign guests - her English is ok, but not fantastic) is:

Girl - "Luca"
Site: http://www.rosszlanyok.hu

Not positive about her outcall prices.

 

[mita]

you are right lexluthr .i am 100% agreed with you i was there last mounth
and it was not what i expected .. i did have some luck (2 lady in 2 nights)
but service was not good . i think riga is the best

 

[Steven J]

i went to budapest in may this year expecting to get some action, being cautious i asked some brits who were working there about the main street where all the pros hang out. There advice to me dont fucking bother you'll go in and come out pennyless.
one poor guy was escorted to the cash point by two heavy's for cash he apparently owed them. taxi drivers bring a new meaning to highway robbery. The people thier were not friendly at all and trying to find something to eat was a nightmare, hardly any shops selling food apart from massageplanetes. only action i did see was an american bird i pulled in a bar and it was all free. visited the museum of terror showing how the hungarian people had been tortured murdered and generally oppressed they obviously pissed off hitler and the russians as much as me.
one day i went for a walk in the park, it was a beautifull day not a cloud in the sky thought i'd take a mid afternoon nap on the bench, lay down, their was n't a soul around, i was so relaxed and content. then all of a sudden some hungarian shit slaps me in the face and wakes me up. i was startled and jumped up to be confronted by two police telling me to sit up and that i could n't lay down. what the hell for their was only the three of us around.
If your going to bp anyway always agree a fare prior to getting in a taxi or they'll double it. use the metro system if you can its cheap enough but stops at 11 at night and make sure you get your ticket stamped or they'll fine you 5000huf like they did me and countless tourists i spoke to. thats another thing they sell you the tickets and don't tell you they need stamped then fine you at the other end ??? best of luck fellow mongerers and don't kip in public

 

[Divine Oubliette]

Was in budapest last week and didn't find any action worth mentioning. Yes you are approached on Vaci Utca.. but mainly by weirdo chaps advertising titty show, pussy show and fucking house.... maybe that's good for a drunk bunch of stag nighting englishmen... but it sure like hell isn't for me!