Budapest

[Speedy Claire]

Will be going to Budapest on the bike for a few days in June...... Kinvigs post re. the damage to his bike has put me of slightly as I`m wondering is it a "safe" city? I notice quite a few people have mentioned they`ve been there so what`s it like? is it worth going and is it safe? if so has anyone got any recommendations on what area to stay in? I prefer scenery, history and peace rather than nightlife. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated :D

[YoungMan]

I was there last summer on my bike. Left it at the hotel where I stayed and used public transport. I didn't feel as though it was at all unsafe, but like anywhere - stay close to the centre. Drivers are ok, but there are a lot of tram tracks to watch out for if its raining. One side of the Danube is all hills and castle (Buda) and more peaceful. Pest is flatter with the bars, gals etc.. Being an old git with a tired bum, I stayed on the quiet side.
A nice ride is to follow the Danube up to Estergom. There's a very cool fortress on the way; and another at Estergom. First one turn off and climb, climb, climb into the mountains. About 60kms to Estergorm (can't spell it!!)
Have fun - I thought it was a great place.

[Speedy Claire]

Brilliant.... many thanks and i`ll have a look online at Buda, sounds more my style. Thanks for the tips re the ride, I think some moutain climbs is part of the agenda tho i`m scared of heights lol

[getyerkneedown]

I was there back packing in 2002, and whilst not on a motorcycle, i found the city to have a very safe feel to it. Everyone was welcoming, and there was certainly nothing to make me feel on edge.

I guess it's like all major cities.... they all have an element of crime... it's just a question of how lucky/unlucky you are.

[Biker_Billy]

Hiya Claire...

Its a lovely city - we went there in the motorhome in 2006, and returned for a citybreak this Jan. Its great for sightseeing, fantastic public transport, pretty cheap to eat / drink, and some really good places to stay. Had no trouble at all with it feeling unsafe - of course there are bad areas (arent there in every city), but the city centre itself seemed really safe.
If I was going again, I would stay on the Pest side , as we did below - the Buda side has the castle, and there are a couple of hotels up there, but not much else - every evening you would have to go over to the Pest side to take advantage of the restaurants and bars.

We stayed at the Corinthia Grand Royal - its a 5 star place - really really good, with a spa in the basement. Inc breakfast we paid around 80 quid a night inc breakfast (which was everything you can imagine, including smoked salmon etc). To get thay sort of hotel over here I reckon you would have to pay 250+ per night...

If you need any info, drop me a pm.

BB.

EDIT - if you are going in June - might be worth trying one of the outdoor spas - they look fantastic, although we didnt have the courage in Jan!

[Speedy Claire]

That`s brilliant..... many thanks. Have looked at hotels in the Buda district and some really nice ones, very reasonable too. Looks like Budapest is back on the agenda :D

[Sudoxe]

Yep. Its quite nice in Budapest if you get the weather. If not, its bloody cold!

As you might already know there are 2 parts to the City Buda and Pest on opposite sides of the river.

The castle district is nice, i stayed in the Hilton there but it was very expensive (business trip). A few historic attractions on the doorstep and a nice walk down to the main town too.

I was in Budapest last week too, and stayed in a different district (Arpad Fejedelem utja 94) and there wasn't a whole lot arround other than the hotel and a couple of empty resturants. However a meal for 2 in the resutant was about 5000F (about 20quid).

The roads, as far as I can make out in the city are huge, think motorway sized roads crossing through town and the bridges. Traffic tends to build up at peak times though. They also have electric trams and buses to get around as well as a metro.

Watch out for the taxis, are you can get stung for high costs if your not a local. However they should operate on a meter or fixed fare system to major places (airport was 5,000F i seem to recall).

The currency is Hungarian Forints and not Euros, although euros are accepted in quite a few places forints are where its at.

Also, get a map from the airport taxi rank and watch out for the dodgy advertising on it! That was a complete shock to us!

Dan

[jambo]

I was there a few years back. The scenery was lovely, some wonderful old Gothic buildings, used for quite mundane things as it turns out.

The food was cheap and nice though Hungarian is so far removed from English I was forced to use the "English Menu" which for most small places is the same food the locals get, thankfully. The only bad meal we ate was a place recommended by the lonely planet guide, beside our Hotel, average food, massive price and a clingy waiter, use your head and go where the locals are:thumbsup:

I used one of the baths there, but the actual spas are split into separate male & female, I didn't venture in, but apparently the norm for guys was to be nude, the women were allowed clothing. I'd also forgotten my swimming costume so had to rent a set of turquoise speedos. Thankfully there's no photographic evidence of this:rolleyes:

I found the city friendly, but again, if you're expecting that many people and no criminal element you're going to be out of luck...

Hungarian is hard, I once tried using my lonely planet guide to ask for the bill. When the waitress stopped laughing, she checked in English that's what I was after and went to get it...

Jambo

P.S: I was on foot so can't comment on the roads much, but it was a fantastic place to visit.

[Miss Alpinestarhero]

Will be going to Budapest on the bike for a few days in June...... Kinvigs post re. the damage to his bike has put me of slightly as I`m wondering is it a "safe" city? I notice quite a few people have mentioned they`ve been there so what`s it like? is it worth going and is it safe? if so has anyone got any recommendations on what area to stay in? I prefer scenery, history and peace rather than nightlife. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated :D

Someone I work with is going there either this week or next week (on a plane so wont be able to offer bikey related opinions). But I will ask her how it was and let you know her views :)

You can get an idea of safety by looking on the foreign and commenwealth office website here --> http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/?action=countrySearch

Maria

[Kinvig]

I think I just had a bad experience. One of those things.

Everyone else went out of their way to help me.

Go onto Couchsurfing.com & try to get free accom with a local. I stayed with Sandor & his wife & they were EXCELLENT hosts!

[Ed]

I went in 1984 so I don't spose my recollections will help much:D

[Speedy Claire]

Many thanks for the advice everyone...... will be booking hotel this weekend :smt026

[El Saxo]

I went there for New Years' eve about 3 years ago and stayed for a few days - it's a great city. We rented an apartment just behind the museum in Pest, it was pretty basic but very cheap!

Like others have said, when looking for food / drink, look for the places where the locals are going. We found the touristy restaurants around the Castle area in Buda to be overpriced and the food quite average. There are plenty of restaurants to be found in Pest though and all the food we had there was excellent! I wish I could remember the names of any of them... :roll:

The public transport works realy wel too so yo can get around realy easily in the city - you buy tickets from news stands etc and the same tickets were valid for bus, subway or the metro trams. We never had to use the taxis once cos the trams run a sort of circular route right around the city and the cross the river too.

Lots of amazing buildings to see, if youre into sightseeing.

I can't wait to go back sometime. :thumbsup:

[dissuade]

i went last november. we stayed at the marriott hotel right on the riverside. it was reasonable in price for such a great location and the views of gellert hill and the chain bridge from the room were amazing.

budapest itself was great - the castle is nice, the parliament tour is a little pointless. make sure you eat at gundel and request that their violinist plays enter sandman.

xx

[Ed]

I can't wait to go back sometime. :thumbsup:

That's what I said in 1984. And guess what...

[YoungMan]

[quote=jambo;1482407] "The only bad meal we ate was a place recommended by the lonely planet guide"

Totally concur - bin the Lonely Planet Guide and enjoy the adventure. Else you tend to end up in expensive rotten restaurants with grubby backpackers :).
Only time I got crook in Cambodia was in a place Lonely Planet recommended Bayon II, Siam Riep, go there at your peril!

Nice restaurants by the river in the shadow of the Maria bridge at Estergom... I found the tripe soup very restorative.

Beware the goulash/soup, its gorgeous. Very 'hearty' and full 'o beans etc.. Then they bring the main course and you're stuffed!

[Kinvig]

Forget Hungary.

Romania is *the* place to visit in Europe....!

[lukemillar]

I went there for New Years' eve about 3 years ago and stayed for a few days

No way - so did I! one of the most insane new years eve's ever. Everyone just took to the streets drinking fizzy wine for about 50p a bottle. They sell fireworks. Lots of fireworks. From about 7 in the evening, there were bangers going off every couple of seconds , people lighting rockets and then letting them go out of their hands. In one of the squares, some locals were setting off the big mushroom cloud-esqe fireworks right behind us - like 15 feet! Then when the clock hit twelve, all hell broke loose! :D The fireworks got bigger and badder and then everyone started throwing their bottles into the centre of the square- hundreds!

Woke up the next morning and the place was immaculate again- I guess they are prepared for it. I would highly recommend it :D

[YoungMan]

Dirk - buy a map! Better than GPS, you can write on them, people can look at them and help you. The Scottish Bar in Brasov is fun.