Szia Budapest: Practical Information

Topics: Public transport * Internet and communication * Entertainment * Stores * Money * Post * Budapest Card * Disabled and health problems * Stimulants * To Budapest * Staying in Budapest: Hotels and guesthouses * Staying in Budapest: Apartements * Beggars * Not do in Budapest * Usefull addresses * Customs * The Hungarian language * Holidays and namedays

Public Transport

Introduction

The public transport in Budapest is, in Julius' experience, much more better than, for example the public transport in Amsterdam. Normally you will not have to wait for a long time to catch a bus, tram, trolley or metro and you easily can reach most places in the centrum and outskirts. There is also extensive use of the public transport, so the chance that you need to stay, is huge.

Important 1:   The daily schedule in general starts around 4.00/4.30 in the morning and ends around 23.00-23.30. After that time a special night network of buses (900 with black numbers) is in operation and also then many places in Budapest can be reached during the night. From May 1, 2011 on, tram 6 has a 24-hours schedule (at night each fifteen minutes). The equipment is also often a bit old fashioned (but clean), new material is coming, but it's going slow.

Important 2:  Be aware, especially in the tram in the evening, that the right direction is shown on the tram. It occurs that, if a tram departs for its normal route, his final destination will change. For example, tram 6 can go suddenly right at the Mester utca and then to Orczy tér where is a remise. These changes are not published on the schedules!

Important 3: in 2011 several names of stops of the busses, tram, metro and so on have got other names. If you use a map or guide from before 2011, than these maps and guides contain names which are no longer in use. And even early in 2012 not all old maps on e.g. metrostations are replaced by new ones. Keep this in your mind if you are visiting Budapest! See also the page Streetnames on this website.

Important 4: Hop On Hop Off  tickets are no good alternative for the normal public transport tickets. Read this article on the Blog about it. 

Tickets

Julius still sees tourists "messing" with separate tickets, called Vonaljegy. These are only valid on a continuous journey by bus, tram, metro and so on in Budapest. If you change to another way of transportation, a new ticket have to be validated. Beside of these tickets the Public Transport has still numerous other possibilities, all with conditions. A booklet of ten tickets will cost HUF 2800 in 2012. 

Because public transport is still well organized and to avoid a fine for fare evasion because you forgot to validate a new ticket, Julius advises visitors to Budapest to purchase a 1 (HUF 1550), 3 (HUF 3850) or 7 days (HUF 4600 ) OV ticket. These cards can be purchased at  the official BKV ticket offices, including in the subway stations. Other options are also available, see: BKVzrt. With these cards you can travel in the specified time unlimited within city boundaries (from early 2011 to 1 stop outside the city boundairies) and the cards are valid for bus, tram, metro, HEV and so on. The website, in English, also provides information on all lines and schedules.

If you have the age of 65 years or older, you can use public transport for free, you only need on request to show or your passport or ID card as proof of this.

Fines

A fine, either to forgot to validate a ticket, either to take the gamble .... Budapest is not the Netherlands (for instance). The controls are very frequent, even early in the morning for example, and very often unexpected: A person will enter in, say, the tram, without the appearance of being a controller and when in the tram, he or she put on a bracelet and id-card and controls every person. No valid ticket, generally means inmediately a hefty fine, especially for tourists (HUF 8000 or aprox. 24,00 euro). Don't try this, be wise and buy a ticket for the days you are in Budapest.

Note: if you use public transport from the airport to the city, you'll need at least 2 tickets! and, if you travel by metro and use single tickets, don't throw them away before you've left the subway station. You can also be controlled at the entrance, at the exit of the platform, and so on.

Disabled and Public Transport

Public Transport in Budapest is only partial suitable when you do have a disability, particularly for wheelchair users.
In fact, currently only tram 4 and 6 are adapted for disabled people and also a number of buses, though on substantive defect sometimes old equipment is used, so you will have to wait

Most of the metro-stations don't has an elevator. Line 4, which is under construction, will be the first metro-line in Budapest which fully be suitable by wheelchair. Metro 1 has also some adaptations but it's not ideal.

For people with a visualy handicap: there are coming more and more guided lines on the floors of the stations, which are a bit higher than the floor. (Photo above: Rather modern information system for bus 86, specifying where the buses at that time are and in how many minutes the first bus will reach the bus stop)

Internet and Telephony

Topics: WiFi / Internet * Telephony

WiFi / Internet

WiFi is to use in in many parts of the city. In the center are many free places, particularly in pubs.
On the page 'Budapest entertainment: restaurants and pubs - Julius tips' specifies the places which Julius visit, and do have (free) WiFi. In some of these pubs, you have to ask for the password. A good map for WiFi is that of Hotspotter. This map shows where you in the city free or paid can log on. An alternative for this website is Totalhotspots.

Budapest has many Internet cafes, some are open 24 hours a day. Prices are quite different, but are generally low. The quality varies and not everywhere you are able to print There is reasonable website where these pubs to find: internet cafe. Other websites are less complete.

Be also aware that especially the Internetshops around the Corvin shop on Blaha Lujza tér are not safe enough to use for personal things suchs as reading mails or other applications for which a password is required. The Jelen pub behind the Corvin is a safe place.

Telephony

Telephoning in town is to do good, you can buy phone cards at newspaper shops, etc. which are suitable for the public phones from T-Mobile. But,  the number of places where you can buy them decrease. This is cheaper than mobile calls. There are also public phones that operate on coins, then the minimum that you need to call abroad is HUF 150,00 and this kind of call is more expensive than the cells that work with phone cards. Call from a cell or mobile: country code for the Netherlands in 1900 and zero in the 31 area code, do not use.

Attention! a prepaid phone from the Netherlands does not always work in Hungary, only phones with a subscription will work for 100%. In Hungary, for using a prepaid card, you first must go to a shop from a telephone provider, get registered by showing your passport and to give other information such as the name of your mother, and signing a contract. After that you can purchase and use a prepaid card with a Hungarian 06-number purchase.

Entertainment

Budapest is a very cultural city and this is expressed in many concerts, theater perfomances and so on. There are so many activities that it is difficult, in fact impossible, to obtain a thorough overview of what's happening. There is also no magazine or website that gives an complete overview.

As for web information, Julius recommend trying the following pages on this site: 

- Budapest entertainment: Classical music - Programs, concert halls and more
- Budapest entertainment: Young and entertainment - top locations and information sites
- Budapest entertainment: Music festivals
- Budapest websites: Julius' choice - entertainment and culture

The best places to obtain as much as possible information regarding concerts are:

- The Tourist Office's (Tourinform) to Deák ter (V. Suto utca 2) and VI. Liszt Ferenc ter. The offer varies from office;
- "Youth" pubs such as Castro on the VI. Madách Imre tér and Csendes op de V. Ferenczy István utca 7. These are breeding grounds of culture, there are  many announcements to find of concerts, theater performances, etc.
Note: concerts in general already starting at 19.30 hours, the Opera at 19.00 hours!

Stores

Budapest is a city which 24 hours alivei and that is also expressed in the opening hours of shops. Supermarkets, especially in the center are open from very early (Several already at 06.00 hours) and also in the whole city are grocery stores to find which are 24 hours open. These are often smaller stores with higher prices than regular supermarkets. Especially in the V. and VII. districts there is an official rule that between 22.00 and 06.00 hours it's for shops forbidden to sell alcohol, in order to combat nuisance on the streets. Other shops have more regular hours, usually between 09.00 or 10.00 hours to 18.00 uur. On official holidays big chains (such as Spar, Match) and the shopping-malls and in general all closed.

Officially, most shops close on Saturday at 13.00 or 14.00 hours and are closed on Sundays. Big shopping-malls are also open all weekend. The last time it seems that also other stores are open on Sundays. This is particularly in use in the tourist area. Many (small) shops outside the tourist area also are closed on Saturday. One of the trendsetters in keeping a store also open during the whole weekend is the Alexandra bookstore which has many branches in the city, often with a café.

Budapest is a cultural city and this also is expressed in many bookstores and antiqurian bookshops. Currently the city has about 45 to 50 second-hand bookstores. Some of these stores also sell English and German books and sometimes other languages too. But the number of antiquarians is decreasing from approx. 50-55 a few years ago, to at most 40 nowadays.

Also there are many antique shops. The most famous street is the Falk Miksa utca in the 5th district, but elsewhere in the city are also dozens of antique shops, galleries, etc. available. On the Váci utca, the shopping street for tourists, there are also a number of antique shops, but these are relatively very expensive. The city also has two antique or fleamarkets where you sometimes can find a bargain or a treasure. As always with this type of markets: you must have luck and early visit the market.

You can,  for a price of  € 20.00, via Julius obtain a list of antiquarian bookstores present in Budapest. The same list but for important antique shops, is expected to be available by mid 2012. But you also can hire Julius and he brings you to shops which possible have books you are looking for. 

Money: Currency converter and exchange

Topics: Converter * Currency exchange * Coins and banknotes * Paying a bill in restaurants and pubs

Converter

What is the value of e.g. the Euro comparing to the Hungarian forint (HUF). What are the rates. A good overview with a 2x daily update rates and which also provides a currency converter: OTP Converter and Rates

Currency exchange

Clear and a very serious warning: avoid the exchange offices of Interchange (also at the airports of Budapest)!! Continuous monitoring show that if you change euros for forints, for example € 100,00, at most exchange offices you'll get about HUF 30,000 HUF. Interchange gives you only an amount of HUF 24,000. A difference of about € 20.00 (last control: the end of January 2012). This is definitely a trend which is in use for over 1 year.

Small differences, approximately HUF 5-7 per Euro are normal. The currency exchange office with consistently the best rates, is opposite Hotel New York near Blaha Lujza tér. On Váci utca and nearby, exchange rates are generally somewhat lower. Also paying in euros at McDonalds and hotels is not advisable, unless you want to give your money away. Also make sure that "commission" is calculated or not. The cheapest price you can get is by using the ATM, and the city has dozens of ATMs, so use that option as first choice.
 
And: Avoid the offer of exchange on the street. For 100% sure you will be fooled. In particular in or around railway stations are stubborn people which you can easily recognize because they always saunter around official exchange offices. And when you look at the exchange rates and then walk away, they go scream and aggressively come after you. You has been warned! At  Keleti Pu station, for years a slightly stocky and corpulent lord of approximately 60 years and often with a hat, was notorious, but recently Julius saw him not more. 

Payment in Euros, especially in tourist areas, is possible, although the Euro is not an official way for payments (probably until 2014-2015). But watch the price and if the conversion from Euro to Forint is good. Especially in hotels (and the big hamburger chains) often unfavorable exchange rates are calculated. Banks are generally during weekdays open from 08.00 to about 17.30 hours and on Saturday in the morning.

Coins and banknotes

Although they still exist, 1 and 2 Forint coins are actually not used. The current coins today are HUF  5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200. In terms of banknotes are the following values valid HUF 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10 000 and 20 000. Note that HUF 100, is very similar in size and design as the one Euro version!

Paying a bill in restaurants and pubs

Hungary is still a bit old-fashioned and that's also the case with paying a bill in a restaurant or pub. Numerous pubs, especially the smaller ones, but also Castro don't have the possibility to pay with a bank- or credit card. So, when visiting a pub, be aware that you have enough cash money with you, otherwise you have a problem!

Post

Because many airlines limit the weight of  hold baggage to about 20 kg (often less, except Wizzair), it causes that the limit soon is exceeded. More weights means in general a payment of a (substantial) fee, depending on the rules of the company you are flying with. Thus, sometimes it can be useful and cheaper to sent items by post. Post offices are normally open from Monday to Friday from 08.00-18.00 hours and on Saturdays until 14.00 hours, but only a very few postoffices are open on Saturday.

Sending a parcel to an EU country, this is not  possible at all post offices, or they don't speak English or German. In any case, the post offices at the V. Museum Körút and the VI. Hegedü utca, are recommended offices to sent your post to foreign countries. The website of the Hungarian Post company gives you more information about options and rates. The website is only in Hungarian, with exception of a chapter for stamp collectors, which also is in English.

Budapest Card

If you stay for a short time in Budapest and you want to visit specific tourist attractions for which admission must be paid, then a Budapest Card can be an outcome. At the end of 2011 the Card has got more benefits, such as visiting the Zoo for free and also there's free admisssion to 4 museums (in general not valid or limited for special exhibitions). Also 2 guided tours are included but these are in general very crowded tours. For adults there are now cards available for 24, 48 or 72 hours and there's a card for the youth.

The card is conveniently: the 48 or 72 hours will be effective from the moment that you buy the card or let write a date and time on it. As said the card can be useful if you know in advance what you want to do. As a rule, you get discounts of 10-20%, sometimes more, which means at many attractions a discount of about HUF 200 to 400. The restaurants where you get a discount, are among the more expensive ones in the city.

There have been some remarks: with a city trip of three days you will stay two days in the town and you often arrive during the day and the departure is also often during the day, in a very positive way, in the evening. So in that case you can only make limited use of the 72-hour card. For temporary exhibitions you often get no or minimal discount and if you want to use the card for museums ... these are closed on Mondays.

If you visit Budapest for the first time and you just want experience what comes along and what you see, then a 3 day public transport card (HUF 3850) is more convenient, you do have a lot of impressions anyway, also without card. Beside of it: the Budapest Card is not valid on the train within the city boundairies, a public tranport card is also valid on the train.

Want to see if the Budapest Card is suitable for you: Click on the name, and you will get the website where you can see all benefits and discounts. The prices of the 2012 Budapest Card are HUF 5500 for 24 hours, HUF 6900 for 48 hours and HUF 8300 for 72 hours

Disabled and health problems

Budapest is for handicapped people also nowadays still a difficult hurdle, but e.g. the local government is working hard to improve it. Nevertheless (too) many buildings are not suitable for disabled people. That means that in a wheelchair it is more difficult to move in the city. A rollator is also not a very useful tool in the city .... And, finally, the public transport is also barely suitable for disabled people. The Public Transport company BKV, which provides public transportation in Budapest, offers a number of minibuses which you can bring from door to door into the city. But, be aware that there are only five buses. You can get more information (in English) via this link: BKV Mozgaskorlatozott
 
Information about accessible buildings, restaurants, hotels, public transport and more, can be found on the website Meosz. This national organization tries, where possible, to achieve adaptations for disabled people. The modest website (in English) provides more information about this subject and beside of it, you are able to get in contact with them for specific questions.

The private tours offered by Julius, are unfortunately not "Disabled-friendly" since it uses less accessible trams and also other problems occur such as not acessible buildings. At request a minivan can be rented to see at least a part of a tour, but it's not an ideal solution, because you are not able to see all in a proper way.
 
For people with a stoma, Budapest is no problem. Albeit there are relatively few public toilets (except the tourist center), and which are available, are not always clean, but there are plenty of places like the fast food restaurants or coffee houses in town. Outside the center, the transfer busstations for the regional buses also have a good toilet. These transfer busstations are,  among others, the Puskás Ferenc Stadion (metro 2 stop) and Népliget (metro 3 stop). For most of these toilets a price of HUF 100-120 is normal.

Persons using medications which are falling under narcotic medicines are not allowed, or restricted, to import or export these medicines. They should need a so-called European Medical Passport (EMP), which can be requested at general practitioners, medical specialists and pharmacies.

Tap water is drinkable in Budapest, but still the advice is given to tourists to use bottled mineral water. And even the locals largely use bottles. Water bottles are widely available in all shapes and prices. With gas they have a blue cap; without gaz, a pink one.
 
If you become ill and hospitalization is required, there is a number of hospitals, whose language is aimed at non-Hungarians. But it is better to consult your doctor or health care provider in the your country, which hospital is suitable for you. In an emergency: please contact the the Embassy of your country.f your country.

Stimulants

Drugs

The possession, sale and consumption of drugs is strictly prohibited and is punishable by a prison sentence, Depending of the amount of drugs, 5 to 10 years (in severe cases, not a joint). In those cases, the person is not allowed to leave the country until the court case has ended, which could be a lengthy process. In Budapest you will therefore also low odor smell of marijuana and coffeeshops for which The Netherlands is famous, are not to find in the city. Do you have a joint with you and you are caught, you risk a prison or a fine!

Pills: if you need some extra energy during a festival, they are available in Budapest. On the Andrássy út, for example, is a shop that is specialized in this and with the aptly name: Amsterdam ......

Smoking

Smoking is still  possible in many places in Budapest, although there's an official smoking ban from January 1, 2012 on. But during the first 3 month only warnings are given. Some pubs such as Castro and Csendes have a small extra pub where smoking is not allowed. Bars and restaurants often have a place where smoking is not allowed. Smoking is prohibited in theaters, government buildings, hospitals and so on. In public transport smoking is also prohibited, this is not limited to buses, metro and so on, but also applies to all transport stops, stations, and so on.  

Drank

Alcohol is readily available when you are above the age of 18. However everywhere .... like in the V. and VII. districts it's between 22.00 and 06.00 hours officially forbidden to sell alcohol by the shops. This is to ensure that when the pubs close, people won't drink on the street. Another possibility is that the 24-hour stores for technical reasons (or similar) close for an hour. Often this is also the case for alcohol sales counter. Drinking alcohol in public areas, and hence on the streets is also prohibited, but the homeless do not care about it, many of them drink on the street. However, you can be fined if you are in a park sit on a bench with a can of beer or glass of wine.

To Budapest

Topics: Airplane * Train * Bus * Car

Aiplane

Please note that from the end of March 2011 the official name of the airport in Budapest: Ferihegy 1 and 2 is changed in: Budapest Liszt Ferenc Nemzetközi Repülőter, or abbreviated: Liszt Ferenc Repülőter. The Hungarian Railways still use (also in January 2012) the old name.

Netherlands

Update February 4, 2012:  Due to the problems of Malev and that they are no longer are active as an airline company, Ryanair will offer, from april 2012, flights between Eindhoven and Budapest. Soon on this website an overview of prices of services and diferences in conditions between Wizzair and Ryanair.

Wizzair was, untill February 2012, the only prize fighter for (mostly) cheap flights to Budapest. The company flies three days a week from Eindhoven Airport and, on two days a week, from Weeze Airport (Germany, near the Netherlands border)

From Arnhem and Nijmegen departing minivans (by appointment) to the Weeze Airport. Please note that the minivan is relatively pricey (€ 18.00 / 16.00 one way) in relation to the often very low ticket price. However, the advantage is that when you use the minivan which has a stop next to Nijmegen station, you are about 45 minutes later in the departure lounge of the airport and you do not have to pay a parking fee. If you go to the Airport by car: The parking is low.
 
From Amsterdam the KLM fly to Budapest. In general more expensive than Wizzair and Ryanair but sometimes also this company has promotional offers with low prices.

Belgium

Update February 4, 2012: Due to the problems of Malev and that they are no longer are active as an airline company, Ryanair will offer, from mid February 2012, flights between Charleroi and Budapest. Soon on this website an overview of prices of services and diferences in conditions between Wizzair and Ryanair.

From Belgium the following airplane companies fly to Budapest:
Brussel: Brussels Airlines
Charleroi: Wizzair * Ryanair

Germany
From Germany, not far from the Dutch border, the following airplane companies fly to Budapest:
- Dusseldorf / Weeze: Wizzair
- Dusseldorf: Airberlin
- Dortmund: Easyjet
- Keulen / Bonn: Germanwings
- Münster: Airberlin

For an overview from witch other places in Europa flights to Budapest are offered: click here

Airport information:
- Eindhoven aiport - click here
- Schiphol airport - click here
- Brussel airport- click here
- Brussel Charleroi  airport- click here
- Dusseldorf / Weeze Airport - click here
- Dusseldorf airport - click here
- Dortmund airport - click here
- Keulen / Bonn airport  - click here
- Münster / Osnabrück airport - click here
- Liszt Ferenc Repülőtér - click here

Since April 1, 2010 Wizzair has changed its rates. By paying a fee can take take beside of one small piece of hand luggage, also one piece of hold baggage with a maximum weight of 32! pounds can be transported. Its also possible to check in online, which is cheaper. In fact you pay a low price for a flight and you pay extras for various services, if you need them. If you only have hand luggage: there are strict rules about the format and the weight, because many people try to save costs for hold baggage.

Book where possible directly, sites like World Ticket Center are not always up-to-date and always more expensive, at least you have to pay an administration fee above the ticket price. Various tests have also shown that you often get a message that at on a certain date no flight is possible, while by making a booking directly via the airline company this flight is available. If the desired flight is not available, according to websites as World Ticket Center, they offer you alternatives with another airline company or not a direct flight, which is always more expensive. Note also the offers from D-reizen (Netherlands) can be cheap. Sometimes they have a flight for a very low price. And ... most airlines have day prices: a ticket is often suddenly tens of euros cheaper than the day before, even for bookings which are done two weeks before departure.

From the airport to the city

If you arrive at the airport and you do not have Forints, then use the ATM, they are located to the left of the revolving door in the entrance /departing halll (Liszt Ferenc Repülőter 1). In case of emergency: exchange a small amount at the exchange office. A small amount, because in the city you will receive about HUF 30,000 for € 100,00 and at the airport around HUF 24.000 forint, a difference of about € 20,00 (last control at the end of January 2012).

From both airports in Budapest (where you arrive depends on with which airline you're flying) is an excellent bus service (line 200E) to Köbánya-Kispest), the metro line 3 stop from where you easily can reach the town. You can find this stop of bus 200E, after leaving the entrance/departure hall, on the left. Forget the tips on other websites about bus 93, you have to walk longer to take this bus and the travel time is also longer. Do you have mobility problems or heavy luggage, then avoid this mode of transportation.

From Liszt Ferenc RepülÅ‘ter 1 (the airport for the low-cost airlines such as Wizzair) there is also a direct train to Nyugati railway station. But, there is  a steep staircase (or shabby old elevator( and you have walk about 5 minutes. And, you need to have coins for a ticket because the automat is not always working. Finally, this connection is not faster, rather slower than the bus/metro.

A ticket for the bus can be purchased at the Relay store in the entrance/departure hall (HUF 320) or from the driver of the bus (HUF 400). This driver often can not change money so you must have to pay cash, otherwise you need to gamble to travel without a ticket, but the chance of a fine is very large. For the trip to the city you minimal needs two tickets: one for the bus and one for the metro.

The airport mini-bus iis also a great option, is also a great option, costs around € 12.00 for a single trip to any destination in Budapest. The likelihood is great that when traveling with more people, it relatively will cost a long time to reach your destination. Beside of it there are many other options such as a taxi (since late 2010 Fötaxi is the official taxi operator for the two airports). if you travel by public transport, it cost at least 45-50 minutes to reach the center (Pest) of the city.

Train

Of course you can also reach Budapest by train. From Amsterdam it will take about 18 hours and you have only a short time to Munich to move (with the fastest connection), but the price could be interesting. Normally you will arrive at Keleti Pályaudvar station, where you can take Metro Line 2 to the center (Deák tér).

Bus

Budapest is also accessible by bus, it takes a little longer than the train (approx. 20 hours from Amsterdam) and is not really comfortable. Direct bus service with stops in Germany and Austria are performed by the companies Eurolines and Orangeways.

Car

Budapest by car means a trip of about 1400 km (from Amsterdam). Julius refers to the Internet for routes, tolls, traffic, etc. Keep in mind that if you travel by car, it is recommended to park your car near the hotel or on a guarded parking lot and  during your stay to use the public transportation. Driving by car in Budapest is "quite" chaotic.
 

Staying in Budapest: Hotels and guesthouses

The number of hotels, guest houses and so on to stay during your holiday is very big and in all price ranges and you are able to find good accommodation. Many companies and privat persons are active, even so much that you not see the wood for the trees .

In general, there are differences in price between low-, and high season. For special events like Formula 1, you will always have to pay a higher price.

Using the search box below, gives you an overview via Booking.com. In price one of the most competitive and reliable services for hotel rooms. Therefore on this page as help. But it may be advisable if you have found a hotel, to check the price on Google.




A reasonable alternative for low cost accommodation: ClickBed. Prices from € 8.00 per night (low season) for a multi-person dorm in a hostel are to retrieve, but also single rooms can be booked, although the supply of single rooms is somewhat limited and often too expensive relative to other providers. Prices are generally very low, but there may be daily differences for a room in the same period and on the same date. Reviews on this site: take them with a grain of salt, so is the experience of Julius.

For both sites (and many similar hotel sites) is the rule that you need a credit card as guarantee or have to pay a part of the price, usually about 10%.

Last but not least: Dominik Panzió (Julius' residence in Budapest for years). Very sparsely furnished (in fact no more than bed, table, cabinet, trash, bedding, towels and a water bottle and two glasses), so, pretty old fashioned. Rooms are without shower and toilet, which are in the corridor. Breakfast is not included, it costs 3 euros per day. Sometimes what noisy, this if a group stays in Domink. Price in low season: about € 15.00-17.50  per night for a single room, and easily to reach by bus from downtown. Bookable via the Booking.com site or directly here.

Staying in Budapest: Apartments

If you stay for a long time in Budapest (or if you not want to stay in a hotel), it may be advisable to rent a (furnished) apartment. There is plenty of choice, but it's advisable not to book to quickly, because prices and services greatly vary. There are also considerable price differences between renting for short-term (one month or less) or long term, and between providers.

Recommended: Apartment Budapest. A very good, reliable rental company, slightly more luxurious than the apartments that offer Gabrielle and very centrally located in the cetrum. Julius often have good contacts with this company, so highly recommended. Payment is upon arrival, so no use of a credit card is necessary.

Recommended: Gabriella Ükös. She rents out two large apartments in Budapest. Julius stayed in both apartments and his experiences were always positive. Julius therefore recommends strongly the site of Gabriella (click on her name). The email contact with her ​​was also very nice and she responds quickly.

Not recommended: Budalet (also Budapest Easy Let: Martin D. Sklarz). Through this firm was an apartment been offered, and by mail an agreement was given. Then, the rent was confirmed by an account number into which a portion of the rent should be paid and mailing of a copy of the passport was necessary. Barely a few hours later Julius was informed that the rent was canceled because they could rent the apartment for a longer time and they had no alternatives. Luckily there was no money transferred, otherwise it was still the question whether and when Julius had received his deposit back. Therefore, a forewarned ....

Beggars

This issue had also could stand in the section below. Budapest has sa huge number of  homeless people or people who ask you for money. Much has indeed left out and social services in Hungary are less than for instance in the Netherlands, so these people are not wealthy. Would you like to give people some money ... fantastic, but please note:

There is a number of professional beggars who, with their pathetic behavior, causes that you soon will donate some forints. In particular, there is a group, mostly older women whom, including on Andrássy út, preferably near the Opera, all day sitting or kneeling on the street and with a cash box with them. Traditionally, every day the same blue dress and a headscarf on. And they pretend that they are not able to walk ... These women deserve good from you as a tourist, because they play theater every day, year after year. Julius has seen how this "sad people" in the morning, before the tourist traffic gets going on, come to the city by foot, install themselves on a place and then the theater starts. In the evening around sunset, they leave the city by foot..... And, if you look closely at these ladies, you'll see how clean they are and so are often their clothes too. You can better give your money to really sad cases ......

Not do in Budapest

Budapest is a fairly safe city, but as in all big cities it sometimes can go wrong and there allways people who are making abuse of situations (and it will not change). Above all: watch your belongings at all times. A press release from the police (February 2010), mentioned that Budapest counts about 600 active pickpockets. How reliable this information is, is not known by Julius, but forewarned is forearmed. Hide money, passport and so on in a bag on your body instead of in your pocket. Will you use an ATM, and you wear a backpack: keep it between your legs. In the metro and so on, especially when it's busy, remove your backpack and keep it before you or between your legs. And never let something unguarded. But there's also, and especially in the pubs were you are able to use WiFi and to work with your computer a strong social control, which make it possible to visit the toilet and keep your computer unattended.
 
The other main things at a glance:
Avoid taxis if they are not affiliated with one of the big chains. You pay anyway too much because either the meter is manipulated either the driver takes a detour. Good companies include Fötaxi, Radio Taxi, Taxi 2000 and Zona Taxi. Fötaxi is since the end of 2010 the official taxi company to take people to and from both airports

Avoid restaurants where the prices are not clearly specified. In some restaurants, especially in the tourist area, will the waiter for example recommend a bottle of wine, without telling the price. It also can happen that you grab a beer (small, Pohár) and on the account Korso (large, usually half a liter, sometimes less) is indicated. Especially in tourist areas, restaurants also easier smuggling with the costs of  services. This is not always mentioned or very hidden, and you will be faced with a completion fee of (minimum) 10-15%. There also can be differences in e.g. the Hungarian and English menucard, where in the English version you can read that service is not included while on the Hungarian version this misses;
 
Avoid the "ladies" whom in the evening try to get in contact with you, most are still very young, and safe in every respect, it is not at all. Among the others: not safe places are the Üllői ut near metro station Klinikák and also on the Thököly út, these girls are present, day in, day out, year in, year out;
 
Avoid the "ladies" that in the evening at the Váci utca, the main shopping street, ask to drink something with you. Especially if they want to take you on the Váci utca to the elevator around the corner at the C & A. You will be fooled and will pay a very high price for drinks. These ladies also are operating on other places, such as Deák tér. The U.S. Embassy recommends the following clubs not to visit :
    * Diamond Club
      Budapest II. Bimbo út 3.
    * Eden Nightclub
      Budapest VI. Andrássy út 54.
    * Étterem Galaxia, bar
      Budapest V. Bécsi utca 3.
    * La Dolce Vita
      Budapest V. Október 6. utca 8.
    * Mercy Club and Lounge
      Budapest VII. Dohány utca 88.
    * Pigalle Night Club
      Budapest VIII. Kiss József utca 1-3.
    * Városközpont (Accessible by outside elevator)
      Budapest V. Váci utca 16.

For further tips or advice: Website of the American Embassy. If you get in trouble: call 107, police (you can talk  in German or English) or contact the embassy of your country for assistance.

Usefull addresses (for Dutch and Belgium citizens)

Dutch Embassy Budapest

Indispensable, if something goes wrong. Full of tips, emergency numbers and other practical information. Address: II. Füge utca 5-7, telefoon: (+36) 1 33 66 300

Belgium Embassy Budapest
From 2012 also the addres of the Embassy of Belgium on this website. Address: I. Toldy Ferenc utca 15, telefoon: (+36) 1 457 9960.

Dutch Club Hungary

The official website of the club for Dutch people or people who speak Dutch and whom are living and /or working in Hungary. Website contains e.g. the agenda for the activities which be held. Of course in Dutch..

Customs

Hungary belongs to the EU and therefore there is free travel between the EU-countries and Hungary. Your passport normally not will be controled, even if you arrive by plane in Hungary. However, you should always be able to show your (valid) passport. There are rules and what you can execute on, for example, cigarettes. The Hungarian Customs provides on her website information about it (in English). Regarding the export of antiques are there, if known, still rules, but there's barely control. 

The Hungarian language

Hungarian is a difficult language and belongs to the Finno-Ugric languages. In Budapest it's more and more easy to stay if you do not speak the language, but there is a large 30 + generation who have had no or very less English or German education, and for that reason a conversation still can be difficult. Usually one refers to a colleague who knows some English or German words. The younger generation working in bars, etc., is usually able to speak to you in English. A language course is certainly not wasted, but for a stay of several days is not necessary. To get some idea of the language and what words you can use this link to be wiser. The website you referenced is what confusing, but the language part belongs to the better parts.

If you want to learn the Hungarian language in the Netherlands: In Haarlem is the Hungarian school of Edwin van Schie and, beside of it, he can certainly advise you where else in The Netherlands you are able to follow a good course.

Holidays and name days

On the following days are generally banks, most shops closed etc.. Museums and other attractions, are, in general, open. Public transport runs on these days also in a lower frequency:
January 1: Christian holiday
March 15: National holiday: Liberation Day / Memorial uprising in 1848
March / April: Easter (2 days)
May 1: Labour Day
First and second Pentecost
August 20: National Day (Alkotmányunk Ünnepe)
October 23: National Holiday - Day of the Republic
1 November: All Saints
December 25 to 26: Christmas
Furthermore, there are other days that are celebrated as Father's Day.

Christmas days in Budapest are different than e.g. The Netherlands. At December 24 almost also all shops and shopping-malls close early in the afternoon. And also the big Hamburger chains will close and are also closed on December 25. Somewhere between 15.00 and 16.00 hours the public transport changes to the night schedule. So metro is not working anymore and only tram line 6 is in use. Several museums are also closed and sometimes also on December 26. In the Netherlands it's use that on December 25 you go out to have a dinner in a restaurant. But not in Budapest... when you walk on December 25 on the Radáy utca, where numerous restaurants and pubs are located, you will see that almost al these pubs and restaurants are closed.

Name days

Also in Hungary birthdays are celebrated, but also the so called "name days". This custom dates back to the Roman Catholic faith. Each name has a fixed day in the year and refers to a saint. A birthday is celebrated in the family (and even not always), the name day is celebrated with family, friends and relatives. Some names have several dates, but you only celebrate your name day on a certain date, usually chosen by your parents. A very good overview of all name days, both in name and in months, you will find here (Website in Dutch).

Jewish holidays

Because the Jewish culture in Budapest is still alive (even vibrant),  also Jewish holidays are mentioned on this page. But,  by a link because reinventing the wheel is not necessary: ​​click here (also an explanation of the holdays, but...website is in Dutch)  

Note: most pictures on this page show a dilapidated building at the VIII. Prater utca 16 in Budapest(1898).

(Last update and verification of links: February 4, 2012)