Was thinking of taking a trip to Budapest this April. Is it pretty safe to go, any issues with the Ukraine conflict. We had planned a trip to there and Vienna in May 2020. So thinking should we still do that trip or go to say the Netherlands, Belgium and Western Germany or Switzerland. I know different choices and different areas. Just wondering if tourisim is getting back to semi normal or is the conflict having more significant issues than we hear about in the US. Thanks so much
Posted by
Chicago
493 posts
I was in Budapest in October 2022. It's completely safe. My hotel appeared to be busy. I understand Budapest is housing some refugees of the war.
I was also in Eger, Hungary, which is about an hour northeast of Budapest. It is also completely safe.
As part of my trip, I was also in Krakow, Poland, and Prague. In Krakow, there was an anti-Putin protest on the main square. I attended it. And in Prague, I saw conspicuously placed anti-Putin signs on buildings near the Charles Bridge.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17863 posts
I was in Budapest 3 times last year, the last being a month ending on 6 December and I have gone a lot over the last 20 years and watched tourism go from a trickle to something amazing in 2019; and I can say it is at least 75% of 2019.
The border with Ukraine is about 250 miles from Budapest, but to the best of my knowledge the nearest missile fell about 500 miles from Budapest, so life goes on as normal and while there are refuges but they dont seem to be impacting the availability of housing and I challenge you to spot them on the street without hearing the language (even then if you hear the language, they could be Russian).
Prices are up like the rest of the world but for some comparisons (the data sets are a bit old, so I would add about 10% across the board and do keep in mind that the numbers represent the general condition, but tourist areas can be a lot higher; but the spread between the cities should be about right):
Western Germany: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Germany&country2=Hungary&city1=Cologne&city2=Budapest&tracking=getDispatchComparison
And Budapest is a lot more beautiful and interesting than any of those places (IMHO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nd9DuDGCz0
Posted by
OP
boise
132 posts
Thanks for the information. Flights booked to Vienna - train to Budapest and to Prague.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17863 posts
Budapest to Prague is a better flight than train IMHO and generally not terribly expensive. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/czech/prague-to-budapest-transportation-options
Buy you train ticket to Budapest on OEB, and the ticket to Prague, if you take the train, from MaV. With MAV you can even buy the night before and get the discounted price on-line.
Might run into you in Budapest. Wave.
Now do you know where you are staying, how to get around and what to see?