Budapest in November

Hi,

You might try Wombats hostel in BP, located on a very nice area and street...Kiraly. It's a large,renovated building. Since I've been in Munich and Vienna with Wombats, I'd stay there in Budapest too.

Use wunderground.com, look for the "historical weather" link in one of the drop-down menus. After 2-3 screens and a little patience, you can get to actual weather for that period for the last several years. That's the best indication of what you are likely to encounter.

I was in Budapest in May a few years ago and had a lot of cloudy, rainy weather over 4.5 days. It was okay, but a little dreary. The day I went up to Buda's 'castle hill' was warm and sunny and delightful. There will be fewer hours of daylight in November. Personally, I'd choose a different time of year for Budapest and look for a warm, sunny place in November . . . unless you are mostly interested in indoor sights and performances, and the baths too.

Thanks for the information. We have a family friend at university in Budapest at that time of year so that's why we are traveling then, otherwise we would prefer a warm climate. Opera, ballet and baths are on our list. Any other sites you would recommend?

It can be a bit cool in November. The short days mean you get to enjoy the lights of the city which are beautiful. Its also when the theaters are at their best. Otherwise all the usual events and sights go on as usual.

Hungarian wines are among the best and not expensive. Unless it's a sunny day, don't bother to climb the Basilica tower. Maybe in winter it's different but when I was there in May, during the day, the church was lit mainly by natural light and it was hard to see much detail. I went to a concert one evening and was blown away by how beautiful the interior is when all lit up. There's comparatively little on the Buda side except the castle and the view. Take the metro line 1 at least once. The Four Seasons Hotel is a luxury hotel. Stop in to see the opulence of the public rooms (and use the toilet ☺).

Stay on the Pest side of the river. There have been threads recommending staying in an apartment. Sounded like good advice.

I highly recommend the Opera, but do not be slow about booking seats. There is something there almost every night, prices are quite reasonable, and the house is not large. Thus, if you wait until you are there, possibly there will be no seats at all. Book 1 month in advance. Note that for opera, it is often in Italian or French, and there are of course helpful translation above the stage. The translation is in Hungarian, since you are in Hungary. That didn't help for us, but we were seeing MacBeth, the plot of which we knew. So, see a well-known opera, or a concert for your best result.

I saw Otello at the Opera this May and the supertitles included English. For a seat in the 15th row I paid about $60 US, definitely cheap compared to the SF Opera, and the house is so much more magnificent. I booked about 2 months out on their website, very simple.

For a truly delightful experience check out what's playing at the nearby Operettsinhaz, even more gorgeous theatre and they do light musical comedies, with English supertitles. I enjoyed the show I saw, "The Duchess of Chicago", even more than Otello.

AND at the opperet if you get seats in the boxes close to center you will get an invitation to the Parlor at intermission where you drink champagne and mingle with locals.

For something different try: http://www.city-discovery.com/budapest/tour.php?id=7347 or http://caving.hu/.

We tried it a couple of years ago, but only a shorter trip. In August we needed to borrow down jackets in the caves, but in November I guess you take your own :-)

Note: We didn't buy tickets beforehand, but just showed up, so I cannot vouch for the site as a ticket seller. The link is only for a description of the caves. You might find better descriptions elsewhere.

Or if you are into this sort of thing
http://tank.hu/

Has anyone ever stayed at Pal's Hostel and Apartments? I am considering staying in one of their apartments.

Also, any recommendations for airport taxi/ shuttle service?

I've heard it's best to exchange money in Budapest, but we will be arriving on Sunday. Will we still be able to exchange money? Where suggestions?

Thanks!

You're going at a perfect time for the Christmas markets, and there are two in the Budapest area . . . in the main square in Pest and in Obuda. So in addition to the baths, the Great Market Hall, and the many other sights, you'll have the great craft vendors, food, and drinks of the Christmas market. .. .http://www.budapestbylocals.com/events/ You can get into town from the Keleti train station on the Metro (don't take the taxis) . . . get your forints with your debit card at the ATM at the train station. You have time to get RS Budapest book that gives you all these details. The long-range weather report on Accuweather shows snow showers (shiver!) . . . so we're taking our long underwear and layers . . . and looking forward to a dip in those 100+ degree pools. Enjoy! Another thought since you'll be there a week . . . Vienna has 8 Christmas markets . . . and Bratislava also has a great market and it's very close http://www.xmas-markets.org/bratislava-christmas-markets/ you might consider checking one of those out as well while you're in the area.

Actually if you stay at the pal's hostel and apartments you will have some Christmas Market Booths and a portable skating ring right outside your front door. Go to any good weather website to get the November weather averages. Generally speaking though, cold but above freezing. For about the same price as the hostel in November you can rent a pretty nice apartment. Never a bad time to visit Budapest. The winter is great if you enjoy music, theater, ice skating, bath houses, etc.

Also, any recommendations for airport taxi/ shuttle service?

There is only one airport taxi service when leaving the airport and that is Fotaxi. Follow the black line on the floor as you exit baggage claim. Fast, efficient and cheap. They take Credit Cards so you don't have to worry about exchange rates just yet.

I've heard it's best to exchange money in Budapest, but we will be
arriving on Sunday. Will we still be able to exchange money? Where
suggestions?

ATM is probably best, but there are exchange houses all over town. Yes, they are open on Sunday. There is one next to the hostel.

The baths are all wondeful! Also, we took a metro then a bus to the airport. Very easy and very reasonable, though the trip takes about a hour. Budapest is pretty flat on the north side of the river and very walkable. For a "spluge" meal consider Cafe Kor. It's casual, but has great food and staff. Reservations recommended.

If you do your banking at a bank (not a credit union), you may be able to buy your Forints there before you leave the states. . ..or even if you are not a customer of a bank, you can pay a fee at a local bank and buy most international currency and have it with you when you arrive at your destination. We've found it's nice to have a couple days local currency so we don't have to face the ATM until we're acclimated to the time zone. We're leaving for Vienna and Budapest next week . . . we have Euros and Forints in our wallets already.

At a US bank today 30,000 forints will cost you about $112.00 while the ATM in Hungary will cost you $103.00 + your bank fee if any. Usually about $5