My son and I are visiting Europe Sept 14-24. Arriving in Prague Sep.15 and leave for Budapest on Sept. 18. We have hired a guide (suggested by Rick in his book) for our time in Prague but have not done so for the remainder of our trip. I have spoken to a friend who visited Budapest last year and he and his wife did it on their own so I am thinking the same for Budapest, but my friend would never spend the money for a guide. Any suggestions for Budapest? Florence Sept. 20-23 then to Venice where we depart Sept. 24. Looking for suggestions.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8362 posts
Every large European city has a "Free Walking Tour" where the guides work for tips. They are usually young and vivacious people--fully licensed. You can find them online.
They also offer nightlife/pub crawl tours at night for a fair price. They show you where the reasonably priced local restaurants and pubs are located. And it's with a group of crazies from all over the world. Go for it.
Group tours are much less expensive than individual tour guides.
We have taken free tours of both Budapest and Prague--two of Europe's livliest cities.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
You certainly don't need a guide to make your way around Budapest, but Rick gives a high rating (3 stars on a scale of 0 to 3) to the private-guide experience for a day or half day in Budapest. This is a more glowing review than you'll find in Florence or Venice, for instance.