I will only be in Budapest for a few days, so I need some advice. Are there any areas of the city to stay away from in Budapest, especially for women.<BR><BR>I read about general potential problems with taxis, airport shuttles and their tickets, chain bridge pickpockets, and heard something about watching out for yourself in the Pest area. Any other things or areas to avoid or watch out for.<BR><BR>After 17+ hours on the plane ride I will need a nice comfortable place to stay. Since I do not speak a lick of German, or Hungarian, I will need to rely on a hotel staff that does speaks english. I have read all the usual places recommended on this website, but does anyone have any backup recommendations if these hotels are already booked up? <BR><BR>This may be a dumb question, but what are the beds like. When I was in Greece on vacation, there were a couple places that I was booked into where the beds were like sleeping on hard camp cots.<BR><BR>I am not a seasoned european traveler, so any advice for a newbe would be appreciated.<BR>

Hi, my name's Timi and we live in Budapest. My boyfriend, is a tourguide so maybe he can help you to avoid this kind of problems and he can give you some advice. So if you have any questions about Budapest do not hesitate to get in touch with him. His e-mail adress is [email protected]

A group of us travelled to Budapest off season last year. We had a great time. However se were ripped off a couple of times when catching cabs and encountered a bit of a hastle around the castle district. Some guy followed us for for about an 30 minutes (stupidly we were lost and looking very touristy as we checked maps at every corner) and eventually tried to coax us into following him. We tried to catch a cab but this man actually beat us to the cabbie who of course refused our fare when we tried to get in. We just split on foot as soon as we located where we were. A little scarey but we came to no harm and all had a laugh about it when we got back to our hotel. I guess at the end of the day you can come to harm anywhere - you just have to be aware of your surroundings and be a little street smart. Sometimes it's just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I loved Budapest, despite our adventures and would go back in a second. Re the hotel - we stayed at the Crown Plaza - I wouldn't go back there as it's a little far from the centre. Depending on what your budget is, I think there's a Marriott, Kempinski and a new a 4 seasons all in the city district.

We've been to Budapest twice and encountered no real problems. When arriving at the train station, for example, get a firm price on the taxi fare to your hotel (about $5 to $10). If it seems too high, be prepared to walk away and then you may get better fare.<BR><BR>We stayed at the Marriott both times. It was voted Marriott of the year and it was well worth the price...free... as we used Marriott points. At the better hotels, they arrange for their taxi companies to be on site, and give you a card with a mumber to call...do it....because taxis are a major ripoff!<BR><BR>Never had a problem at the castle district or anywhere else in Budapest for that matter. The subways were a little dicey, very crowded and probably a pickpockets haven, but use common sense and use a money belt.<BR><BR>OTOH, we stayed in the tourist areas, except for one night we went to a little restaurant recommended by Rick Steves. It was on a little side street behind the Synagogue. My wife and I were the only Americans in the restaurant and they were playing Elvis songs. The owner entered and he spoke English and asked if we had known Elvis. Told him we didn't know him but that we had lived in Memphis when he died. The owner pulled up a chair, brought us beer on the house and spent an hour with us talking about Elvis. He then called us a cab and created a travel "memory".<BR><BR>BTW, the opera house tour is excellent, do not miss the Synagogue or the memorial behind it, the castle museums are good, the cathedral (ST. Mattias (sp)) on castle hill is good, and the chicken paprika is awesome! Goulash is excellent as well, but it's like chili or "Q" in America, everyone fixes it differently.<BR><BR>Hope this helps and enjoy!