Customer Blog: Claire & Simon Budapest 2023
Every detail was meticulously planned and went incredibly smoothly from start to finish - arriving at Gatwick at 5am the Meet and Greet car parking, already organised, was very welcome! Check In with the airline was easy and straightforward, considering this was the first time we’d flown since 2019! Helped again by Lucy’s “super wallet” - all paperwork was kept together, with luggage tags even included, which was so helpful. The flight was just over 2 hours and with a driver already waiting for us on arrival; meaning no worries understanding the different taxis (this was something we were a bit concerned about, having watched a few You Tube videos on the “must sees” in Budapest). A short drive (25mins) and we arrived at our hotel. Wow! It was simply quite lovely. A 4star hotel, set in the building of a former palace. Situated in a quiet square, with a very friendly bar/restaurant opposite where we enjoyed several (not all in one day!) Gin and Tonics that were extremely cheap (£2.60)! This bar/restaurant also served traditional Hungarian dishes, with a sharing platter for two which was a perfect way to try several of their local dishes. The hotel was perfectly located for walking around the ‘Pest’ side and visiting the Great Market Hall, Parliament and the memorial of Jewish shoes but it was also easy to walk just across the river to the ‘Buda’ side and explore the castle district, St Matthias church and the Fisherman's Bastion - all definitely worth a visit.
We walked everywhere that we wanted to visit, but the hop on and off buses were easily located, as were the trams and metro, if preferred.
The Ruin Bars are certainly worth a visit, but only go in the evening if you are happy to queue to get in. We went around 6pm as we hadn’t wanted to queue the night before, when we saw the long queues and this meant we were able to walk in and around the bars freely, which gave us a great view of what they looked like in daylight, which I think we wouldn’t have appreciated in the evening when it was dark and full of people (see photos).
Whilst in Budapest we booked tickets to the Szechenyi Palace thermal baths which like much of Budapest was architecturally beautiful. However, unless you want to buy these items, do remember to take your own towel, flip flops and a swimming cap. (The cap is only obligatory to swim in the lane pool, not to access the thermal baths.) We had no problems getting into the baths in the morning, but by half past 3 when we were leaving, there were extremely long queues to get in.
Our last evening was spent on the river. Ahead of travelling out to Budapest we booked a candlelit evening river cruise, that included a glass of champagne on arrival, 4 course meal, and entertainment. The duration of the cruise was 2 &1/2 hours. The cruise with Legenda was incredibly well organised. The boat, which had a bubble roof gave amazing floor to ceiling views of the city lit up at night. It departed on time, the staff were extremely attentive and friendly and the food was perfect! Choices were available for each course and would satisfy most people. The music was a keyboard and singer which created a calm atmosphere and was not overpowering. The 2&1/2 duration was plenty of time for the meal to be served without feeling rushed and was a wonderful end to a wonderful weekend. I would definitely recommend one!
Needless to say, the departure from Budapest went equally as smoothly thanks to Lucy’s careful planning, with our driver arriving on time to take us back to the airport and another hassle-free Check In to fly back to Gatwick and collect our car.
If you fancy a city break, that’s not too far from home that still has all the charm of a city not spoilt by tourism, then Budapest is the place for you - oh and don’t worry about the number of Hen and Stag parties that might be on the outbound flight!! We didn’t see any of these during our stay!
Thanks Lucy - we’ll be booking again with you for our next trip!