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You must have heard that taxi drivers preying on toursists is one of the annonying things in Budapest. With a little caution you can easily manage not to fall victim to these suckers. The main rules:

• Use a taxi from a big company
• Order a taxi on the phone if possible
• Make sure the taxi you ordered picks you up
• Don’t take an offer form a taxi driver to visit strip bars etc.
• Try no to look like a fool and use common sense

Click to find out how and why.
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The passengers of a night bus are a cross section of the night: young people going to or from a club, workers travelling through the city to an early shift, homeless sleeping on the bus.

Night buses in Budapest operate between 23.00 and 4 o’clock the following day. Around midnight the night buses can turn into clubs because many so people use the time of the journey to get hammered. On the weekends at around three or four is the after party time when you can see at least one person who is more fucked up than you are. The night bus on the way home is your last chance to pick someone up. It sounds strange but actually you can often succeed.
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Not to pay for the ride with BKV (public transport) is possibly the most popular sport in Budapest. The word for travelling without a ticket is “bliccelni”, which means literally “to be like lightning” and comes from the German word “Blitz” (Lightning).

Traditoinally, BKV checked the tickets either on the vehicles or on the way out from the metro. It took them decades to figure out that they should follow the cinema principle: check the tickets before you enter the premises. So nowadays, you have to flash your ticket or pass at every major metro or underground station before you enter.

There is a way to beat the system, we’ll give you a complete guide on free riding with the BKV. Remember: only the suckers pay, and only the stupid get caught.

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Budapest map for real.
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