Hungary

Probably less to worry about in Hungary than back home. The tap water won’t kill you, but it doesn’t taste good. If you’re the cautious type, stick to drinks out of bottles and bar taps.

The train stations in Budapest, like in most European cities, are full of beggars, junkies, pickpockets and hustlers, so keep your wallet in your front pocket and both eyes open. The beggars can be pretty aggressive about asking for money, but violent robberies of tourists are quite rare. Subways and busses are also favorite haunts of pickpockets.

Only change money at official places—changing money on the street is illegal, and rip offs are the norm. Sometimes you’ll see people playing different gambling games on the street, trying to lure tourists into playing. You’d have to be an idiot to do it, they’re always rigged. Budapest has nine casinos if you want to gamble.

Budapest is the only city where there’s much of anything to worry about. Hungary’s other cities simply aren’t big enough to have any street crime to speak of. Debrecen is the second-largest city in Hungary, and there’s only one beggar in the train station (well, at least only one who has enough of a work ethic to show up every day). He seems like a nice guy, the locals smile and look happy to oblige when he asks them for a coin or a cigarette.

The air all over Hungary and Eastern Europe is pretty heavily polluted. It’s not an issue for travelers, except maybe ones with severe asthma, but if you’re paranoid about air quality this isn’t the region to settle down and raise a family.

The rivers aren’t any better—70% of Hungary’s raw sewage is dumped untreated into the Danube, and the river Tisza in eastern Hungary is full of waste from nearby Romania. If you want to swim, stick to designated pools and Lake Balaton, unless you want your skin to glow in the dark.

Back to Top - Print this page