Month: December 2018

Book your Budapest hotel much cheaper!

Book your Budapest hotel much cheaper!

Posted on by Budapest Guide

We all want to save money wherever it is possible. We like to pay for quality, but if we find the same quality and the same product cheaper somewhere else, we like to purchase the product in the cheapest possible way.

And then comes the question – why pay more than needed for the hotel room you will live in during your stay in Budapest? We are not speaking about staying in a rat-hole with cockroaches, but why pay more for the exact same room you were planning to stay in when there is a cheaper option?

Book a cheaper hotel room in Budapest
Why pay more for your Budapest hotel? Source: Pixabay

How can I get the hotel room cheaper?

We just discovered an interesting in an article in the IP Address Guide that was about how you can get cheaper hotel rooms. It is easy to be a skeptic to such articles, but this was really interesting to watch and to read.

They did a live presentation in which they compared the booking services and prices at Booking.com with a new cryptocurrency based platform named Locktrip. There you can see them compare the prices of the Sofitel 5 star hotel in Budapest on the Booking.com and the Locktrip platform. And for a stay of three nights the difference in price for exactly the same product was 75 USD. They further tested other hotel rooms in other cities, and the differences in price was between 10-20% on all booking prices.

The Locktrip platform isn’t any different from the other hotel booking engines, and the fact that it is cryptocurrency based isn’t something you need to worry about. You can simply register, and pay for all your bookings in your local currency with your current payment card. It is important that you need to register at the platform in order to see the prices of the different rooms in your local currency. Before you register you will only see the prices in LOC (the name of the cryptocurrency). But, the value of the token can be seen at all times, meaning that you can easily find the price of the hotel room in your local currency, also without registering at the Locktrip website.

In other words, time to test Locktrip

It is easy to check it out and free to register. As you check the prices, compare them with your favorite booking engine. If you find it to be cheaper, do your booking on the cheapest platform (which most likely will be the Locktrip platform), and use the “saved” money on some cool activity or delicious food in Budapest!

We wish you a pleasant stay in Budapest!

Demonstrations in Budapest

Demonstrations in Budapest

Posted on by Budapest Guide

Are you coming to Budapest in the coming days, or maybe you are here already, and now you are worried after reading and hearing about violent demonstrations in Budapest the last days? So, what is the truth? What is it all about? And will you be in danger as a tourist?

First of all, the demonstrations are against the current Prime Minister and his rule, and first of all because of some new rules that were introduced last Wednesday. On that day, the Parliament voted for the so-called “Slave Law”, raising the number of over-time hours from 250 to 400 possible hours for workers. Some call this a great opportunity to work more and earn more, while most people believe this will be abused by employers to drive their workers even harder.

The second law that was introduced is about a new system for the courts of Hungary, which will be overseen by the Minister of Justice. And if we have learned something about the politics of Hungary, it is that the Minister of Justice is in the hands of the Prime Minister, which again means that only such people will get those jobs that will vote for and do whatever the Prime Minister wants… 

CNN coverage of the demonstrations in Budapest
CNN coverage of the demonstrations in Budapest

Are the demonstrations dangerous for tourists?

The short answer is NO. The longer answer is NO, not at all! If you ever see someone demonstration, you can simply go another way. Or, you can decide to go with them. We have personal knowledge of people attending the demonstrations, and these are peaceful people who long for a change in the nation. There are some “crazy” people attending the demonstrations, but they are not really welcome, and if they turn a garbage can over, the people coming after normally place the garbage can back up in order.

In other words, if you are curious, take a look at what’s going on from a distance, and if you want to support them, walk with them. But, if you feel as if things get heated up, rather leave the area and eat some Goulash soup instead!

The ugly truth about the state of Hungary

We are really in love with the city of Budapest, but it doesn’t mean that we enjoy and appreciate everything that the politicans say and do. And it feels terrible when you hear that people are afraid to say their name to writers and to share their opinions on Facebook. Why? They are afraid of losing their jobs and fear their future. People are threatened to shut up, or they will lose their jobs! If you show up on demonstrations, the chances of being investigated for money matters or other stuff, increases a lot! 

Even more annoying is how the state media is compromised, and thus, the larger part of the Hungarian population do not even know about the demonstrations. The State TV is saying whatever they want, and normally all they say about the demonstrations is that George Soros has financed them, and that those showing up are bullies who only want to destroy and create trouble. There are a few credible and objective sources for information, but those are really few, and thus, the average Hungarian will only see the filtered news served them by the Hungarian government.

In other words, there are plenty of reasons to demonstrate – but as a tourist, you do not have to worry at all about.