Hungary has again turned into a city crowded with TV cameras and journalists from all over the world because of the migrants flooding the nation. Luckily we are a Budapest Guide and our task is not to discuss politics, but we do get lots of questions from visitors wondering how the migrants will impact their stay in Budapest and whether they should cancel their trip or not!
Whatever news channel you visit almost worldwide you will find articles from Budapest and Hungary, and the most frequent place to read about is the Keleti Railway station, a transit zone for refugees. The Hungarian politics have not exactly given the refugees a warm welcome (luckily for them the world was nicer when their Hungarians ancestors had to leave the nation back in 1956 due to the revolution), and this has caused lots of problems. Now thousands of refugees can be found in Budapest hoping to leave Hungary and get on towards other nations in the western part of Europe, but things seems to be difficult and hard at the moment. But, how will this impact you as a tourist?
Is it safe to visit Budapest now?
The answer to this questions is definitely yes! In most parts of Budapest you will not really even notice that there is a refugee issue at the moment, and if you should see some migrants here and there, they will not cause any problems or any harm. It is therefore just to come for you and enjoy Budapest!
There might however be some things you should check out! If you have booked a hotel near the Keleti Railway station you might want to change that, at least if you want to forget about the migrant issue while in Budapest. If you do not mind, and in fact would like to see whats going on and maybe even bring some refugee something to eat, then don’t think about this, but if you want to stay away from this, then you should maybe change your hotel if you have booked yourself in near the Keleti railway station. Some of the hotels located close are Best Western Hotel Hungaria and Golden Park Hotel.
My husband and I arrived yesterday by train to budapest via the Keleti station from Gyor.. Yes there were refugees, and even more in the metro station, but had little impact on us physically. Though, of course it is very sad. We made our way from the trains to the metro and on to the Buda side where we are staying.without incident. Our only problem was at the border with Austria as they would not let their trains pass into Hungary. Tourists should not worry about coming to Hungary at this time, at least from our experience. Everyone has been friendly and helpful so far.
I meant to add that we are visiting from the U.S.