This second instalment in the Budapest Special is all about the awesome activities that you can be a part of in Budapest!
Warning: All of these cost money, so it’s a great guide to use when planning out your budget for the city!
1. Caving Under Budapest
Caving under Budapest had to be my number one suggestion when advising you what activities you should hit up in Budapest. It is an incredible experience and one that really puts you to the test!
Absolutely every route within the Budapest caves is completely natural, the only man made object you encounter is a ladder at the very entrance, and then you’re in the wilderness. I lost count of how many times I went and I loved seeing guests return from a day caving on the natural high that it inspires!
Currently the prices are 6,000 HUF, and so at just under €20 it was the cheapest caving experience in Europe. For that you get over 2 hours underground and a tour guide who speaks English, who is both professional and good fun! I advise everyone to do this whilst in Budapest!
2. Visit the Hungarian State Opera
If you’ve always wanted to attend an opera but never had the money then check out the low-price cost of attending the Hungarian State Opera! You can book online on their website and whilst the low prices tickets don’t afford the best view and are obviously the furthest from the stage, they are the cheapest I’ve ever seen them in Europe!
Time to get cultured!
3. Experience the Life of the Blind at the Invisible Exhibition
The Invisible Exhibition in Millenaris Park on the Buda side aims to allow visitors to experience the beauty in a life without sight. The exhibition forces you to depend on your other senses of touch, hearing, and smell when making your way around, sharing a unique experience with a guide who is partially or fully blind.
The tour lasts an hour and a half and costs 1700 HUF (under €6!).
4. Visit Budapest Zoo & Botanical Gardens
As almost all travellers make the effort to walk down Andrássy Út and visit Heroes’ Square it seems a shame that few take the time to visit Budapest’s awesome zoo! During my time there the zoo gave birth to a rare baby camel (with two humps!) and a baby giraffe so I was suggesting all my guests go to see them! A ticket costs 2500 HUF (just over €8).
5. Take Part in a Room Escape Challenge
Budapest has almost as many room escape challenges as it has spas and bridges, and they are seemingly unique to the city as few other cities offer such activities to travellers and tourists with their lack of emphasis on culture on history. This is the thing to do if you are tired of looking at churches and just want to have some fun!
A company my hostels and I worked with was Exit Point, who have three differently designed rooms that offer different challenges – we made sure we had a go at all three as it was so much fun! The price becomes cheaper the bigger your group. The minimum group size is two people (at 7500 HUF/€25 for two) and the price for 3-5 people is 13,500 HUF (€44 split between the number of people).
6. Get Wet & Wild at the Weekly Sparty!
If you have already planned your trip to Budapest but haven’t heard of the Sparty (Spa Party!) then I’m glad you’re reading this as it really is the event of the week! Hosted every Saturday at Szechenyi Bath in the summer and Lukacs Bath in the winter, the combination of great DJs, incredible light shows, hot spa baths and of course the bars make it the ultimate rave experience!
I won’t sugarcoat it – you will see activity between the sexes that could scar you for life, but with a great group of friends it is the weekend event to be at! Tickets cost €25, so it’s a big dip in to the budget, but it’s often worth it!
7. Attend the River Rampage!
I’m on a boat mother… photo by the awesome Adrian Kadar
The weekly booze cruise along the River Danube is another must for those who are visiting Budapest to party. A triple-decker boat, the top floor is for popping champagne bottles and kissing under the bridges (it’s tradition!), the middle floor for raving on the dance-floor, and when all you want to do is rest your feet and sit at a relaxed table just head to the bottom floor where there are tables set out.
This event is organised by the party hostels in Budapest, so if you’re staying at one of them they’ll sort you out your ticket and take you there! Otherwise look up ‘River Rampage’ on Facebook and there’s a phone number you can call for tickets! They cost 5,000 HUF (just over €16) or 6,500 HUF for a free bottle of sparkling wine (€21).
8. Ride the Millennium Line
The millennium metro line is one of the oldest undergrounds in the world, and a World Heritage Site along with Andrássy Út, the avenue that runs above it. It was also the first ever underground railway to be built on the European mainland. Completed in 1896, it still runs to this day and for just 350 HUF (€1.15) it is one of the more budget friendly activities in Budapest!
9. Ride the Sikló up to Castle Hill
The Sikló is a funicular railway that transports people from the bottom of Castle Hill, in front of the Chain Bridge to the top of Castle Hill, in between the Royal Palace and the Fisherman’s Bastion. After Lyon, it is the second country in the world to have opened one, doing so in 1970, two years after construction began.
A single ticket costs 1,100 HUF (€3.6), and if that’s not budget friendly enough then you’ll receive a good workout walking up the steps to Castle Hill instead!
10. Celeritas Shooting Club
For the American travellers that are visiting Budapest, this isn’t a very exciting activity, but for those of us from the UK where I don’t think I’ve ever found a shooting range this is an awesome activity! Whilst most of the packages are very expensive (the basic package begins a 11500 HUF/€40 per person) visiting Celeritas shooting club is a great activity for stag dos and big groups on a weekend city break!
This is just a short cross-section of all the amazing activities open to you on your visit to Budapest!
Next in the Budapest Special – 30 Places To Eat & Drink!
Lots of love,
