Budapest - Post Report Question and Answers
Are there personal security concerns to be aware of at this post? Please describe.
Exercise the same precautions you would in any large city. Doing that, you can move safely and comfortably throughout the city. I was never afraid walking around Budapest, no matter what time of day or night. - Feb 2020
No. - Nov 2018
We were robbed the day of our departure. There is property theft occurring regularly but it typically occurs when you are absent; it involves no violence. Hence the need to use your alarm faithfully. - Dec 2017
There has been an increase in property theft while we've been here. No one leaves anything in their cars when you leave your car. But no violent crimes that I've heard of. - Jan 2012
The right wing is growing in numbers and strength, as evidenced by the 2010 elections. There are regular protests by the right wing, and I have heard of some isolated incidents of violence associated with minority groups. Sometimes, as in one case I witnessed, the victim only LOOKED like a minority: a Latino American apparently mistaken as a Roma. I think it's important to remember that these groups do exist here, so keep your wits about you. And (sorry to say) be suspicious of aggressive types who fit the stereotype (don't sit next to them in a crowded bar). - Apr 2010
No concerns whatsoever. - Dec 2009
Demonstrations are becoming more common and can be violent, though they tend to be localized. Juvenile gangs are cropping up in popular shopping areas. Police can seem ineffective -- reports of bribes are common. It seems as safe and/or safer as in major U.S. and many European cities, just less ordered in how that happens. Beware of the bar scam where pretty girls will ask you to buy them drinks, which somehow total up to hundreds of dollars at the end of the night. - Feb 2008
