Trip to Budapest (part 1)

Hi guys, I haven't been able to write for a while but so much has happened that I want to tell you!

Well as you already know, I have been on a little trip and I haven't been able to write anything because I have had no internet. I didn't bring my laptop with me and it is too hard to type on my mobile.

So to start this new post, I will tell you about my trip... though I might have already said that. I have been to Budapest in Hungary and I want to tell you a mix of the story and my experience so it is a bit more interesting.

In this first post, I will tell you why we decided to go to Budapest. Well, this is the whole story of how the trip came about. Because we are Erasmus students, we had chosen Belgium as our university destination because it is very central in Europe and facilitates travelling. So, one afternoon when we were bored in halls, we decided to look for cheap flights to anywhere in Europe, we didn't mind where, just somewhere cheap and outside of Belgium.

And after looking for most of the afternoon, we found the cheapest flights we could to Budapest on dates where we luckily had no classes so it was perfect. And without thinking twice, we booked the flights! Just before we booked we posted a message on our Erasmus Facebook group asking if anyone else wanted to join us but most of them couldn't make it because they had lessons that they could not miss. However just after we booked the flights, a friend from Poland said she wanted to come too. So it worked out perfectly because this way, we were able to practice our English... otherwise it would have been just me and my Spanish friend.

The flight cost around 42 euros (return) which seemed really cheap to me. Although we found other flights for 9 euros to Stockholm, but we were not available on those dates but that will be our next trip! Of course, the flight was with Ryanair and to be honest, I was pretty worried especially after all the bad news about them in the news recently, we didn't have much confidence... but it was too expensive with other companies such as Iberia.

We only went for three nights but it was enough time for a short trip, that came out of an afternoon of boredom.

Once we had booked the flight, we started to look for accommodation, cheap, of course. I recommend you to look on booking.com because it is the easiest website to find accommodation anywhere in the world and they always have great deals. Try and sign up to the website because they often send you good deals via email and you can book a last minute trip like us.

Well, through looking at this page we found a hotel that had a good score and the photos looked good too. As well as this, it was situated right in the centre but the best thing was the price, 10 euros a night! The hotel was called Red Bus Hostel.

It is normal if they ask for your account number when you are making a reservation, but don't worry. It is just in the event that you do not go in the end or if you arrive later than planned.

Another bit of advice is print out your confirmation emails so you have it with you. Not that you need to give it to the hotel, but it has all the information you could need on the sheet of paper; dates, hotel address, telephone number, email etc. And to find the hotel on the first day at least!

After booking the tickets and flights, we relaxed a little before our trip... But then the day before we realized that, of course, in Hungary, they do not use euros so we had to change our money!

It was foolish of us but we finally changed our money in the airport. As you probably know, changing your money in the airport is probably the most expensive way to do it. So I would recommend doing it in the bank, sometime before your trip.

But then our ordeal started when we bought some 'special tickets'...

So, one of the girls that came had done some research on the internet and had found three special cards for tourists. You could buy them according to how long you were there, as they were 24 hours, 48 hours or 72 hours long. We decided to buy the 72 hours one, because it was cheaper than the 48 hours one.

So then came the problem. Firstly, we bought them on the internet because we had a 5% discount from buying them online. So then we had to put in my debit card details, but on the final page I had to enter the famous 'online banking code', and clever me, started Erasmus without having online banking, so I couldn't put in a code because I didn't have one.

So then a screen appeared which said that just this one time, we were able to complete the transaction. So we clicked "accept" and thought that the first purchase of three had worked. So we thought that it was already all sorted and the card had worked. But then we started to worry because once you make the payment, you were supposed to get a confirmation email straight away to print and to certify that you had paid over the Internet. But nothing, nothing arrived...

So the next day I had to go to the bank to check my account to see if I could get a receipt showing whether I had been charged or not. But nothing, nothing came... So I asked the front desk to check again for me, but they told me I couldn't because I was from another country. All he gave me was a phone number, but I didn't know whether this would solve the problem, but it was possible.

Thinking about it, I decided the best option would be to call my mum and she would go to the bank for me because I knew she would get the right answer. And if I called the number they had given me, I did not know whether they would be able to give me a certain answer.

Finally, my mum told me that I hadn't been charged anything so I should just buy the tickets in the airport. Because although I had bought them online, once I got to the airport, I would have had to have brought my payment confirmation anyway so I could pick them up from there, and I was actually only saving 5% which isn't a lot. It only cost me one euro more compared to the other girl that bought it on the internet.

After all this commotion, I started packing my bags... well if you could call it that. I say this because they were more like backpacks. You have to pack very lightly if you are flying with Ryanair and you do not want to be surcharged. But if you do go over the limit, be prepared to pay!

In the backpack, you only need the basics for three days:

• Clothes
• Change of clothes
• Warm clothes
• Gloves
• Scarf
• Hat
• Warm coat
• A good umbrella (I couldn't fit in my umbrella because it was broken but we were lucky and it didn't rain on us! )

Don't forget to put in some swim wear, a towel and some flip flops... I will tell you later!

As for shampoos etc., I advise you to bring samples or very small sizes, as each liquid can not be over 100ml in your hand luggage, otherwise you will have to get rid of them at baggage control. The other option you have is to buy everything there, it is your choice.

By the way, do not forget mobile phone chargers and your camera... a must for me.

So, there was the first part of my trip. In the next posts, I will tell you what I did in the following days. Don't miss it!

Photo gallery