Before I begin; GO TO BUDAPEST. Literally, get on a plane right now and fly over to Hungary.
Not only is Budapest beautiful and full of pulsating bohemian culture, but it is so so cheap. We went for four days and spent £120 including accommodation, a boat party, a Spa party, a bar crawl, four days’ worth of meals, transport and souvenirs. It is the perfect destination for the young traveller and staying in the Carpe Noctem Vitae Hostel made our journey so convenient.
It was a very spontaneous trip that me and my flatmate tagged on to, knowing only one other person that was going - but it was honestly the best decision we ever made. There were five boys and us three girls who stayed together at the Carpe Noctem party hostel which was brilliant. Everyone was insanely friendly and they all laughed at my jokes which is always a bonus. The city itself is enchanting, there's so much to do and see but although I didn’t want to leave, four days was enough time to absorb the culture.
On
the first night we went to a boat party; it worked out at about £20 per ticket
and with that you each get a large bottle of champagne upon entering so that
was beverage sorted for the evening. Ok so now picture standing on an open top ferry
and travelling up and down the River Danube at night with the Houses of
Parliament illuminated whilst jamming to club music and drinking champagne from
a bottle. I don't really have to emphasise the epicness of this activity but I
will because it really was, totally epic.
The
second night we went on a bar crawl with our hostel so we made new friends and
got to drink vodka mixers in five different bars - for free. Most of the clubs
and bars over there are built amongst old buildings and ruins and are decorated
with paper lanterns, fairy lights, graffiti and draped fabric to form walls and
ceilings. The atmosphere there is so carefree, free spirited and low
maintenance; our hostel guide walked around bare foot and claimed he found his ‘lucky’
belt in a dumpster.
On
the final night we went to an infamous Spa party! Held in the hot springs of
the Budapest spas, hundreds of crazy drunk kids are crowd surfing, drowning in
the rapids, partying in the Jacuzzi and desperately trying to keep their
plastic cups above the water. There's a DJ, lights and an incredible
atmosphere. It was so much fun and nothing like I’ve experienced before.
In
the days we did a free walking tour, visited the castles and Basilica, went to
the parks and just generally had a good wander around! It's such a colourful
city please, please, add it to your bucket list and go. You won’t believe my
enthusiasm until you stay there yourself.
