Myself and two friends (all male), kicking around the main shopping area one evening, allowed ourselves to get hauled into a club (accessible by outside elevator) by a couple of local girls. Nothing salacious you understand, just being friendly.

The five of us had a meal and drinks and although we had an inkling we would be “ripped off” we did not expect the jaw dropping £360 final bill! Because the place is on the second floor there is no way out, except via the escalator (which the owner controls).

Also, conveniently for us (i.e. the proprietor) a service till is present on the premises so no excuses about not having funds!

All prices are fully displayed on the menu at the foot of the lift and it is the girls’ job to get you into the lift before you have chance to have a close look.

All very clever as you have no real excuses for not paying, apart from being stupid!

Once we wised up, over the course of the weekend, we spotted about 12 different girls working in pairs looking to repeat the exercise. We even did a dummy run with one pair and were taken to the lift again.

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Check costs before you order. Prices will vary greatly and seem to depend on what the staff think you are willing to pay. Upon questioning the bill they often justify the steep cost because you're from London and will therefore accept London prices. The guy beside you will pay the equivalent of £0.80 for a beer and you will get a bill of £2.90 for the same thing.

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I am British but live in Budapest, and recommend great care with taxi rip-offs. Even meters are often doctored so you can't rely on them. City Taxis (see other tips in this section) are fine, and used by many embassies – they have English speaking phone operators.

Tel: 2-111 111

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These are listed on the US Embassy's website as bars/clubs where tourists are often presented with ridiculously expensive bills (100 dollars for a ½ litre of beer), and physically intimidated if they refuse to pay:
- Városközpont (accessible by outside elevator) Budapest V district, Váci utca 16
- La Dolce Vita Budapest V district, Október 6. utca 8
- Nirvana Night Club Budapest V district, Szent István krt.13
- Ti'Amo Bar Budapest IX district, Ferenc körút 19-21
- Diamond Club Budapest II district, Bimbó út 3
- Pigalle Night Club Budapest VIII district, Kiss József utca 1-3

budapest.usembassy.gov/tourist_advisory.html

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Like many European cities, you must validate your travel ticket in a punch machine when you get on public transport, like buses. Don’t forget to do this when you've just arrived. Transit police nab tourists who haven't done so for big fines. We were still struggling to find a place for our bags on the crowded bus and hadn't yet spotted the validation machine, when they got us for €25 each.

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The underground railway in Budapest provides a quick and cheap way of getting around. Unfortunately, not all the travel instructions are printed in anything except Hungarian, which means that you don't find out until too late about quirks, such as the fact that buying a ticket on some lines does not allow you to transfer to others without making an additional payment.

I discovered this the hard way. My daughter and I worked out how to get where we wanted to go by studying the map, but after we switched lines we were approached by two uniformed officials who demanded to see our tickets.

We were then required to pay a fine. I'm satisfied that the two officials were genuine but I suspect that they saw us - two tourists - as an easy target, because they followed us as soon as we got off the first train and on to the second.

The fine would have paid for several taxi fares, so other visitors to Budapest might wish to use that means of transport instead of the underground.

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You must not under any circumstances pick up a quick bite to eat at the snack shack in the park near the baths. It is without doubt the worst food I have ever tasted (if only briefly).

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Taxi drivers picked up on the spot tried to rip us off. One guy tried to switch a 500 note into a 50 by sleight of hand, and then insisted I had given him a 50. Be wary, and make sure the meter is visible.

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