Okay I know this topic is done to death on here, but my friends and I are going on a stag do in Budapest in mid October, so please could I ask for advice and recommendations. I've heard Budapest is a beautiful city and I'm really looking forward to going, but I've also heard the horror stories about groups of stags being locked in clubs and forced to pay large amounts of money to get out or being frog-marched to ATMs, etc etc. There are going to be 22 of us going, so I'd like to think we have 'safety in numbers' on our side.
We will inevitably be going to the strip bars. I'm not here to talk about the morality of strip clubs and whether it's right or wrong, I would just like to make sure we all stay safe and have a good time.
I know going through a guide is normally recommended, but unfortunately this is not something the guys who are organising the trip want to do, so we will be going it alone. Safe is a relative word; relative to the activity you are participating in. The US Embassy website has a short list of places where Americans have had problems. YOu might look those up and stay away from them. That would at least make it safe relative to safe sky diving.
Budapest is really not the best place for a stag do. The problem is not one of morality - rather it is that Budapest simply does not have very many strip clubs, and that a significant portion of those that exist, as is true in many cities, are designed to separate the guests from as much of their money as possible, with a non-trivial number crossing the line between taking advantage of drunken sots and strongarming legitimate customers.
Its a completely different drinking culture and its easy to offend. Thanks for all the replies. To be honest you've all confirmed what I've really been concerned about. With regards to getting into trouble with the police, we'll certainly be behaving ourselves. The drink may well be flowing, but I think we'll be keeping our wits about us. I certainly will. Getting into trouble is the last thing I or any of the other guys want.
