Guide, room in Budapest

My family and I have used the driver/guide services of Sándor Nagy (ALEX Travel Agency, Tordai út 30. Budapest, 1221 Hungary; phone +361 226 2370, cell +36 203 569 753 or e-mail alexbt@inext.hu) on our trips to Hungary since 1999. His knowledge of Hungary is quite extensive. A gracious gentleman with excellent English-speaking and driving skills, he is extremely responsive via e-mail and very flexible.

We had our most recent tour with him in September ’08. Starting in Budapest, we had a day trip to the Danube Bend and another to Puszta. Each full-day tour for six people cost $250 and included van rental and parking fees.

When you arrange the specifics of your tour, Sándor provides detailed estimates of all admission fees (which you can pay directly at each site yourself or to him as part of an overall cost). The fees for our Danube Bend trip came to HUF4,100 (near $21).

Sándor and his partner, Eugene, run the company and do the guiding themselves. They have two vans and a car and can rent larger buses. The typical fee for a half-day private city sightseeing tour by car is €100 ($140). An airport-hotel car transfer is €35.

I was so spoiled with Sándor that I was reluctant to use any other guide, but for that Danube Bend trip we used Eugene, who was an absolute delight! I would travel with either of them again in an instant. Each is the ideal combination of professional and personable; you could not ask for more in a guide.

Sándor also offers accommodation in a private 2-bedroom apartment in downtown Budapest or in his own guest rooms. The price for each of the guest rooms in his home is €25 for two people per night and includes a private bath and kitchen. The apartment in town rents for €55 per night.

JoANN IRWIN
Landisville, PA