Budapest, buying scotch......

[ddean52]

Once we arrive in Budapest, we would like to buy a bottle of scotch for our viking cruise, where should we go? thanks in advance!

Dean

[no fuss travel]

Why not buy one at the duty free at the airport? I don't recall seeing any hard liquor stores but I am sure there are some around. We mainly found stores selling wine.

[ddean52]

sure. but this might be easier.

[ddean52]

Why not buy one at the duty free at the airport? I don't recall seeing any hard liquor stores but I am sure there are some around. We mainly found stores selling wine.

 

rather than having to carry it through customs.

[no fuss travel]

We just breezed through customs. Basically because you are not leaving any gifts in the country, you have nothing to declare, so you go into "nothing to declare" line. they look at your passport, stamp it as point of entry and you are on your way.

[ddean52]

are you speaking of buying the scotch in our duty free store or in budapest?

[no fuss travel]

If you have a direct flight to Budapest, your store. More reasonable I should think. Maybe someone else would know if there is a duty free store before you exit the Budapest airport. I know there is at Heathrow, but we did not fly out of the Budapest, so I don't know about that one.

[jacksonnh]

ddean,

I asked a contact on TA from Budapest and here's her reply.

 

Nearly every shop is well stocked with various drinks, even the supermarkets like Match etc. He will have no problem finding scotch of all varieties

Dave

[ddean52]

ddean,

I asked a contact on TA from Budapest and here's her reply.

 

Nearly every shop is well stocked with various drinks, even the supermarkets like Match etc. He will have no problem finding scotch of all varieties

Dave

 

Dave,

thank you so much! Very kind of you! Best regards, dean

[jcrandle]

One caveat about buying liquor (or perfumes) in duty free shops. If you have a plane change after your international departure and you buy duty free booze in your departure city, are handed it as you board, you might have it confiscated in your plane change airport, as possibly you will change terminals, causing another trip thru the security scanners, and no liquids over the one quart ziplock will be allowed.

 

If, however, you had a direct flight from your US gateway to Budapest, you could take advantage of the lower price of duty free scotch at the shops in the US gateway airport. The downside is you would have an additional bag to repack, or carry with your hand luggage.

 

Another consideration is that since Hungary is a member of the EC, there are no duty free sales from other airports within the EC, so if you had a flight from LHR to Budapest, you would not be permitted to purchase duty free liquor as your ticket would show that you are flying within the EC.

[shoshona2]

Hi,

 

Why don't you buy it at home (we buy it at Costco), wrap it in bubble wrap and put it into your checked luggage. We brought home three bottles of wine from France last year and it never broke.

 

Sheila

[letsgo39]

DH purchased a bottle of bourbon in Budapest on the Vaci Utca. It was at a store about 2 blocks from the Central Market on the right hand side of the street with your back to the Central Market. Also only about 2 blocks from where our Avalon ship was docked near the Elizabeth Bridge.The price was very reasonable and he said it was very good bourbon. The liquor store had a large selection.

[ddean52]

Thanks everyone! I have the name of a store near our hotel in Budapest. As always, you have been very helpful!

Dean

[marco]

We just retuned a few days ago from a Grand Circle that ended with 3 days in Budapest. There are many, many stores where you can buy any kind of alcohol and we found prices there much better than duty free stores in the airports. And as someone as noted above if you are not on a non stop from the US to Budapest and have to connect in another European city, in many of those, you have to go through security again and liquids of more than 3 oz are NOT allowed in carry on. And by the way.....Budapest is clean, safe, intersting, exciting and inexpensive!!!!!

[ddean52]

right! our flight has two legs, so we will buy in budapest. thanks!

[shoshona2]

It's really great that you can buy liquor so easily in Budapest. I had a terrible cough with bronchitis when we were there several years ago and tried to find a pharmacy to buy some cough med. Finally, found one in a basement and they mixed some concoction that tasted just awful and didn't really work. We carried it through security and I only had to take a taste for the security people before they let me pass. Thus, we now add cough medicine to our list to put in our luggage in bubble wrap. Isn't flying fun??

 

Sheila