Sex clubs in Hungary: the strip clubs and swinger clubs, told apart

Sex Clubs in Hungary: two kinds of club

Type sex club into a search bar in Hungary and the results point to two kinds of venue that have little in common beyond the late hours. The first is the strip club, which the clubs themselves often call a gentlemen's club. It is about a show. Dancers perform on a stage, a pole show runs through the night, and a guest can ask for a table dance at his seat or a private dance in a separate room. Most have a VIP room or salon for groups, and the bar runs all night. Stag groups make up a large part of the crowd, alongside business travellers and, at the clubs that say they welcome them, couples.

The second is the swinger club, sometimes called a couples club. It opens on party nights, many of them themed. Most nights are for couples, and some nights are open to single guests as well. A typical layout is a lounge and bar, private rooms or cabins and a wellness area with a jacuzzi or a sauna. The club sells the entry, the drinks and the use of those rooms. Adults meet each other there by mutual consent, and nobody who works there takes part.

So the sex clubs a visitor finds fall into one camp or the other, and it helps to know which before setting out. Most of the sex clubs in Hungary sit in or near Budapest, with a single club in each of four other towns.

See Sex Club Budapest.

Where Budapest's strip clubs sit, district by district

Most of the strip clubs in the capital sit within walking distance of each other in Pest, which helps anyone looking for sex clubs in Budapest without a car.

• District V, by St Stephen's Basilica: DollsClub on Október 6. str has two stages and opens Wednesday to Sunday from 20:00. P2Budapest on Sas utca opens every night from 22:00.
• District VI, on Nagymező utca: Legenybucsuk, a stag night strip cabaret also known as Broadway Club, has a pole show and VIP salons for groups. Its hours are not published.
• District VII: Nana Club is a gentlemen's club and cocktail bar in the Gozsdu Udvar passage on Dob utca. Naomi Budapest on Wesselényi utca is open to couples as well as men. SG Budapest VIP on Nyár utca is an American-style club with stage shows. Hallobar Budapest on Király utca is known for themed stage shows and opens Thursday to Sunday from 22:00.
• District VIII, near Kálvin tér: Stripteasebar, also known as Marilyn Night Club, sits on Baross utca and opens Tuesday to Saturday from 21:00.
• Buda, at the foot of Gellért Hill: Mambo Club on Hegyalja Street is a two-floor strip bar, open Monday to Saturday from 21:00 to 05:00.

Choosing among them usually comes down to the night of the week and the size of the group. Budapest has a page of its own on this site that goes further, club by club. A sex club in the centre is rarely more than a short walk or taxi ride from the main hotels.

Swinger clubs outside the centre and how to arrive

The swinger clubs around the capital sit away from the tourist streets, and none is in the late-night walking zone of District VII. Plan the trip the way you would plan a dinner in the suburbs: a taxi or a ride app, there and back.

• District X, Pest: Swinger Dreamland on Gitár utca is a swinger club for couples with a lounge, private cabins, a jacuzzi and themed weekend parties. It opens Wednesday from 21:00 to 02:00 and Friday and Saturday from 21:00 to 04:00.
• District XII, Buda, near MOM Park: Swinger klub, also called Swinger For You, on Győri út, is a smoke-free club with a jacuzzi and a sauna on event nights. Its week includes a Monday sauna evening from 17:00, a Thursday night, a Friday afternoon party and Friday and Saturday nights to 04:00.
• Budaörs, just west of the city: Tiktak Swinger on Árpád utca runs themed party nights, has a jacuzzi and private rooms, and opens Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 20:00.
• Szigetszentmiklós, south of Budapest: P4U, Paradise For You, opens on the nights of its party calendar, for example Saturday from 21:00 to 04:00, with a daytime session on some Wednesdays. It has a sauna, a jacuzzi and private rooms.

Because the party calendar decides which sex club is open and for whom, look at the club's own channels before the night. A swinger club is a private club first, so arriving at the published time matters.

Sex Clubs in Hungary: the towns beyond Budapest

Outside the capital the picture is thin. Each of the four towns below has one club listed, and none has a page of its own on this site, so this is the only place the site describes them. All four are strip clubs; no swinger club outside the Budapest area appears in the listings.

• Debrecen: Pegazusbar on Batthyány utca is a small club with dancers, also hired for stag nights and private parties. Its websites no longer answer and its hours are not published, so phone first.
• Győr: Striptease Bar Győr on Baross Gábor út is a gentlemen's club and night bar with a pole show on a central stage, open from 21:00 to 02:00. The club asks for ID at the door.
• Miskolc: Mandarin Nightclub on Kis-Hunyad u. is a night club and striptease bar with stage shows, open Monday to Saturday from 22:00 to 05:00. It can also be reserved for private parties.
• Nyíregyháza: Sztriptiz Show Nyiregyhaza is a strip show venue that takes bookings through its Facebook page. No street address or hours are published.

A traveller looking for a sex club in one of these towns should treat the listing as a starting point and contact the venue directly. Outside Budapest, sex clubs are few, and a quiet weeknight may mean a closed door. A sex club search in a smaller town simply finds less, and that is worth knowing before a long drive.

How a night runs and what the bill depends on

What follows is general practice, not the rule of any one club. At a strip club the evening starts at the door, where staff may ask for ID. A host shows you to a seat or a table near the stage, and the pole show runs through the night. A dancer may come over to talk. A table dance happens at your seat; a private dance happens in a separate room or booth. Buying a dancer a drink is a normal part of the night, and groups often book the VIP room. You pay at the end or as you go, depending on the house.

The bill at this kind of sex club depends on what you order: entry if there is one, your drinks, drinks for the dancers, the number and length of the dances, and time in a VIP room. Packages for stag groups bundle some of these together. Ask for the price list before you order anything, which is ordinary practice.

At a swinger club you choose a party night first, since some nights are for couples only and some welcome single guests. The entry may cover drinks, a locker, a towel and use of the wellness area; ask what it includes. Most guests spend the first part of the evening in the lounge, talking. Discretion is the custom: what you see there stays there.

Being a good guest on your first visit

A few habits make any evening at sex clubs in Hungary go well, for you and for the people working there.

• Carry an ID. Doors may ask for it, and it is simpler to have it than to argue.
• Ask ahead whether the club takes cash or card, and carry some forints either way.
• Ask for the price list before the first order, and again before a VIP room or a package.
• Leave the phone in your pocket. No photographs of the dancers, the guests or the rooms.
• A dancer's work is the show and the dance. Her no is the answer, and so is any other guest's.
• At a swinger club, consent between guests is the basis of the whole night. Ask, accept a no, and move on.
• A stag group sets the tone for the room. One person keeps the tab, everyone keeps their voice down at the door, and the group leaves together.
• Plan the ride back to the hotel before the night starts. A taxi or a ride app from the door is simpler than the streets at four in the morning.

The sex clubs that run smoothly are the ones where guests behave like guests. A club like this runs on the same courtesy as any good bar, only more of it, and the staff notice who brings it.