TOURS IN HUNGARY

• Danube Bend Tour (9 h)

The Danube Bend is a special geographical area of Hungary, where the Danube takes a 90 degree turn, and continues flowing from north to south. Its a beautiful hilly area, where we can find historical towns as well as traditional villages.

The first stop on the tour is in Esztergom, former royal seat and present centre of the Hungarian Catholic Church. We visit the St Stephen's Cathedral, largest church of Hungary. We can also have a view of the river Danube, which is a border river here between Hungary and Slovakia.

The second historical town to visit is Visegrád, also former royal seat, where we visit the ruins of a medieval castle, and have a chance to see the panoramic view of the Danube bend area.

Last stop on the tour is Szentendre, with its pittoresque cobblestone streets, narrow alleyways and meditteranean atmosphere. The town is also called the town of artists, since many artists settled here and founded art schools. Opportunity to buy some typical Hungarian products and souvenirs.

• Lake Balaton (10 h)

Lake Balaton is the largest fresh water lake of Central Europe. Its very popular especially in summer, when the shallow water heats up to temperatures as warm as 24-25 C degrees. At this beautiful natural area we can also visit some lovely towns, such as Tihany, which is found on a peninsula, on a hillside. The Abbey of Tihany was founded in 1055, and its Deed of Foundation is the first document ever to be written in Hungarian language.

We can also take a look at traditional fishermen houses in this town. The next stop on the tour is Balatonfüred, which is a spa town, and we have the chance to taste the medicinal water from a well. After walking along the beautiful promenade and pier, we can have a swim in the lake in the nearby public beach. During this tour, there is also a possibility to visit the world's largest Porcelain Manufactory (founded in 1826) in Herend.

• Puszta Tour with Kecskemét (9 h)

The Puszta (meaning flatland, wasteland in Hungarian) is a special geographical area in the south east part of Hungary. It can be found in the Great Plain, and its a completely flat area, with very hot and dry climate. First, we visit Kecskemét, a typical Hungarian agricultural town, also called the town of Art Nouveau, with its Town Hall, Ornamented Palace and other public buildings constructed at the beginning of the 20th century.

Following the town visit, we head to Bugacpuszta, where we can observe the traditional way of life, with horse shows, a Shepherd's Museum, and a horse carriage ride in the countryside. The traditional Hungarian animal species can also be seen, such as the mangalica pig, racka sheep and the famous grey cattle, as well as Hungarian dog species. We end the visit of the farm with a 3- course-lunch including gulyas soup, as well as other Hungarian gastronomic specialities.

• The Royal Tour of Gödöllő (4 h)

Just a 30 minute drive from Budapest, we can visit the former summer residence of Francis Joseph and Sissi, the Austrian emperess, and Queen of Hungarians. The beautiful Baroque Palace is the second largest such building in the world. During the interior visit of the Palace, we can get acquainted with the its history, starting with an exhibition about the Grassalkovich family, a wealthy aristocratic family who commissioned the construction of the Palace in the 18th century.

The second part of the exhibition displays the life of Sissi, with special focus on her relationship with the Hungarians and her repeated stays at Gödöllő. After the interior visit, we have a chance to take a walk in the Palace Park, and to stop for coffee and cake in the Palace Café.

• Etyek wine lands (and movie) tour (4 h):

Etyek is the closest wine region from Budapest, only 30 km away (35 minutes drive). It is a village with charm in the middle of hills.

On our tour we would like to show you the wine making process, share a few secrets, enter the old Swabian cellars, tempt you with regional specialties and offer you a glass or two of our exceptional wines. Wine tasting with cellar visits is approximately 2 hours long, with dinner 3 hours long.

In this tour we can include a visit in a Movie Factory EtyekWood, where several famous movies were created.

• Eger and Tokaj or Bükk Mountains (10 h):

Probably everybody heard about the famous Tokaj wines but have you heard the name of EGER? On this tour you can get acquainted with the history of mediaeval Hungary, viticulture and wonderful landscapes.

We leave Budapest towards the East and drive along the bordering region of the Great Hungarian Plain and the North - Hungarian Mountain range. In summer you can see cornfields of golden colour and yellow sunflower plantations, green mountains with shady forests. In winter snow covers the landscape. While your guide tells you about land and the people, about traditions and folks habits you can enjoy the scenery passing by.

After one and a half hours driving you arrive to the city of Eger, situated in a valley between the Mátra and Bükk Mountains. It is a 1000 - year old episcopal seat - today an archiepiscopal centre - with a glorious historical past. István Dobó, one-time castellan, gave the town the title "patriotic town" for its month long resistance in 1552 against Ottoman Turkish forces that had a superiority of 20 - times against Dobo's small army.

Eger has many attractions beside the fortress: medicinal baths, historical monuments and fine wines. Another famous product of the region is Bull's Blood, the legendary full bodied red wine, a cuvee of red grapes. The mystery around the wine is kept as secret, but if you are curious, come and visit Eger to find it out! Your guide will take you for a historical walk in the mediaeval castle and in the old town. After this short walk we visit the Valley of the Beautiful Woman to have delicious lunch and taste wine, see those typical wine cellars dug into the hillside standing next to each other in close succession.

Instead of Tokaj we can include a visit in the mountains to Szilvasvarad, the home of trouts, streams, waterfalls and caves, and we can exlore it by the forest railway.

• 5-7 days Hungary cross country Tours:

Hungary is a small country, and all significant sights can be visited in a full day tour from Budapest. In case you wish to spend more time in the countryside, feel it's atmosphere, and of course spend less travel time, we can create 5-6-7 days Hungary tours with accommodation in 3 / 4 settlements.

Some suggestions:

•  Wine regions of Hungary including Pécs, Sopron, Eger, Tokaj
•  Roman trails including Budapest (Aquincum), Győr (Arabona), Fenékpuszta (Valcum), Tác (Gorsium), Pécs (Sophiane)
•  Lakes of Hungary incl. lake Fertő, Lake Velencei, Lake Tisza, and of course lake Balaton
•  World Heritage Sites of Hungary

Hungary now has eight listed World Heritage sites:

• The old village and environs of Hollókő (1987)
• The Aggtelek karst and Slovakian karst caves (1995)
• The 1,000 year-old Benedictine Abbey at Pannonhalma and its natural surroundings (1996)
• Hortobágy National Park - the Puszta (1999)
• Pécs Early Christian burial vaults (2000) • Fertő/Neusiedlersee cultural region (2001)
• The historic wine-making cultural region of Tokaj (2002)
• The Budapest Danube panorama, the Buda Castle District (1987),
• Andrássy Road and its historic surroundings (2002)
• Carneval Buscho(2009)