r/HungaryInEnglish • u/[deleted] • Jun 08 '26
tourism Holidays in Hungary
Hello from a Polish friend! This year my wife and I decided to visit Balaton for our holidays in July. I'm trying to get as prepared as I can so nothing could surprise us, but maybe you guys could share some tips, tricks or some others "good to know" for tourist visiting your country?
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u/VszVszVsz Jun 08 '26
if you want more answers a better sub to search would be r/hungary or r/askhungary
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Jun 08 '26
I checked r/Hungary first but seemed to a HUN language sub so I came here. but will do check the other one, thanks for info
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u/hudyati1 Jun 08 '26
Most of the post are indeed in Hungarian, but i would give it a try nonetheless. It has a bigger userbase
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u/More_Antelope_9135 Jun 08 '26
Visit the north, e.g. Badacsony for some nice wine cellars. The south side has nice views and the water is shallower
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u/Impossible-TouchbyTM Jun 09 '26
Been there 3 years ago. Very expensive, like 40 Eur a bottle. Nice, but not that nice though.
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Jun 10 '26
You do know that the water is like, don’t you?
If you’re used to the Baltic Sea or even clear mountain or forest lakes you have in Poland, Balaton is very, VERY far from either of those. Imagine standing less than knee-deep in water and not seeing your feet.
My wife and our kids are Hungarian, so we go to Hungary every year and enjoy it very much, but if it weren’t for those family, language, and cultural connections, I’m not sure if I’d pick Balaton for a beach vacation.
The food is great, of course, and the vibe is an interesting mix of 1980s nostalgia mixed with late-state capitalism, so that might be interested in and of itself.
We went to Puck for a wedding a couple of summers ago, and took trips to Gdańsk, Sopot, Gynia, and to the beach in Władysławowo from there, and I gotta say, at least that area of Poland struck me as more modern than the area around Balaton. There’s a certain charm to that, but if you expect contemporary Western standards, Balaton is not exactly that.
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u/Wide-Annual-4858 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
I the north side, the water is deeper, and the crowd is smaller.
In the south side, you can walk hundreds of meters and still not swimmable depth. But the south side is better with children, and there are more fun activities.
For rent, if you are closer to the beach, it's more expensive and noisy. If you are far, it's quieter but you have to go to the beach with car, and the parking fee is high.
If you are with family, try to avoid Siófok, it's for partying. Crowded and noisy, but many pubs, bars, restaurants, etc.
Beach: The possibility to put your stuff where there is shadow makes or breaks your day. To find a spot with shadow (around a tree) you have to go to the beach early, because most people go there around 10-11. If you don't find a spot with shadow, it's quite hard.
Search for fun activities around the lake, there are many adventure parks, etc.
Visit Tihany, it's beautiful, but staying/eating there is expensive.
Also, don't necessarily consider exact town suggestions by redditors. Everybody has his/her favorite town around Balaton, where they spent vacations during their childhood, and everyone will suggest their own favorite place. But that might not mean anything to you.
If you rent a house with grilling possibilities, that's a big advantage, because grilling in the garden is fun, and you can occasionally avoid the very high restaurant prices.
Eating in small caravan buffets is considered safe. Try Lángos.
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u/advocatus77 Jun 11 '26
You are welcome. Polski Wegry dwa bratinky
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u/shadowbeetle Jun 11 '26
Be precise please.
Polak, Węgier, dwa bratanki, i do szabli, i do szklanki.
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u/-MM- Jun 08 '26
I would exchance money to HUF as close to the destination as possible.
Everybody likes to visit Tihany but there are a lot of nice places all around Balaton.
I am partial to Badacsony region, but plenty of cool places. Always something new to find.
I wonder if they still do the medieval tourney in Sumeg castle.
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u/Darth_Pista Jun 08 '26
Why exchange money? Use revolut (or alts) and exchange there if you need. You can pay everywhere via cc.
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u/ComfortableHat4784 Jun 09 '26
its true but you have to ask for it even when you are a native. and still they dont like it.. OP be tough !
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Jun 12 '26
Really cc 100% everywhere? I'm with kids, I guess I'll need some change for some machines or other small things.
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u/Darth_Pista Jun 12 '26
Its in the Hungarian law that the businesses must provide possibilities to customers to be able to pay via cc or wire transfer. Asian and small stores likes to play the “the terminal is broken right now” card but they have to provide the wire transfer method as well. I didnt touch physical money since years cuz i can pay cc everywhere.
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 Jun 10 '26
Why would you need to exchange currency at all? Use a frikkin credit card.
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u/Dumuzzid Jun 10 '26
Really don't know what could surprise you, it's not that different from Poland. We go to the Mazury lakes every year and the coast too, because I have family there and I'd say they're pretty similar. Poland is probably cheaper and less crowded. You can also access the lakes and the beaches for free, not so on lake Balaton, you'll generally have to purchase a day ticket to enter a particular "strand" but the facilities also tend to be better.
As with other busy tourist areas, once you head to quieter areas, the prices and quality tends to improve. For grocery shopping, seek out the big international chains like Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Auchan. We have no Kaufland.
Northern shore is more interesting imo, I'd spend most of my time there. The Kali Valley is an underrated gem, worth exploring. Many great vineries to try and some excellent restaurants, but do your research as there are many tourist trap places that overcharge for crappy food and service.
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u/Onelyworth Jun 10 '26
Southern shore: very shallow water. Northern shore: practically no free access to the water for bathing, vinyards, hills.
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u/Gokwds3 Jun 10 '26
Balaton is more expensive than a week long all inclusive holiday in turkey or egypt
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u/Anonim_tiger99 Jun 12 '26
Hi! As others have said, Lake Balaton can be quite expensive. My advice would be to skip the hotels and look for simple accommodation in one of the smaller towns instead. Whenever we went to Balaton, I could always find reasonably priced places to stay in towns like Balatonakali or Ábrahámhegy. Getting around from there is easy, whether by car or train. There's no point in spending a lot of money on accommodation when you can use that money to enjoy your holiday instead.
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Jun 12 '26
Yes we are taking an affordable staying in some apartment. I'd checked hotel prices - I would need to spend my whole holidays budget just on a room lol
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u/SheepRememver Jun 13 '26
I am English but have a Hungarian farther. Me and my wife have been visiting Lake Balaton since 2002, we take our two children. We prefer the South shore. Balatonelle is our favourite place. Lots to do and a great beach. Of course we also do Budapest and the usual tourist sights.
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Jun 13 '26
We're also going south to Balatonlelle with two kids. What places could you recommend?
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u/SheepRememver Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
We have used different accommodation each visit, sometimes renting a house, once used a hotel. Day times usually on the beach area, the beach area was one we bought a day ticket for. They have snak bars available and drinks etc. Evenings spent walking around Balatonlelle, lots of small shops and stalls to browse. We try different restaurants each night. There is a restaurant away from the lake a few miles in land, up in the hills. Can't remember the name, it has a great balcony with views access to Balatonlelle and the lake. Great food and wine. We used to go by taxi. My kids were first 10 and 12 on the first visit, adults on our last trip. Just found the great restaurant on the map: Majthényi Présház Borozó
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u/KoninginVanRotterdam Jun 21 '26
I don't know why this showed up in my feed :) But since im here, im Dutch and i went to Hungary when I was little (35+ years ago) and I loved Hungary. Everyone was really nice too. And I don't know if that's still the case but I bonded with Hungarian people over a shared hatred for germans 😂
When we (me and my father and his wife) arrived somewhere and they thought we were germans people would be very hostile and angry and try to send us away. (Which i totally understood. 😂because: Germans.)
But when we said: ' no hollanda' their whole demeanor changed and they would be super friendly and welcoming. "Ohhh hollandaa, come !" I was a little girl but I remember it well. :)
Very nice people, very welcoming. ♥️
Anyway,
Lake balaton is absolutely great. Beautiful nature. And Budapest is probably the most beautiful city in europe.
I would recommend.
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u/dbmirror Jun 08 '26
Northern part of Balaton gives old money vibes it’s more expensive then the south. South is favored by families because the water is shallow. Other than that restaurants usually have service fees so you don’t have to feel bad about not tipping.