Excursions and Programs in Hungary

Excursions in Hungary with fixed departure times
Private tours in Hungary for individual travellers
Trabant rally, race with the communist icon car "Trabant" with tasks
Danube bend excursion with knight's tournament
Szentendre excursion with visit to the open air village museum
Gödöllo excursion with nostalgia train
Wine tasting
Puszta excursions with "puszta Olympics"
Balaton lake excursion with the visit of the Herend porcelain manufactory
Other offers

 

Trabant rally (3-4 hours)

The Trabant rally can be a program on its own or combined with other programs. Usual length of this tour is 3-4 hours. The guests accompanied by a guide are transported to a place near Budapest where the communist icon Trabants wait for them. The participants will be split into little groups of 2-3 and the new drivers will be given a short instruction by the original owner of the cars how a Trabant works and goes. The teams get a map with indications and the names of villages on the route. Usually there are tasks to fulfil, places to find and a quiz to fill and for the best teams prices are given. The driving usually takes about one, one and a half hour, and the guest can enjoy beautiful country-side scenery while driving the symbol of a recently extinct era.

 

Danube bend (5-10 hours)

Esztergom - Visegrád - Szentendre (8-10 hours)

This tour is an excursion into Hungary's history combined with breathtaking views of the Danube valley. The guests visit Esztergom, the centre of the Hungarian Catholic Church, Visegrád, the former royal residence and Szentendre, the small baroque town which was the home of many great Hungarian artists. Esztergom's main attraction is the Basilica, the largest church of Hungary and the treasury of the church which is the richest collection of ecclesiastical art in Hungary. In Visegrád the guests will be welcomed with vine by the Lower Castle and enjoy a knight's tournament of the Saint George Knightly Order in the open air theatre. Afterwards they will be treated to a very filling royal feast with wine in the restaurant nearby. After lunch the tour continues to the picturesque, small town, Szentendre, which will be shown by the guide to the group in a short walking tour. It is possible to visit one of the museums, recommended is the museum of the ceramic artist Margit Kovács and the diamond manufactory and jewellery museum-shop "Caprice".

Visegrád - Szentendre (6-8 hours)

As the programme written above without Esztergom.

Visegrád (5-6 hours)

Only the Visegrád part of the program written above.

Remarks

• By all the three versions of the Danube bend program part of the route can be done by ship as well. Danube cruises run all year round except special conditions.
• The only Visegrád program is a great option also as a late afternoon-evening venue.

 

Szentendre excursion (4-5 hours)

This town is also called artists' town due to the many painters and sculptors who used to live here. This small baroque city in the vicinity of Budapest has a relaxing Mediterranean atmosphere, many monuments, museums, galleries and is also a great place for souvenir shopping. It is recommended to visit one of the museums, e.g. the museum of the ceramic artist Margit Kovács, the diamond manufactory and jewellery museum-shop "Caprice" or the Skanzen, the open air village museum.  The Skanzen is an excellent place to have a closer look at the every day life in small villages in different regions of Hungary. Various activities can be organised in the Skanzen for the guests, like baking bread, making "lángos", prepare candles etc. The Szentendre program can be enriched also with wine tasting in a wine cellar. The transportation to or from Szentendre is possible on ship all year round (except special conditions).

 

Gödöllő - excursion to the Sissi palace (4-5 hours)

The palace in Gödöllő is the largest baroque palace of Hungary, where the admired Queen Elisabeth spent 2000 nights, more than is Schönbrunn. The renovated rooms regained their past splendour and provide detailed introduction to the interior of royal suites in Hungary. The specialist guide of the palace gives a detailed introduction to the guests about the rooms and the baroque theatre. In the theatre private concerts of different types and in the park hussar performance can be organised for the group. The guests can be treated to a coffee and a cake in the pastry shop of the palace. The transportation to or from Gödöllő is possible on the so called "nostalgia" trains as well. The visit of the palace can be combined very well with a puszta program on a nearby farm.

 

Wine tasting (2-5 hours)

Great wine tasting programs are available both within Budapest and outside the city. Budapest has a neighbourhood that was earlier known for wine and champagne making. Though wine production is already history here but still thousand and thousand bottles of wine are stored in the old casks in the cellar network hollowed out of limestone. This cellar system is 25 kilometre long, the largest in all of Europe. In one of these cellars a wine tasting with lunch or dinner is definitely a program that will make all those who participate happy.

There's a wine growing region very near Budapest called Etyek which can also be the place of great wine tasting programs. Grapes cultivated in the vineyards make the base of the world famous Hungarian Törley Champagne. In a traditional wine cellar of the village the group will taste the most typical wines of Etyek, like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, "Szürkebarát", "Királyleányka", "Rajnai Rizling". During  the visit of the cellar the guests will get familiar with the history of winemaking in Etyek and with the culture of Hungarian wines. Typical Hungarian lunch or dinner and upon request live music e.g. an accordion player can be arranged as well.

 

Puszta - the great Hungarian plain (8-9 hours)

This landscape is characterised by endless horizon of dry steppe with remote villages and farms. After a walk in the centre of Kecskemét, the "capital" of the puszta we take the guests to a farm to enjoy a horse show with the "csikós", the Hungarian horse man.  We will be welcomed with a typical Hungarian brandy called pálinka and a salty cake "pogácsa". After the show the guests have the opportunity to ride a horse without saddle and go around the puszta in a carriage ride and admire the horses and other animals on the farm in the stables. A very opulent typical Hungarian lunch will be served in the "csárda" accompanied by live music of a gipsy band.  A great team building program can be the  Puszta Olympic Games. The guests are divided into groups of 5-10 and in a rotation system they go to the different stations where tasks connected with the puszta (e.g. cracking whip, driving a carriage or a donkey, throw horseshoe etc.) have to be fulfilled and will be scored.
 
Puszta program near Budapest (4-6 hours)

The program is the same as written above only the location is different, it is a farm in a short distance from Budapest.
 
Remarks

• It is possible to organize the puszta programs also as a late afternoon-evening venue.
• Besides the live music folklore program can be organised as well.
• It is possible to transport the guests to both locations in old timer so called "nostalgia" trains. The trains with steam driven engine is an excellent way to travel to the country side but because of the cost it pays off if there is a larger group size.

 

Lake Balaton and Herend (9-10 hours)

Balaton, the "Hungarian sea" is one of the largest lakes in Europe and the main holiday destination in Hungary. This tour takes the guests to Herend, one of the most famous porcelain manufactories in the world, to Balatonfüred, the oldest spa resort by the lake and to the Tihany Peninsula, the first nature reserve of Hungary with a protected village. There are several great options for a special lunch, e.g. with wine tasting in a rustic restaurant or an elegant meal in the restaurant of the Herend factory where the food is served in original Herend porcelain. During the tour in the mini manufactory the guests will be explained how the porcelain is made and they can try to make porcelain roses as well.

 

Others

Upon request lots of other programs can be organized like:

• Ride around Budapest in old-timer cars (30-50 year old cars)
• Canopying
• Bob slide
• Paintball
• Driving on the Formula-1 ring
• Adventure 4-wheel rides
• Travel on special bikes in different parks of the city
• Cave visits
• Visit of the Törley champagne factory
• Adventure flight with helicopter or small planes