GETTING THERE
Fly to Budapest “Ferihegy” airport or Balaton Airport “HevizBalaton” (www.hevizairport.com/en).
Do not forget your passport, although Hungary is a Schengen member, there are passport controls.
PLACES TO SEE
• Tihany peninsula – good for hiking at sunrise or sunset on the Csúcs-hegy, a viewpoint on Lake Balaton, 232 m high.
• Tihany – nice village with Benedictine abbey, nature trails, fish restaurants and a ‘Paprikahaus’, where peppers are hung on nets in autumn and dried in the sun.
• Heviz – spa town with second largest thermal lake in the world with water temperatures of 35 – 36 °C.
• Castle of Sümeg.
• Kis-Balaton – bird paradise and Kápolnapuszta buffalo reserve.
• Wine areas – Badacsony, Balatonn-Oberland, Balatonfüred-Csopak, Balatonboglár, Tihany and Zala.
• Walking – walks on the inactive volcanoes in the north of the lake or in the beautiful pine forest near Balatongyörök.
• Castle of Szigliget – super view of volcanoes and the lake.
• Balatoni museum – in Keszthely.
GEAR TO BRING
I recommend to bring a set of freeride gear. I always had a 107 with a 7.5 or a 120 with an 8.0 in the van. I often used 105 with 5.8, but as well 4.5 – 5.3 with a 95 litre board and even 4.0 with a small wave board. In spring and autumn it can be chilly when a cold front hits the lake so bring a 5/4/3 wetsuit, hood and booties when visiting then. From mid May till September it‘s fine with a 4/3 or 3/2 and for the warm summer days a shorty is good enough. When it was windy and warm I used a shorty with long arms and for chilly late summer days I used a 3/2mm wetsuit with long legs and arms. Great mountain biking in the area, so we brought our bikes but they can be rented at
www.bikehungary.hu/balatonfenyves/ www.on2wheels.hu/de/ www.aktivponttihany.hu/
HELPFUL WEBSITES
www.balaton.net/
www.balaton-service.de
www.de.gotohungary.com/balaton_de
www.welovebalaton.hu/