Taking this fabulous cycling tour, you will ride through untouched nature and woods, charming villages, picturesque landscapes and historical wine regions of Hungary, along the River Danube, Lake Ferto, and Lake Balaton. You will visit most famous castles and Romanesque churches, nicest medieval towns, thermal baths, and interesting museums of Western Transdanubia, stay in wonderfully located castles and historic houses, and taste excellent Hungarian wine and gourmet local food in small but outstanding restaurants and wine-cellars.
Dates of Tour in 2008: (start and finish both in Budapest)
- 18-29. July - start on Friday, finish on Tuesday,
- 15-26. August - start on Friday, finish on Tuesday
- 12-23.September-start on Friday, finish on Tuesday
* Level of Support: Fully guided and supported.
* Level of Difficulty: Easy to moderate, mainly flat or undulating, with slight inclines in some areas.
* Cycling Distance: total 328kms/ 203miles, approx. 15-63 km/ 9-39miles/day
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival in Budapest. Your hotel is situated right at the woods on the top of the Buda hills. Its lovely environment and swimming pool, sauna, or massage possibilities will make you feel well, and relaxed quickly. You will meet with your tour guide at the reception at 6pm, and have a welcome drink, information about the tour, and dinner in the cosy restaurant of the hotel.
Day 2: Budapest to Cyor. Guided sightseeing tour with our bus around the most famous sights and best viewpoints of Budapest, the capital of Hungary, the „Pearl of the Danube”. After a short break, bus transfer to Gyor, „the town of rivers”, third richest home of historical monuments in the country. Then first to our hotel, which is situated in the heart of the antique part of the city, with a unique atmosphere.
A place where it is worth taking a rest, and a few steps to a brilliant thermal bath, which is right at the confluence of the River Danube, Rába and Rábca. Later we take a walk around the ancient town to view the Cathedral on Chapter Hill with a famous reliquary of a 11th century Hungarian king, the Episcopal Castle, Baroque houses with lovely oriels, and the Carmelite cloister dating back to the 18th century, where we stay.
Day 3: Miracles of Szigetkoz, an enchanting watery world, embraced by the arms of the Danube, a peaceful region, where the wind of modern times hasn’t swept through yet, a paradise for birds, anglers, and – as it is flat – for cyclists too. So, it’s time to swing into the saddle! We will ride along idyllic landscapes, charming villages off the beaten track, and if our guide doesn’t get lost among the labyrinth of dead branches, oxbow lakes with water-lilies, willow woods, dams, paths and byways, we will end up at a lovely thermal bath in Lipót. After a refreshing bathe, we will get to Hédervár. There we can enjoy our stay in real luxury, surrounded by the special atmosphere of a 400 year old Renaissance castle. Owing to the renovation in a wonderful, authentic style, its friendly size and beautiful park, it is called: "Pearl of Szigetköz”.(approx.48km/30m cycling)
Day 4: Hansag - the Mysterious Marshland. Flying back from the 16th to the 13th century will take a few minutes with our bus to Lébény, where we stop to see the amazing sized Romanesque church, one of Hungary’s most important monuments from that era. Cycling from here on the Little Plain, in the untouched nature through the Hanság, or as the locals call it: the Hany. The large wetland world, which preserved its original look, and belongs to the Fert - Hanság National Park, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage. We take a wonderful ride through alder woods, along bog meadows, small lakes and rivers, with a stop at a little museum to look at the characteristic species of the exceptionally rich flora and fauna of this area, which is the home of rare and protected flowers, and animals, like marsh orchid and harriers, owls, egrets, grey herons, black storks, eagles, some great bustards and Hungarian gray cattle. After reaching Lake Fertö (Neusiedl), we stop in Fertöd at the splendid Baroque palace, built by Miklós Esterházy in the 18th century, with a park in Versailles style. Busride, to Balf, a small village near the lake. The Castle Hotel where we stay for two nights, is connected with a small thermal bath, and a medical center, which was founded in the 18th century. Dinner we have in the most special restaurant of the area. (appr.55km/34m cycling)
Day 5: Sopron, Lake Ferto. Short transfer to Sopron, the town that has won the Europa Prize for its well protected monuments. Walking through the Fire Tower (symbol of town), a wonderful antique world, surrounded by the original city walls will open out, offering abundance of sights, listed buildings and cultural memories. We cycle from here through a lovely wood to Lake Fertö, one of the most interesting wild water areas of Central Europe, a steppe lake. Its rather shallow water, covered by a lot of reeds, gets easily warm in summer. Observing almost 300 bird species, or fishing more than 30 kind of fish, sailing, boating, swimming are popular activities here. We take a boat trip, and then rolling along the lake, we arrive back to Balf. After having a short rest, we visit the quarry of Fertörákos with enormous halls, and a beautiful view of Lake Fertö. After this, we taste some of the finest wines of the historic Sopron region, and have dinner in the same excellent restaurant again. (appr.23km/14m cycling)
Day 6: Balf to Bozsok. Just a short ride, and we get to Nagycenk, a village, where „the greatest Hungarian”, Count István Széchenyi, a prominent statesman of the 19th century lived. It is really worth seeing the museum in his former castle, which gives us a good insight into his life and shows his outstanding work promoting Hungary’s transport, industry and agriculture, not to mention some of the world-famous Hungarian inventions. Cycling along nice fields we stop to see a 300 year old watermill. We take the bus for a short while, and then we push the pedals further through beautiful woods and quiet villages towards the foothills of the Alps, and arrive at the romantic and familiar 17th century "Sibrik” castle in Bozsok, in the middle of a marvellous park in the wood, surrounded by ancient trees. It is the island of peacefulness, where time stops, and silence finds home, so we stay here for two nights.(cycling appr.44km/27m)
Day 7: Koszeg and the Irrotko Natural Park. Short bus ride to Köszeg. It’s hard to find any prettier town in Hungary than this little one. Let’s take a walk around "the Sub-Alpine jewel-box”, as they call it. Every house in the town has its own story. Rich decorations like sgraffito, or fresco-coat of arms, and various styles make them individually remarkable. The central square, surrounded by the city walls, takes us back to the Middle Ages. A great success was to defend the castle against the Turks by Captain Miklós Jurisics in 1532. After seeing the sights, we cycle in the wonderful forests among the hills of the Írottkö Naturpark with smashing views of the area. Passing by a small resort Velem, we stop at the museum-cellars in Cák, and ride back to our hotel. Tonight we have wine tasting and dinner in an old cellar with an "iron-curtain museum” among picturesque vineyards at the Austrian border. (cycling about 24km/15m)
Day 8: From Castle to Castle. Today we continue our tour in the nature along sleeping hamlets and softly undulating lands, through beautiful woods with a botanical garden. We have two stops to see the Benedictine abbey church (a basilica) in Ják, and a small village church in Csempeszkopács. Both are significant memories of the Romanesque architecture. Riding further to South by some small lakes, we arrive at Misefa, a quiet place near Héviz, and stay at a charming little Castle Hotel for two nights. (cycling appr.56km/35m)
Day 9: Keszthely and Heviz. A day of leisure. We take our bus to Keszthely, an old town at the Lake Balaton, where we visit the castle of the Festetics family. It’s one of the most beautiful Baroque palaces of Hungary with a scenic English Garden, rich furniture, and its biggest treasure, the Helikon Library, which has wonderfully preserved its original shape. By founding the first agricultural college of Europe, and organizing the Helikon festivals, the Festetics developed Keszthely into a cultural center. After some walk or rest in the town, we go to Hévíz, and dip into the 33-34°c water of the second biggest (4.4ha.) thermal lake of the world. It is the most famous health resort of Hungary, well known in Europe as well. The wooden buildings and plenty of water-lilies on the lake make the sight even more beautiful. After getting cured in the healing water, we go back to our hotel.
Day 10: Lake Balaton. The biggest lake in Middle Europe, and the most visited resort area of the country, the "Hungarian Sea”. It is very pleasant to swim in the 20-25°c warm water, and sailing, windsurfing, fishing is also much liked here. We cycle along the Northern Side, and enjoy one of Hungary’s most beautiful landscapes. The breathtaking panorama of the lake and the volcanic hills at Badacsony-historic wine region cannot be compared with anything else. A great number of beautifully renovated old thatched village houses make the area even more picturesque at Szigliget, and in the Káli Basin, which is a peaceful nature reserve, decorated with unique formations, like "stone seas” and "basalt organs” of the surrounding hills. Riding among vineyards all around, we reach Tihany, where we stay at a pleasant hotel right at the shore, where we have a great opportunity to swim. (appr 63km/39m cycling)
Day 11: Tihany to Budapest. Tihany Peninsula is another most attractive point of Balaton, with hidden natural beauties, like geyser-cones, and an Inner Lake. Arriving at the top, we visit the Benedictine monastery. Its foundation document, the oldest written memory we have (from 1055.) containing some Hungarian words, and the grave of the king who founded the abbey, can be seen in the crypt, and makes it famous. After enjoying another wonderful view, walking among the old thatch-roofed village houses, and souvenir shops, we cycle through Balatonfüred, an old health resort town, towards the end of the lake, and a sad moment, when we finish riding. We take a bus transfer to Budapest, to our hotel, and a farewell dinner there. (cycling appr.15km/9m)
Day 12: After enjoying breakfast in the friendly atmosphere of your hotel, we hope that you will leave with nice memories for a lifetime.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- 11 nights accommodation mainly in 3 or 4 star castles, mansions or historic houses
- 11 times breakfast, and 3 course gourmet dinners, always with some drinks and excellent wines
- 2x wine tasting in lovely wine cellars
- Full English speaking guiding during cycling and the programs of the whole tour
- Full technical support, and special trailer for all the bikes, and to transport all the luggage
- Air conditioned support bus, available for the whole group, during the whole tour.
- All the bus transfers, private guided sightseeing tours, and visits mentioned in the itinerary
- Boat trip on Lake Ferto
- All the 11 museum, castle, church, and 5 bath tickets, written in the program
- Very good quality hybrid bikes with 24 gears, front suspension, hand brakes, and panniers
- Souvenir water-bottle and TNS T-shirt
- Sights
Price Excludes:
- Your travel between Budapest and your home, before and after the tour
- Travel and health insurance
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Hungary
Bicycle Touring
Cultural Journey
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