Cycling tours in Hungary - Castles and spas around West Hungary

CASTLES AND SPAS AROUND WEST HUNGARY

Taking this fabulous cycling tour, you will ride through untouched nature and woods, charming villages, and historic wine regions of Hungary, enjoying fascinating scenery along the River Danube, Lake Fertő, and Lake Balaton. You will visit our most famous castles and Romanesque churches, nicest mediaeval towns of Győr, Sopron and Kőszeg, most beautiful spas, such as Hévíz, and interesting museums of Western Transdanubia. You will stay in wonderfully located castles or mansions, and taste excellent Hungarian wine and gourmet local food in small but fantastic restaurants and wine-cellars. 

TOUR ITINERARY:

„Thanks for the best hotels, the best food, the best wines, the best service, the best tour-guiding and the best weather we had on a tour in Hungary... and especially many thanks for the nicest hotels and most interesting people we met during the twelve days. The whole tour was a complete success.”
Vreni & Pierre – Switzerland 

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 wellness possibilities will make you feel well, and relaxed quickly. In the evening you will meet one of us at the reception, have a welcome drink, information about the tour, and dinner in the nice restaurant of the hotel. 

DAY 2: BUDAPEST - GYŐR

You will have a guided sight-seeing 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 Győr, „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 SZIGETKÖZ

This is an enchanting water-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 tour guide doesn’t get lost among the labyrinth of oxbow lakes with water-lilies, willow woods, dams, paths and byways, we will end up at a lovely thermal bath. After a refreshing bathe, we will get to a small village, where we can enjoy our stay in real luxury, surrounded by the special atmosphere of a 400 years 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: CYCLING IN HANSÁG, A MYSTERIOUS MARSHLAND

Flying back from the 16th to the 13th century will take just a few minutes with our bus, to visit an amazing sized Romanesque church, one of Hungary’s most important monuments from that era. We cyle from here in the untouched nature through the Hanság. This large wetland world preserved its original look, and belongs to the Fertő-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 exeptionally 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, great bustards and Hungarian grey cattle. After reaching Lake Fertő (Neusiedl), we stop in Fertőd at the splendid Baroque palace, built by Miklós Esterházy in the 18th century, with a nice park in Versailles style. Just a short bus ride, and we arrive at a little Castle Hotel near Sopron, where we stay two nights. It is connected with a small thermal bath, and a medical center, which was founded in the 18th century. We have dinner in the most special restaurant of the area. (appr.55km/34m cycling)

DAY 5: SOPRON & LAKE FERTŐ

Short ride 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 Fertő, 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 cycling along the lake, we arrive back to our hotel. After having a short rest, we visit a quite unique quarry with enormous halls, and a beautiful view of Lake Fertő. After this, we taste some of the finest wines of the historic Sopron region, and have dinner in the same lovely restaurant. (appr.23km/14m cycling)

DAY 6: CYCLING FROM SOPRON TO KŐSZEG

Just a short ride, and we get to 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 at a 300 years old watermill, and then we ride further through beautiful woods and quiet villages towards the foothills of the Alps, and arrive at a very charming 17th century castle in the middle of a marvellous park in the wood, surrounded by ancient trees. It is the island of peacefulness, where the air is always fresh, the time stops, and silence finds home, so we stay here for two nights. (cycling appr.44km/27m)

DAY 7: KŐSZEG AND THE ÍROTTKŐ NATURE PARK

We take a short ride to Kőszeg. It’s hard to find any prettier towns 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 citywalls, 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 Írottkő Naturpark with smashing views of the area. Passing by a small resort, we stop at some thatched museum-cellars, and ride back to our hotel. Tonight we visit a rather unique „iron-curtain museum” among picturesque vineyards, where you can hear very interesting stories from the time before the political changes happened in Hungary. We taste some local wine here, and then we have dinner in a lovely old “csárda” restaurant. (cycling about24km/15m)

DAY 8: CYCLING FROM CASTLE TO CASTLE

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 one of the nicest little village churches of Hungary. Both are significant memories of the Romanesque architecture. Riding further to South by some small lakes, we arrive at a hidden place near Hévíz, and stay two nights here at a small Castle Hotel with a beautiful park and a friendly atmosphere. (cycling appr.56km/35m)

DAY 9: KESZTHELY AND HÉVÍZ

Today we can have a rest, and take our bus to Keszthely, an old town at Lake Balaton, where we visit the Festetics Castle. It’s one of the most beautiful Baroque palaces of Hungary with a wonderful 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 family 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, wellknown in Europe as well. The wooden buildings and plenty of water-lilies on the lake make the sight here uniquely beautiful. After getting cured in the healing water, we get back to our hotel.

DAY 10: CYCLING ALONG LAKE BALATON

The „Hungarian Sea” is the biggest lake in Middle Europe, and the most visited resort area of the country. 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 some of Hungary’s most beautiful landscapes. The breath-taking panorama of the lake and the volcanic hills at Badacsony, a 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. Biking among nice vineyards all around, we reach Tihany, where we have a pleasant opportunity to swim, and we stay at a lovely hotel. (cycling appr.63km/39m)

DAY 11: TIHANY - 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 Abbey. Its foundation document, our oldest written memory (from 1055.) which contains 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, towards the end of the lake, and a sad moment, when we finish cycling. We take a bus transfer to our hotel in Budapest, and a have our farewell dinner there. (cycling appr.15km/9m)

DAY 12:

After enjoying breakfast in the friendly atmosphere of your hotel, we hope that you will get home safely, with nice memories for a lifetime.