Cycling tours in Hungary - General information - TradNatura Sport

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE TOUR PRICES:

• Our tour prices include practically everything to make your cycling holidays in Hungary absolutely enjoyable and comfortable.
• Only those parts are not included, which are easier to arrange from your country, and some optional possibilities.
• Please find here some general information about our tours, and exact information according to the tour itineraries, please find at the details of Our Tours.

WHAT OUR TOURS INCLUDE:

• Superb accommodation mainly in small but very nice 4 or 3 star castles, mansions, or historic buildings.
• Gourmet local food, every day buffet breakfasts, and 3 course dinners with some drinks and excellent wines.
• Delicious picnic lunches in beautiful spots in the nature, and refreshing soft drinks during cycling.
• Wine tastings in old cellars of our historic wine regions.
• Most beautiful sights and routes mainly in nature reserves or woods, with low or no car traffic.
• Full English speaking guiding throughout all the tours with 1st class service of 2 experienced tour guides, one of us cycling with you, and one of us driving the support van.
• Full technical support, and our special trailer to transport all your luggage and the bikes.
• Air conditioned support bus available for the whole group at any time, and all the bus transfers throughout the tours.
• All the guided sight-seeings, boat trips, forest-train, or ferry tickets, museum, castle, church and thermal bath visits according to the details of Our Tours.
• Very comfortable and good quality hybrid bikes with 24 gears, suspension fork, shock absorbing seatposts, panniers, and a water-bottle.
• Souvenir TNS T-shirt, a map of Hungary and information of the regions we visit.
• Transport in Budapest between the airport or stations, and your hotel.

OPTIONAL (not included):

• Extra nights in Budapest before and after the tour.
• Various massage possibilities, or your other extra / private costs, souvenirs, gifts, telephone, minibar, etc.

NOT INCLUDED:

• Your trip between your home and the starting / finishing place of the tours, Budapest.
• Your travel and health insurance.

ACCOMMODATION

A great feature of our cycling tours is the outstanding accommodation. We often stay in old castles, mansions or historic buildings, and all our hotels are rather carefully selected for their antique or unique atmosphere, quiet location and wonderful surroundings, beautiful parks with ancient trees, lovely swimming pools, beaches or wellness possibilities, kind hospitality, and rather high standard. We mostly use small and intimate 3 - 4 star, or family hotels, all with very friendly atmosphere. We stay one or two nights at the hotels in order to discover more sights of the regions. Needless to say that your rooms will have en-suite facilities everywhere. More photos...

FOOD & WINE

To make your cycle tour absolutely delightful, we will take you on gastronomic adventures in some of the best small restaurants or ancient wine cellars of Hungary, where you can taste masterpieces of the famous Hungarian cuisine, finest local specialities, and top quality wines of our historic wine regions. Every day you can have nice buffet breakfasts to fill yourself up with energy, and during the cycling we will provide you with cool soft drinks, mineral water, and lovely picnic lunches, featuring typical Hungarian home-made delicacies, at very beautiful places in the nature. After cycling in the fresh air all day, we think you will well deserve a delicious 3 course dinner with some wine, refreshing mineral water, or beer. You can also sample the special aroma of our “pálinka” (brandy), made of various fruits.
If you have any special diet requirements, please let us know when you book a tour, and we will arrange different meals for you with pleasure, which will satisfy all your demands.
Gourmet experiences belong to the highlights of our tours, and to the great traditions of Hungary... More photos...

SIGHTS & ROUTES

We made a rather detailed research to explore the most beautiful and quiet routes of our regions for you. Our cycling tours combine visits to lovely historic towns, castles, museums, churches, healing thermal spas, with cycling through the most unspoilt woods and nature reserves with picturesque landscapes of Hungary. We will show you all the famous sights of Hungary, as well as the hidden treasures of the unknown countryside. We ride along quiet country lanes, cycle or forest paths, and river embankments, mainly on tarmac or sometimes on good quality gravel, with very low or no car traffic. For every day we have selected a basic route, but there are always more scenic options to allow for different fittness levels or weather conditions. All our tours start and finish in Budapest, only one is finished in Vienna. Please find more information at the details of Our Tours...

GUIDING

All our tours are fully guided and supported, and led personally by the two of us: Marietta & Peter, as we would like to make sure that your cycling holiday in Hungary will be the nicest and most enjoyable. We will guide you during the sight-seeings, in the museums, making you thoroughly acquainted with our history, life, flora and fauna. One of us will cycle with the group to show you the way and the sights, or help if you have any kind of trouble, and one of us will drive the support minibus, to provide full technical background and catering service en route. On the tours both of us will have mechanical and first aid equipments and mobile/cell phones. Of course we both speak fluent English, we are both Hungarian, and we love our country very much. The only thing we love even better is to show you how beautiful it is! We will be with you all the time to help, offering you our service from morning till night. (Don’t worry, you will have some free time too, to have some rest...) More photos...

SUPPORT VAN

Our comfortable, air conditioned minibus, available for the whole group (up to 15 guests) throughout all our tours, also reflects our high level of service. It provides the opportunity to cycle only along the nicest areas of the routes, avoiding unpleasant conditions such as car traffic, rain, or steep hills. The minibus also ensures that you can be flexible with your cycling distances every day, offering an alternative if you want to rest at any time. Of course we transport your luggage as well in our special trailer from hotel to hotel. Our bus is always somewhere nearby, giving full support as needed, and it often meets the group for the drinking and lunch breaks. More photos...

BIKES & EQUIPMENTS

Our very comfortable, good quality and well maintained Merida Crossway hybrid bikes in different sizes are waiting for you here. You will find even your name on them. They are well suited to the terrain of our cycling tours, and the roads of Hungary. They have light frames, 24 gears, comfortable saddles, shock absorbing seatposts, suspension forks, high quality Shimano elements, V-brakes, mudguards, rear racks, panniers with your name, and a water-bottle. We will adjust everything on your bike for you before we start cycling on the tours. Helmets are not obligatory for cycling in Hungary, but for your safety it is advisable to use one. We would like to recommend that you bring your own comfortable helmet. If you require, we can also provide you with helmet, or extra wide/soft saddle, just write us when you book, if you have any special wishes. Needless to say that the use of our bikes with panniers, is included in the tour prices. If you prefer to bring your own bike, we can give you a reduction of Euro 3 / cycling day. In this case please don’t forget to bring adequate spare parts and tools, and a bag to carry things that you need during cycling. More photos...

GROUP SIZE

Our groups range from 4 to 15 people. Our small groups can use charming small hotels, cosy restaurants, secret places where the crowd can’t get in. This small size also makes it possible for everybody in the group, to use our support bus whenever it is necessary. The atmosphere is more friendly, we can offer you our best personal attention, and you can feel like a member of our small family.

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY

Cycling in Hungary is quite easy, as this is a rather flat country with some hilly areas. The highest point is ~1000m. Hills higher than ~200m, are usually called mountains in Hungarian. We have selected mainly flat and sometimes slightly undulating routes where longer downhills outnumber short uphills. When we rarely have some hard uphills, we take our bus. Our tours are designed for everybody who can cycle 10-40 miles/16-65 kms a day at a leisure pace. With a suitable fittness level you will not have any difficulties, but if you never do any sport activities at home, some regular training in advance would be recommended in order to make your tour more enjoyable. However, if you get exhausted at any time, our support bus is always near, and available for the whole group up, so you can cycle as much of the daily distances as you wish. If you are a keen cyclist, you will also have an opportunitiy to cycle some extra miles on several days. If you are uncertain, please feel always free to ask us for any further advice. Non cyclists are also welcome on our holidays!

TAILOR-MADE TOURS FOR GROUPS

If you want to join us with your family or friends, and none of our fixed tour dates or cycle tours would suit your time-table or requirements, please contact us as early as possible before your planned holiday, and we will be pleased to design a special tour for you. We can modify most of the ingredients of our tours to make a trip perfectly suitable to your demands.
Please find further information at Bespoke Tours, fill out and submit our enquiry form there, or contact us to discuss any questions, and we will design a wonderful tour for you with pleasure.

TOUR PRICES

Please find our prices at the details of Our Tours. All the tour prices are quoted in EUROS.
If you prefer to pay in any other currencies, please contact us before you book or pay. In this case we can calculate an approximate price for you when you book, and the exact price before you are paying, according to the current exchange rates of that time.

DISCOUNTS

We are happy to offer 5% discount either for groups from 6 people, or for our returning guests who book directly with us.

CHILDREN

We always welcome families with children on our cycling tours. We think that you as a parent know best your cildren’s capabilities, so you can decide what is suitable for them. We can provide various small bikes, and offer child discounts depending on their age, the size of the room needed, and the other services of the tour required for them. So please let’s have a talk about all these details when you book, to find an optimal solution and price for you.

WEATHER & TIME

In Hungary we have continental weather. Our usually warm summers with quite a lot of sunshine provide rather pleasant conditions for cycling holidays. About 25-30 °C daytime temperature can be expected from June to August, and around 20-25 °C in May or in September. Nowadays -as everywhere- sometimes weather may be unpredictable, so it is better to be prepared for cooler or rainy circumstances too. Local time in Hungary is Central European Time (GMT+1 hour), and CET+1 hour during summer-time.

PASSPORT OR VISA

You must have a valid passport to enter and leave Hungary. If you are a national of any countries of the European Union or Switzerland, your Identity Card is enough, but only if your nationality is in your ID card.
So, British, Irish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic nationals need to have a passport, as well as citizens from the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. (A Visa is required only for stays longer than 90 days.) If you are from any other countries please check with the local Hungarian Embassy or Consulate, or we can also help.

HEALTH AND INSURANCE

Cycling tours require people to be in good health. When you book you must inform us of any medical condition that may effect your ability on the tour (allergy, asthma, heart problems, etc.). In such cases, it is highly recommended that you obtain your doctor’s advice before booking. European residents should have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) when they travel, but it is not a substitute for medical and travel insurance. So, we strongly recommend that you obtain comprehensive and adequate travel and medical insurance in your home country, to cover unexpected costs due to illness, accident, lost luggage, tour interruption or cancellation, etc., and ensure that your policy covers you for the sport activities you will do. (You can find useful info at fco.gov.uk and below a leading UK Travel Insurance, Airport Parking and Hotel provider, a useful help to make your travel safe and easy: essentialtravel.co.uk)

MONEY

Though Hungary is a member of the E.U., the local currency here is still Hungarian Forint (HUF). You can change cash in Exchange offices or in Banks at the Airport, at the Stations, around the shopping or tourist areas of Budapest, and in the bigger Towns or Hotels. Travellers cheques are accepted only in Banks. Credit cards are accepted in most of the shops, restaurants or hotels. There are many ATM-s in Budapest and you can find them in other settlements or at petrol stations too. However, it is recommended to have some cash with you for the small hotels, local restaurants, pubs or shops of the hidden villages and areas where we mainly cycle.

HOW TO GET TO HUNGARY

Hungary is in the middle of Europe, so whether you fly, take a train or a bus, or drive a car, it is easy to get here. It is rather popular to come by low cost airlines which come to Budapest from several places of Europe. Some websites where you can find cheap tickets: from Europe: easyjet.com, wizzair.com, from Overseas: (Canada, USA, Australia or New Zealand) webjet.com, flightnetwork.com. Should you come by car, there are good motorways to get to Budapest, where the hotel we use has a closed and free parking place. We can give you detailed directions on how to find your Hotel, when you come.

TRANSFERS IN BUDAPEST

For your convenience we can arrange free transport in Budapest between the airport or stations, and your hotel. If you would like to take this service, please tell us the exact details of your arrival/departure not later than 30 days before your tour start, if possible.

EXTRA NIGHTS IN BUDAPEST

If you should like to spend additional nights in Budapest before or after your tour, please notify us when you book. Our hotel in Budapest is in the nicest and quiet area of the city, right at the woods on the top of the Buda Hills, with beautiful view, a lovely swimming pool, and other wellness facilities. We can reserve rooms for you with pleasure here for the following prices, including buffet breakfast:

• EURO 75 / single room / night
• EURO 85 / double room / night
• EURO 105 / three bed room / night

(Should you prefer staying at other hotels, you can visit Hotel in Budapest, or we can also help you.)

HOW TO BOOK A TOUR

Please read the details of Our Tours, the General Information and the Terms & Conditions carefully.
If you have decided which tour or date you would like to take, please first Contact us or fill out and send us our Enquiry form to check availability, and we will reply as soon as we can.
If we have confirmed that we have free places available, you need to send us our completed and signed booking form together with the deposit (10% of the tour price), or with the full cost of your bike tour (if you book within 60 days of departure), to make your reservation secured.
You can use our Online booking form, or you may download and send us our Pdf booking form.
We are able to accept bank money transfer. Please find details of our bank on the booking forms.
We will contact you to confirm your booking and send you our confirmation / invoice upon receipt of deposit or full payment.
The balance of the cost of your holiday is due no later than 60 days before your cycling tour starts.
After we have received your final payment, we will send you our voucher / invoice, and all the useful travel, arrival and local information that you may need for your trip.
Please make your bookings early, because we need to finalise our bookings with the hotels at the latest 60 days before the start of the tours. After this time we might not be able to find rooms in the small hotels we use!
If you have any further questions connected with your holiday, please never hesitate to contact us for any help!

We look forward to hearing from you, and to welcoming you here!

Marietta and Peter