Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Hungary: Budapest, Eger Wine Country and Lake Balaton
7 days from Budapest: three nights in the capital, two in the wine town of Eger and one on Lake Balaton at Tihany.
7 days · Round trip from Budapest · up to 12 guests
The Chain Bridge and Pest from Castle Hill Photo: Thomas Depenbusch (Depi) from Cologne, Germany, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Budapest,_Hungary_(explored)_(14995308504).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Budapest
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Easy
Mostly walking in towns: 2 to 4 hours a day on foot, with cobbles and some steep lanes on Castle Hill, in Szentendre and up to Eger Castle, and a 4 km walk on the Tihany peninsula with about 100 m of climbing. The baths are as active or as lazy as you like. Every longer walk has an easy option, and you can sit any part out.
- Meals included
- 6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 2 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 630 (estimated price)
- Season
- May to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Castle Hill and the Fisherman's Bastion first thing, before the tour buses
- An evening boat on the Danube as the Parliament and the bridges light up
- A morning food walk through the Great Market Hall: paprika, salami, lángos and pastries
- An afternoon in the outdoor pools of the Széchenyi Baths
- The Serbian churches and painted lanes of Szentendre on the Danube Bend
- Eger Castle, held against the Ottoman army in 1552, at opening time
- Dinner in a rock-cut cellar in the Valley of the Beautiful Women with Bull's Blood from the barrel
- A walk through vineyards and lavender on the Tihany peninsula above Lake Balaton
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 630 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Budapest
Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport to your hotel in central Pest
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Budapest
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD), about 25 km south-east of the centre, where a driver meets you and takes you to a central hotel on the Pest side, within walking distance of the river. The rest of the day is free. An easy first walk is down to the Danube promenade, where the whole of Castle Hill faces you across the water, or along Andrássy Avenue towards the Opera.
Evening
In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing on the week: how the baths work, what to bring for the cellars, and where the easy and active options fall. Then your guide walks the group down to the Danube promenade for the view of the Chain Bridge and Castle Hill, and on to a welcome dinner of Hungarian cooking nearby: goulash soup, chicken paprikash and a first glass of Hungarian wine. Plan to land by about 4 pm to reach the briefing; later arrivals are met and join the group at dinner.
Included
- Pick-up at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Short evening walk to the Danube promenade with your guide
- Welcome dinner in central Pest
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Budapest: Castle Hill and the Danube at dusk
Pest across the Chain Bridge to Castle Hill, the Hungarian National Gallery, then an evening boat on the Danube
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Budapest
- By boat
We cross the river early and climb to Castle Hill before the tour buses arrive, when the Fisherman's Bastion terraces are quiet and the light is on Pest and the Parliament across the water. Your guide takes you into Matthias Church, with its patterned tile roof and painted interior, then along the medieval lanes of the Castle District to the royal palace. Here we spend an hour in the Hungarian National Gallery, which holds the country's own painters, from medieval altarpieces to Munkácsy and Mednyánszky, with a stop on the palace terrace for the view downriver.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal in the Castle District. The afternoon is free: rest, shop, or take the optional Parliament tour.
Evening
As the light goes we meet on the Pest embankment for an evening boat on the Danube, about an hour past the Parliament, the bridges and the castle as they light up.
Included
- Castle Hill with your guide: the Fisherman's Bastion terraces and Matthias Church
- The Hungarian National Gallery in the royal palace
- Sit-down lunch in the Castle District
- Evening boat on the Danube at dusk
- Public transport tickets for the day
Optional experiences
- Hungarian Parliament guided tour (timed tickets, on request)
Easier option: Ride the bus up Castle Hill instead of walking up, and back down after lunch.
More active option: Walk up from the river by the stepped paths and on along the castle walls to the Vienna Gate.
Free time: Afternoon free before the evening boat
Activity: About 3 hours on foot, with a climb of about 60 m to Castle Hill and cobbled lanes at the top. The National Gallery is closed on Mondays, so we swap the order of days when needed.
Budapest: the market and the Széchenyi Baths
The Great Market Hall and central Pest on foot, then the Széchenyi Baths in City Park
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Budapest
Morning
The morning is for eating. With a local food guide we start at the Great Market Hall, the big iron-and-brick hall by the Liberty Bridge that opened in 1897, while the stalls are being stocked and the shoppers are locals. We taste paprika in its sweet and hot grades, winter salami, pickles and a lángos, the fried dough eaten with sour cream and cheese, then walk on through the streets of Pest for strudel, a shot of pálinka for those who want one, and coffee and a cake in an old café.
Afternoon
The walk finishes with a small sit-down lunch. In the early afternoon we take the metro under Andrássy Avenue, the oldest line on the European continent, to City Park and the Széchenyi Baths, built in 1913, with yellow neo-baroque wings around warm outdoor pools fed by a thermal spring. Stay an hour or the whole afternoon.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Market food walk with a local guide: the Great Market Hall and central Pest, with tastings
- Sit-down lunch at the end of the walk
- Széchenyi Baths entry with a locker or cabin
- Public transport tickets for the day
Optional experiences
- A massage at the baths (book at the desk)
Easier option: Skip the second half of the walk and go to the baths straight from the market by taxi with your guide's help.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3 hours on foot on flat streets. The Great Market Hall is closed on Sundays, so we set the walk on a weekday or Saturday.
Szentendre on the Danube, then Eger
Budapest to Szentendre, then north-east to Eger
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Eger
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
After breakfast we drive about 40 minutes up the Danube to Szentendre, a small town of painters on the river where Serbian merchants settled in the 17th and 18th centuries. Their churches still stand: your guide walks you up the lanes from the main square with its plague cross to the Belgrade Cathedral, the Serbian Orthodox cathedral on the hill, and to the lookout by the Catholic church over the rooftops and the river.
Afternoon
There is time for the Margit Kovács museum of glazed ceramics, or for the galleries and marzipan shops, before lunch in the old town. In the early afternoon we drive about two hours east along the foot of the Mátra hills to Eger, a baroque town in a valley of vineyards below the Bükk hills. We check in for two nights near Dobó Square.
Evening
The evening is free: take a slow first walk round the square and up to the minaret.
Included
- Szentendre old town with your guide: the main square, the Belgrade Cathedral and the hilltop lookout
- Margit Kovács ceramics museum, Szentendre
- Sit-down lunch in Szentendre
- Drive to Eger
Easier option: Stay on the main square and the river front in Szentendre and skip the climb to the cathedral.
Free time: Evening free in Eger
Activity: About 2 hours on foot on cobbled and sloping lanes.
Eger: the castle and the Valley of the Beautiful Women
Eger Castle, the Lyceum and the minaret, then the Valley of the Beautiful Women
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Eger
We are at Eger Castle when it opens. In 1552 a small garrison under István Dobó held this hill for more than a month against a much larger Ottoman army, a story every Hungarian child knows; your guide tells it on the walls, then we see the casemates under the bastions and the view over the town. Down in town we cross to the Lyceum, the great 18th-century college building, and climb its tower to the camera obscura, which projects a live image of the streets onto a table, as it has since the 18th century. The slim minaret nearby is a reminder of the Ottoman years that followed.
Afternoon
Lunch is in town, and the afternoon is free: rest, or try the Turkish bath.
Evening
In the early evening we walk out to the Valley of the Beautiful Women, a horseshoe of cellars cut into the soft rock, for a tasting of Bull's Blood and Eger Star with dinner in a cellar.
Included
- Eger Castle at opening with your guide, with the casemates
- The Lyceum and its camera obscura
- Sit-down lunch in Eger
- Wine tasting and dinner in a cellar in the Valley of the Beautiful Women
- Return to the hotel by van after dinner
Optional experiences
- The Eger Turkish bath (thermal baths, in town)
- The minaret climb (narrow spiral stairs)
Easier option: Stay on the lower castle courtyards and skip the casemates and the Lyceum tower stairs; take the van to the valley as well as back.
More active option: Walk with your guide from the valley up the vineyard track to the Eged hill viewpoint over the town before the tasting, about an hour more.
Free time: Afternoon free in Eger
Activity: About 3 hours on foot, with a steep ramp up to the castle and a spiral staircase of several hundred steps up the Lyceum tower. Cellars are cool, so bring a layer.
To Lake Balaton: Tihany and its vineyards
Eger to Budapest's ring road, south-west on the M7 to Lake Balaton, then the Tihany peninsula
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Tihany
- Drive about 3.5 h
This is the one long drive, about 260 km and three and a quarter to three and a half hours, so we leave Eger at 8:30 and break it with a coffee stop on the way round Budapest.
Afternoon
We reach the Tihany peninsula, which juts into the north shore of Lake Balaton, in time for lunch looking over the water. Afterwards we visit Tihany Abbey on the ridge, a Benedictine house founded in 1055 by King Andrew I, who is buried in its crypt; its founding charter holds some of the oldest written Hungarian words. Then we walk: along the rim to the Inner Lake, a crater lake in the middle of the peninsula, past lavender fields and through vineyards, to the hermits' cells cut into the rock at Óvár.
Evening
We finish at a small winery with a tasting of Balaton whites, and the farewell dinner is by the lake.
Included
- Drive from Eger to Lake Balaton with a coffee stop
- Lunch on the Tihany peninsula
- Tihany Abbey and the crypt of King Andrew I
- Guided walk to the Inner Lake, the vineyards and the Óvár hermits' cells
- Wine tasting at a Balaton winery
- Farewell dinner by the lake
Easier option: Stay in the village by the abbey and its viewpoint, and meet the walkers at the winery by van.
More active option: Carry on from Óvár up to the Csúcs-hegy lookout, the highest point of the peninsula, about an hour more.
Activity: The longest drive of the trip, broken by a coffee stop and ending in lunch. The walk is about 4 km and 2 hours, with about 100 m of climbing on dirt paths.
Lake Balaton and home
Tihany to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD) or central Budapest
- Breakfast
- Drive about 2 h
Morning
Take an early swim or a walk on the shore while the lake is flat and the ferries are just starting to cross to Szántód, then have a slow breakfast. Mid-morning we drive back to Budapest, about 155 km and two hours, past Lake Velence and round the city to the airport. We reach Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport around 1 pm, and your guide sees you to the check-in hall and checks your flight before saying goodbye.
Evening
If you are staying on in Budapest, we drop you at a central hotel instead; many guests add a night or two to see the Parliament or the Jewish Quarter at their own pace. If you are carrying on to Vienna or Prague, our capitals trips start and finish nearby, and the train to Vienna takes about two and a half hours from Keleti station. Leave enough time for security at BUD in summer.
Included
- Drop-off at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD) or a central Budapest hotel
Free time: Early morning free by the lake
Activity: Book a flight from Budapest leaving after about 3:30 pm.
- Budapest3 nights
- Eger2 nights
- Tihany1 night
- Budapestend
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: May, June and September are warm and comfortable for walking; July and August can pass 30 C, when we keep the walking to the mornings and the lake is warm enough for a swim. The harvest in Eger and around Balaton runs in September and October, and Tihany's lavender is in flower from about mid-June to mid-July.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want Hungary itself, not a single night of Budapest at the end of a capitals run
- Wine lovers curious about Bull's Blood, Eger Star and Balaton whites, tasted where they are made
- Anyone who wants the baths, the river and the market included rather than sold on the day
- Solo travellers who want company at the table and a fair single supplement
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: Castle Hill, Eger Castle and Szentendre are steep and cobbled
- Travellers who want Prague and Vienna too: see our capitals trips
- Those who want a beach holiday at Balaton: we spend one night by the lake
- Hikers looking for long days on foot
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
6 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Budapest3 nights
- Eger2 nights
- Tihany1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 6 nights in central 3-star-plus or better hotels: 3 in Budapest on the Pest side, 2 in Eger near Dobó Square, 1 at Tihany or Balatonfüred by the lake
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
- We name each hotel when we confirm your dates
Transport
- Pick-up and drop-off at Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD)
- A private vehicle and driver for the group from Budapest to Szentendre, Eger, Lake Balaton and back
- Public transport tickets in Budapest on days 2 and 3
- Evening boat on the Danube
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip
- A local food guide for the Budapest market walk, and local guides where sites require them
Activities
- Budapest: Castle Hill, the Fisherman's Bastion terraces and Matthias Church
- Budapest: the Hungarian National Gallery
- Budapest: market food walk from the Great Market Hall, with tastings
- Budapest: Széchenyi Baths entry
- Szentendre old town and the Margit Kovács ceramics museum
- Eger Castle with the casemates
- Eger: the Lyceum and its camera obscura
- Wine tasting and cellar dinner in the Valley of the Beautiful Women, Eger
- Tihany Abbey
- Guided walk on the Tihany peninsula to the Inner Lake and Óvár
- Wine tasting at a Balaton winery
Meals
- Breakfast daily (6)
- Lunch on days 2 to 6 (5)
- Welcome dinner in Budapest, cellar dinner in Eger and farewell dinner at Lake Balaton (3)
Not included
- International flights to and from Budapest
- Travel insurance
- ETIAS travel authorisation, once it applies
- Dinners on days 2, 3 and 4
- Drinks beyond the tastings and welcome glass
- Tips
- Optional activities: the Parliament tour, the Eger Turkish bath, massages at the baths
- Towel rental at the baths
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 630 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Six nights in central hotels, breakfast daily, five lunches, three dinners, airport transfers, a private vehicle and driver, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, and every entry in the plan: Castle Hill, the National Gallery, the market food walk, the Széchenyi Baths, the evening Danube boat, Szentendre, Eger Castle and the Lyceum, Tihany Abbey and two wine tastings.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That is one van, one table in a wine cellar and a group small enough to hear the guide on a busy castle terrace. If you would like it even smaller, the private version is your party only.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the welcome dinner to the airport. A local food guide leads the Budapest market walk, and local guides join where a site requires its own. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.
How fit do I need to be?
You should be comfortable walking 2 to 4 hours a day on cobbles and some steep lanes, with a few stairs at Eger Castle and the Lyceum tower. The Tihany walk is about 4 km with a gentle climb. Every longer walk has an easy option, and you can sit any part out.
I am travelling solo. What does a single room cost?
A room of your own costs a single supplement of about CAD 630, shown before you book, with no surprise at checkout. If you would rather share, ask and we will try to match you with another solo traveller of the same gender; if we cannot, you will not be charged the supplement.
When is the best time to go?
The trip runs from May to October. May, June and September are the most comfortable for walking; July and August are hot but the lake is warm for swimming. The grape harvest is in September and October, and Tihany's lavender flowers from about mid-June to mid-July.
How does booking work?
Choose a style and send a request to book. No payment is taken with the request. We confirm availability, your hotels and the price within 24 hours, and only then ask you to pay a deposit to secure your place.
Can I do this trip on my own dates?
Yes. The private version runs on a date you choose, with your own guide and vehicle. If you would rather travel independently with hotels and transfers booked but no guide, send us an inquiry and we will quote it separately; that is not one of the bookable styles.
Do I need a visa for Hungary?
Hungary is in the Schengen area. Canadian, US, UK and Australian passport holders can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180 days. Check whether the EU's ETIAS travel authorisation applies when you travel and apply before you fly; your passport should be valid for at least three months after you leave.
Which Budapest bath do we visit, and what should I bring?
We go to the Széchenyi Baths in City Park, with warm outdoor pools open all year. The Gellért Baths are closed for a long renovation. Bring a swimsuit and flip-flops; towels can be rented there. A locker or cabin is included, and you can stay an hour or the whole afternoon.
What is Bull's Blood, and do I have to drink?
Egri Bikavér, Bull's Blood, is Eger's red blend, and Egri Csillag, Eger Star, its white. You taste both in a cellar with dinner, and Balaton whites at Tihany. Pours are small and there is always water and food; soft drinks are there for anyone not drinking, at no extra cost.
How does this compare with your Prague, Vienna and Budapest trip?
Our capitals trips spend two or three nights in Budapest at the end of a run through Prague and Vienna. This trip is Hungary only: three nights in Budapest with the baths, market and river, then Eger's wine country and Lake Balaton, which the capitals trips do not reach.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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