This is your destination guide for Hungary.
A warm, shallow inland sea, volcanic wine hills on one shore and a thermal lake you can swim in all winter.
The reality: It's late afternoon on the Tihany peninsula. You've climbed past the abbey, the lavender is going over, and below you the lake is so flat and pale that the far shore looks painted on. Down at the beach, families are eating lángos, fried dough with sour cream and cheese, standing up in the water.
Hungary has no coast, so Balaton is its summer sea: 77 kilometres long, and so shallow that it warms up like a bath in July. The two shores are different trips. The south is flat and sandy, with holiday towns, children and the big parties. The north is hilly and volcanic, with old villages, castle ruins and vineyards on the slopes.
At the western end, Hévíz is a lake of warm thermal water where people swim all year, even in the snow. Come for the north shore, the wine and the cycling, and pick a base on the north side.
An abbey on a peninsula, volcano hills and castle ruins.
Tihany — the peninsula reaches almost to the south shore. The twin-towered Benedictine Abbey on top was founded in 1055, and its founding charter holds some of the oldest written Hungarian words that survive. Behind the village: an inner lake and lavender fields, best in late June and early July.
Balatonfüred — the old spa town, with a lakeside promenade, villas and the best restaurants on the shore.
Badacsony — a flat-topped volcanic hill covered in vineyards, with wine terraces at the bottom and basalt "organ pipe" cliffs at the top.
Szigliget — a ruined castle on a hilltop above the village, with the whole lake below.
Inland is the Káli Basin, a valley of stone villages, old farmhouses and the "stone sea" at Szentbékkálla, a field of huge sandstone boulders. It's the quietest side of Balaton, and the best place to stay if you want a holiday away from the beach.
A warm lake, a palace and a wetland full of birds.
Hévíz — a few kilometres from the western end of Balaton, a lake fed by a warm spring: the largest thermal lake in the world you can swim in. The water stays warm in winter, water lilies cover it in summer, and you swim out from a bathhouse on stilts. It's calm, slightly sulphurous, and full of older visitors on a cure. Join them.
Keszthely — on the lake's western tip, with the Festetics Palace, a grand baroque mansion with a library and gardens.
Kis-Balaton — south of Keszthely, a reed-bed reserve with herons, egrets and water buffalo.
Cycle, sail, swim or walk up a volcano.
Lángos on the beach, fish from the lake, wine from the hills.
Lángos — the taste of a Balaton summer: deep-fried dough rubbed with garlic, topped with sour cream and grated cheese, eaten on the beach with oil running down your wrists. Every strand has a stand.
Fogas — the local pikeperch, grilled. Or fried hekk (hake) on a paper plate by the water.
Badacsony wine — known for Olaszrizling and the local white grape Kéknyelű, grown on volcanic soil.
Balatonfüred and Csopak — small cellars where you taste on a terrace above the lake. In summer, wine festivals fill the town squares.
June and September for the lake, any month for Hévíz.
June — warm, 24–28°C, and the lavender flowers.
July and August — high season. The lake hits 25°C or more, the strands are full and prices go up. Hungarian school holidays run from mid-June to the end of August.
September — the best month. The water is still warm, the grape harvest is on, and the crowds have gone.
October to April — most beach towns close down, but Hévíz stays open, and Tihany and the wine villages are quiet and pretty. In a hard winter Balaton freezes, and people skate on it.
A car for the hills, a train for the shore, a ferry across.
By car — you'll want one for the Káli Basin and the wine villages. Hungarian motorways need an e-vignette (e-matrica), bought online before you drive on them.
By train — trains from Budapest run along both shores. The north-shore line is slower and prettier. Hévíz has no railway: take the train to Keszthely and the bus from there.
By ferry — a car ferry crosses between Tihany and Szántód, and in summer passenger boats link towns on both shores.
Compare rental cars →Pick a shore before you pick a hotel.
Balatonfüred — the most choice on the north shore, with spa hotels, a promenade and good restaurants.
Tihany — guesthouses on the peninsula, very quiet once the day visitors leave.
Badacsony & the Káli Basin — farmhouses and small wine guesthouses among the vineyards. You'll need a car.
Keszthely — a real town with a palace, good for the west end and Hévíz.
Hévíz — spa hotels around the thermal lake. The only base that works all year.
Balaton is cheaper than the Croatian coast in the same week, but it's no longer cheap. In July and August, north-shore restaurants and guesthouses charge almost Budapest prices. Come in June or September and everything costs a third less.
Prices in 2026 Hungarian forint. 10 000 Ft is about €25. Outside July and August most prices drop 25–35%.
Go if you want a warm, shallow lake for swimming, wine hills to cycle through and a thermal lake for the cold months. Skip if you want the sea, waves or a quiet August. Pick the north shore, bring a bike and save one morning for Hévíz.
Found this useful? Share it.
One new way to travel. Every Thursday.
Not deals or destinations — methods. House sitting, night trains, repositioning cruises, and what each one really costs.
Ever thought of travelling this way?
House Sitting
A whole house and no rent, for looking after someone’s home while they are away. We spent the whole of covid on an estate in Portugal this way.
Read article →Overnight Ferries
Sleep on a ship that has to cross anyway. A two-berth cabin with a shower for less than a hotel room — and you wake up in another country.
Read article →Campervan Relocations
Rental companies need their vans driven back. Four berths, a kitchen and a shower for about a euro a night — and a country you would never have picked.
Read article →👇 Tap one, or just type
