Where to stop en route to Budapest?

I haven't been to Bratislava. I've heard mixed things about it. Some people like it, others don't think it's worth much time.

I stopped in Telc for a few hours en route to Trebon (spent a night) and Cesky Krumlov (spent a few nights). Both nice towns - and there are others. Telc has a castle (which I didn't visit) and a huge town square, which is striking. The town of Jindrichuv Hradec is also really nice. But to be honest, none of these towns (including Cesky Krumlov) really lit my fire, personally. I'd probably pick the town with the least amount of detour driving between Cesky Krumlov and Budapest and stop there. I don't think it's a mistake to visit one town and not another.

From Cesky Krumlov Trebon, Telc, Lednice (not Ledvice), Mikulov are more or less on your way to Budapest. Because you don't want to visit castles or do wine tasting give them each slightly over hour. They are not so touristy as Prague and Cesky Krumlov but of course they are more touristy than others you haven't heard about; they even made it into Rick Steves book: Prague & the Czech Republic. You can find more information about these towns in the book.

Telc, Czech Republic and Sorpon, Hungary are both very nice. Telc is surrounded by ponds that you can walk around and even over. My wife and I visited each town on our 2011 Hungary-Czech Republic trip, and I could have lingered in each for another day. Not becaue either had so much to see, it just would have been nice to slow down in a pleasant place on an otherwise busy itinerary.

Yes, Sopron is nice and dismantling of the iron curtain started there:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/hungary/articles/Sopron-Hungary-the-picnic-that-changed-the-world/

Thank you so much. I really was leaning on visiting a few locations in Czech Republic rather than stopping in Bratislava, primarily because I've read a lot of mixed reviews. I just wasn't sure as there doesn't seem to be many people who have done it during a transfer from Prague to Budapest. I was a bit concerned we would be biting off to much for one day.

If we do make one stop a bit longer than another (other than a stop for lunch), do you have any recommendation as to which location it should be... should we visit a museum or castle en route?

I read the link to Sopron. It sounds like a great location to visit. I tried to view it on google maps and it looks to be a bit out of the way .... not sure if its as far a detour as it looks though. What are your thoughts on stopping at Trebon, Telc, Lednice and Sopron en route to Budapest? Would it be too much?

Thank you again :-)

Ok, been looking into it a bit more.

We'll definitely stop in Trebon and Telc. I think one more stop is probably possible but more would be too much and would result in us arriving in Budapest very late. I figure the options for a third stop are:

Lednice
Slavonice
maybe even Bratislava or Gyor
I'd like to visit Sopron but it seems we'd need to travel through Austria and I'd like to save that for another trip.

Which do you think would be a better stop?

I'd love to eat at Supina in Trebon but that will be too early for lunch since we'd be leaving Cesky Krumlov around 9-10am. Do you have a lunch recommendation for perhaps Telc or one of the other stops?

I would say Lednice. There is a chateau, tropical greenhouse, huge park, lakes with boats transporting people to the minaret. Read more in R.S. book and google Lednice. It's probably the most interesting place out of your towns. Nearby (5 miles or so) is Valtice with salon of wine: http://www.salonvin.cz and Museum of Iron Curtain.

Thanks Ilja. You've been a huge help. I didn't think to add Mikulov to the last list. Would you still choose Lednice? Have you visited the Museum of the Iron Curtain? I can't find much about it.

I would still choose Lednice. And you can see Mikulov, too. I haven't visited the museum but it's in my plans. Website for it is here:
http://www.muzeumopony.cz/en/
And to get even more information google iron curtain museum Valtice