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Debrecen in October

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I will be competing at an athletic event in Debrecen in October. It's my first visit to Hungary and friends have suggested staying in Budapest for all but the competition days. I've allowed myself 5 days of play before competition and will undoubtedly want to spend a couple in Budapest but was wondering what attractions there are in Debrecen. Horse back riding and bicycles have been mentioned. ;)

And how difficult would it be to rent a car and take a three country loop through Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia. Roads decent?, travel arrangements difficult? Just trying to think of things to do while I recover from jet lag and make the most of the opportunity to see what I can.

Posted by
17854 posts

I have never been to Debrecen, but I have friends who have lived there and say its quite lovely. You can find the sites of interest with a few Google searches. "undoubtedly want to spend a couple in Budapest" in my most objective point of view (not always easy) I would suggest that it takes a good solid three full days to appreciate Budapest. Put more accurately wake and go to bed in Budapest three consecutive times. I haven't rented a car in the region so I don't know how willing a rental company will be to have their car in Ukraine or even Romania for that matter. I have driven into Slovakia in a rented car with nor problems. I have been to Romania and Slovakia (you might consider Bulgaria too) and they are worth the time if you have the time. You can do a lot in Slovakia by train out of Budapest, cheaply and conveniently. Romania is a little more difficult but fortunately the services in Romania are much less expensive. You can hire a guide, with a car and pay for a decent hotel room for something between $300 and $400 a day; and he will pick you up in Budapest ( and possibly take you through Slovakia and Ukraine as well). I have been working on a fishing trip for late next spring that will be in Slovakia and Ukraine. What I have determined is that transportation from Slovakia through the Carpathians and then back to Budapest is somewhat limited and even in private cars short distances can take long periods of time. For me it adds to the flavor so I'm good with it. Also consider Romania and Bulgaria as they complement each other quite well. This year we fished across Bulgaria from Sofia to the eastern border then crossed into Turkey, spent a few days in Istanbul and flew out of Istanbul. Air rates to and from Istanbul to the States or to Budapest are very reasonable.

Check out this guide for Romania if the idea seems reasonable: Daniel Gheorghita, http://covinnus.com/
This guide for Bulgaria: Pavlina Docheva, Easy Bulgaria Travel Ltd, www.easytouristguides.com, pavlina@easybulgariatravel.com
In Budapest: Alíz Tóka" aliztoka@gmail.com
In Hungary: Andrew ILLES, http://www.guideinbudapest.com

Does all that help you any???

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks James, It's a starting point. I admit to being torn a bit. When I studied in Zurich for six months I never quite understood people who were doing Zurich for the day. There were just too much which is the issue for me. To try and do everything superficially or to do a very small place in detail. Particularly as I really don't have enough time to do justice in either case. Maybe just learn what I can and do a few things.

Thanks for your tips

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