Hi.
We’re traveling to Hungary for the F1 in August and will be flying from South Africa. We plan to rent a car and would like to check if this itinerary looks good:
Night 1: Hotel Palota Lillafüred
Nights 2–3: Eger
Nights 4–5: Győr
Night 6: Szentendre
Nights 7–11: Budapest for the F1
Does this plan seem reasonable? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Thanks!
My first question is do you have your reservation secured for Hotel Palota Lillafüred? That might affect how you arrange the rest of your trip.
Hi, yes. We booked well in advance.
So you will do a 2.5 hour drive after how many hours of flying? I wouldn’t do it, but we are all different, so that’s not a criticism. Eger and Lillafüred pairs up well as for distance. But then to reach Győr you have to drive through Budapest, then to reach Szentendre its another trip back to Budapest.
I love the Lillafüred idea especially in August as it might be a bit cooler up there. Here is an idea; and I am guessing your flight arrives in Budapest early
Arrive in Budapest ……… then take the train to Miskolc/Lillafüred. Takes a while longer but so much easier than dealing with a car. You want two nights in Lillafüred. You can hire a private transfer or take the bus to Eger. All together this will be a lot cheaper than the car and a lot easier. Your schedule is also sort of point to point so the advantage a car gives for exploring you wont really realize.
Then plan the date of your trip, if possible, where your F1 tickets are after 2 nights in Eger. Take the train to Budapest and do Budapest and the F1.
Do Szentendre as a day trip out of Budapest. Very easy and works well.
Then do Gyor on the way to Vienna where you fly out. Or rent a car for that part of the trip and spend a few days poking around before returning to Budapest to fly out. Interesting part of the country and good for one night or 4 nights depending on your interests.
Sorry, you are South African and I did everything in USD. My apologies.
KEEPING YOUR PLAN
Budapest to Lillafüred
The train from Budapest to Miskolc/ Lillafüred will take you 2:00 and cost about $7.50. But then you must get to the train station from the airport (easy) and in Miskolc there will be the transfer to the hotel, so another hour for all of that. But you could spend an hour renting a car too. Drive time from the airport to the hotel is 2:30 more or less; so maybe the train takes a little longer than driving. You wont need a car in Lillafüred.
Miskolc to Eger
The Train between the Miskolc and Eger is about 1:16 and will cost about $4.00. There is one change in Füzesabony. You won’t need a car in Eger for a short stay. But I suggest hiring a guide to take you out to some wine country. If you havent found a room yet, think of the Senator Haz
Eger to Győr
Keeping with your original plan, the Eger to Győr train. Takes 3:52 and of course it changes in Budapest. Cost is about $15. The drive, direct with no unexpected traffic and no stops … 3:10 but we all know that wont happen so lets say 3:40. Maybe 15 minutes faster than the train. In Győr you don’t need a car. To see the archabbey in Pannonhalma (I like) you take a taxi or the bus. Nice 2-night stay town. I always liked it a lot. If you havent found a room yet, think about the Klastrom.
Győr to Budapest
The train from Győr to Budapest is about 1:23 to 1:56 and costs $5 to $7 depending on which train you take. No changes, direct. Another option on this leg is DayTrip.com. They are not cheap, but if you take the trains for everything else you still come out ahead. They will also stop for 90 min (you can negotiate a longer stop) at Pannonhalma so that is figured out and they will stop at Tata which is kinda nice.
Doing as many trains as possible
Train tickets are about $32 (R608) and you will need to decide how to do the transfer in Miskolc and the trip to Pannonhalma (bus/tram or taxi basically). Throw in one bus and one taxi for that and maybe you are up to $50 (R950) for all the transportation vs maybe $600 (R11.400) for the car, the gas, the parking, the tolls, the traffic fines, the accident, the bail money. With the difference you can hire a few local guides or private transfers to get to the hard places. But money aside, it think it’s a heck of a lot easier and more relaxing.
Szentendre
A day trip from Budapest. You take the commuter train up which is about 45 minutes and costs a few dollars, and the boat back which is also about 45 minutes and costs. I believe the boat was about $13.
Wow, thank you for your detailed response!
We’re considering renting a car because we'd like to explore both well-known tourist spots and smaller, off-the-beaten-path locations.
We've driven in Europe before (Italy, France, etc.), so we’re comfortable with it. We found a rental option for R5600 (~$300), which includes full insurance. Fuel prices are similar to those in South Africa, so we’re used to the cost.
We'll be arriving in Budapest from Dubai on 24 July. Our Budapest accommodation is booked from 31 July to 4 August, as we’ll be attending the Formula 1 on 2 & 3 August. We fly back late on 4 August.
Places we'd like to visit (apologies for any spelling errors):
Egerszalók
Sirok Castle
Cave dwellings – Barlanglakások / Szomolyai kaptárkövek
Götz Winery
Lillafüred Forest Railway
Hollókő
The challenge with public transport is figuring out transfers, especially since our parents (aged 68) will be joining us. They’re fit for their age, but we’d like to keep things as smooth as possible.
Tentative Itinerary:
Day 1: Pick up the rental car and drive to Eger (not as far as Lillafüred). Stay two nights and explore the area.
Next stop: Drive to Hotel Palota for an overnight stay. Explore the railway and wineries, then stay overnight at a winery somewhere.
On the way back to Budapest: Stop at interesting places along the route.
Return the car and use public transport for Szentendre and Esztergom.
Skipping Győr.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this plan!
There is no wrong to anything when you are doing what you enjoy. So this is just from my perspective.
We'll be arriving in Budapest from Dubai on 24 July. Our Budapest
accommodation is booked from 31 July to 4 August, as we’ll be
attending the Formula 1 on 2 & 3 August. We fly back late on 4 August.
Okay, then I will make a wild suggestion that you split your trip.
24 Arrive and stay in Budapest. See right now with the F1 being sort of out of town and being pretty much an all day thing, you are not seeing much of the city. Get a nice hotel on the river and decompress.
25 See Budapest.
26 This I think is the night you have the reservation in Lillafüred so rent the car and take off.
27 I would stay in Lillafüred another day and night.
28 Begin your driving tour odessy to Eger and surroundings.
29 More driving tour odessy of Eger and surroundings.
30 Drive to Esztergom, then to Szentendre and spend the night in Szentendre (some sweet places overlooking the river).
31 F1 time
The challenge with public transport is figuring out transfers,
especially since our parents (aged 68) will be joining us. They’re fit
for their age, but we’d like to keep things as smooth as possible.
About my age. Us old farts do just fine on the train. Better the train than me as a back seat driver. The old folks also ride the trains and the public transportation for free.
If it were me, I would still use the trains and with the money i saved hire a guide to do all the driving around Eger so I could look out the window (and not have to listen to dad telling me how to drive for 3 days).
