Planning my Hungary trip.

What time of year do you plan to take this trip?

For 14 nights in late September/early October 2018 we covered a lot of ground. Budapest 9 nights, Pecs 2 nights, Gyor 2 nights and Sopron 1 night. From our Budapest base, we did day trips to Szentendre, Eger and Lake Balaton (Test drove a couple tanks. Bring earplugs. Seriously).

Yes, we had wine!!

Everything was done by train except the day trip to Lake Balaton.

This was a good pace for us and we appreciated seeing different parts of Hungary.

It seems like all the places I want to go to are scattered across
Hungary lol.

Very few towns connected without going back through Budapest. There are busses that can overcome most of that.

I'm looking to enjoy the thermal baths, explore some cool castles and
caves, try some wine. I would really love to see the countryside of
Hungary while also having many things to do since I'll be by myself.
For example, in Tokaj I heard you can canoe the landscape and while
I'm also there I'm going to have some wine. I would love to rent a
bicycle somewhere and explore the landscapes. I also think Lake
Balaton and the surrounding areas looks really cool plus I heard
there's a ghost town in that area.

I will complicate things; look at Lillafüred (and the hotel Palota in particular) for more caves, more boating, forest railways, lots of landscape to explore.

I'm going to Poland first and tbh it's tempting to completely scratch
out Poland just to visit Hungary in it's entirety but I really do want
to visit Auschwitz and Zakopane.

How are you getting from Poland to Budapest (because Lillafüred can be on the way if you are coming from Zakopane.

What region of Hungary should someone like me focus on and where in
that region should I go? What are some of the places you guys have
visited in Hungary that you really enjoyed aside from Budapest?

You might look at an Airbnb in Budapest for the duration of the stay then do overnights.
1 arrive Budapest what to do depends on where you stay
2 Budapest District V and VI
3 Budapest to Eger (train)
4 Eger
5 Back to Budapest and see Districts I and II
6 Train (a bit more to it than just the train but worth it) to Tihany on Lake Balaton (or Lillafüred)
7 Tihany (or Lillafüred)
8 Return to Budapest
9 Budapest Margaret Island in the morning then day trip to Szentendre for lunch and boat ride back to Budapest
10 Departure day?

Hello from Wisconsin,
Budapest is our favorite city. Don't over look the Opera. It is a great music venue. Szechenyi Furdo (the City Park Baths) is really a Hungarian place to go. Pack a Speedo to fit in.

Eger, is a miniature Budapest. That does mean you should skip it. It is delightful. The wine caves outside of town are a very nice way to spend a late afternoon/evening. There is a clown train that will take you and bring you back. If you want to buy bulk wine, bring your own plastic water bottle. And, the best place to stay is the Hotel Senator. When we were there is was not too expensive. If it seems a splurge...do it. When will you ever be back? A night in January is $61. The motel in my home town, a sad place in northern WI, charges $170 plus tax for a crummy room.

wayne iNWI

A friend from Prague (the long time accordionist from the restaurant downstairs at The Municipal House - now Covid closed) spends time in the baths at Sárvár in Vas County, western Hungary during the winter. Although it’s way out to the west, research shows it would be an interesting 2 or 3 day stop. Maybe tie it in with some time in Szombathley.

I haven’t been to either so have no personal knowledge.