Budapest Travel Forum

We are going to spend a few days in Budapest and would like to make a day trip to Balaton Lake. Is the trip short enough to make it worthwhile? Would it be advisable to rent a car or is bus or train transportation a reasonable alternative? What are the approximate rates for renting a car for a day?

Thanks in advance for your help.

hmmmm I was wondering about this too - am going for 4 nights from 18 June but feel we may not have enough time but still interested in any reply

It's a 2.5-3 hour train or bus ride, so you can make it reasonable. You may include a visit to the Tihany abbey and also a lake crossing by ferry or boat and a bath in the foams as some relaxation afterwards. (Or you can do it the other way round too: by the time you get there, it will most probably be hot and you can survive that period in the cool water and as the temperature gets milder, you may head for Tihany. But do consider last train times in that case, especially as Tihany has no railway access!

www.elvira.hu - railway schedules
www.menetrendek.hu - click on Volan menetrend for bus schedules