TradNatura Sport: Bicycle tours in Hungary

:· BICYCLE TOUR DETAILS

Our other bicycle tours:

• Castles and spas in west Hungary
• Best selection of the Danube
• Legendary Tokaj wines and the enchanting River&Lake Tisza with Hortobágy Puszta
• Nature and culture in South Hungary

CASTLES AND WINES IN NORTHERN HUNGARY

This is a wonderful holiday for lovers of nature, antique buildings, history, and culture. Taking this cycling tour, you will ride through very beautiful woods in the Mátra, Bükk and Zemplén Hills, enjoying fascinating views of really picturesque landscapes, and the tranquillity in some of the most unspoilt areas of Hungary. You will see the miraculous Stalactite Caves of Aggtelek/Jósvafő, visit famous medieval Castles of Füzér, Sárospatak and the lovely baroque town Eger, charming old village houses, museums and churches. We will stay in wonderfully located castles, have superb gastronomic experiences in small but outstanding hotels and restaurants, and taste the unique flavour of special wines in some of the best cellars of the world-famous Tokaj, and the historic Eger wine-regions.

ITINERARY:

Tour map

DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN BUDAPEST.

Your hotel is situated right at the woods on the top of the Buda hills. Its lovely surroundings and swimming pool, sauna, or massage possibilities will make you feel well, and relaxed quickly. You will meet with your tourguide at the reception at 6pm, and have a welcome drink, information about the tour, and dinner in the cosy restaurant of the hotel.

Hotel swimming pool

Look out tower near the hotel

View near the hotel

Bicycling in Mátra

DAY 2: BUDAPEST TO SZILVÁSVÁRAD

We take a bustransfer to the Mátra Hills. Near one of the highest points we stop at a nice glade, where we have a short lunch, set our bikes (and ourselves going). Rolling down through very nice woods, we will stop at some panoramic viewpoints, and visit a small crystal workshop and a horse carriage museum near Parád. We take our bus to get to Szilvásvárad, a nice little village where the famous Lipizzan horses are bred in Hungary. Our dinner is something quite special that swims in the very clear water of the Szalajka Stream, which flows near our small hotel where we stay (and full of trouts).
(cycling approx.27km/17m)

Carriage Museum

Crystal Museum

Cycling down the hills

View of Mátra Hills

DAY 3: A MAGICAL WORLD OF DRIPSTONES

After taking a bustransfer along beautiful landscapes, we arrive at the Aggtelek Karst Hills, where the special situation and micro-climate offer ideal circumstances for many scarce flowers, birds, insects and the Fire Salamander, which is the logo of the National Park. Here we take a two hours long tour in the Baradla Stalactite Caves. It is a fantastic realm of truly astounding dripstone formations. It is peerless throughout whole Europe, and it is the longest (25 kms) lime-stone cave of the temperate zone, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage. We enter a fantasmagorical subterranean domain, where the stunning scale of the dripstone phantoms conjure up a mysterious fairy-tale world. Walking through narrow passages and occasionally enormous halls, we will see here several lovely formations, even a Hall of Giants, where we can listen to some wellnown melodies with special acoustics. Coming out in Jósvafő, a charming little village, we will have lunch at a nice village museum and a small stream. After another short busride, we cycle along nice fields and hills with beautiful views, and get to a small village, where we stay in a small castle, which was owned by the famous Pallavicini family in the old days. The wonderfully renovated building, with its antique furnitures, quiet location, and beautiful park, is an ideal place for relaxation.
(cycling approx.39km/24m)

Cycling along colorful trees

Jósvafő

Pallavicini Castle

Stalactite cave

DAY 4: SMALL TREASURES OF THE ZEMPLÉN HILLS

We cycle to the small village Vizsoly, where the Bible was printed first time in Hungarian language in 1590. There is an original copy in the 13 century church, so let's have a look. Going further we stop in Gönc village, where the special sized (136,7 l) "gönci" oak casks derive from, which are used for the famous Tokaj Aszu wine. We visit here a small museum in a 17th century "Huszita" village house built in a typical style of this region. Then we ride our bikes passing by nice hills, have a lunch break in a beautiful wood, near a small ice cave and a cold spring. Cycling through the woods, and along very nice landscapes we get to a rather quiet village, where we stay in a hunting lodge. We leave our bikes here, and take the bus to the lovely village Füzér. Already from the distance we can enjoy the picturesque view of the ruins of the medieval castle on the top of a volcanic hill. It really looks like a beautiful painture. We climb up the hill which is covered by plenty of the most colorful grasses and flowers of the area, and take a walk among the ruins of the castle, where the Holy Crown of the Hungarian kings was hidden from the Turks in the 16th century. The panorama of the surrounding hills is simply breathtaking from here. After this short trip we enjoy the fantastic flavour of our home made dinner, the peacefulness and the great view from the terrace of our hotel.
(cycling approx.54km/34m)

1st Hungarian Bible

Castle of Füzér

Cycling among hills

Huszita house

DAY 5: TOKAJ WINE-REGION

We cycle among small hills and still enjoy the lovely scenery all around. Then we take a very quiet road through a beautiful forest, and some charming hidden villages. After a long ride in the wood we arrive at another World Heritage Site, the historic Tokaj wine-region, where the noblest sweet wine of the world, the Tokaj Aszu is made. It is called "The Wine of the Kings, and the King of the Wines". The special micro-climate, and volcanic soil, the protected explosure, the late vintage, the special casks, the cellars covered with noble mould, the local expertise, and respect of traditions make the area a unique treasure of the world. We ride among picturesque vineyards, and arrive at the village of coopers, Erdőbénye. Here lived Máté Szepsi Laczkó, a priest who made the first Aszu wine in 1630 (according to the legends). We stay here in an excellent small hotel with a lovely swimming pool, and a very good cuisine. But before tasting their delicacies, we go to the neighbouring Tolcsva, where we sample excellent wines (made by one of the best companies of Hungary), in the unique atmosphere of their kilometers long labyrinth of cellars, hollowed out of the volcanic tuff by hand in the 13th century.
(cycling approx.48km/30m)

Bottles of old Aszu wine

Cycling among vineyards

Our hotel

Tokaj vineyards

DAY 6: THE RÁKÓCZI CASTLE IN SÁROSPATAK

We take a short bustransfer to Sárospatak, an important cultural centre due to its Reformed Church College, which was one of the strongest "fortresses" of education in Hungary from the 16th century. We visit here one of the most valuable fortified castles of Hungary. The complex was built throughout the 16-18th centuries, so the different parts represent the styles of the different ages. The Late-Renaissance Lórántffy-loggia, and the Perényi-wing are among the most beautiful monuments of the Hungarian architecture. In the 17th century it became the estate of the Rákóczi family, which played a very important role in our history. Several eminent members of the family were reigning princes of Transylvania, and made the castle the center of freedom fighters in the 18th century. Many historic events took place here, such as a conspiracy in the Sub Rosa room, and in 1708 the last meeting of the leaders of the freedom fights against the Habsburgs. We climb up the oldest part of the castle, the Red Tower, and see the nice view of the River Bodrog from the bastions, and then have a look at the exhibition about the castle, the Rákóczi family, the history of the war of independence, and some antique arms and furnitures. After all these experiences we cycle in a quiet natural environment between the River Bodrog and Tisza. We cross the Tisza on a rather romantic old ferry, and ride to Tokaj, which is the center of the famous wine-region. We stay in a luxurious castle hotel in the vicinity. The beautiful old furnitures in the former mansion conjure up a real 19th century atmosphere. It's a property of the Degenfeld family, which played a significant role in the the wine region, and their vineyards provide outstanding wines even now. Here you can refresh yourself either from inside on the terrace, or from outside in the outdoor swimming pool, in the surrounding beautiful park, or take a walk in the lovely streets of Tokaj.
(cycling approx.31km/20m)

Hotel-salon

Castle Hotel

Rákóczi Castle

Red Tower

DAY 7: FROM CASTLE TO CASTLE

We cycle along some dead arms of the small river Takta, where we can see dozens of egrets, storks and other birds among the reeds. We stop in Szerencs at another castle of the Rákóczis, and get to Monok, where we visit an interesting museum about the life of Lajos Kossuth. The greatest Hungarian politician, who was the leader of the biggest war of independence against the Austrian occupation in 1848-49, was born in this old manor-house. After the revolution was defeeted, he lived in emigration in the United States, England and Italy. He is a great ideal of all ages, and enjoys a very high respect even now. Anywhere you go in Hungary, you can find his statues, and streets named after him. From here we ride on to Tállya, where is the geometrical central point of Europe. This is also a remarkable village of the Tokaj region, so we have a specially delicious lunch with wine tasting here in a lovely old mansion, just to keep the exceptional flavours of the region in our mind (and mouth), as we need to leave this beautiful area. But we shouldn't be sad, we will travel to another nice one, the Bükk Hills. After a short busride we take a narrow-gauge railways to Lillafüred, where we stay in a romantic Palace Hotel built in Renaissance style. The whole setting here with Lake Hámor, wedged between massive hills, and reflecting the picture of the palace, the view of Hungary's largest waterfalls from the creeper-covered terraces below the palace, and the beautiful park behind it, provide a really picturesque impression.
(cycling approx.41km/25m)

Casks with flowers

Cycling to the ferry

Delicious dish

Palace Hotel

DAY 8: MIRACLES OF NATURE IN THE BÜKK HILLS

Passing by an open-air spectacle, an ancient furnace in Újmassa (there are only three remaining in Europe), we get with our bus up the Bükk Plateau, where we start cycling today. Some of the rocks that encircle this enormous limestone block, rises over 800 metres. Steep valleys, blunt peaks, broad and narrow ridges, gullies, sink holes, dolines, and open shafts(vertical caves) make its karst surface variegated. More than 850 caves (the deepest one is 250m deep) can be found here. We will cycle through untouched oak, hornbeam, beech and pine woods, and along colorful meadows that are richly decorated by various and scarce flowers, such as the Northern Dragonhead or the Lady's Slipper Orchid. If we are lucky, we can even see the renowned Lipizzan stud. Rolling down the hill, we walk up a wooden look out tower, to admire the astonishing panorama from the top of it, and further we ride down to the Szalajka Valley, which belongs to the main attractions of the Bükk. We go up with the narrow-gauge railways, and walk down along the scenic highlights of the stream: the picturesque "Fátyol Falls", a Rock Spring, beautiful ponds with incredible green colour, and plenty of trouts, and an open-air forest museum. After this beautiful tour we take a bustransfer to a small village near Eger. The small family-run hotel, where we stay, is an absolutely fantastic place in an enchanting surroundings right at the wood. It is like an antique shop, full of old village furnitures, and owing to the friendliness and warm hospitality of the owners, and the familiar and unreserved atmosphere here you can feel yourself totally at home. We will be members of the family for two nights. Mummy is an excellent cook here, so it is very hard to refrain from eating up all her delicious home made surprises. Fortunately they have very good home made schnappses too to open your stomach properly before dinner.
(cycling approx.23km/14m)

Fátyol waterfall

Flowers on rocks

Cycling in Bükk

Lipizzan stud on Bükk Plateau

DAY 9: EGER, THE BAROQUE JEWEL, THERMAL BATH, AND WINE TASTING

We leave our bikes at the hotel today. We visit the historic city center of Eger, one of the most beautiful Baroque towns of Hungary. First we will have tour among the medieval rooms, tunnels, walls and bastions in the fortress of Eger, to see some of the interesting exhibitions there. The Siege of Eger, - when the heroic defenders succeeded to protect the fortress against the Turks in 1552. - is a wellnown novel about one of the greatest victories of our history. Our next stop will be the second biggest cathedral of Hungary, and then we will take a walk to admire some of the nicest Baroque buildings of Hungary, such as the Minorite church, the Lyceum (one of the best higher education institutions in Hungary) with its high observatory tower and library which preserves the oldest book printed in Hungarian, the Archiepiscopal Palace, the County Hall with its fine wrought iron gate, and many other beautiful houses. It is quite alluring to have a drink or some good cakes in one of the nice confectioneries, and enjoy the charming atmosphere of the town.
From here we go to one of the most modern thermal spa resorts of Hungary, where numerous indoor and outdoor swimming pools with high quality thermal water, whirlpools, wave and river pools, and many other possibilities are waiting for you in a unique surroundings. The thermal bath is situated at the base of a beautiful "Salt Hill" wich is formed by the thermal water streaming down the hillside, and accumulating layers of lime stone. Such a natural wonder can be found only in two other places of the world. After we made our muscles recovered, we get back to our hotel, where you can have some relaxation, or enjoy the nice fresh air and tranquillity in the garden. As we are in the historic wine region of Eger, which is the home of a famous red wine, the "Bull's Blood", tonight we will have a wine tasting and dinner in the neighbourhood in a 100 year old wine-cellar of a very kind family, which has won the "Best wine maker of the year", and a number of other international prizes. Their home made bread, apple-filled duck, cooked in earthen vessel, and the baked cakes stuffed with plum jam, will slide into our stomach well with the number of excellent wines we taste here.
(cycling approx.19km/12m)

Baroque church

Cathedral

Cathedral dome

Eger Dobó square

DAY 10: FOLK ART, AND OLD TRADITIONS IN MATYÓ LAND

After a sad moment when we leave our lovely hotel, we cycle through charming villages that are wellknown for their old traditions such as making wine, plum jam and prune, special baskets or pottery, and then we arrive at Mezőkövesd, the capital of a special ethnographic group: the Matyó people. Their traditional costumes are one of the most ornamented ones in Hungary. Plenty of flowers are embroidered in their clothes, which are extremely rich in colors. We visit here some small museums in nice old thatched village houses where you can see how the people lived in the old days, and plenty of old furnitures, hand embroidered dresses and tableclothes, dolls, gingerbreads or eggs, all decorated with the colorful local patterns. Also you can watch some secrets, how to weave or embroider, how to make a doll, or how to paint a furniture. This is a perfect place to by some typical Hungarian souvenirs. After this all, we take a bustransfer to our hotel in Budapest, where you can have some rest or drinks, or maybe a swim in the lovely swimming pool, before we have our farewell dinner there.
(cycling approx.19km/12m)

Ancient cellar

Gingerbread dolls

Thermal bath

Village house

DAY 11:

After enjoying breakfast in the nice atmosphere of your hotel, we hope that you will leave with nice memories for a lifetime.

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

• 10 nights accommodation in 3 or 4 star castles, mansions or small hotels, in superb surroundings and quiet areas with familiar and antique atmosphere, and rather high quality, always with private facilities.
• 10 times breakfast, and 3 course gourmet dinners, always with some drinks and excellent wines,
• Excellent picnics in beautiful spots in the nature, and drinks during cycling.
• 3x wine tasting in lovely and ancient wine cellars of some of the best wine makers of Hungary.
• Full English speaking guiding during cycling and the programmes of the whole tour, with 1st class service of 2 professional and friendly guides, one cycling with you, and one driving the back-up bus.
• Full technical support, and special trailer for all the bikes, and to transport all the luggage.
• Air conditioned support bus, available for the whole group, during the whole tour, making possible to cycle along the most beautiful and quiet parts of the route, and providing a flexible alternative for those who want to rest at any time.
• All the bustransfers, private guided sightseeing tours, and visits mentioned in the itinerary.
• 2x romantic narrow-gauge train rides in beautiful woods.
• All the museum, castle, cave, church and bath tickets, written in the programme.
• Very good quality hybrid bikes with 24 gears, front suspension, handbrakes, and panniers.
• Souvenir water-bottle and TNS T-shirt.
• Sights - Most beautiful routes mainly in nature reserves, or woods, mostly with low or no car traffic.
• Transfers in Budapest between your hotel and the airport or stations.

OPTIONAL (not included):

• Extra nights in Budapest.
• Relaxing massage possibilities.

NOT INCLUDED:

• Your travel between Budapest and your home, before and after the tour.
• Travel and health insurance.

TOUR PRICE: