Hungary remains one of the lesser-explored countries of Europe outside of its capital city, Budapest. Most travelers opt to limit their Hungary trip itinerary to strictly Budapest, but there are so many more great places to see in this underrated country to warrant a more extended visit. The best part? Once you leave the capital, you won’t encounter crowds of tourists anywhere else.
With this in mind, 10 days is a good amount of time to visit Hungary, if not a full two weeks. This gives you enough days to take your time in Budapest—there’s a lot to see—while still having ample time to see a couple of the other best places to visit in Hungary.
If you’re getting ready to plan your trip, continue reading for this ideal, tried-and-true 10-day Hungary itinerary.
Day 1: Budapest
The obvious place you’re going to begin your trip to Hungary is this gorgeous city on the Danube. It’s been named one of the best cities to visit in the world for a good reason. There’s so much to see and Budapest that you need multiple days to really get a feel for the city and check off all of its highlights.
Something good to know before visiting Budapest is that the city is actually the combination of two former independent cities – Buda and Pest. It’s easy to differentiate the two, as the Danube River is the divider. Everything west of the Danube is Buda, while Pest makes up the eastern side.
Generally, there’s more to see and do in Pest, but Buda has a few can’t-miss highlights.
You can dedicate Day 1 to checking off the main spots in Buda, which include:
- Gellert Hill (and the Citadel)
- Buda Castle
- Fisherman’s Bastion
The hike up Gellert Hill takes about 20 minutes and rewards you with sensational views of Budapest. You can start on the south end near Gellert Baths. Once you reach the top, you can walk down on the north side and continue walking north until you reach Buda Castle, an 800-year-old staple of the city, and 10 minutes further to see Fisherman’s Bastion. Here, you’ll also be granted spectacular views of the city.
Day 2: Budapest
By checking off Buda on Day 1, you can make the riverfront area of Pest your focus for Day 2. This includes:
- The Hungarian Parliament Building
- Shoes on the Danube
- St. Stephen’s Basilica and Square
- The Central Business District
- District 7 (The Jewish Quarter) — this is where you’ll find many of the city’s ruin pubs, including the most notable, Szimpla Kert
This might sound like a lot, but you can see all of this within about two miles of walking. Plus, the Pest side is entirely flat. You’ll get your workout in when walking around the hills of Buda, however.
The Parliament is a must-see, as it’s an incredible display of architectural wonder. The Shoes on the Danube is a memorial to fallen Jewish Hungarians during World War 2. It’s moving to see. Replicas of perished civilians’ shoes are right there on the riverbank.
St. Stephen’s Basilica is another one of the most photogenic parts of the city. It’s the largest church in the country.
Finally, the Jewish Quarter is in District 7, one of 22 districts of Budapest. It’s helpful to learn about a handful of districts that you’re likely going to spend time in when in Budapest. This is where you’ll want to be for nightlife, including Budapest’s famous “ruin pubs.” These are deteriorated, centuries-old buildings, that have been restored and turned into indoor/outdoor bars and clubs. The most famous is Szimpla Kert, but there are several well-known ruin pubs in the area that will have less crowds. I do highly recommend going to Szimpla, particularly doing the daytime to avoid a line to get in.
Day 3: Budapest
After checking off all the sights along or near the river, it’s well-worth venturing out to the lesser-traveled parts of Budapest.
We stayed in the outer part of District 7, away from the action and closer to the city’s largest park, Varosliget Park. This felt like the perfect place to stay in Budapest. It was a very quiet neighborhood, especially at night, but I really enjoyed this aspect. Plus, it was still within walking distance of all the action and easy to hop on the M1 train line to get anywhere we wanted within 10 or 15 minutes.
Varosliget Park is wonderful. Most people go just to see the main attractions within the park:
- Heroes Square
- Szechenyi Bath
- Vajdahunyad Castle
All three of these are worth seeing. But I also recommend you walk around the entire park on the 2-mile-long walking or running trail. It’s a really nice green oasis in an otherwise concrete jungle and there are plenty of locals getting a workout in, especially on weekday mornings and weekends. The funky, outdoor Museum of Ethnography in the park is also well worth the time.
Activating and riding a scooter via the Bird, TIER, or Lime app are other great ways to see the city, particularly these more residential areas near the park. We had a great time riding these scooters at night around the quiet streets after dinner.
You can wrap up your third full day by exploring Budapest at night-and there’s really no better way to see Budapest than by an evening boat cruise. The bright lights beaming off the Parliament, Buda Castle, and Fisherman’s Bastion are magnificent. Many tour operators offer perks like unlimited prosecco as well.
You’ll hop onboard at one of the docks, so note your dock number when you get your confirmation email. Arrive 20 minutes early or so, too, so you can have first choice of your seat. Try to pick an operator with a boat that has outdoor seating!
Day 4: Szentendre
Aran Bakery is my favorite bakery in Budapest. If you haven’t already, head there in the morning for a pastry and a morning coffee. They open at 9:30am daily. Or you can go to one of my favorite coffee shops in Budapest in the neighborhood, which include Magveto Cafe and Massolit Budapest Books and Cafe.
While you could spend a whole week in Budapest like I did, by now, you might be ready for something different. A popular easy day trip from Budapest, or even half-day trip, is the nearby town of Szentendre. Only about 20 minutes away by car, 30 by bus, or 1.5 hours by boat, Szentendre is a colorful, artsy little suburb of Budapest with riverfront restaurants and a plethora of boutique cafes, art galleries, and shops. I’d also definitely recommend spending a couple hours at the Skanzen Open Air Museum. Though not within walking distance of the town center, it’s worth seeing as it has visual displays of nine different regions of present-day and former Hungary. For instance, you can see what a replica of an old Transylvanian town square and Transylvanian-style homes.
There are boats that go to and from Szentendre from Budapest, typically departing around 10:00am and heading back around 2:00pm. But if you want to be on your own time, you can either rent a car or catch a ride to and from via the BOLT app.
Day 5: Lake Balaton
Looking for a more adventurous Budapest day trip? Consider Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe and a common holiday getaway for many from places like Poland and Germany. It can get cold here in wintertime, so it’s probably best to go from late spring to mid fall if you are to go.
You have a few options when it comes to getting to Lake Balaton and where to go. You can go to the peaceful peninsula town of Tihany, with stunning views of the lake around the charming village. You could head to Veszprem. Though not on Lake Balaton, it’s nearby and is one of the oldest cities in Hungary and has plenty of well-maintained medieval architecture. Also in this area is the small town of Tapolca, home to an underground cave system that you can actually explore by boat.
If you just want to have a relaxing day on the water or on the beach, go to Balatonfured or Siofok, the two most popular beach and resort cities. The latter is the largest city on the lake and has plenty of resorts, but some public beaches as well.
Here are train times for each location:
- Budapest to Siofok: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Budapest to Balatonfured: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Budapest to Veszprem: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Budapest to Tihany: 1 hour 40 minutes (train to Balatonfured, taxi to Tihany)
- Budapest to Tapolca: 3 hour (or 2-hour drive)
If you’ve been to glorious mountain lakes or seen pristine coastline, you’re not necessarily going to be wowed by Lake Balaton, necessarily. But it’s something different, and there are a lot of nearby activities like Tapolca Cavern Lake, the serene town of Tihany, the old city of Veszprem, and even some small mountains in Veszprem County with some wonderful hikes and great views of the lake. You can reach most of these places quite easily by train, likely 1.5 hours or so each way depending on where you go. Or, you can rent a car for full autonomy of your itinerary.
Day 6: Eger
Next up is my favorite place to visit in Hungary: Eger.
This city of about 50,000 residents is in lesser-explored Eastern Hungary. Getting to Eger from Budapest involves a pleasant 2-hour train ride, and it’s one of the most well-preserved cities in Central Europe.
The walk from the train station to the city center will take you throw a couple city parks, making for a nice 15-minute walk. You’ll eventually find yourself in lively Dobo Square, the focal point of the city. Behind the square is Eger Castle, which was the sight of many famous battles throughout medieval times as Ottomans continuously attempted to take over the area. The 10-minute walk up the castle is quite easy, and the trail up seems to be a popular hangout for locals. The city views from the top are beautiful as well.
The narrow streets webbing out from the square are all worth exploring. A few of my favorite spots in the area include:
- Central Perk Cafe, a F.R.I.E.N.D.S-themed coffee shop
- The Eger market, every day from morning to lunch
- Macok Bistro, Eger’s lone MICHELIN-star restaurant
- Itt es Most, a Hungarian restaurant
- Lipoti Bakery
We initially had one night in Eger on our itinerary, but quickly realized we needed to extend our trip another night. The city was perfectly sized, entirely walkable, and had very friendly people, especially if you tried using a few Hungarian words or phrases.
We spent time at Central Perk, had great dinners at Macok Bistro and Itt es Most, and had a fantastic wine-tasting experience at Bolyki Winery.
For day one, you can simply plan to get to know the city by visiting a couple cafes, walking the narrow stairs up the world’s northernmost Minaret, having a dinner at Macok Bistro, Itt es Most, or somewhere on the square, and walking up the castle in the evening before or after dinner. The Basilica of Eger, the 2nd-largest in Hungary, is also within 10-15 minutes from Dobo Square.
Day 7: Eger
Eger is in Hungary’s wine region, so you should do something wine related. If not a tasting at Bolyki, you absolutely must go to Valley of the Beautiful Woman. This is essentially a daily market with dozens of wine vendors on a long stretch of country road. You can spend a couple of hours here enjoying tastings from different vendors.
Your second day in Eger might not be jam-packed with activities, but the laid-back, quiet vibe throughout the city makes it a perfect little break on your trip to Hungary to recharge your battery. In Eger, having no agenda is no problem.
One creative thing worth doing in Eger is visiting Agria Park Mall. It’s a really nice, large mall. We spent a couple hours here taking advantage of the cheap prices at several stores- it’s significantly cheaper in Eger than in Budapest, unsurprisingly. There were a good number of mallgoers, which brought us back to the 2000s when malls were actually occupied here in the U.S.
To review, some things you must see when visiting Eger include:
- Dobo Square
- Eger Castle
- Valley of the Beautiful Woman
- Kethuda Minaret – Europe’s northernmost Minaret
- Bolyki Winery
- Basilica of Eger
Day 8: Danube Bend and Visegrad Castle
By now, you’ve spent one week in Hungary seeing the capital, Budapest, a small city, Szentendre, and another wonderful city, Eger.
How about some time in rural Hungary experiencing nature?
There’s no better place to do this than the Danube Bend region. The towns of Vac, Nagymaros, Visegrad, and Zebegeny all lie on a stretch of the Danube where it bends and changes its course. Mountains dominate the setting on both sides of the river in this region, making for exceptional views.
Visegrad is known for Visegrad Castle, perhaps the most beautiful castle in all of Hungary. The 1000-year-old castle lies on a cliff overlooking the Danube and surrounding hills. It’s a good hike up, about 30-40 minutes, or an easy drive from the town below. It’s definitely a must-do in the region.
Visegrad is fun to get to from Budapest. Once you’ve taken the train back to Budapest from Eger, you can hop on another train to any of those listed towns. It’s only a 30 to 50-minute ride depending on where you decide to stay. We stayed in Nagymaros, a sleepy town of only 4,000 residents, but a very pretty one. Plus, it is only a 10-minute ferry ride to Visegrad on the other side of the river.
If you’re looking to stay somewhere with a bit more action, I’d recommend Vac (population 25,000). This is actually close enough to Budapest in that it’s basically a suburb and only a 25-minute train ride. It’s a popular launch point for bikers and hikers and has the most cafes and restaurants of anywhere along the Danube Bend.
Day 9: Danube Bend
There are some wonderful hikes in the mountains here. But it’s hard to beat biking the Danube Bend.
There are a couple of bike shops you can rent from in Vac and one in Zebegeny. Your Air BnB might provide bikes as well, like they did for us.
The best route is along the road (or path) closest to the river from Vac or Nagymaros all the way to Szob, the town that borders Slovakia. I recommend starting in Nagymaros, as there’s a bike path from here almost all the way to Szob, while the ride from Vac is fairly long for a novice or intermediate biker and involves more car traffic.
You can continue through Szob and into Slovakia for another 10 or so miles before reaching Sturovo. From Sturovo, you can cross the bridge over the Danube and once again enter Hungary, finding yourself in the larger city of Esztergom. This city is worth spending a couple hours. There’s a large castle on the riverbank which is a popular place to visit.
Then, come back the way you came. Do not continue riding on the other side of the Danube, as the road is more like a highway and not conducive for cyclers (we learned this the hard way). Nagymaros to Esztergom and back makes for about 30-35 miles round trip, while Nagymaros to Szob and back makes for less than 20.
If biking isn’t your thing, there are some nice really nice hikes in Duna-Ipoly National Park near Nagymaros and Zebegeny. A few of these hikes start right in the towns, so check AllTrails to find which one makes most sense for you.
Day 10: Budapest / Fly Home
Your 10th and final day of your Hungary trip will likely involve making your way back to Budapest to fly home. If you’re continuing to another nearby country like Slovakia, Austria, or Croatia, you still might need to go to Budapest to catch a FlixBus or train, unless you have a car.
In-Summary: Hungary Trip Itinerary
Planning a trip to Hungary can be intimidating. Outside of Budapest, this is a country that’s rarely visited by foreigners. But there’s a lot to see, and you’ll find that it’s one of the cheapest countries in Europe once you leave the capital. There’s great bang for your buck in Hungary.
If you like taking your time when traveling, it might be worth adding another day in Budapest and nixing a day trip like Lake Balaton. While you can check off all of Budapest’s main sights in three days, a fourth day to just roam and explore can be nice for travelers who like to limit moving around to new places. Since I had some extra time, I added a couple of extra days to Budapest to my Hungary trip itinerary.
Regardless, you’re going to have a great time in Hungary. Do your best to learn some key words and phrases, be ready to eat a lot of goulash, and enjoy your trip!
