Hungary - mini trip report

If you have already read this, I apologize but the travel group I originally posted it in has a tiny membership and I thought this could benefit more people here in the European Locations forum.

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Before I travelled to Hungary I came to this site, among others, and found minimal information about Hungary so now that I have returned I'm going to throw out a few ideas for anyone else going. First of all, I loved Hungary! I spent three weeks in the country and could certainly have stayed longer. It's not the bargain it used to be but is still pretty good value and offers so much - hiking, swimming, history, culture, excellent dining, plentiful thermal spas and so much more. I was there from May 2 - 23, 2023 and generally had amazing weather EXCEPT for the final week which I had set aside for naturist activities. Isn't that always the way? Luckily my final two days were just about perfect weather-wise and I was able to join a non-landed group for a spa-takeover day and spend my final day, and night, at the oldest naturist campground in Hungary. I had intended to visit two more clubs but I guess I'll just have to go back one day.

Do you need to speak Hungarian? No. Is it helpful? Heck yeah! I took Hungarian lessons through the winter (everyone needs a hobby) and it enriched my experience but the friend who travelled with me the first two weeks didn't speak a word and managed just fine. A bit of the local language will always be beneficial but German is also widely understood,, especially in the western part of the country. And of course there's always Google Translate - which I used quite a bit for reading menus, theatre programs and finding the right phrase to ask a question or give my host a compliment.

The first naturist activity I joined was a spa-takeover day at Aranykor Wellness Termalfurdo in Ballaszog. I found a very active non-landed club , NaVKE (www.navke.hu) that rents the spa for an entire day, twice a year, and it was completely sold out so I'm glad I got my ticket early. We lucked out with the weather and it was an all day affair with yoga, Finnish sauna sessions, dance performance, poetry reading and lunch. You could pre-order a set lunch or there was a small cafe/bar and many people brought picnic lunches and loungers. As is typical there weren't enough loungers to go around but plenty of lawn space for your blanket and a dock at the duck pond if you wanted to feed the ducks. There were indoor pools of different temperatures (32 C and 34C if I recall correctly) and a larger, unheated pool outdoors that felt fantastic when you needed to cool down. This same group also organizes swims, canoe trips, wine tastings and theatre programs. How cool is that? I was very welcomed and would happily go again.

My last day in the country was 30 C so I spent it at Delegyhaza Naturista Oazis Kemping (https://naturista.hu/). It was lovely! I rented a small cabin but they also had apartments and tent/caravan sites as well. There are large fields for sunbathing and picnicking along the side of the lake as well as the lake itself but the beach is more rocky than sandy (although there is sand). I saw naturists using stand up paddleboards to go all around the lake and there was a canoe and peddle boat on shore that appeared to belong to the club. There were two sit-down eating areas although one appeared to be more like a bar with snacks while the one was a buffet. There were multiple bathrooms and showers around the site (some nicer than others) and I believe there are some permanent homes as well although I didn't walk that far. I spent the evening drinking wine with my British neighbour who had been there for months and he told me there was a bus stop about 2 km away and a small shop at the campground next door for essentials. You can take a train to the village of Delegyhaza and then a bus to quite close to the camp if you don't have a car. I was fortunate to have a hire car but I would have still gone without one.

I intended to go to Balatonbereny Naturista Kemping (https://www.balatontourist.hu/hu/balatoni-kempingek-szallashelyek/bereny) on opening day but a cold front came in and it was only 12C and raining so I scrapped that plan. Yuck. Even so, I did drive up to the gate and stayed nearby hoping the weather would improve. It didn't. What I CAN tell you is the train station is literally within sight 900 metres down the road, it's well sign-posted and there are shops and restaurants within walking distance so it would be a great location if you don't have a car. My British neighbour at Delegyhaza has spent a fair bit of time at Balatonbereny and enjoyed it but prefers the more remote peace of Delegyhaza.

I have no experience with the following but would have checked them out if the weather was better:

Sziki (near Szeged) https://natours.hu/

Panorama Camping (near Heviz) https://panoramacamping.de/

If you are that part of the world definitely check out what Hungary has to offer.

Thanks for reading,

Karen

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