WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
We believe Hungary is an undiscovered culinary paradise. It is a proud and old wine producing country with hundreds of indigenous grape varieties that can only be found here. On the white side furmint is the king and on the red side kékfrankos grapes are the most important.
Hungary also has an incredibly rich and colorful culinary scene that includes of course paprika (our signature spice), a huge variety of soups and stews as well as our heritage pig, the mangalica. It is a small country with Budapest more or less in the center and is a perfect culinary destination where you can visit a number of very different regions without having to spend too much time driving.
We will spend a lot of time in Budapest where we have world famous architecture, the Danube lit up at night, the Opera and other concert halls as well as a diverse culinary scene. Our tour finds time outside of the capital with tastings and overnights to the famed Tokaj region in addition to wine regions near Villany (in the south) and Lake Balaton. We set up this itinerary to help you understand the layers of our long and complicated history and leave with a full belly and mind.
Day One
Overnight: Budapest
Welcome to Budapest
This day we will settle in our centrally located hotel in the heart of Budapest and get to know each other over some wine. We will discover the Pest side of town with some of the major landmarks and finish our walk at the Danube to embark on a private boat ride (with some wine of course). Dinner will be at Taste Hungary’s Budapest headquarters, at the Tasting Table wine cellar. By then we will all be friends and experts on Hungarian wine.
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Day Two
Overnight: Budapest
Market Day
Budapest is a city that we never get bored of. We dedicate this day to discovering the central market and learn about the ingredients and recipes of traditional Hungarian cooking. We will taste a bunch of things at the market and have a casual lunch at a nearby butcher. Coffeehouses are a big part of Budapest’s traditions so we will spend some time in one of them over cakes and coffee. For dinner we will make something very traditional at the Tasting Table.
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Day Three
Overnight: Budapest
Budapest Jewish History
Budapest has the largest Jewish community in Eastern Europe. This is nothing new, Hungary’s Jewish history goes way back and on this day we will immerse ourselves in its culinary and cultural heritage. We will visit a couple of the synagogues in the old Jewish district, learn about history and religion and have a full on kosher meal that is very traditional Hungarian at the same time. After lunch we will keep traveling in time and continue our walk in history in the Buda castle. Expect a lot of walking, learning, and amazing architecture with stunning views from the castle.
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Day Four
Overnight: Budapest
Etyek Wine Region
Hungary has 22 wine regions and on this day it is time to visit the first one. You will have the morning free of us to relax or do some shopping on your own, but in the afternoon we’ll hop on a minivan and continue our cultural, history and culinary travel. Our first stop is at a park where we collected the old communist era statues that came down in the early 1990’s. We will learn about these very dark decades of Hungarian history. Then we will need some wine to loosen up and that is exactly what we’re going to do as the Etyek region is right outside of Budapest. Expect lots of bubbles and a home cooked meal as we’re in Hungary’s main sparkling wine region.
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Day Five
Overnight: Tokaj
Eger and Tokaj
The next few days will be all about wine. Northern Hungary boasts a bunch of volcanic wine regions and we will get to know them pretty well. Eger makes both white and reg wine with their signature red blend being the Bikavér or Bull’s Blood blend, a kékfrankos based red wine. We will visit a couple of the traditional cellars, but will also have time to peak in the historic baroque center of the town of Eger. We will arrive at our hotel in Tokaj just in time for dinner and for enjoying the cool evening breeze in the vineyard.
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Day Six
Overnight: Tokaj
A Day of Tokaj Wine
Tokaj is Hungary’s most well known wine region. It has been one of the top dessert wines in the world for many centuries. Tokaj is only a white wine region with six permitted varietals only. Although it is known for its sweet wine, about half of the production is dry white wine. Some are light and fruity, others are heavier and aged in barrels. The king here is a grape called furmint, an amazingly versatile variety that makes great sparkling wines, still wines (light or heavy) and some of the best sweet wines in the world.
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Day Seven
Overnight: Villany
Volcanic Matra Wine Region
This day we’re keeping on the light side. It will be a day to drive down to the south of the country, but we like to break the driving time by adding a wine stop to discover something new. This time it will be the Mátra region and this will mark the fourth Hungarian wine region that you will have stepped foot on this trip by now. Mátra is also volcanic, turning out some of the best natural wines we have here. But don’t get too attached to the Mátra, we’re driving further south after lunch to discover Hungary’s most important red wine region: Villány, the land of cabernet franc.
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Day Eight
Overnight: Villany
Pecs and Villany
Villány is for red wine lovers. This is Hungary’s warmest and southernmost wine region where the signature varieties are more in the international side: cabernet franc, merlot, cabernet sauvignon. For those who love to discover local grapes, we’ll pour some Portugieser and kékfrankos. In order to take a break from wine we will do a side trip to nearby Pécs, the charming capital of the region. We’ll come back to Villány in the afternoon to have some fun strolling along the whitewashed cellars of the main street.
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Day Nine
Overnight: Balaton
Lake Balaton
You can’t leave Hungary without having at least a quick look at Lake Balaton. It is the largest fresh water lake in Eastern Europe and for locals it is the main holiday resort where they escape in the heat of the summer. It is also a wine producing region with the south side turning out more reds and the northern side focusing on volcanic whites. Our favorite is the Northern side with crisp, mineralic white wines, and stunning view from the hills.
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Day Ten
Tour Ends
Taste Hungary tour ends after breakfast. 8am transfer to the Budapest Airport if needed. Your guide will be available to assist with your departure to wherever your travels take you next.
MEET YOUR GUIDE: Gábor Bánfalvi
Gábor grew up in the Hungarian countryside that he left as soon as he turned 18 to spend a few years traveling the world. He has lived in France, Spain, Washington DC, New York city and also on board a cruise ship in the Caribbean. He loves languages, books, wine and he (usually) loves being an entrepreneur. He has been working in the wine and tourism business since 2008.
Gábor and his wife run Taste Hungary, a group of small businesses that include a tasting cellar and wine shop in Budapest, a tourism company organizing food and wine tours in Hungary and Eastern Europe and a small import company based in the US to supply our American friends with their favorite Hungarian bottles.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Price: $5495 (air not included) per person for a double occupancy room. Single Occupancy room is $6415. We welcome singles and if you do not have a travel partner, please sign up for a single spot. In the event that a roommate is found, your booking can be changed to a double before final payment is due.
You can reserve with a nonrefundable deposit of $600.
What’s Included: all breakfasts, 7 lunches, 8 dinners, transportation during the tour, entrance fees, local guides, tips, and 9 nights lodging in comfortable, clean, and centrally located hotels.
Taste Hungary tour begins in Budapest (BUD) and tour ends in Balaton, Hungary. 8am airport transfer to Budapest Airport.
Please email with questions info@adventureswithsarah.net
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