Hungary - Eastern Europe - page 357

on an express (gyors) train. To Keszthely, the trip takes about 3 hours and costs 2,030
Ft ($10/£5.20). To reach Tihany, take a train to Balatonfüred for 1,420 Ft
($7.10/£3.65; travel time 2 hr.), and then a local bus to Tihany.
BY CAR From Budapest, take the M7 motorway south through Székesfehérvár
until you hit the lake. Route 71 circles the lake.
If you're planning to visit Lake Balaton for more than a day or two, you should con-
sider renting a car, which will give you much greater mobility. The various towns dif-
fer enough from one another that you may want to keep driving until you find a place
that really speaks to you. Without a car, this is obviously more difficult. Also, wher-
ever you go in the region, you'll find that private rooms are both cheaper and easier to
get if you travel a few miles off the lake. Driving directly to the lake from Budapest
will take about an hour and 15 minutes.
BY BOAT & FERRY Passenger boats on Lake Balaton let you travel across the lake
as well as between towns on the same shore. The boat routes are extensive, and the
rates are cheap, but the boats are considerably slower than surface transportation. All
major towns have docks with departures and arrivals. Children 3 and under travel free,
and those 13 and under get half-price tickets. A single ferry (komp) running between
Tihany and Szántód lets you transport a car across the width of the lake.
All boat and ferry information is available from the BAHART office in Siófok
( & 84/310-050 or 84/312-144; www.balatonihajozas.hu). Local tourist offices all
along the lake (several listed below) also have schedules and other information.
BY BUS Once at the lake, you might find that buses are the best way of getting
around locally. Buses will be indispensable, of course, if you take private-room lodg-
ing a few miles away from the lake.
WHERE TO STAY IN THE AREA
Because hotel prices are unusually high in the Balaton region, and since just about every
local family rents out a room or two in summer, we especially recommend private
rooms as the lodging of choice in this area. You can reserve a room through a local
tourist office or you can just look for the ubiquitous SZOBA KIADÓ (or ZIMMER FREI )
signs that decorate most front gates in the region. When you take a room without using
a tourist agency as the intermediary, prices are generally negotiable. (Owners sometimes
prefer hard currency.) In the height of the season, you shouldn't have to pay more than
6,000 Ft ($30/£15) for a double room within reasonable proximity of the lake.
Many budget travelers pitch their tents in lakeside campgrounds all around the
lake. Campgrounds are generally quite inexpensive, and their locations are well
marked on maps.
All the campgrounds have working facilities, but are probably not as clean as many
people are accustomed to.
THE TIHANY PENINSULA
The Tihany (pronounced Te e -hine) Peninsula, a national park since 1952, has several
towns on it, the most notable of which is called, appropriately, Tihany (or Tihany Vil-
lage). Because the peninsula is a protected area, building is heavily restricted; conse-
quently, this area maintains a rustic charm that's unusual in the Balaton region.
The Tihany Peninsula also features a lush, protected interior, accessible by a trail
from Tihany Village, with several little inland lakes—including the aptly named Inner