Cycling tour around eastern Balaton

Lake Balaton is large — 80 km long. A full lap around it is about 200 kilometres. And there is a bike path so that sporty people can ride the entire distance on their steely steeds. We wanted to try that ourselves. Of course, not in one day, but a trek from Airbnb to Airbnb.

Even with splitting it into several days, we didn’t feel up to doing the full circuit. Fortunately, there are places where ferries take you to the other shore, so shorter loops are possible. You do need to be careful though — one route we first planned turned out not to be feasible. It would cross the lake on a Friday via a ferry that outside the summer holidays only runs on weekends… So back to the drawing board / laptop.

The crossing at Tihany still runs every day, even every half hour. But that raised another “problem” — going from Berhida to Tihany and returning along the other shore seemed like too little distance to fill three days. But a small extension through the Bakony nature region gave us a beautiful ride of just the right length.

Day 1 – Berhida to Eplény

Around 10 a.m. we departed toward Várpalota. The Bakony nature region lies a few hundred metres higher than Berhida, so right away we faced a steep climb. Within a few kilometres we realized we were no longer in our twenties. But with a few rest breaks and sheer stubbornness we made it up. The nature region is itself a plateau, so for the rest of the day there were ups and downs, but much smaller elevation differences. Pleasant winding quiet roads through greenery, past the “Roman bath.”

The ride continued to Zirc, the “capital of Bakony,” with a lovely abbey. But our schedule didn’t allow a visit (only with a Hungarian guide at set times), and the rest of Zirc seemed rather unremarkable. So back on the bikes for the last stretch. The road from Zirc to Eplény turned out to be a busy main road with no bike path, so not the nicest part to cycle. On arrival in Eplény we saw a sign for a bike path toward the last village before Zirc, so if someone else wants to do this route, we’d recommend skipping Zirc and following that bike path.

But anyway, “tired but satisfied” as they say, we arrived at our little apartment, within walking distance of the Eplény mountain bike / ski area.

Day 2 – Along the north shore of the Balaton

The first section went much more smoothly than the first stretch yesterday — we left the plateau and didn’t have to pedal over a long descent along a pretty good bike path. After that, the quiet roads meandered around the ruined castle of Hajmáskér and through farmland. Gradually we neared Lake Balaton again. One final obstacle cost us some time — there was supposed to be a path a few hundred metres long between two roads, but that path had become overgrown with thorny brambles. Even on foot it was impassable. Luckily we found a different path in a somewhat better condition and were able to continue.

Not far further we finally reached the Balaton bike path. We passed through Balatonfüzfő, Balatonalmádi (a lively center), and Balatonfüred (with food stalls next to each beach shop along the shore). Tip: most paid beaches along Balaton are free outside the summer holidays. After Balatonfüred we turned toward the Tihany peninsula. One could ride via Tihany village and the hilltop abbey, but this time we opted for the coastal route. Our reward was views over the lake, a small harbor and a few beaches. Just don’t imagine much of those “beaches” on Tihany: it’s more of a 3‑metre‑wide concrete strip between the road and the water where you can lay your towel. There are some steps for easy access to the water and you can swim beautifully, but when one hears “beach” one imagines something else.

At the southern tip of the peninsula we arrived at the ferry terminal. We bought tickets (2.50 euros + 1 euro for the bike), and a few minutes later we boarded, together with several other cyclists, walkers and cars. A 20‑minute ride brought us to Szántód on the southern shore of the Balaton. And a few kilometres farther, in Zamárdi, awaited our next accommodation.

Day 3 – Along the south shore to home

Zamárdi is a pleasant resort town, with kilometres of free (grassy) beach and restaurants. We had the impression that many houses were for sale, so the town seemed to be struggling economically, but it definitely has something to offer. A few kilometres further lies Siófok, the largest city on the Balaton and one of the most expensive in the country. The center of Siófok is beautifully designed, with the square around the water tower as its highlight. Of course there are different beaches, including the “Silver Beach,” and further out the “Gold Beach.” Don’t ask me where those names come from — they were both grass‑green to us.

We cycled on toward Balatonvilágos. Perhaps the most beautiful section of coastline. There are hardly any spots for the passerby to reach the lake itself, but the bike path runs over cliffs, 10–20 m above the lake, so from one viewpoint to another. From there we could pretty much see our entire cycling route — the hills of Bakony, and all shores east of Tihany.

Between Balatonvilágos and Balatonkarattya we found a pleasant little beach. We had to leave our bikes above and descend via stairs to a lower road, then walk further.

Balatonkarattya was the last village on our route that lay on the lake. We left the Balaton bike path toward Csajág. A path through the woods took us to a road, and from there we had only a few kilometres to follow it, and then we saw the church tower of Berhida in the distance.