Social Distancing Tours

I know that these last 3-4 months have been extremely difficult for many of us. I delivered my first virtual tour on the 20th of March and haven’t had a real, live tour ever since. I love virtual tours and I think travellers that booked any of them all had a very special experience.

But. I need personal connection, I need instant reactions, I need to see and hear my travellers.

As of last Wednesday our borders are open to the citizens of the EU and some other countries. I don’t see many actual tourists yet but hopefully this will change soon. It was time for me to create my Social Distancing Tours.

Rules are very simple:

  • Tours are maximum 3 hours long
  • Only walking and driving tours are available, we don’t use public transportation
  • Travellers, tour guide (and driver) are required to wear a mask for the length of the tour
  • No inside visit of the monuments, attractions, museums
  • No coffee or lunch break together
  • Maximum number of travellers on the tour shouldn’t exceed 4 people

I hope I’ll have the chance to finally meet real people and to show them around the city that I love the most. I hope that this is just the beginning and very slowly life will get back to normal, if you still remember what normal is 🙂

COVID-19 Update from Budapest

As of today there are 3035 COVID-19 cases in Hungary and 351 people died.

Today is a very special day, because we’re moving to the second phase of easing out of restrictive measures. That might be the light at the end of the tunnel we’ve been hoping for for over two months now.

The good news is that life is slowly returning to normal in the countryside, restaurants and cafés reopened, movement restrictions remained in force only in Budapest and Pest county.

Also, Budapest Airport is gradually restarting passenger services and more and more airlines restart their flights to and from Budapest, mostly from other European cities. You’ll find here all details about the rules of entry to Hungary.

I’d like to finish this post with a personal note. May is my favourite month and I think that’s when Budapest is the most beautiful. I really miss real tours and I’m so sorry that travellers from all around the world can’t see this beautiful city with all the bright colours and lights. I’m showing you as much as possible on my ON-THE-SPOT tours, feel free to ask for a customised tour!

The Herend Porcelain

Visiting the Herend Factory is always a special experience. The dedication and the talent of people making the most famous Hungarian porcelain products is simply amazing.

During the tour one can see all the different phases of porcelain making and can also learn a lot about the ‘white gold’. I recommend to include the visit in the Lake Balaton tour to make this tour even more authentic.

May rain is like gold

That’s a Hungarian saying, that’s probably how Hungarians try to find some comfort when they can’t see the sun for weeks. Budapest really is beautiful all year around but it shows most of its splendor in the sun.

Winter has finally arrived

Take a look at how Budapest looks like now, all white and snowy. It’s such a special period of the year, as unfortunately we’re getting less and less snow every year. Come and see for yourself!

  • A view over Budapest covered by snow.
  • Snowy trees on Andrassy avenue
  • A cute little snowman overlooking Parliament

Going underground – visiting the caves of Buda

I’m very fortunate to have special requests all the time to customize Budapest tours according to my travellers’ preferences. Today we had the chance to visit the Pálvölgyi caves, which is actually the longest cave in Budapest. The visit is about 60 minutes and you can see different stone formations, unique dripstones and prints of primeval shells.

Another advantage of hiking in the caves is that the temperature is constantly 11 degrees Celsius / 52 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s relatively warm in the winter and pretty cool in the summer.

View from tram #2

I always encourage my guests to take public transport, it’s cheap, convenient and very easy. What’s more is that you can enjoy such a great view from the trams, buses or boats, don’t miss it!

 

Royal Palace in Visegrád

When we are touring the Danube Bend I usually try to include the visit of the Castle complex including the Upper Castle and the Royal Palace, too.

The miracle that we are able to see how royals lived in the 15th century is due to a passionate Hungarian archeologist who had discovered the ruins of the palace in an orchid, we are tremendously grateful to the archeologists who recreated the lavish interiors of the Gothic-Renaissance palace.

The barely 5.000 sq feet stone house built in the 1300’s was rebuilt and extended several times and transformed to a fabulous royal residence with 350 rooms by King Matthias. Legend is that marble fountains were filled with red wine in the 15th century. The Gothic cloisters, Renaissance loggia, living quarters of our kings and queens, amazing fountains and gardens are to be seen in the Palace as well as items and relics from the Middle Ages.

 

A Must-See: Füvészkert Botanical Garden

Although Füvészkert seems to be hard to pronounce but it’s surely woth a try, as it’s a true hidden gem in  the 8th district of Budapest.

The oldest and largest botanical garden of the city is from the 1770’s and is home to more than 7.000 plant species on a 3-acre area. The 150-year-old Chinese gingko is the oldest tree in the park.

You can admire the tropical and subtropical plants in the Palm House, Amazonas water lily in the Victoria glass house and the rich collection of palms, cactuses, bromelias and orchids. It’s one of the major locations in Ferenc Molnár’s ‘Paul Street Boys’, a famous Hungarian novel.

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