Taste Hungary is a tour company, which is passionate about introducing the foods and wines of Hungary to travelers. It offers bespoke and small group travel experiences featuring the best of Hungarian food and wine, and the personalities surrounding it. Experiencing Hungary’s food and wine is the best way to learn about the country’s culture and traditions. Sample local wine made from one of the more than 100 indigenous grapes grown in Hungary’s 22 wine-growing regions. Or taste a home-cooked meal in a wine cellar, and discover Budapest through a variety of its foods (both traditional and not).
Taste Hungary owners Carolyn Bánfalvi (author of the award-winning culinary guidebook Food Wine Budapest, The Food and Wine Lover’s Guide to Hungary, and the Budapest Insider’s Guide iphone/ipad app) and Gábor Bánfalvi (wine-specialized tour guide and Hungarian wine educator) make use of their significant culinary research and extensive local contacts in every tour. In their hands, you’ll taste the very best that Hungary has to offer. Taste Hungary is ranked amongst the top 10 tours in Budapest on Tripadvisor.
Taste Hungary Tours
Taste Hungary offers half-day walking tours and evening wine tasting tours in Budapest, as well as full-day wine tours (group and private) to Hungary’s wine regions. For private tours, Taste Hungary will work closely with you to customize the tour to meet your needs and interests. Pre-registration is required for all Taste Hungary tours and we have made it easy to reserve your spot using the form below.
Danube Wine & Sightseeing Cruise
This one-hour sightseeing cruise pairs Budapest's beautiful skyline with fine Hungarian wines. You'll cruise in a private boat and pass by extraordinary landmarks, like the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Parliament Building, the Central Market Hall, the National Theater, the Buda Castle, including Fisherman’s Bastion and Matthias Church and several Budapest bridges while tasting six types of Hungarian wine. Taste Hungary's wine tasting cruise is just as much about the sightseeing as the wine and your wine-specialized tour guide will fill you in on what you are seeing, as well as on what you are drinking. Mineral water and pogácsa (Hungarian biscuits) will be provided. Taste Hungary's Danube Wine & Sightseeing Cruise is available 5 pm - 6 pm on Saturdays, June to October. The cruise runs rain or shine but don't worry there are plenty of indoor areas in case of cold or rainy weather.
Meeting point: The boat departs from a centrally-located dock on the Pest side (details will be provided with your confirmation)
Duration: 1 hour (5 pm to 6 pm, Saturdays only)
Price per Person: HUF 9,000 (HUF 5,000 per person 17 and under)
Tour requires a minimum of seven passengers to depart.
Select Danube Wine and Sightseeing Cruise
Culinary Walking Tour
This food, wine, and cultural walking tour explores one of Budapest’s most delicious and charming neighborhoods. It will give you a taste of the traditional side of Hungarian cuisine, as well as the modern side and the artisan producers and specialty food shops, which are adding spice to Budapest’s food scene. The tour begins at the Central Market Hall where you learn about the history of the building (over a taste of Unicum, Hungary’s famous bitter liquor), the culture of eating in Hungary, and just what Hungarian home cooks do with all of that pork fat, paprika, and goose liver. You will make more stops in the surrounding neighborhoods which could include (depending on the day of the week): the city’s best spice/international food shop, a kosher bakery, a patisserie, a soup bar, a traditional coffee house, a candy manufacturer/shop, an artisan chocolate shop, a retro-style bar, and a butcher which serves meals. The last stop is a family-run bar specializing in wines from small Hungarian producers. You will end your tour by tasting three quintessential Hungarian wines paired with chocolate made by the country’s most interesting chocolatiers. You won’t be hungry after this tour!
Meeting Point: Central Market Hall
Timing: Four hours (10 am - 2 pm). Not available on Sundays.
Price per Person: HUF 19,000
Minimum participants: 2 (Traveling alone? Taste Hungary will do their best to add singles to groups.)
Group size: Tours are limited to 6 guests
Wine Bar Tour
Do you want to experience Hungarian wine but don’t have enough time to visit the vineyards in person? Thanks to the increasing number of wine bars, you don’t have to leave Budapest to become acquainted with Hungarian wine. But where to start and what to order? Let Taste Hungary help you put it all in context. As part of the guided Wine Bar Tour Taste Hungary will take you to two of Budapest’s most interesting, centrally-located wine bars. You will experience eight different wines from different regions of Hungary. Most will be from small producers, many of whom do not export their wines. You will end the tour with much more than just a belly full of wine. You will have gotten a general overview of the wines of Hungary, their history, the country’s wine regions, and the most significant varietals. You will also have learned about Hungarian wine trends, styles, and culture. A selection of cold local products (such as cheese, bread, cured meat, dips, etc.) will be served with the wine at one venue.
Meeting point: A centrally-located wine bar
Duration: Three hours (generally from 5 pm - 8 pm)
Price per Person: HUF 19,000
Minimum participants: 2 (Traveling alone? Taste Hungary will do their best to add singles to groups.)
Group size: Tours are limited to 6 guests
Wine+Market Tour
Get an education in both Hungarian food and wine on a tour that begins at Budapest’s Central Market Hall and then heads to Etyek, an up-and-coming wine region just a 30 minute drive from town. You’ll arrive in time for lunch with wine pairings, either at a winery or a winery-owned restaurant overlooking the village. After lunch you will explore this gorgeous little village, which holds many small top-notch wineries and old rows of cellars, and visit one more winery for a tour, chat with the winemaker, and tasting. Etyek’s limestone soil produces mainly white wines characterized by their crisp acidity, as well as pinot noir, the region’s red wine specialty. You’ll be back in Budapest in time for dinner.
Meeting point: Central Market Hall
Duration: 7 hours (generally 10 am to 5 pm). Not available on Sundays.
Price per Person (varies according to group size): HUF 62,000 (1 person), HUF 38,000 (2 people), HUF 34,000 (3-4 people), HUF 32,000 (
5-6 people). Lunch is not included in price.
Private Wine Tours
Taste Hungary’s private wine tours explore the best Hungarian winemaking regions. Trips can be as short as a day trip from Budapest, but can extend for as long as you’d like and can be organized for individual travelers and small groups. The tours are full-day experiences, which will leave you with a great deal of knowledge about Hungarian wine (and wine in general, if you are new to visiting wineries). No matter what your level of wine knowledge is, Taste Hungary can customize the tour for you.
You can expect plenty of beautiful scenery, delicious local food, good company, and many new wines. Lunch will either be at a winery or a carefully selected restaurant (not included in the price). Three winery tours/tastings (each with generous pours of between 5-8 wines) are included, and whenever possible, tours are led by the winemaker or a member of the family. Taste Hungary likes to show a mixture of the traditional, the experimental, and the modern, in order to give you a complete picture of the state of Hungarian wine. There will be time to sightsee in the nearby villages/towns, as well as for a walk in the vineyards to see firsthand where and how the grapes are grown. The final tasting includes a cold plate of local products (cheese, meat, etc.) to fortify you for the ride back to Budapest!
Not sure which region you should tour? Let Taste Hungary know and they will help you decide which might be the best fit for you based on your interests and wine preferences.
Meeting point: Pick-up at your hotel
Duration: 10-12 hours, depending on the region. Tour begins between 8 am - 9:30 am.
Price per Person (varies according to group size): HUF 80,000 (1 person), HUF 50,000 (2 people), HUF 44,000
(3-4 people),
HUF 40,000 (5-6 people). Lunch is not included in price.
Group Wine Tours
Taste Hungary’s scheduled group day trips are a great way to get a crash course in Hungarian wine, and to spend a day with a small group of like-minded wine lover’s curious about the emerging Hungarian wine regions. Tours are scheduled throughout the year, focusing on particular regions each time. By the day’s end, you will have gained a good understanding of the state of Hungarian winemaking, and you should feel like a specialist in the region you have visited.
Taste Hungary’s group trips are full-day experiences. The day includes visits and tastings at three wineries, during which you will tour the winemaking areas and discuss the winemaking process, the history, and the wines. Whenever possible, winery tours are led by the winemaker or a member of the family. Tastings include generous pours of 5-8 wines.
Guests always count lunch as one of the most memorable parts of the day (and among the food highlights of their trips). The meal is a multi-course, home-cooked Hungarian meal served at a winery, along with wine pairings. After lunch there will be time to sightsee in the nearby villages/towns, as well take a walk in the vineyards to see firsthand where and how the grapes are grown. The final tasting of the day will be accompanied by a selection of local cheese. Transportation is in a comfortable mini-bus driven by a professional driver, and our English-speaking, wine-specialized tour guide will accompany the group at all times. Join Taste Hungary for a fun day, full of wine, food, Hungarian culture, and great company!
Scheduled Group Wine Tours for 2012:
Saturday May 19, 2012 - Somló
Saturday May 26, 2012 - Southern Shore of Balaton
Saturday June 9, 2012 - Tokaj
Saturday June 16, 2012 - Sparkling Wiine in Buda and Etyek
Saturday June 30, 2012 - Rust (Austria)
Saturday July 14, 2012 - Danube Bend and Pannonhalma
Saturday July 28, 2012 - Tokaj
Saturday August 18, 2012 - Tokaj and the Food and Wine Festival in Erdőbénye
Saturday August 25, 2012 - Eger and the Plum Festival in Noszvaj
Saturday September 8, 2012 - Eger and the Kemence (brick oven-baking) Festival in Noszvaj
Saturday September 22, 2012 - Szekszárd
Saturday October 13, 2012 - Tokaj
Saturday October 27, 2012 - Villány
Saturday November 10, 2012 - Sopron and Burgenland (Austria)
Saturday November 24, 2012 - Boutique Wineries of Southern Slovakia
Saturday December 8, 2012 - Tokaj
Check back often as new dates are added regularly.
Meeting point: Batthyány tér
Duration: 10-12 hours, depending on the region. Tour begins between 8 am - 9:30 am.
Price per Person: HUF 35,000 (all-inclusive)
Group size: Tours are limited to 16 guests
Tour requires a minimum of six passengers to depart.
Reserve Your Taste Hungary Tour
We have partnered with Taste Hungary to make it easy to reserve a spot in one of their tours. Simply fill out the form below and Taste Hungary will respond directly. Filling out this form does not guarantee a place on a Taste Hungary tour. Taste Hungary will reply to your submission with confirmation of availability, further meeting details, and payment information. Payment is due in advance of the tour. All tours are held in English.
