From Budapest to Lake Balaton

Part 2 of: How to get from Germany to Lake Balaton by train?

I wanted to know if it is worth travelling around Lake Balaton! How to go round Lake Balaton, whether it is worth it and how to get to each shore of Lake Balaton by train!

Train one: Budapest - Siofok - Keszethely

When booking, please note that trains in Hungary can have two categories. A train can be an InterCity, for example, but also a Gy (Gyorsvonat), an Ex (Expressz) or a Sz (Szemelyvonat) at the same time. The latter three usually use old, unair-conditioned Halberstadt centre-entry coaches from the German Reichsbahn from the 1970s. The InterCitys use newer, air-conditioned InterCity coaches, which also have WLAN and power sockets. Some of the InterCitys on the Balaton routes even have a dining car! The two parts (IC+Gy/Ex/Sz) are then attached one behind the other. If you are going on holiday, it is better to take the InterCity in the hot Hungarian temperatures. We decide to go retro, also because you can open the windows in the old carriages -> better photos!

When booking, both trains are listed one after the other, usually with the same number, but with a different prefix.

In Budapest you should first plan a bit of "buffer time", an ÖBB conductor once told me, "The trains that are late are mostly from Germany or Hungary". which sums it up in a nutshell. Hungary has an even worse infrastructure than Germany! You should also note that in Budapest, as in Paris, there is no main railway station but several large stations. Namely the railway stations Nyugati palyaudvar (for international trains from the north) , Keleti palyaudvar (for international trains from the west) and Deli palyaudvar (for international trains heading south and national express trains) .

99% trains to Lake Balaton depart from Deli palyaudvar , which can be reached e.g. by metro M2 . In contrast to the other railway stations, this one is just an ugly concrete block built in 1975 . Not only because of this, but also because of its decentralised location, it is mainly served by national express trains, suburban trains and two trains to Slovenia and Croatia. So also almost all trains to Lake Balaton .

In front of each track there is a large display board showing all trains departing from that track, including intermediate stops.

There are many trains to Lake Balaton , especially in summer , but there is a kind of "main connection" 365 days a year . Every hour at minute 35′ there is a train from Budapest-Deli to Keszethely , so along the entire south-east side of Lake Balaton . Our train is the 10:35 Ex 864 to Keszethely . It is now called Gy 864 , but the carriages are the same ! Besides the local part of the train there is also the InterCity part . While there is only second class on the Ex/Gy , the IC also offers 1st class . All with WLAN , sockets and air conditioning . These trains also have a fully-fledged dining car in summer.

With a few minutes delay we rumble across the station area towards Budapest Kelenföld , the fourth largest railway station in Budapest . Trains always stop at Kelenföld 7 minutes after their departure from Deli . Because Kelenföld is a through station, (almost) no trains terminate here . However, many stop to pick up passengers from the suburbs . If you are travelling through, you can also change here to the M3 metro to Keleti palyaudvar !

Now we're travelling at 120 km/h towards Székesfehérvár!

The journey to Székesfehérvár , which is also known as the city of kings , takes about 45 minutes . However, people who also want to go to Lake Balaton are more likely to get on the bus! After Székesfehérvár we also reach Lake Balaton . But before that the two routes to the north-west side of Lake Balaton to Balatonfüzfö and Balatonfüred and ours to the south-east side of the lake towards Siofok and Fonyod separate .

First stop at Lake Balaton in Siófok at 11:55.

The train takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to the party capital Siófok, which is only slightly slower than by car (1 hour 10 minutes). After Siofok, the journey continues southwards along Lake Balaton, passing through many towns that begin with "Balaton", such as Balatonszárszó or Balatonfenyves. Unfortunately, the journey is not particularly exciting 🙁 , the entire shore on this side is built up with two rows of houses and only rarely interrupted by small parks. Basically, a long, sparsely populated area on the shore of Lake Balaton.

Stop at the green railway station in Balatonföldvár.

After another half hour of grey new buildings we reach Fonyod , where the route branches off to Kaposvár . From here at the latest you should open the windows, if you haven't already opened them because of the humid temperatures in Hungary, because shortly after Fonyod comes the most beautiful section of the route !!!!

Arrival in Keszethely at 13:11.

A "bread tin" is waiting on the neighbouring track.

To be honest, almost three hours in an old, unair-conditioned DB carriage is really brutal! I would definitely pay the extra charge, it's definitely below the German price level!

Keszethely is at the other end of Lake Balaton from Budapest and, with a population of around 19,000, is also the largest town on Lake Balaton. But it will be a while before the second train arrives that you need for the Lake Balaton round trip! So we decide to take a short stroll along the shore of Lake Balaton 🙂

After a traditional lángos, it's back to the railway station for the next train ...

Fortunately, the small waiting hall is well air-conditioned.

Train two: (Kaposvár - ) Keszethely - Tapolca ( - Györ)

The journey continues a little further inland to Tapolca . Only a few trains run away from Lake Balaton ! Between Keszthely and Tapolca there is only the hourly InterRegio "Helikon" from Kaposvár to Györ . The line is also only single track and not electrified . But of course you have to get on board first ...

Many platforms at smaller stations in Hungary are so narrow that the track is on the ground because there is no room for a proper sign 🙂 !

And as it happens on a sunny summer day at Lake Balaton , the short diesel train (Who's interested : a 2-car ex-DB Regio Siemens Desiro Classic Br 642/426) was packed . Which was probably the reason why it was 20 minutes late ! So full that the conductor almost couldn't keep up !!! Dresdeners know the .... The journey to Tapolca, which is only 20 kilometres away, is a leisurely one, so it doesn't take long, just 28 minutes. Anyone who knows these trains knows that they have no air conditioning , half an hour in such a crowded train can easily become torture !

Not just the same on the outside: apart from the Hungarian train protection system and new running boards, everything is the same!

Train three: Keszthely - Balatonfüred - Budapest

Travelling by train in Hungary - A journey through time (here an M41 from 1981)

This train is also divided into a "more expensive" and a "cheaper" part . As before, we decide in favour of the cheaper one with the openable windows .

The journey back to the Hungarian capital begins, but first we return to Lake Balaton ....

Departure with the Ex (Expressz) 19703 "Kék Hullám" is at 15:38 . The train runs every two hours, but during the winter as Sz (Személyvonat) 9703 .

The line on the north-west side of Lake Balaton is not electrified and is in an even worse condition, although it is currently being electrified. Therefore, the train can only travel at a maximum speed of 80 km/h.

At the station, a historic M61 (618 001-5) from 1963 is waiting for the green light:

The locomotive is changed in the next larger town of Balatonfüred, as the rest of the line has already been electrified. Many people travelling to Budapest also board the train here. We switch to an iconic Br 431 from the 1970s. It is still the backbone of the Hungarian railway system and still pulls most of the trains!

After the last few kilometres along Lake Balaton, the line heads back towards Székesfehérvár and on to Budapest. Shortly before Székesfehérvár, the line rejoins the main line H-30 Nagykanizsa - Balatonszentgyörgy - Budapest, on which the first train from Budapest to Keszthely also runs.

And how much did the spontaneous tour around Lake Balaton cost?

The journey from Budapest to Keszthely cost around €5 per person. But you should reckon with 7-10€. The journey Keszthely - Tapolca - Budapest, which I bought together, also only costs 9-10€. Meanwhile, in Germany you pay that for the reservation alone! You get the corresponding comfort, but you can also upgrade to the IC part for only 1000-2000 ft (Forint), the equivalent of 2-4 EUR. I bought the tickets directly from MAV online (5% discount compared to the counter) at https://rail.shop/mav

At 18:45 we get off the train in Kelenföld, which is still very full towards the end. We didn't go all the way to the Deli terminus because from Kelenföld you can take the green M4 underground directly to Keleti palyaudvar, where many trains depart for Austria and Germany... In our case, the EuroNight EN 50462 "Kálmán Imre" to Stuttgart!

Conclusion

Every corner of Lake Balaton can be reached quickly and cheaply (compared to travelling by car). If you are looking for a nice train route on Lake Balaton, you will find it on the sparsely populated northern shore!

Statistics

IC/Gy 864 : 190km vagonweb.cz / trainfinder.net

IR 9694 : 25km vagonweb.cz

IC 19703 : 184km vagonweb.cz

You can find part one of my journey here.

Suggestions, ideas or questions in the comments 🙂 !

argon

Important links

Timetable / Journey time approx. 2:45 hours: MAV - Hungarian railway

Buy train tickets. Price can be found in the text above. Buy tickets at: MAV - Hungarian railway

Book a hotel in Budapest: Booking.com

InterRail - a train ticket for the whole of Europe: InterRail

Information about the author of this article.