When we were visiting Balatonfüred for the Hungarian Summer Salsa Festival (HSSF), we were lucky enough to get to spend some time at Lake Balaton. It is a beautiful, peaceful location that I would love to revisit one day.

About Lake Balaton

So, to start with, Lake Balaton is actually the largest lake in Europe and is a popular tourist attraction for many reasons.

It is located in Western Hungary, a short journey from Budapest (resulting in it being the perfect day trip for the capital). The 598 square km lake is actually only about 80km from Budapest!

Lake Balaton’s depth varies depending on the area that you are in, with its deepest point being 37ft! While the Southern shores are shallower, attracting more families.

Blue Ribbon Grand Prix/Regatta

The Blue Ribbon event (Kékszalag) appears to have several titles: Grand Prix, Regatta, or simply race. It is one of the many fun events drawing visitors to Lake Balaton every year.

Kékszalag is actually the oldest competition of its kind in Europe, having begun in 1934. Originally occurring every 2 years (except during WW2), then becoming once a year in 2001.

So, what is the Blue Ribbon Grand Prix? It is the longest (and oldest!) around the lake sailing competition in Europe. The race is roughly 155km and attracts around 600 boats a year.

Kékszalag is traditionally sailed on a July weekend that was close to the full moon, starting on the Friday morning with competitors having 48 hours to complete their journey.

Balaton Átúszás

Another large draw to Lake Balaton for water sport enthusiasts is the annual open water swimming competition, Balaton Átúszás.

This race is one of the largest open water swimming competitions in the world, starting at Révfülöp, swimmers travel 5.2km to Balatonboglár then catch a ferry back to the start. It has been a tradition since 1983!

Safety is very important in an event like this, so there is a corridor of boats alongside the swimmers, including lifeguards and water police. If swimmers get tired, they are able to hold onto the sides of these boats or climb aboard if needed. Also, before 2022, it was a requirement that all participants had a medical examination before competing.

Like Kékszalag, Balaton Átúszás typically takes place in July.

Tourist Attractions

In this section I may speak slightly more broadly than normal because the activities available to you at Lake Balaton will vary depending on which town you are staying in or visiting.

Cruises

You may have already guessed if you’ve read previous posts on here, if I’m near a large body of water, you can almost guarantee that I’ll find a cruise on it. Lake Balaton was by no means an exception.

For us, we were lucky that as part of the HSSF there is a boat party. So, it was a wonderful experience for us to get to view the area from the lake while also dancing on a boat (a first for me!).

There are so many different options for cruises on Lake Balaton that you’ll want to explore your options and choose the best one for you.

Watersports

Depending on which part of the lake you’re staying at, there are a variety of watersports available. For example, stand up paddleboarding or sailing.

We didn’t have time to try some out on the lake unfortunately, but I can only imagine how beautiful that would have been.

Beaches

There were some lovely beaches where we were staying in Balatonfüred, depending on your location there are different types of beaches (grass or ‘sandy’ silt beaches).

The beach that we were fortunate to visit and enjoy was Kisfaludy Strand. We did have to pay entry but given how long we were there; the price was pretty good. It reminded me a little of an outdoor swimming pool the way we lay out our towels on grass and used steps to get in and out of the lake.

Food and Drink Around Lake Balaton

There are a wide variety of food and drink options available around Lake Balaton with some of the most popular ones mentioned below. After all, we tried a lot of traditional Hungarian food while we were there.

Lángos

Lángos is possibly the most popular food around Lake Balaton. For those of you who don’t know it, Lángos is a flatbread that is usually topped with sour cream and grated cheese (with a wide variety of other toppings) as well as the option of garlic butter and water (we were recommended to use the garlic!).

Harry and I shared one when we visited Kisfaludy Strand, it was really nice and a big hit amongst our group of friends.

Kürtőskalács

Kürtőskalács originated in the Székely Land, becoming popular in Hungary (and Romania). For those of you who aren’t sure what a kürtőskalác is, it’s a chimney cake or spit cake, made from a sweet dough in a cone shape.

Harry and I shared one coated in cinnamon sugar. It was enormous! I really enjoyed it, which given my sweet tooth isn’t very surprising.

Wine

If like me, Hungary isn’t one of the first countries that come to mind when you’re thinking about wine production (it is for me now!), it should be.

There are a large number of vineyards surrounding Lake Balaton, which offer tours and tastings to visitors. I’m not much of a wine drinker myself, but I would really recommend doing one here.

We were able to attend a wine tasting as part of our dance festival and it actually made me realise that I just hadn’t found a wine I liked. It was really interesting to learn how Hungary actually make a lot of wine even if they weren’t the first country I thought of.

Conclusion

I would definitely recommend visiting Lake Balaton, even if it is just as a day trip from Budapest. You don’t want to miss out on the multitude of activities or stunning views.