For all of our itineraries we recommend staying in Noszvaj, which has a good selection of accommodation in all price ranges and also has some cafés and restaurants. We can help you select accommodation according to your needs. Each itinerary focuses on something different, but of course we think the perfect itinerary will be probably a good mix of all of these. Depending on how much time you have available, if you want an active holiday or not, if you are travelling as a couple, with friends or with children, and your main interests of course, we will create the best itinerary for you.
Please remember, we are advocates of slow travel, so although the Bükkalja has so much to offer, we don’t want to pack too much into your days. We recommend to take your time and fully enjoy and appreciate the sights, immerse in nature, relax in the peaceful villages, meet local people and sit around with some good wine and food, having a great conversation.
We have created 2-day itineraries, but of course we can add any days you’d like.
After breakfast at the accommodation, visit of the cave homes of Noszvaj. Walk or drive up the hill to see some wine cellars and enjoy the amazing view of the village and the countryside. Light lunch at a local café. Drive to Szomolya, visit the cave home museum and hike around the beehives. Walk up the cemetery to see the wonderful gravestones and the view from the top. See the stone statues in the garden of the local ceramist. Home made dinner with local wine in Noszvaj, at a local house.
After breakfast drive to Tibolddaróc, walk among the wine cellars and abandoned cave homes, and enjoy the view from the lookout tower. Lunch in a Bogács restaurant. In the afternoon hike in the area of Cserépváralja and see the biggest beehive and some smaller ones. If you would not like to hike, you can just take a short hike to the big beehive, then spend the afternoon relaxing in the Thermal Bath of Bogács. In the evening visit of the Thummerer cellar, dinner and optional wine tasting.
If you are really into stones, you might want to stay at the exciting cave hotel in Szomolya.
Details and photos: Stone culture of Bükkalja
After breakfast at your accommodation, visit a cheese maker and taste different types of local cheese. After the tasting drive up or walk up to the hill, walk among old wine cellars and enjoy the amazing view of Noszvaj and nature around it. Visit the cave houses. Oven baked lunch at a house. In the afternoon tasting of local jams at a house, including the plum jam and quince jam of Noszvaj, as well as the black cherry jam of Szomolya. In the afternoon drive to Tibolddaróc and take a walk among the old wine cellars and peek into the empty cave houses. In the evening dinner and tasting of Thummerer wines.
After breakfast drive to Eger. Stop at the Bolyki Winery and look at the stone mine, which was turned into a wine cellar. Take a walk in the historical center of the town, visit the castle, go up the minaret. Lunch and wine tasting of Gál wines. In the afternoon hike around the Nagy Eged hill above Eger, among the vineyards, or if you would not like to hike, relax in the Turkish bath of Eger. Wine tasting and dinner in the Kovács Nimród Winery, and you can also create your own Eger cuvée.
If you would really like to immerse in the wine region, we recommend staying in a small cottage right in the middle of the vineyard.
Details and photos:
We recommend this program with a Friday start, so that you can visit the farmers’ market in Noszvaj.
After breakfast at your accommodation visit the farmers’ market of Noszvaj. Taste local products like cheese, ham, sausage, plum, black cherry and quince jam. Home made lunch of a local specialty at a house. In the afternoon drive to Szomolya. Visit the local ceramist and see the stone carvings in her garden. Take a walk in the cemetery, look at the old gravestones and walk to the top of the hill for an amazing view of the village. Go to the Cultural Center and see how the ladies are making rece lace. Dinner in Noszvaj with optional tasting of Thummerer wines.
After breakfast drive to Mezőkövesd and take a walk in the small Hadas area, among the nicely renovated traditional houses. Visit the shops of some local artisans, watch the old ladies working on Matyó embroidery. Drive to Tard and visit the museum where you can see traditional Matyó clothing and furniture in a traditional house. Lunch in Bogács. In the afternoon drive to Bükkzsérc and visit a ceramist, you can watch her work in progress. In her house you can also see a small exhibition of traditional folk patterns of different regions of Hungary and Transylvania. She painted these motifs on tiles. After this visit we walk up to the top of the hill to enjoy the view of the village immersed in nature and to walk around the small group of wine cellars. From here you will get a 360 degree view of the area. We will visit a wine cellar where you can see interesting stone carvings on the wall. The carvings show typical scenes from the life of the winemaker. Dinner in a local restaurant or at your accommodation.
Details and photos: Artisans of Bükkalja
After breakfast at your family friendly accommodation follow the Fable route with a combination of driving and walking, discover the best spots of Noszvaj, read the fables and do the games. If you want, leave a small surprise for the kids who will arrive after you. Lunch in a local café. In the afternoon continue the Fable route, check out the cool cave houses, then visit the farm where you can see many different animals, and you can even pet some of them. The owner will explain all about animals and you can also see how chicks hatch from the eggs. At the end enjoy a farm to table dinner prepared by the owners.
After breakfast drive to the Visitor Center of the Hór-völgy. Visit the cave museum, spend some time at the playground, then do the hike to the Suba-lyuk cave where the bones of the cave men were found. Lunch in Bogács. In the afternoon enjoy the pools and slides of the thermal bath of Bogács. In the evening dinner in a local restaurant, at a house or at your accommodation in Noszvaj.
Regarding accommodation, children will surely love a unique place like a cave hotel or a bungalow. But we can also recommend a cosy family run hotel with a large pool and a huge green area where kids can happily run around while parents are drinking a glass of local wine by the pool.
Details and photos:
Programs for children in Bükkalja
Read more about Bükkalja: