Hungary’s Lake Balaton is among the world’s best beaches!

BeachAtlas ranked the world’s best beaches, and Lake Balaton is among the globe’s top 100, so it received the Golden Beach Award 2024.

A thorough ranking

According to beachatlas.com, the usual methodology concerning beach ranking considers only powdery sands and clear blue waters, the visual allure of the beach. However, their ranking went beyond the conventional viewpoints. For example, they valued the local community, lifestyle offerings, even cultural significance.

“This broader perspective allowed us to shine a light on those beach gems that typically don’t make it onto traditional, unidimensional ‘best beach’ lists”, they wrote on their website introducing their research. Moreover, they even invited some travel experts and influencers to vote for the best beaches.

The final criteria of the beaches were the following: classic beauty, party and lifestyle, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), community, natural diversity, and cultural significance. You may read the detailed explanation of these criteria with examples HERE and check them out on the top of the article.

Lake Balaton – Balaton Sound festival. Photo: Facebook/Balaton Sound

Germans like Lake Balaton

The final list includes beaches from the five continents and many countries nobody would ever think of. Lake Balaton finished at the 60th place. Balaton is the largest water surface in Central Europe and a popular tourist hotspot, especially during summers, welcoming many foreign guests. Germans and Austrians fancy the lake the most due to historical reasons.

HERE is our article about German pensioners flooding the Balaton region. Most of them spend perfect holidays at the lake, so they want to return after they retire.

Lake Balaton. Source: depositphotos.com

Lake Balaton, the ‘Hungarian sea’, preceded Miami, Egypt, and Bled

“Lake Balaton, or the ‘Hungarian sea,’ is a beloved spot for locals’ summer holidays, offering a cool retreat for swimming. During the Cold War era, Lake Balaton enabled rare meetings between East and West Germans, cementing its role as a historical bridge between divided lands and peoples, with many Germans still visiting today.

As Central Europe’s largest lake, Balaton’s shallow, warm waters make it family-friendly and ideal for leisure”, beachatlas.com wrote about the lake in their ranking.

Photo: facebook.com/BalatonSound

Interestingly, Bora Bora in French Polynesia, Boulders Beach in South Africa and Waikiki Beach in Hawaii top the ranking, followed by Brazil’s Copacabana and Thailand’s Maya Bay.

Bora Bora. Photo: depositphotos.com

But Lake Balaton preceded South Miami, Varadero in Cuba and even the picturesque Slovenian Bled. Congratulations!

Read also:

• Positive changes at Lake Balaton: Far more holiday homes for sale than in 2023 – Read more HERE
• Long stretch of Balaton coast is being nationalised: less beach for tourists