Lake Balaton is already filled with people: crazy crowds, shocking prices

Photo by Tamara Bitter on Unsplash

Many set off on the weekend of May 1 due to the gradual relaxations, bright spring sunshine, and a desire to be outdoors after confinement.

HelloVidék toured the southern and northern shores of the Hungarian Sea. They took a trip to look at restaurants and popular tourist attractions.

They got in a car on the morning of the first of May and headed for Lake Balaton to explore the opportunities offered by the first hot spring weekend after the opening. They chose Fonyód for their first round.

Traffic was still subdued at the time, with only a few agricultural vehicles disturbing the traffic; but in return, the endless rapeseed fields of Somogy is like honey for the soul.

By midday, the traffic had intensified. Around ten o’clock in the morning, turning onto the main road was already tricky. They thought it would be worth visiting the beach first, so they headed in that direction. After being unable to find any parking in any possible way, they decided to cancel the plan of the walk on the shore of Fonyód.

They headed for the Panorama Promenade in hopes of a smaller crowd. Along the way, they encountered plenty of renovations. As it turned out, from the spring of 2021, the apartments will be finished.

The building’s location is unique, as it is located between turn-of-the-century buildings, surrounded by the peace and quiet provided by the immediate vicinity of a national park. The Szaplonczay promenade, known for its panorama, passes in front of our entrance, and the shores of Lake Balaton are only a 5-6 minute walk away.
– answers the page offering apartments the question “why the villa line in Fonyód”.

As it turns out, a “smart home” system is already being built for impressive but expensive homes.

After collecting data, the crew of hellovidek.hu returned to the promenade, and after a quick look-around, they decided to climb the Sipos Mountain viewpoint. However, after climbing all the way up there, they found the lookout closed for maintenance.

After Fonyód, they took the direction of the north shore to have some food with friend at Szigliget. The traffic was still huge and inconvenient. Cars, cyclists and pedestrians everywhere.

The data of the bicycle traffic count carried out on behalf of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology indicate a turn partly attributable to the pandemic. While previously there was a rapid expansion of recreational and tourist cycling, according to the 2020 surveys, three-quarters more people hopped on bicycles on weekdays.

There was a relatively long wait for the food given the crowd, but this was predicted, so it didn’t come as a surprise to them. Fortunately, the waiting did not go to the detriment of the quality, and even the puppy was immediately placed in front of a water bowl without any special request.

Almost every place they saw along the way worked with a similar number of guests. They ended their day without the year’s best ice cream since the line the would have had to wait out was criminal.