Lake Balaton
Tihany’s lavender and abbey, wine hills on the north shore and the thermal lake at Hévíz.
- Distance
- 207 km (128 mi)
- Driving
- 2 h 51 min
- Suggested days
- 3
- Stops
- 4
- Countries
- Hungary
- Updated
- May 8, 2026
At a glance: 3-day road trip of about 207 km (128 mi) with 4 stops, from Budapest to Hévíz. About 2 h 51 min of driving in total.
Route description
Leave Budapest on the M7 motorway, which runs south-west to the eastern end of Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe. Hungarian motorways require an electronic vignette.
Take the north-shore road 71 to the Tihany peninsula, where the Benedictine abbey looks over the lake and lavender fields flower in early summer. A car ferry crosses from Tihany to Szántód on the south shore.
Continue west along the north shore past the volcanic hills of Badacsony and Szigliget, covered in vineyards and dotted with wine cellars. The scenery changes from resort towns to quiet hills with views across the water.
Keszthely at the western end has the Festetics Palace, and just inland the thermal lake of Hévíz is warm enough for bathing year-round. The lake shore is busy on summer weekends, while spring and autumn are quieter.
Stop-by-stop itinerary
In driving order. Distances are estimates between consecutive stops.
- 1Start
Budapest
Hungary - 2136 km
Tihany
Hungary - 364 km
Keszthely
Hungary - 47 km
Hévíz
Hungary
