Hungary - Lake Balaton
About the destination
The Lake Balaton is the largest and most well-known lake of Central-Europe. Its surface is nearly 570 square kilometres, the shoreline is 200 kilometres long, stretching up from Southwest to Northeast. The lake had become a famous resort area already in the 19th century, but the real touristic boom came after WWII. The "Hungarian Sea" played an important political role in the communist era, since it was the major meeting place of the devided German families, but also the favourite holiday resort of the citizens of the Eastern Block. Shortly after the political changes the number of visitors decreased, but in the past years we have plenty of foreign visitors again.
The Lake Balaton is the most popular fishing destination of Hungary, there are more than 40 different fish species living in the lake. The most well-know species are the pike-perch (zander), eel, carp, catfish, grass carp, asp and white fish in huge numbers. Balaton provides fun not only for anglers, but also the family members. There are numerous activites, like biking ,swimming, sailing, wine-tasting, etc. We are happy to prepare tailor-made programs for families including optional excursions.
How to get there
Lake Balaton is located in the heart of Europe, it is easily accessible by car, especially from the neighbouring countries. The fishing camp can be found in Tihany, approximately 130 kilometres from Budapest. We provide transfer from the Budapest International Airport upon request, but there is a Balaton Airport as well, with a few low-cost airlines from Germany and UK:
About the weather
Hungary has a dry, continental weather, which means that the annual rainfall is relatively low. The weather is mild from spring till late autumn, summer is warm, the water temperature can go up till 27-28 degrees. The lake has an advanced storm-alarm system, that is needed in summer, when showers and storms can come quickly. It has a very good impact on fishing, everyone goes fishing right after these storms, but it is less usefull to be outside by boat whe the storm comes...
About the equipment
The equipment highly depends on the method. One of the most popular fishing methods is the carp fishing directly in the reeds, which requires a very strong equipment and lines. The other popular method is spinning, mostly for asp, pike and zander. Here we need a softer rod, 30-80 gramms and thiner plastic line in range between 0.18-0.25 mm. Most of the anglers use dead fish bait for zander, especially in the autumn months. Since we fish mainly on opened water with even ground, we can use softer equipment, that gives us more chance to catch fish and more joy once the fish is hooked.
About the accomodation
Our fishing camp is located on the famous Tihany Penninsula, in a splendid enviroment which is a part of a nature reserve. In the main building we provide twin rooms with own bedroom. There is a rich Hungarian breakfast included, and we provide even a delicious two-course lunch upon request. There is a well-known, familiar Tea House in the main building run by the owners. The camp has its own pier, 2 minutes walk from the builiding. The most important town of the region, the beautifully renovated Balatonfüred is only a few-minutes car drive from the camp, there are plenty of shopping and entertaining possibilities.
About the boats
Per 2 anglers we provide stable boats which were designed for the lake. Since it is strictly forbidden to use motorboats on the lake, these are paddle boats with all the accessories. Luckily, most of the good spots are near the pier, there are some special spots where the hosts freqently feed the fish. They inform the guests about the exact location of these places upon arrival. We recommend you to bring an electric engine and a battery with you, in case you come by car. With the normal fishing permit it is not allowed to fish more than 1.500 metres away from the shore. A guided fishing can be booked with a sailbot to the deeper waters, it costs 20 EUR/person (4-5 hours).
About the costs
Participation fee: 329 EUR/person
The following services are included in the price:
- 7 nights accomodation in twin room with own shower and WC,
- Usage of rowboat,
- Fishing permit,
- Rich breakfast is included, lunch can be ordered for 70 EUR/week/person,
- Professional local assistance in English/German.
Single room surcharge costs 40 EUR/week. Return transfer from Budapest Airport can be booked upon request, it costs 180 EUR for 1-4 persons. We are happy to provide optional programs and excursions in the region.
If you need further information, or would like to book a trip, please contact us with the help of the following form: