Pedal boating in an approaching storm definitely counts as an extreme sport, there’s only one problem with it: those renting out the boat will get fined. Regardless, life doesn’t stop at Balaton: here’s where you should go if you’re looking for such extreme adventures as canoeing, rock climbing, tandem skydiving or wakeboarding.
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Adventure parks
If one is looking for adventure, going to an adventure park is perhaps the most evident option, but beware: all that glitter is not gold, which is true even at Balaton. We’ve picked out those parks where you’ll be sure to get one adrenaline rush after the other. One of the most popular features of Balatonboglár’s adventure park is the hillside toboggan run, but the zip line course is probably even more exciting. The highest points of the course are located above the trees, 10 metres from the ground, and if you feel like looking down is not a great idea, you should fix your eyes on the Balaton panorama. One round of tobogganing costs 400 HUF, which is an attractive offer, so be prepared for long queues in the summer season. An hour on the zip line course will set you back roughly 2,000 HUF.
There are some junior courses too where the little ones can climb to their heart’s content, just like at the Zamárdi Adventure Park – here you’ll find three kids’ courses and a new sliding course. The Zamárdi park is a favourite among adults mainly because of it sliding courses built above an artificial lake or the water dodgems equipped with squirt guns. The entrance fee here is somewhat higher, around 2,500-4,000 HUF, but you get to use the course for three hours in return.
Siófok’s Full Extreme Sports Park is more suitable for adults ready for a fight. The options include paintball, laser tag and infra battle, so it’s the perfect setting for making you feel like Bruce Willis or Lara Croft for an hour. A paintball battle costs 3,600 HUF. Even though the south shore takes the cake in terms of good adventure parks, visitors to the north shore will not have to do without creeping and crawling.
The Serpa Adventure Park in Balatonfűzfő provides thrills with a climbing tower, a zip line and an adventure path, all of which are suited to both kids and adults. If you still have some energy to burn, why not warm down at the neighbouring Balatoni toboggan run? One round on each costs 500 HUF, except for the adventure paths – for those you’ll have to shell out 1,200-4,500 HUF.
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Waterskiing and windsurfing
This is the genre where beginners will definitely slam face-first into the water a few times before they can complete a whole round. However, if you’re persistent and take a few lessons, you’ll even be able to do a couple of tricks on an obstacle course. Instructors are available at the Vonyarcvashegy waterski course, as are appropriate clothing and equipment, but you can bring your own gear too.
Located on the Szabadifürdő Beach of Siófok, BambooSziget has a wakeboard and waterski course where thrill-seekers can race about in a 1-km circle at 25-30 km/h. The fee you pay for using the course also includes the cost of the lessons and a beginner’s wakeboard. Half an hour of waterskiing costs 3,000 HUF, whereas the same amount of time on a wakeboard is 3,700 HUF.
If you’d only come for a quick round from Budapest, you’ll find the closest option in Balatonfüred: the Füred Campgrounds have a waterski course as well as a surf and sailing rental. Complete beginners are also very welcome to learn the ropes at the on-site training centre.
Sports centres with windsurfing lessons and equipment rental:
Balatonfenyves Surf School
Viharsarok Sailing Centre, Balatonföldvár
Partvilla Surf Centre, Balatonboglár
Club Aliga Windsurf Centre, Balatonaliga
SurfGuru Windsurf Training Centre, Balatonkenese
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Catamaran, kayak-canoe
Balatonfüred’s Hajógyári Marina is not only adding new berths and a sailing centre, but for the first time in Hungary professional catamaran sailors will hold one-week training camps for kids. Adults are not left to fend for themselves: the windsurf school and rental at the Füred Campgrounds provides catamaran courses for grown-ups as well.
The Tourism Association of Balatonfenyves rents kayaks and canoes, and it also organizes guided tours to the Nagyberek region, which let participants experience the world of István Fekete’s youth novel Tüskevár while paddling quietly amid the serene landscape.
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Tours
The Tapolca Cave Lake has a handful of new services after this year’s expansion: kid’s will especially love the crawling cave, the tactile stone display and any of the ten rooms set up in the new visitor centre. Stairs carved into the ground lead down into the cave system. The tour covers 70 m on dry land, and the rest – the most exhilarating part – involves paddling in metal boats. Adults are admitted for 2,000 HUF.
In nearby Balatonederics, the Csodabogyós Cave awaits with professional tour guides. Adult tickets cost 6,000 HUF. This is the 10th longest cave in Hungary, which means that anyone venturing down here can take a 5-km tour.
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Horseback riding around Balaton
Several venues around Balaton offer horseback riding, but in Rádpuszta even those can immerse themselves in the equestrian world who do not wish to actually get in the saddle. The skilled riders of the leisure estate give spectacular demonstrations, and visitors can bump into carriage drivers or even acrobats bareback riding two horses at once several times a day. Little kids and adults can take riding lessons: a 15-minute pony ride costs 1,500 HUF, whereas for an hour of cross-country riding you’ll have to pay 6,000 HUF.
On the other side of Balaton, at the Salföld Manor, guests can pet the ponies or take a tour of the village in a horse-drawn carriage. In Gyenesdiás riding sessions on the lunge are provided for kids every Wednesday. The Csopaki Lovas Klub Sports Association offers horseback riding lessons and cross-country riding.
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Rock climbing
Avid rock climbers should head to the rocks outside Veszprém Zoo where they can even marvel at the view of the downtown area while scaling the heights. You’ll have to bring your own equipment, and you’ll be climbing at your own risk. Professional climbers recommend the rocks at the foot of Csesznek Castle on the Balaton Uplands, and Balatonederics has 14 routes in store on limestone walls ranging from 10 to 20 metres.
