Hungarian Narrow-Gauge Explorer

DAY 1

Travelling by Eurostar from London St Pancras to Brussels, then onwards to Regensburg for our overnight stay at the Ibis Hotel where we check in and enjoy our first evening meal together.

DAY 2

After breakfast this morning, we continue by rail to Budapest and make our way to the InterCity Hotel, our hotel for the next six nights. We enjoy some free time to explore our new surroundings before our evening meal together at the hotel.

DAY 3

This morning, at breakfast, we will receive our Hungary Country Pass allowing travel on all MÁV trains and Budapest Transport. We begin our day with a trip to the attractive town of Szentendre and the fascinating Urban Transport Museum to explore the history of public transport in Budapest. Afterwards, we journey on the scenic tram route 61 to H?vösvölgy to visit the quirky Children's Railway, a 7-mile, narrow-gauge railway run by children! Having climbed higher into the Buda Hills, we transfer to the rack railway returning to Budapest for an evening at leisure.

DAY 4

Today is the Hungarian Republic Day and we enjoy a day at leisure to explore Budapest using our transport pass. You may wish to join your tour manager on a visit to the Hungarian Railway Museum where you can discover their unique roundhouse, built in 1911, housing historical locomotives. Explore over 100 railway vehicles including 50 rare locomotives, railcars, motorised handcars, steam cranes, and more plus enjoy interactive experiences including a ride on the turntable and the garden railway.

DAY 5

After breakfast this morning, we travel by road to Kismaros for a return trip on the Királyréti Forest Railway, one of the oldest forest railways in Hungary. This scenic line runs along the valley of Morgó creek and features street running through the village of Sokolya to the secluded Királyrét, surrounded by mountains. Afterwards, our coach takes us to Kemence for an exclusive steam charter on the narrow-gauge Kemence Forest Museum Railway and the opportunity to explore their large collection of industrial locomotives.

DAY 6

Today, we travel by rail to the charming town of Gyöngyös for a day on the nostalgic, narrow-gauge Mátra Railway. With two branches to ride, we begin with the Mátrafüred branch and, on arrival, we enjoy free time to explore this hilltop resort and you may wish to visit the lookout tower for fantastic views. Afterwards, we journey on the Szalajkaház branch, the longer of the two branches running through beautiful, wooded valleys before returning to Budapest for an evening at leisure.

DAY 7

After breakfast, we journey on the scenic Danube Bend section of the main line to Szob, the last station on the line before the Slovakian Border, where we join one of Hungary's preservation marvels - the Transbörzsöny Railway. We ride the narrow-gauge railway with a continuous climb and a switchback through the attractive autumnal forest to Nagyirtáspuszta where we board a private train charter to continue our journey traversing a fantastic zigzag and reversing twice before running along the valley to Nagybörzsöny.

DAY 8

This morning, we travel by rail to Sopron and enjoy a visit to the Nagycenk Museum Railway for a return steam charter over their narrow-gauge railway. We have time to explore the steam locomotives before continuing our journey to Regensburg for our overnight stay at the Ibis Hotel where we enjoy our final evening meal together.

DAY 9

We bid farewell to Regensburg, returning by rail to Brussels, where we will join the Eurostar service to London St Pancras.

*Important Note: Whilst the arrangements for all described steam train travel are in place, we do reserve the right to make substitutions should it be deemed necessary for whatever reason.

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner