Budapest Full Day
ZoOm Hungary

We tour Buda and Pest, the ancient and modern parts of the capital, including the World Heritage Sites: the Castle district, and the Andrassy Avenue with the Millennium Monument. Taking you off the beaten track, you will get the full flavor of this magnificent city.

Budapest Half Day
ZoOm Hungary

This is a half-day orientation tour of Budapest, designed to give you a taste of what the Hungarian capital has to offer. We tour the two parts of the city Buda and Pest, including the World Heritage Sites: Castle district, and the Andrassy Avenue with the Millennium Monument.

Budapest Sight-Doing
ZoOm Hungary

Experience Budapest, the city of history, art, and culture. Tour Buda and Pest, the ancient and modern parts of the capital, including World Heritage Sites: the Castle district, and Andrassy Boulevard with the Millennium Monument. Enjoy the full flavor of this magnificent city.

Jewish Budapest
ZoOm Hungary

Budapest had a lively, vibrant and significantly big Jewish population before WW2. Even though the first Jewish settlers arrived at the territory of Hungary with the Romans 2000 years ago, the anti-Jewish laws and the blood bath of the Holocaust made them hunted aliens in their homeland.

Art Lovers' Budapest
ZoOm Hungary

Experience Budapest, the city of Art & Culture, while you discover your own talents. Get an insight into the Hungarian art life, get inspiration from nature and art, and develop your artistic sense with the help of a recognized artist of Hungary.

History Buffs' Budapest
ZoOm Hungary

Hungary is at the crossroads of Europe. Because of its central location, the land was conquered by the Mongols, the Ottomans, the Hapsburgs, the Germans, and finally by the Soviets over the past 1000 years.

Szentendre: Art & Religion
ZoOm Hungary

The Szentendre tour is a perfect combination of history, art and religion. Visiting the Serb Orthodox centre of the country, enjoying the art and the choices of around 20 museums and galleries in Szentendre, spiced with some gastronomical adventure and shopping on demand, makes it an excellent half day excursion.

Danube Bend Tour
ZoOm Hungary

The Danube Bend Tour is a perfect combination of history, art and nature. Visiting former royal seats, also the Catholic centre of the country, enjoying the art and the choices of around 20 museums and galleries in Szentendre, spiced with some gastronomical adventure and shopping on demand, makes it your day, for sure.

Pannonhalma World Heritage
ZoOm Hungary

The monastery of the Benedictine Order at Pannonhalma, founded in 996 and gently dominating the Pannonian landscape in western Hungary, had a major role in the diffusion of Christianity in medieval Central Europe. The Archabbey of Pannonhalma and its environment was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Herend and Lake Balaton
ZoOm Hungary

Art & Nature: this is a full day excursion to the Porcelain Manufactury of Herend and the area around Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central-Europe, on which we offer you a unique experience of beauty, art and nature.

Hollókő
ZoOm Hungary

Hollókő is an exceptional example of a deliberately preserved traditional human settlement representative of a culture that has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. This village from the 17th and 18th centuries, is a living example of rural life before the agricultural revolution of the 20th century.

Palace of Sisi & Horse Show
ZoOm Hungary

Your visit to Gödöllő, to the former summer Palace of Sisi, the beautiful Austro-Hungarian Empress, Lady Dee of the 19th century, followed by a special visit to the nearby Domony valley, combined with a horse show and a traditional Hungarian styled lunch, makes your day an unforgottable experience.

Pécs: Culture, Art & History
ZoOm Hungary

Pécs is around 2000 years old. Famous for its Zsolnay ceramics and Roman and Turkish ruins, this city is a great destination for visitors interested in history, art and culture. Previously settled in by the Romans and later the Turks, there is no city in Hungary which has a greater Mediterranean feel about it.

The Memory Book Tour
ZoOm Hungary

What was it like for a girl a hundred years ago in the center of Europe? See a young girl’s life in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy where family and romance were overrun by war. The Memory Book Tour takes you to there, to a place where Amálka grew up.

Communist Budapest
ZoOm Hungary

If communism were a religion, Budapest would have been the sin city of the Soviet block. A taste of Capitalist decadence for the Eastern visitors and a taste of Communist reality for the Western tourists, Budapest was the nexus of two different worlds.

Rainbow Budapest
ZoOm Hungary

Explore all the colors of the rainbow in the capital city of Hungary. Discover gay and lesbian Budapest with a local. Feel liberated in one of the most exciting Eastern-European destinations!

Spiritual Budapest
ZoOm Hungary

Do you agree that chance doesn’t exist? Do you agree that we are all blessed and accompanied by our Guardian Angels? Then the Spiritual Budapest Tour is for you!

Jewish Heritage
ZoOm Hungary

Budapest hosts the largest Jewish population of Eastern and Central Europe. The flourishing and vibrant Jewish life is evident about the city. The tour includes a visit to District 7, known as the Jewish quarter, with the Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum.

#BudapestHipster
ZoOm Hungary

Get off the beaten path in Budapest. Be a #BudapestHipster for a day! See some of the hidden attractions of the city with an expert local guide who can show you the beats of Budapest.

#BudapestSpecial
ZoOm Hungary

Have you seen enough churches? Are you looking for something special? Watch out, we take you off the beaten path, because you don’t know a city without knowing its people!

Incentive Group Tours Worldwide
ZoOm Hungary

Our team of incentive management specialists have extensive knowledge and experience in running group travel program across the globe. Be it Cancun or Bangkok, Mauritius or Bali, Rome or Phnompen, chances are we will have run a successful program in a country or destination of interest to you.

Private Tours Worldwide
ZoOm Hungary

An alternative to the group incentive is the individual or private incentive program. Rather than traveling as a group, clients would be able to choose from a selection of destinations and options. We create individual programs that fit your needs and work within your internal corporate framework, anywhere on the Globe.

Grandma's Milk Pie
ZoOm Hungary

Grandma's Milk Pie is a traditional Hungarian dessert from the country side, typically from Puszta region. Simple to cook, but gives a real pleasure for the taste buds. Grandchildren's favorite, especially when they cook the milk pie together with granny!

Goulash Soup
ZoOm Hungary

Goulash (Serves 4) The Goulash Soup was the traditional meal of the Hungarian herdsmen or cowboys, the gulyases for centuries. The delicious beef soup has become the most typical and famous Hungarian dish by now.

Villány Wine Tasting
ZoOm Hungary

A perfect addition to a Pécs tour is a wine tasting program int he nearby wine region of Villány, nicknamed as „Bordeaux of Hungary”. The area of Villány has been populated since prehistoric times. Wine tasting with a fine dining experience is the perfect way to discover Villány and its fabulous wines.

Welcome to the Heart of Europe
ZoOm Hungary

The travel specialist, ZoOm Hungary is offering a wide range of services in Hungary, in the geographical centre of Europe, also known as the heart of Europe. With our carefully selected partners we focus on high end tours, also in Central-Eastern Europe and – on special request, or for incentive groups – anywhere around the world.

Richard Bogdan, Travel Advisor
ZoOm Hungary

Richard Bogdan is a travel professional with decades of experience guiding all over the world. He is the founder and the Managing Director of ZoOm Hungary, a travel agency specializing in European and Hungarian trips. Bogdan has a deep and thorough knowledge of the regions’ history, local culture and top entertainment spots.

Hungarian Economy
ZoOm Hungary

Hungary has made the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy, with a per capita income nearly two-thirds that of the EU-28 average. In 2010 the government implemented a number of changes including cutting business and personal income taxes, but imposed ’crisis taxes’ on financial institutions, energy and telecom companies, and retailers.

Hungarian Government
ZoOm Hungary

Country name: Hungary. Capital: Budapest. Government type: parliamentary democracy Prime Minister: Viktor ORBAN President: János ÁDER

Hungarian Geography
ZoOm Hungary

Hungary is a landlocked country; it has a strategic location astride main land routes between Western Europe and Balkan Peninsula as well as between Ukraine and Mediterranean basin; the north-south flowing Duna (Danube) and Tisza Rivers divide the country into three large regions. Location: Central Europe. Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 20 00 E

Hungarian Population
ZoOm Hungary

Population: 9,728 M (July 2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 93 Language: Hungarian (official) 99.6% Ethnic groups: Hungarian 85.6%, Roma 3.2%, German 1.9%, other 2.6%, and unspecified.

Currency
ZoOm Hungary

The official means of payment in Hungary is the Forint (Ft, HUF). Coins: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 Banknotes: 500, 1 000, 2 000, 5 000, 10 000, 20 000 Check the rate of the Euro here. Check the rate of the USD here.

Time Zone
ZoOm Hungary

Central European time (GMT+1). Seasonal adjustment (to daylight savings time): between the end of March and the end of October: Central European time +1 (GMT+2). This is the TIME in Budapest, Hungary now.

Electric Current
ZoOm Hungary

Electricity in Hungary is 230 Volts, alternating at 50 cycles per second. If you travel to Hungary with a device that does not accept 230 Volts at 50 Hertz, you will need a voltage converter.

Climate
ZoOm Hungary

Hungary has a temperate climate, similar to the rest of the continental zone. The coldest month is January, the hottest month is July. The number of sunny hours a year is 1988. See the actual weather and forecast HERE.

Public Holidays
ZoOm Hungary

Hungary celebrates 11 public holidays each year. Some are National Holidays, some are Christian Holidays, because of the Christian heritage of Hungary. According to the government regulations, all shops must be closed on these days, but museums and restaurants are usually open.

Before the Magyars
ZoOm Hungary

The Carpathian Basin occupied by the conquering Magyars had been inhabited since prehistoric times. According to the archaeological evidences found at Vertesszölös, the Carpathian Basin had already been the dwelling place of prehistoric man half a million years ago.

The Hungarian Kingdom
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The Magyars have been living for centuries near the mouth of the Don, as vassals of the Khazars. From 889 they spend a few years in the Balkans in the service of the Byzantine emperor, but soon they move on to the northwest, through the Carpathian mountains. Since 890 their leader had been Arpad.

The Angevins and the Ottomans
ZoOm Hungary

The Hungarian crown was competed for in 1301 by three candidates – from Bohemia, Bavaria and the Naples branch of the house of Anjou. The struggle for the Hungarian crown lasted eight years, but the Angevin prince was finally enthroned at Buda in 1309 as Charles I of Hungary.

The Hapsburg Era and WW1
ZoOm Hungary

Exhilarated by this gradual process of liberation from their Muslim overlord, the Hungarian diet – meeting at Pressburg in 1687 – granted more of Leopold I's demands than he might have expected. They gave up their ancient claim to elect the king, allowing a hereditary Habsburg right to the crown of St Stephen.

World War 2
ZoOm Hungary

By 1918, the fate of the Monarchy was sealed. Before its capitulation on November 3, a National Council, headed by Count Mihaly Karolyi, demanded a separate peace, Hungarian independence, the recognition of the right of self-determination for the national minorities, land reform, and universal suffrage.

Communist Era
ZoOm Hungary

A period of reconstruction followed the war. Hungary became a republic, democratic elections were held, and a coalition government was formed. The Hungarian Communist Party, however, supported by the occupying Soviet army and the KGB, did not accept the result of the democratic process.

The Rebirth of Democracy
ZoOm Hungary

Based on the agreements concluded by the representatives of the Hungarian government and of the parties of the opposition, general elections were held in April, 1990. The newly elected parliament revised the Constitution and elected the president of the Hungarian Republic.

The Memory Book Tour
ZoOm Hungary

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The Memory Book Tour

In The Footsteps of Amálka, you visit Budapest, and Szolnok, her birthplace. We now think of her life as exotic. You will go to Transylvania, where she spent holidays and recorded memories of the grape harvests. This is the life revealed in Linda Fischer’s The Memory Book. It is a journey you will remember forever.

Duration of the tour: 5 or 7 days.

Your tour includes the hotel accommodation, ground transportation and guiding.

Day 1: Budapest

It all starts with the culture of the times in grand Budapest. You see Buda and Pest, the ancient and modern parts of the capital, including the World Heritage Sites of the Castle Hill, and Andrassy Boulevard with the Millennium Monument. And more. Off the beaten path, you will get the full flavor of this magnificent city.
On the Pest side there is the Millennium Monument on Heroes Square and City Park. Your visit includes the Vajdahunyad Castle, the Szechenyi Thermal Bath, the Gundel Restaurant, the Budapest Zoo, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Art Gallery.

Then you travel to the Budapest Opera for a photo stop, and St Stephen’s Cathedral. A full tour of the Hungarian Parliament is on the list, as is a tribute to the Statue of Imre Nagy, the martyred prime minister. But there is much more—the Ethnographical Museum, the Memorial of 1956 Revolution, and other monuments to Hungary past and present.

Amálka’s Budapest was vibrant and tragic.We view the Great Synagogue and the Holocaust Memorial in the Jewish district of Budapest. It provides a stunning contrast to the view of the Danube in full panorama on the Buda side.

From the top you will see Gellert Hill, the Citadel and the Statue of Liberty and the iconic view of the Capital. You will visit the Castle Area with the Royal Palace, and medieval remains, the Hungarian National Gallery, the Szechenyi Library, and at the top of the funicular, the Matthias Fountain. There is a long history to absorb, including Fishermen’s Bastions and the Matthias Church, as well as the Holy Trinity Monument, the Hungarian National Archive, and another fantastic view of both Pest and Buda.

The extensive tour takes about 8 hours, after which you will be dropped off at your hotel. Special requests can also be accommodated.

Day 2: Budapest in Depth

Budapest has many dimensions in time both before and after Amálka.Choose your special day! Are you interested in the Communist Era and life under the Soviets? Are you fascinated by history, or art? We offer special tailor-made tours for you.

The Memory Book Tour

Day 3: Szolnok

Visit the home of Amálka. Szolnok has a special charm. Szolnok, originally called Zounok in 1075, sits on the lazy river Tisza which traverses five European countries. This county seat is surrounded by natural beauty and thermal waters. But Amálka’s life here was less bucolic. Szolnok has been destroyed 14 times.

The tour includes seeing the Art Colony of Szolnok and where the artists fulfill Hungary’s long artistic line.

Day 4: Amálka’s Transylvania Tours

The young girl traveled widely with her family. You will overnight in Nagyvárad (now Oradea, Romania). It is an ancient city located just 8 miles from the Hungarian border, spanning both shores of the Sebes-Körös River. Nagyvárad is a great starting point for exploring Transylvania. First documented in 1113 under the Latin name Varadinum, it is home to 19th century Art Nouveau with its richly decorated facades and features an astronomical clock depicting the phases of the moon.

Day 5: Amálka’s Transylvania Tours

What did the Amálka think of Transylvania? It has a legacy of monuments, ancient, medieval and to her, modern. You will visit, Kolozsvár (known as Cluj to Amálka) which is still home to the Cathedral of St. Michaela. It is a vast Gothic hall-church (1487) which saw the baptism of King Matthias Corvin, and sermons condemning the extermination of the Jews in 1944.

Time to absorb

You will have seen much by this point. Choosing the 7 day tour includes an extra day in Budapest and Transylvania to absorb it all. It is well worth it.

The Memory Book Tour features: