"I wanted to leave a surprise for future visitors." was Hubert's laconic reply, when I mentioned that he had left out a key and hard to miss detail from his otherwise great review of Tokaj. His so called surprise hit me at nightfall, when sitting outside and drinking Tokaj wine became unbearable. The whole area was swarming with insects and I was quickly turning into an open bar for bloodsuckers. Yikes.

I figured this was a night thing. Next morning, though, on my hike in the vineyards, the insects took another bite. Apparently, I am also a well respected breakfast option. Anyhow, now you are warned. Bring insect repellant as if this was in the tropics.

The core zone encompasses the old town of Tokaj. It's nice with wine estates here and there, but certainly it's not a St. Emilion, let alone Epernay or Val d'Orcia. The town is on the south east corner of the inscribed area. I am not sure how much better it gets if you venture further into the area; I could imagine that the less touristy/rural components are nicer. Best site for me were actually at the end of my hike: the small houses directly facing the train station (photo).

While I understand Hubert's 0.5 Stars rating, I decided to give this 0.5 Stars more. Not because I think it's great, but in comparison to the run of the mill Italian vineyard Prosecco or Piedmont inscription, this at least showcases a bit of Hungarian culture.

Note: In the near future, the site might well be extended to Tokaj vineyards in Slovakia.

Getting There

There are regular trains running to Tokaji connecting to Budapest via Miskolc to Nyíregyháza and Debrecen. From Debrecen you can reach Hortobagy National Park, from Miskolc the Aggtelek and Slovak Karst.

I came from Slovakia via Miskolc having walked across the border. I left via Debrecen with a stop over in Hortobagy before taking the night train to Cluj, Romania. Debrecen itself was rather pretty.