Eight days of Hungarian language and culture, timed to two very special days on the Hungarian calendar: the Halloween party at Bran Castle in Transylvania, and All Souls' Day among the candlelit cemeteries. A small group of seven, two hosts.
Reserve your placeThis trip is for people with Hungarian roots: those who have Hungarian ancestors, family stories, or a family name passed down. It's also for anyone who wants to get to know Hungarian culture the way you can't from a textbook.
Online lessons can only take you so far. Here you use Hungarian day to day: at the market, over dinner, cooking together, walking a cemetery on All Souls' Day, and in conversations with locals. You don't just hear about the traditions. You take part in them.
You're hosted by two Hungarian teachers throughout the trip, and travelling with a small group of seven. Come solo (you'll meet wonderful people who share this same connection to Hungary), or bring someone along. Both work beautifully.
You'll come home with more than new vocabulary. You'll come home with a real sense of where you're from.
This isn't a bus tour. It's a small group trip through two of the most beautiful parts of the Hungarian-speaking world, put together by people who actually live here.
We keep the itinerary flexible so we can adjust to the season, the weather, and how the group is feeling. Here's the shape of the week and the moments we build it around. The full day-by-day itinerary is shared with you after booking.
The first days unfold in central Budapest, in a quality hotel steps from the Danube. Hungarian lessons every day, guided walks through some of the city's most storied districts, and afternoons among art nouveau mausoleums as Budapest fills with chrysanthemums for the coming holiday. A market mission (you bargain in Hungarian, and earn points for every success). Evenings we go out to a classical concert in a historic venue, or dinner in local favourites.
A day in Szentendre, with cobbled lanes, galleries, and a hands-on folk-craft challenge for the game. Then we cross into Transylvania by private minibus, with a memorable stop along the way, before reaching our home for the coming days.
Our base in Transylvania: mountain air, slow mornings, and warm evenings. Excursions to one of the most beautiful royal residences of the Carpathians and to medieval Brașov (Brassó) with its Black Church and coffee on the main square. Evenings we cook together: bogrács goulash over open flame, grilled specialties, real Hungarian home cooking. And on Halloween night, the legendary party at Bran Castle itself. Costumes prepared, points for the best.
One of the special parts of the trip. A day exploring deeper into Hungarian-speaking Transylvania, and a chance to experience Hungarian All Souls' Day traditions firsthand. Your choice for the late afternoon: a guided bear-watching hide, or jacuzzi and sauna. As night falls, cemeteries glow with thousands of candles for All Saints' Day, and we walk among them with the locals. On the way home the next day, we visit one of the oldest and most important burial grounds of Hungarian culture, still candlelit. We finish with a farewell lunch where we tally the points and crown the winner.
From the first evening to the last lunch, the whole week doubles as a friendly competition. Daily quizzes on what you've seen and learned, real-world missions (bargain at a market in Hungarian, order dinner without help, learn a folk rhyme, name the ingredients as they go into the goulash kettle), and bonus challenges throughout the trip.
Points are counted every night. The winner takes home a Hungarian hamper at the farewell lunch.
A small-group trip for people who want the language and the culture without the crowds. A EUR 900 deposit secures your place; the balance is due 60 days before departure.
Once we receive your inquiry, we'll get back to you within 24-48 hours with next steps: deposit details, the participation agreement, and answers to any questions you have.