Villas in Thermal

Hévíz suits year-round bathing in a warm lake, Zalakaros suits families after slides, and Bük suits spa days and golf. This is western Hungary's spa country, close to Lake Balaton and the Austrian border, and homes are mostly flats and small houses rather than villas. The pools open all year, so it works out of season.

Where

Villas: 36
From, per week: £177
Cheapest month: July
Nearest airports: Budapest is around two hours from Hévíz and Zalakaros, and flights from London take around two and a half hours. For Bük, Vienna is closer, about an hour and a half by car. Hévíz-Balaton airport at Sármellék, near Hévíz, has very few scheduled flights, so check before planning around it.

Where to stay in Thermal

Hévíz and Cserszegtomaj

Hévíz grew up around a lake fed by warm springs, and you can swim in it all year, from a bathhouse on stilts in the middle, with water lilies on the surface in summer. The town is mostly spa hotels, flats and cafes. Cserszegtomaj is a hillside village of vineyards just above it. Keszthely and the western end of Lake Balaton are about ten minutes away, and Budapest airport around two and a quarter hours by car.

Best for: Bathing in a warm natural lake, summer or winter

Not for you if: You want lively evenings: Hévíz is a spa town with an older crowd and quiet nights.

Zalakaros (south-west of Lake Balaton)

Zalakaros is a small resort town that exists largely because of its thermal water. The main spa complex has indoor and outdoor pools and a slide park in summer, and the hills behind are planted with vines. The Kis-Balaton wetland, with a water buffalo reserve, is around 20 minutes away, Hévíz about 35, and the castle at Sümeg about an hour. Budapest airport is around two hours by car.

Best for: Families who want warm pools and slides in one place

Not for you if: You want a historic town: Zalakaros is a modern resort built around its spa.

Bük, Bükfürdő and Lócs (near the Austrian border)

Bükfürdő is the spa resort just outside the village of Bük, with a large thermal bath complex, hotels and a golf course next door. Lócs is a farming village about 15 minutes away. Kőszeg, a small walled town below the hills on the Austrian border, is around 20 minutes off, and the spa town of Sárvár about half an hour. Vienna airport, roughly an hour and a half by car, is closer than Budapest.

Best for: Spa days, golf and an easy drive from Vienna

Not for you if: You want Lake Balaton nearby: it is around an hour and a half to the east.

Sümeg (north of Hévíz)

Sümeg is a small market town under one of the best-preserved castles in Hungary, a stone fortress on a limestone hill, with knights' tournaments and horse shows in summer. The parish church has 18th-century frescoes by Maulbertsch. Hévíz is about half an hour south, and the lake cave at Tapolca, where you row a boat underground, is a similar distance east. Budapest airport is around two hours away.

Best for: A castle town base for touring the spas and the Balaton hills

Not for you if: You want a choice of homes: we have very few here.

When to go to Thermal

The spas are open all year, which makes this one of the few parts of Hungary that works as well in November as in June. Spring and autumn are quiet and good value. In winter, steam rises off the lake at Hévíz on cold mornings and the outdoor pools stay busy. July and August are hot, and the resorts fill with Hungarian and Austrian families. Summer extras such as outdoor slides and wine terraces close from around October.