Guide to Balaton Sound

There's still a music festival relatively untouched by the average traveler.

Let me provide a little context before diving into my Balaton Sound Festival experience. I lived in Budapest for a while after college and visited relatively frequently until COVID hit. Budapest is one of my favorite cities because it remains relatively untouched compared to most European cities. Over the years, it has definitely become more popular due to low-cost airlines, but for the average American, they only hear stories.

Balaton Sound is an annual music festival located on the picturesque shores of Lake Balaton in Hungary. It's a celebration of music, art, and culture that attracts a diverse crowd from across the globe blah blah—mainly other Central and Eastern Europeans, with a handful of Dutch and Canadians who couldn’t make it to Tomorrowland.

Getting There

Getting to Balaton Sound is easy, whether you're arriving from the Budapest airport or the city. While I can't provide the exact cost of public transportation from the airport, I can assure you it's significantly cheaper than private buses. I met festival-goers who paid over 100 euros for airport bus transfers.

If you're looking for a fun experience, take the train. There are daily, direct trains from Budapest Déli to Balatonfüred or Zamárdi. The journey takes around two hours, with one-way tickets costing just a few euros.

Upon arriving, you'll find yourself amidst a crowd of festival-goers. Simply Follow the signs to your designated campground or apartment, and you'll seamlessly transition into the Balaton Sound atmosphere.

Festival Costs

One thing to note about Balaton Sound is that prices tend to be higher than typical Hungarian rates. Be prepared to shell out between 5 and 6 dollars USD for a beer. Average food prices range from 5 to 10 dollars also.

Even though this is Central Europe, they are now a major festival with plenty of bells and whistles. When you arrive, you can buy a RFID-tagged wristband for a couple of dollars. This band works like a prepaid debit card. You can exchange cash or load your card at various booths scattered throughout the festival grounds. This eliminates the need to carry cash or a wallet everywhere and offers added convenience. You can simply pocket the card or opt for a lanyard for an extra fee. At the end of your festival journey, you can return the card, and you'll receive any remaining cash along with the Hungarian Forint deposit refund. This process might change a little bit, but the Balaton Sound was doing these contactless payments years before the pandemic.

They also gave us trash bags… You fill up the bag with trash, return it, and receive some money back.

What to See and Do

One great aspect of the fesitval is that it functions as an almost outdoor museum and art exhibit to keep everyone busy. On top of that, you are on a shallow water lake…I believe the lake is only about 7 feet deep at the deepest, but for the most part you can walk far into the water and never need to “swim”

Now, let's talk about accommodations. If you don’t want to spring the money for a cabin-type setup..Invest in a decent tent. I learned my lesson and bought a quality two-person tent. Which came in handy one year when we had a relentless downpour that lasted for an entire day and night during the festival. Lots of festival-goers with flimsy day tents found themselves sleeping in puddles or leaving early. ( We actually left a day early because we figured the festival would be hell to leave from if we waited for the crowd.)

Don't bring anything you can't bear to see destroyed or stolen. We also learned this the hard way one year, when all-out shoes got so gunked up that I decided to leave a pair. Someone also brazenly stole the flag from our campsite. We don’t even think it was malicious….more just drunk antics.

Balaton Sound Also has numerous bars, mini-clubs, interactive games, and even a gym—all of which are free for attendees to enjoy. You can pop in and out at your leisure.

Music and Performances

Balaton Sound's stages are fortunately spread out far enough that you could easily get from one show to another, but not so close that there was overlapping sound. That being said… I would arrive a little early for the headlining acts. Previous years, you could almost always get a great seat, but with the new growth… you might get stuck far in the back if you show up late. They do have an app now that tells you the times of all the events to make it easier

As for the music itself, the lineup changes every year. The festival featured some big names in my first year, including Wiz Khalifa, Disclosure, and Diplo. Which was kinda wild, because at the time, they didn’t seem to be as big in Hungary.
Don't hesitate to explore random acts.

The Festival Crowd

Balaton Sound has earned the nickname "the biggest festival in Belgium." Dutch festival-goers dominate the scene, sometimes making it challenging to spot Hungarians amidst the sea of Dutch attendees. Finding Americans is an even rarer feat. If you're American and make your presence known, you'll be an anomaly. I could count on one hand the number of Americans I encountered. Most of us carried flags around just to find each other.

Interestingly, simply being American often attracted attention from curious festival-goers. I found that girls, in particular, approached us to strike up conversations and take photos. Similar to Latin America.. the Gringo factor means you might have a dozen Central and Eastern Euro girl groups coming up to you… With the festival campsites being out in the forest…you might find yourself in a couple forest hookups along the way.

On the flip side, I also ended up with a bunch of dude fans. Most of them were friendly, though some could be a tad overbearing. I vividly recall one Hungarian guy who followed me for a solid 30 minutes while I was making out with a girl. Dude wasn’t even upset.. He was just wanted to pour us shots of Palinkas and tell us about his vacation in America

Regardless of how many people around the world may criticize the United States, it still remains a symbol that many aspire to be part of.

Lastly, let's talk about the festival's most enticing aspect—the attendees themselves. The girls at Balaton Sound are stunning, often sporting short shirts, short shorts, or bikinis. Eye candy and beautiful scenery abound.

Again…Don't forget to explore the beach along the shores of Lake Balaton. Secure your prime spot and spend a few hours scouting the ladies while soaking in the sun.

Every festival, we would leave with a small phonebook filled with phone numbers and Instagram follows from girls inviting us to meet them elsewhere. One year, a friend and I went to Cluj, Romania, to spend a couple of days with a group of girls we met at the festival.

Here are a couple of logistical tips for those who might continue this practice:

1. When talking to girls, take note of their campsite bracelets. In my years, you were only allowed to go to your designated campsite, which made it challenging to bring a group of girls back to your area.

2. For those considering bringing in alcohol discreetly, here's a vague piece of advice. Before entering the festival officially, it might be helpful to walk down the roads near the festival site. About a quarter of a mile away, you can find a couple of mom-and-pop-style convenience stores. We would set up our campsites, scout where the fencing ended, and then head back out to these stores to fill our backpacks with beer and bottles of wine. Finally, we would toss the bag over the fence at the edge of the campsite to a waiting friend. It's a risky move, but when you're young, you find creative ways to smuggle in enough alcohol to last the weekend.