Hi all,

This is my first post on the HUBB and I'm starting out on the blag!

The wife and I are going to Slovakia and Hungary from 23rd August till september 6th on our VFR. If we have time we might pop up to Krakow but know very little about the area at all and so would probably choose to focus more on getting to know the places we are already going to.

Theres a list of things we'd like to do below and would love advice or particular places to go, but we've no set route at the moment other than we are catching the Autozug to Saltzburg on the way down and coming back to Dusseldorf on the train from Villach so I'm thinking of doing Slovakia and then Hungary in a clockwise route.

We're on a budget and have no idea how Slovakia is getting on with the euro so would love to know roughly what the cost of food, fuel accommodation is likely to be in comparison to the UK.

We will happily stay anywhere but the wife "doesnt do tenting". Youth hostels, pensions, floors, camping site cabins are fine but we'll only have towels, not bedding/sleeping bags (do you need bedding for the cabins?)

so any info gratefully received. Our list of things we'd like to do is below:

Visit Vienna for 2 nights and maybe Bratislava although others suggest its not particularly outstanding and I know the middle is pedestrianised and theres lots of 1 way systems so depends if its worth it or if we were able to get public transport from a base outside the city.

Go to Orava and Bojnice castles and the unesco heritage site

visit one of the water parks for the slides etc.

have a spa treatment somewhere

visit some caves (maybe the ice cave) as I'm a caver

Go for a boat trip down the river and spend time in the national parks maybe take a chair lift up a mountain?

visit Budapest for 2 nights

Stay on the shores of Lake Balaton

forgive the list its not meant to be a "look at what we're doing" but I thought it might help any locals suggest places to do all these things.

Many thanks!

Tom M