Tapolcai-tavasbarlang Látogatóközpont — Attraction in Tapolcai járás

Well, what to say? It was nice to visit but definitely not amazing. We arrive immediately for opening at 9 am, it was a queue of 20 m already, but it was quite quick. At 10.30, there was no queue at all already (but many people inside of course which means long waiting later for the boat, see below). Despite the fact that staff was speaking english, labels are in english as well, the speaker and the lecture itself was only in hungarian. It was some 3D movie but again only in hungarian, no subtitles. Maybe there is some option to have information in english as audio guide but was saying anything about it (try to ask maybe?) So even the guy at the entrance said we can skip the lecture and go directly to cave for boats. Which was actually very good choice as we had to wait only couple of minutes. People behind us had to wait easily an hour. Boat trip was funny but I would propose to use smaller boats to really enjoy the ride. Sometimes it is almost impossible to fit into narrow space with such boats and you have to push yourself by hands instead of paddle, literally. Boat has capacity of 220kg so you can fit easily with 2 kids (2 average adults and 2 smaller kids). But i do not recommend for very small kids, it was a lady with 12-14 months old girl and she just delayed other visitors and at the end I do not think guide let her enter the boat at all as there was no life saving vest for such small kid (vests are being said mandatory for kids there). So as said, nice to see, but you can manage it within 20 min. The good thing is that you can pay by card as well,...

It's good but I expected better. Let me explain the three stars. You have to book in advance the tour, the thing is when booking there are no tours available in English and you need to send them an email to have a tour for a group of just English speaker so quite complicated in the process. When you are with the tour guide at least you can go on you own and basically completely ignore the guide (they speak Hungarian) and just go look at the exhibition (it's written in English) or use audio-guide you only have to be with the group if you want to see the 10min film (in Hungarian no subtitles) and then you can go down to the attraction where you will ride a boat inside the cave for 10min. Unfortunately for this part we had to wait at least 30min to get onto the boat and they were other tourist being pressy behind our boat (not the organisation fault just the other tourists wanting to finish fast for certain reasons).

So overall the exhibition is OK not bad but not extraordinary also and the boat ride is nice but would be much nicer if it was longer and less "crowded" and not feel in a "traffic jam". Also in the website the 700meters of walking inside the cave is just basically the waiting area before the boat ride don't be fooled.

Good experience, too high...

I recently visited the Tapolcai-tavasbarlang Látogatóközpont and was thoroughly impressed by the unique experience it offered. The underground cave system is truly a hidden gem worth exploring.

One tip I have for fellow visitors is to purchase your tickets online in advance. This not only saves you time but also ensures you can secure a convenient time slot for your visit. I found myself appreciating this option, especially because the place can get quite busy.

The cave's formations and history are captivating, but one area where the experience could be improved is the availability of information in English. While the majority of information is provided in Hungarian, it would be beneficial for international visitors if more details were available in English as well. This would enhance the overall experience and make it easier for a diverse range of visitors to fully appreciate the site.

In conclusion, I highly recommend the Tapolcai-tavasbarlang Látogatóközpont to anyone looking for an extraordinary underground adventure. Prepare in advance by booking your tickets online to skip the queues, and although English information might be limited, the sheer wonder of the caves transcends any...