Balatonberény on Lake Balaton: Beach, Nature and Culture

Beach time with a range of options

The municipal beach offers more than a place by the water: table tennis, streetball and teqball complement the sandy sports courts. The children's pool and playground offer a different kind of beach experience from the adults' pool or the sports facilities. When choosing your holiday apartment, you can consider whether the municipal beach facilities or perhaps nature, cycling and culture will shape your trip.

The Balatonberény Naturist Beach is another destination in its own right. It is considered the only naturist beach on Lake Balaton and is set in a park-like green area. Reeds discreetly surround the grounds; there is also a natural bathing area, a shallow shoreline and the largest purpose-built round sun terrace on Lake Balaton. These features clearly distinguish the naturist beach from the municipal beach. If you are considering both beach options, bear in mind that they are different places and types of beach.

Getting around by bike

The municipal beach is next to the Lake Balaton cycle route. It can be reached via side road 7119, which branches off from main road 7. On the cycle route, a sign west of the centre points to the turn-off for the naturist beach. These landmarks can help you plan cycling and beach visits without treating the two beach destinations as one and the same.

Guests at the naturist beach can use a covered bicycle parking area, an e-bike charging station and a bicycle service post free of charge. Charging electric bicycles is free at the entrance to the municipal beach; three solar-powered lamps along the paved path provide free mobile phone charging. The different facilities may be relevant to your decision if you are arriving by bicycle or planning cycling excursions.

Protected nature at the Csicsergő Peninsula

On the eastern side of Balatonberény lies the 1.55-hectare Csicsergő Peninsula, a locally protected natural area. Around ten percent of the peninsula is designated as Natura 2000. Willow-poplar floodplain woodland, reeds and grassland define the area. This offers a different landscape from the beaches: here, the focus is on vegetation and the character of a protected natural area.

The Csicsergő Peninsula is a popular destination for amateur and professional photographers as well as day-trippers. Otters have been spotted on its shores several times. This is an interesting feature of the area, but does not guarantee a sighting during your visit. There is a boat harbour and a sailing harbour on the southern and western sides of the peninsula. If nature, photography or sailing are important to your trip, these features add other interests to the beach offerings.

Church garden and history

The Roman Catholic church in Balatonberény has medieval origins and is a special sight for experts and interested visitors alike. In the garden of the Church of St John the Baptist stands a statue of Saint Vendel, patron saint of shepherds and farmers, erected in 1793 in fulfilment of a vow. In the northern part of the garden there is also a Lourdes grotto: Halász Zoltánné had it built in fulfilment of a vow to the Virgin Mary, it was designed by Tamás Dragonits, and it was consecrated in 1993.

When choosing a holiday apartment, you can therefore start by deciding which experiences you want to shape your stay: beach and sports, cycling, an excursion into protected nature, or an interest in history and religious art. Balatonberény offers a range of ways to explore these interests without having to combine them into a single type of outing.

Discover more places

You can also explore Somogyszentpál, Marcali, Böhönye, Gadány, Kéthely, Vörs, Nagyszakácsi and Balatonújlak.

Return to the higher-level travel overview: Marcali.