Will have five days before Budapest to drive through Hungary. Does anyone have any particular favorites or suggestions, itinerary and places to stay?

I like the north side of Lake Balaton. There are several pleasant villages, and plenty of hotels along this side of the lake. Also, the drive toward Slovenia and Serbia is very pretty.

Wonderfull country. Go to Eger if you have time. Very historical town and home to the wine industry. (Lots of free samples, song and dance, etc.) It's fun just to drive around and get lost in the country side, you'll always happen upon something interesting. Hungarians are very friendly and will probably invite you to their daughters wedding if you happen to be there right then. Prices are good. Best bet is bed and breakfast type places to stay.

Cheers.

Depends - which direction are you coming from into Hungary? Second the nod to the north side of Balaton - very nice now that the snow is gone and its getting warm. Check out the abbey at Pannonhalma just north of there. Easter is also good time to visit smaller villages. Holloko to the east of Budapest is Unesco world heritage site and lovely in Spring. Northeast of the country around Tokaj is also very interesting and special. Lost of wine cellars and great little villages. What kind of things do you like to do?

We will actually be arriving by air from Berlin but could change that. We have been to Budapest before and loved the city so thought we might take some time to see the country-side. We love the wine, especially the dessert wines, so that would be interesting. Would just like to get into the country to see more of Hungary. But we would like some recommendations for places to stay along the way as we would no doubt rent a car.

Get to Budapest and take the M3 highway out towards Eger. If you want to stay there try and see if you can get a room at the hotel Senator House in the middle of town. The 'Valley of the Beautiful Women' is a bit of a let down for wine, but interesting to see all of the cellars built into the hillside. Good local cellars include Monarchia, Thummerer and Istvan Toth. Not positive all have tasting rooms, but sure you can find out at local tourist office. Don't know your budget, but great 'palace' hotel in the hills east of Eger at Lillafured. We stayed a couple years ago for about $100 a night. Nice walks in the area. Check out the cave baths at Miskolc-Tapolca (bring your suit!).
Farther east the area around Tokaj is really fascinating. We stayed in an unremarkable hotel in Nyiregyhaza and used that as our base for a few days. The Tokaj Fogado pension in Tokaj is supposed to be good. Try local area wineries including Demeter Zoltan, Oremus and Tokaj-Hetszolo (no Hungarian characters on this laptop). You absolutely must try the Os Kajan restaurant in the village of Tolcsva, not far from Tokaj. Its run by a French couple: great French/Hungarian cooking and great area wines. Have fun - it'll be great out there this time of year.

Thanks for the great information! We want to try it all.