Day trip from Košice
One day in Slovak Tokaj from Košice, by train and on foot: two or three booked tastings, the cellar lanes, the barrel-shaped lookout tower and lunch.
Itineraries
Three plans for Slovak Tokaj: a car-free day trip from Košice, a weekend with a night at a winery, and three days on both sides of the border.
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Slovak Tokaj is compact, so you can see the core of it in a day. More time buys you an evening tasting, the Bodrog river and the Hungarian side. Each plan below has an "At a glance" summary, timings for every day and a checklist for before you go.
Day trip from Košice
Take the morning train to Čerhov, walk to the cellar lanes of Malá Tŕňa and Veľká Tŕňa, climb the barrel-shaped lookout tower and taste at two or three wineries, then take the train back in the evening. No car and no designated driver needed. There is also a car variant that adds Viničky and the Borša manor. Day trip from Košice
A weekend in Slovak Tokaj
Day one is for the cellar villages and ends with a night at a winery guesthouse, so the evening tasting is the relaxed part rather than the risky part. Day two follows the Bodrog: Viničky, a kayak trip or riverside walk, and the Rákóczi manor in Borša. A weekend in Slovak Tokaj
One Tokaj, two countries
Three days for anyone who wants the whole landscape: the Slovak villages, then Sátoraljaújhely, Sárospatak and the town of Tokaj in Hungary, and back via the Bodrog and Borša. This works best with a car and a driver who is happy to stay sober. One Tokaj, two countries
How we chose the stops
No business paid to appear in these itineraries. We picked wineries and places that receive visitors, lie close to the route and, for the day trip, can be reached on foot from the station. Most wineries need a booking, and we say so. Swap any of them for another from the wineries list or the things to do.
Note: Slovakia and Hungary both have zero tolerance for alcohol when driving (0.0 ‰). Each itinerary works either by train or with a designated driver who drinks nothing.
Tip: If your dates fall on a festival, such as the Open Tokaj Cellars Day or the Harvest Festival in September, the plan gets simpler: shuttles link the villages, and participating cellars are open to ticket holders without separate bookings. Check the events calendar first.
Sources
Three ways to explore
A weekend in Slovak Tokaj
Two days in Slovak Tokaj with a night at a winery: the cellar lanes of Malá and Veľká Tŕňa, Viničky and the Bodrog river, and the Rákóczi manor in Borša.
One Tokaj, two countries: three days
Three days across the Tokaj landscape: Slovak cellar villages, then Sátoraljaújhely, Sárospatak and Tokaj town in Hungary, with tips for crossing the border.