A Weekend in Slovak Tokaj: 2-Day Itinerary

Two days suit a first visit well. On the first day you walk the cellar villages and finish with a tasting where you sleep, so nobody has to drive. On the second you head down to the Bodrog river, Viničky and the Rákóczi manor in Borša.

At a glance

Duration: two days, one night
Best for: couples and friends, May to October; a festival weekend if you like crowds
Transport: train to Čerhov and on foot on day one; a car (with a driver who drank nothing the night before) or bikes on day two
Book ahead: a winery guesthouse, two or three tastings, dinner at your guesthouse, and a kayak if you want to paddle

Day 1: the cellar villages

10:00 Arrive in Čerhov

Take the 09:07 train from Košice, which reaches Čerhov at 10:06 (2026 timetable), or drive the 57 km from Košice in about 1 h 10 min. Call the Tokaj Tourist Information Office next to the halt in advance; it opens outside events by arrangement, rents bikes and sells local wine. Ask your guesthouse whether you can leave your bags before check-in (at Penzión Tokaj, for example, check-in is from 14:00).

11:00 Malá Tŕňa

Walk the 3 km to Malá Tŕňa and along Medzipivničná street. The regional tourism board dates the registered cellars of Malá Tŕňa, Veľká Tŕňa and Viničky to 1567 and says they first served as refuges from Ottoman raids. Taste at Tokaj & CO, where the cellar has about 2.5 km of corridors, or at Tokaj Macik Winery. Both need a booking for a guided tasting.

13:00 Lunch and the lookout tower

Bring a picnic from the village shop or arrange lunch with a winery, then walk about 30 minutes up to the barrel-shaped lookout tower in the vineyards. It is 12 metres tall and free, with views towards Hungary.

16:00 Check in at a winery

Stay where you taste. In Veľká Tŕňa, Penzión Tokaj at J & J Ostrožovič includes breakfast and a bottle of wine, and the Vdovjak family's Gazdovský dvor u capa has four double rooms. In Malá Tŕňa, the Macik family runs Penzión u Macíka. More options are on where to stay.

17:00 The Gazdovské pivnice

Walk through the Gazdovské pivnice of Veľká Tŕňa, where 33 stone portals lead to more than 100 tuff cellars, and climb to the 13th-century Romanesque church above them. Then taste with a family grower: Víno Vdovjak (groups of four or more, spring to autumn), Víno Kapraľ or Vinárstvo u Koňa. If you prefer an estate, J & J Ostrožovič holds tastings with sommelier commentary in its cellar 13 metres underground (groups of four or more, no children under 15). Book all of these.

19:30 Dinner

Eat at your guesthouse or estate, booked in advance, because village restaurants keep short hours. The lookout tower is lit at night; from Malá Tŕňa it is a 30-minute walk, so take a torch.

Day 2: Viničky, the Bodrog and Borša

09:00 Set off

By car: the driver must not have drunk the evening before. Slovakia and Hungary both have zero tolerance for alcohol when driving (0.0 ‰), and an evening tasting can still show the next morning. By bike: the easy 29 km Tokaj cycle loop from Malá Tŕňa passes the tower, Bara and a cellar in Viničky, and crosses the Bodrog between Viničky and Borša. It takes about two hours on asphalt and paved paths and brings you back to Malá Tŕňa.

09:30 Černochov and Bara

Make short stops in the two quiet villages on the southern side of the hills. Černochov has a 1793 Reformed church whose wooden ceiling is painted as a starry sky. In Malá Bara, part of Bara, the Romanesque-Gothic church dates from the 13th century. Opening hours are not published.

10:30 Viničky and the river

Viničky sits where the Tokaj hills meet the Bodrog. Taste at Tokaj Zlatý Strapec, a family winery with a medieval tuff cellar (Monday to Saturday 07:00–17:00 according to the winery, closed on Sundays; book), or ask the Tokajský strapec growers' association about its open cellars. Walk down to the Podkova oxbow lake.

Want to get on the water? Splavujeme Bodrog in Ladmovce, just outside the wine region, rents kayaks and paddleboards for a 7.5 km trip downstream to Borša (1.5–2 hours). A double kayak costs 15 € a day and bringing the boat back from Borša another 15 €; it is cash only, by appointment from May to October. Ask how you get back to your car. Excursion boats also run from near Viničky into Hungary; we could not confirm their season or prices.

13:00 Lunch

Eat at the Zlatá Putňa guesthouse restaurant in Viničky (Zemplín cuisine) or at the restaurant in the Borša manor, open daily from 12:00.

14:30 The Rákóczi manor in Borša

Borša lies just outside the wine region. Its Renaissance manor is the birthplace of Francis II Rákóczi, born on 27 March 1676, who led the last great uprising against the Habsburgs. Restored with Slovak and Hungarian funding, the manor reopened in 2021 with a museum about the Rákóczi family, a VR room and an escape room. The exhibition costs 10 € for adults and is open April to October daily 10:00–18:00, and November to March Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–16:00. Last entry is one hour before closing.

16:00 Slovakia's lowest point

At nearby Klin nad Bodrogom, also outside the wine region, a granite marker shows Slovakia's lowest point, 94.3 m above sea level, where the Bodrog leaves the country. Nearby stands the ruin of an early Gothic church.

17:00 Home

Borša has its own station on the railway line to Košice (just over an hour). By car, allow a little more than the 1 h 10 min it takes from Malá Tŕňa to Košice. On bikes, finish the loop to Malá Tŕňa and take the train from Čerhov.

On a festival weekend

On festival weekends, the festival replaces day one: the May Festival of Farmers' Wines in Malá Tŕňa, Tokaj Unplugged around midsummer, Tokaj Live in late August, or the Open Tokaj Cellars Day and the Harvest Festival in September. Book your bed as soon as the dates are out. See events.

Before you go

Book the guesthouse first, then the tastings around it.
Check train times on cp.sk, especially for the return.
Agree on the day-two driver, or plan to cycle.
If day two is a Sunday, Zlatý Strapec is closed; choose another cellar.
Book a kayak in advance and bring cash.
Pack a warm layer for the cellars, a torch for the evening and comfortable shoes.

A weekend in Slovak Tokaj