Budapest The Travel Show

themselves. So when Mars is leading, others are likely to follow.

Now on BBC News, it's time for the Travel Show.

This week I am behind the wheel in Budapest. We are at the business end

of a South African red. And Simon uncovers his inbox solving your

travel problems. The Hungary in capital, Budapest.

You might know all about the spies here and you may be familiar with

the pubs and lively nightlife. But about 12 miles outside of the Centre

the city's racetrack is about to have its own moment in the

spotlight. In March the 30th anniversary of the track and these

days to here and get in touch with their inner need for speed. My

passenger is a touring car race and a veteran of this course. For the

beginning don't drive too fast. You need to find your limit because it

is so easy to make a mistake and because places like here with no

run-off, if someone is not confident than they will crash the car for

sure. This track has a reputation for

being a tricky one. There aren't that many long straights and

overtaking is almost impossible. Not to mention all the twists and turns

that can catch drivers out. I can't imagine the atmosphere from the

road. You have moments in life that you feel it is something special and

every time I make a race at home with people sitting on the

grandstands and cheering for me it is just... But this is more than

just a destination for motoring enthusiast. Exactly 30 years ago

this place held the very first Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. A huge

moment not just the Hungary but the motorsport fans from all around the

Eastern Bloc. Inside one of central Budapest's busy sports bars I meet

this man who commentated on that first race for Hungary on state

it was new and significant and only three years later Hungary became one

of the first countries to remove the Communist from power. The transition

was peaceful but look closely there are still reminders of the old

regime. One of the best way to get a sense of the history is to see the

city from one of these. It is a classic Eastern Bloc are. Hello.

High. It is very tiny. Are you ready to go? Definitely, let us go.

These little pocket rockets were made in East Germany and exported

right across Communist Europe. They are famous for being unreliable and

flimsy but these days and many people regard them fondly. They were

important for the families because there were waiting lists for it and

it could take five -10 years to get one of these car. So if you ordered

a new one you could be waiting up to ten years? Yes. If you were lucky it

was only two. Production of the vehicle stopped in 1991 but there is

still a common sight around Budapest and become a favourite option for

tourist wanting to see the city. It is something really funny and people

really enjoy riding around and people say that it is a joyride.

They certainly have a lot of character. But with only 26

horsepower under the bonnet it is hardly the motoring that sets the

pulse racing. In the control tower it will be a different story when

the F1 circus comes to town. So during the big Formula 1 race, what

is the atmosphere? There's a lot of people in the grandstands, a lot of

spectators. In 2013 we had more than 240,000 people combined in the three

days. That is a lot of people. Last year it it was more than 160,000

which are still got. The atmosphere is them honking the horns, they are

cheering and it is a very good feeling to hear the crowd, even from

Race Control. So three decades long Hungary has gone through seismic

changes. But for people visiting the Hungary and ring this far it has

been reassuringly consistent with the fastest car always winning.

So if you're planning a stretch behind the wheel here is our guide

for the world's test drive. Route 66 in the USA runs from Chicago all the

way to Santa Monica on the Californian coast. It is too half

thousand miles long and crosses eight states and three time zones

and takes anywhere from a couple of weeks to a whole month to cross.

South Africa's Garden Route gets as names from all the different part

like that will see along the way. It connects Cape Town to Port Elizabeth

and passes through ten nature reserves where you come across all

sorts of different marine life including dolphins, seals and they

endangered southern white whale. If you don't mind driving at outage

you'd highway is one of the most highest-paid road. At an elevation

of 4700 metres connecting China with Pakistani it is surrounded by

mountains, place years and Lake. Avoid driving in the monsoon season

because it could be blocked by heavy landslides. And for one of

Britain's best driving experiences to the Outer Hebrides. You will see

wonderful beaches and ancient standing stones along the way. And

if you visit in the height of summer you can enjoy an awful lot of

daylight as there is barely two hours of darkness at night. Still to

come on the travel show... Simon is here with advice for island hoppers

in Greece and hotel guests in the Seychelles. And we are in South

Africa's wine lands meeting one of the country 's first black female

winemakers. The Travel Show, your essential

guide wherever you're heading. Welcome to the slice of the show

that tackles your questions about getting the best out of trouble. We

are off to Greece and the Indian Ocean shortly. But first, lots of

you have been in touch about Canada's plans for the electronic

travel authorisation scheme, aimed at people from outside North America

who fly in without a visa. It was due to be made compulsory on the

15th of March but has now been postponed until after the summer

peak. Next, Jen is off to Athens for one week in April. I am going to

Greece for a week and I would like to have a quick look at Athens and

maybe some islands and the surrounding area, and see agent

sites. What would you recommend at this time of year? Here is my ideal

circuit for a trip for five days. From Piraeus, the port for Athens,

take a boat to the island that is about one hour away and will

transport you to a classic Greek island, a breezy coexistence of

fishing and tourism, with gorgeous scenery and tempting waterside bars.

If you can drag yourself away, continue by fast ferry by 90 minute

-- full 90 minutes and go to this Venetian settlement, briefly the

capital after independence and now a beautiful backwater. It is also the

best place for a visit to this agent place, the most powerful kingdom in

Greece many thousands of years ago and the place is still evocative of

might. And on your way back to Athens pause as you cross this

canal, a masterpiece of engineering connecting the two seas. Another has

his eyes on a great American for a trip. But only if the price is

right. Terry, because cars in the US are

registered by state rather than nationally relocating a vehicle over

the Stateline causes logistical issues and triggers a fee, such as

the $300 you have been quoted. I've made a series of test bookings

through one of the big US rental firms saying I am a local and while

there's no formal additional drop-off charge the rate for leaving

the car in another state ranged from around $250 to $525 for a California

to Florida rental. I would call bodily drop-off fee by any other

name! How to avoid it? It could be a lot cheaper to fly a cross country,

although not so romantic. Emily is heading for the Indian Ocean.

Most hotels in the Seychelles price their brooms in euros, thanks to the

historic French Connection. But pragmatically they also accept

pounds sterling. To decide which is best you need to decide how the

hotel computes the sterling rate. Many properties will simply use the

prevailing spot rate, in which case you might as well pay in pounds. But

some hotels may see currency conversion as an opportunity to

prosper offering a significantly poorer rate than the markets. Or the

management might be behind the times and apply a slightly old rate that

is beneficial to you. Just ask. In my experience hotels are happy to

answer. I am always happy to hear from travel -- viewers. Just e-mail

me and I will do my best to answer your questions. From me, goodbye for

now and see you next time. Well, we have more special stories

from South Africa, meeting some amazing people who call the country

home. This week we are in a university is -- town in the Western

Cape. Until now the winemakers have been white. So when we heard of the

first female black winemaker, we thought we would go to meet her.

Orlando is that whenever I work with on a get excited. Whenever I touch

wine or an inconvenience. I need all of them read! -- two seas. I don't

want to lose wine . We are bottling out 2012. It has been in the barrels

for four months. They came here in 1999 through the scholarship from

South African Airways to study winemaking and are never when I

arrived for the first time I thought, what are these little

trees? Actually those other vignettes. I grew up in a village

and white people, you rarely see them. And all of a sudden I was in a

place where basically 99% white people and 1% of blacks. So it was a

completely different environment. For me there was a challenge of

culture and language. It was one of those... It was an opportunity, let

me take it and go into something. I will start you with the Pinot. It

gets made in different styles and this one is basically a lighter

style. It has been boarded for 14 months. -- it has been wooded. It is

fruity. I will taste with you, because I cannot just watch people

taste. It is a sin! This is South African wine. The cross of pin on a

pinot noir and another. This is basically who we are. I want my wine

to take a person to be a journey of where it comes from. When they taste

the wine, understand that it is not just something that you take and mix

and put it in a bottle, but as it happens it goes with your emotion as

a winemaker, you get excited with the bottle. From the vignettes, all

the way, there's people involved to put their heart and soul in it. --

pinot -- vinyards.. These are the cabernet grapes. Every variety has

different leaves. The cabernet has much more pronounced indentation.

Look at this. We don't punch down, we try to avoid extracting cannons

into the wind. In terms of taste, you will pick up the fruit, that

component of the wood that we use and a good balance in the wind. --

the wine. And then I've got a shiraz. Some are

fruity, some have a real punch. People who are shiraz fans usually

love that blockbuster type of shiraz. If people say they aren't

shiraz fans, I would give them this. -- won't give them. Basically I

started tasting wine during fermentation. You taste it and it is

like, yes! It is now ready! It is wine, it is now in the direction of

want. We do have straight cabernet, straight merlot. . When I look at

the wines in general, the blended wines, you get to play. You get to

do something completely different from anyone else. My two dozen for

Cape Cross took an award. -- 2004. Took it home to my grandmother and

for me that was my best moment. She had never tasted wine before. I

opened it, pour the wine for her, she said it was nice. Her facial

expression was saying something else. But it was like one of those

things, it was just beautiful. This is a beautiful country. It has

different provinces which all have different characters.

South Africa's first black, female vintner. That's all we've got time

for this week. Next week, Henry goes to Cambodia to jump on board a new

train line, 40 years after the Khmer Rouge closedown at work. This new

route promises to open up the country again for travellers and

locals. It's a pretty simple engine. Very

simple. He also takes a ride on a more makeshift and have racing line

that 150 years after it was built is still going strong for the time

being. -- hair raising. There is a bit of trepidation here, because you

can see where it wriggles. You hit these bumps and I do feel as though

I might fall off at any point! Do join us that if you can. In the

meantime, don't forget you can catch up with us on social media. All the

details you need on the bottom of the screen. Now, from me and the

team in Budapest, goodbye.