Hey there, beautiful soul!🧡
We are beyond excited that you’ve chosen to be part of the European Ecovillage Gathering 2025 and can’t wait to welcome you onsite with everyone to create an inspiring, connecting, uplifting, nourishing and empowering event all together! 🎶✨
To make your experience as smooth as possible, we’ve gathered all the essential info you need in this guide. Please take the time to read it carefully—it likely answers most of your questions! If not, you can:
📌 Check out our FAQ page on the Gathering website.
📌 Join our Gathering Telegram group for updates and community chats.
📌 Still got a question? Drop us an email at gathering(at)gen-europe.org
For questions about your food & accommodation booking (or if you need to cancel), please contact our host directly via email at info@megyesulet.hu
📌 Reminder: Check out our host’s cancellation policy.
🌿 Check-in at the entrance: 14:00-20:00 – please do not arrive earlier than 14:00
and make your travel plans accordingly. (If you don’t manage to arrive by 20:00, there will be a person on call to check you in and give you a wristband.)
🌿 Have your Gathering ticket (QR code) + food & accommodation booking ready.
🌿 Dinner is served from 18:30-19:30 (you must be checked in & wearing your wristband to receive your meal!).
🌿 Opening Ceremony at 20:00 at the main stage—don’t miss it! ✨
🌿 Last meal: breakfast (served from 8:00-9:00).
🌿 Please leave the site before 13:00 and plan your travels accordingly.
Manas Garden is nestled near Lake Balaton, in Hungary, in a beautiful spot perfect to connect with nature & community!
📍 Address: Lengyeltóti, Rágniczapuszta 4, 8693 Hungary.
📍 Google Maps link: Click here for exact location!
🚆 By public transport:
A direct bus service departs from Budapest every day from Népliget autobus station. It departs at 2:50 pm and arrives at Lengyeltót Town Hall at 4:56 pm. Manas Garden is a 20-minute walk from Lengyeltóti Town Hall (1.8km), but you can also take another bus from here (number 6175) to the “Lengyeltóti, Kék-tó” stop, right next to the entrance of Manas Garden. More information: https://menetrendek.hu/ (Attention: the bus number 5988 only runs on school days, but schools are closed in August, so this bus does not run during the Gathering.)
In addition, a train leaves for Fonyód every hour from Budapest-Déli railway station, and from there (Fonyód) the Kaposvár train takes you to Lengyeltóti railway station. You can find more information here: https://menetrendek.hu/ The distance from the railway station to Manas Garden is 4 km. You can take a local bus (number 6175) or walk (1h).
You can also check on Google Maps for directions with public transport.
🚗 By car:
The fastest way is to come via the M7 highway and exit at Fonyód or Balatonboglár towards Lengyeltóti. Pay attention to the information signs on the road. You leave the village on the eastern side of Lengyeltóti, the gate is just a few hundred meters from here. Attention: to use the M7 motorway, you need to buy a motorway sticker, which is available at any petrol station. We recommend the “10-day”, which allows you to use any motorway in the country freely for 10 days. Price for a car: 6620 HUF, for a caravan: 9630 HUF. More information: https://www.hungary-vignette.eu/en You can choose from several languages at the top right.
You will be directed to the parking area at the entrance gate (when checking in), please do not obstruct the traffic by waiting and parking on the side of the road.
You can ask for rideshares in the Gathering Telegram group (rideshares channel).
🌍 Travel sustainably! We strongly encourage you to walk, bike, carpool, or take a train/bus rather than flying. 🚆🚲
⚡ Electric car owners: sadly, we can’t offer charging facilities onsite—please plan accordingly.
The closest public electric car charging station to Manas Garden is located at TEA – Lengyeltóti Kira Panzió. This charging station provides two charging spots for electric cars, with a 11 kW charging power. It is available to anyone, operating 24/7 all year round. The station is approximately 10 km away from Manas Garden, which is about a 15-minute drive by car. More information: https://tea.evtoltok.hu/?charger=PT328
🎒 WHAT TO BRING
Here’s your ultimate packing list! ✅
✔ Towel
✔ Bedding (if you booked an indoor bed: pillowcase, mattress cover, duvet cover) 🛏️
✔ Camping gear (if you’re camping: tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, etc.) ⛺
✔ Water bottle (plastic or metal—please avoid glass)
✔ Plate, cup, and cutlery 🍽
✔ Warm clothes, rain jacket, waterproof shoes (just in case!) 🌧
✔ Comfy clothes for movement practices + yoga mat 🧘
✔ Earplugs & sleeping mask (if you’re sensitive to noise/light) 😴
✔ Biodegradable toiletries (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, etc.) 🧴
✔ Swimsuit🩱
✔ Any medications you need 💊
✔ Condoms (because we encourage safer connections!) ❤️
✔ Notebook & pen for workshop notes ✍️
✔ Headlamp or flashlight 🔦
✔ Should you have any litter, a can/container to collect it for yourself, since there will be no bins onsite (except in bathrooms for saniatries).
✔ Pocket ashtray (if applicable)
🚫 WHAT NOT TO BRING:
❌ Non-biodegradable toiletries
❌ Pets (sorry, but they’re not allowed) 🐕
❌ Outside alcohol & illegal drugs (see our policy below)
❌Individual fires at the campsite are not allowed
❌Camping gas stoves are not allowed
You’ll enjoy 3 delicious vegetarian meals per day—all included in your booking! 🥗🍞
🌿 Vegan & gluten-free options available (clearly labeled).
🌿 We cannot cater to specific diets/allergies—please plan accordingly.
☕ Yes, there’s coffee at breakfast! Plus, a cozy tea & coffee hut for treats throughout the day.
🧃 A bar will offer light alcoholic & non-alcoholic drinks.
⏰ Meal times:
🍽 Breakfast: 7:30-9:00
🍽 Lunch: 13:00-14:30
🍽 Dinner: 18:30-19:30
Feeling snacky between meals? Bring some nuts, dried fruit, or your favorite munchies – packaging free! 😋
Your wellbeing matters! 🌻
🌟 If you get sick with a contagious virus, we kindly ask you to cancel your participation.
🌟 Wash your hands, cover your mouth when coughing, and respect hygiene best practices.
🌟 If you have life-threatening allergies or conditions, bring your own medication (this applies to medication for mental health too 💜).
💖 Support Teams Available Onsite:
🩺 Medical Support Team
💬 Emotional Support Team
🛡 Safety Team
We will explain how to reach them at the opening ceremony.
☕ Tea & Coffee Hut: selling warm drinks & homemade cakes. Cash only (€/HUF).
🧃 Bar: selling light alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages. Cash (€/HUF) & card.
🎪 Market Area: selling ethical handmade products (e.g.clothes, jewelry, soaps, etc.) and produce (e.g. honey, herbal teas, etc.) from ecovillages and ecoprojects as well as from the region. Each seller will decide on their payment method.
👕 GEN Europe Merch: Bring your own shirt for wood print, or buy tote bags and stickers on-site! Cash (€) and card.
“It takes a village to raise a child.”
🎪It is our communal responsibility to offer loving care for our children and we welcome all participants and families to contribute to and co-create a memorable experience for the children present. If you have a workshop/activity offering, please submit it here!
Welcome dear families!
We are very pleased to offer you a wide range of activities for children and teenagers again this year. We have been co-creating a Children’s Programme that runs parallel to the full programme, offering a space for your children to create their own transformational experience. Each morning we will have adults present at the children’s space offering activities in movement/games, bushcraft, theatre, crafts and more. We allow space for emergence and the children present ultimately decide which activities they want to participate in that morning.
Taking care of your children
We offer activities within our program streams and support you as parents to feel safe, at home, and welcome. While the Children’s Programme is created with the intention of accompanying your children during the morning workshops, we will not force any child to stay with us or participate. If you choose to leave your child with us, be sure they know where to find you if they want to leave and have a clearly visible name tag with their name, mother tongue and your phone number. In the afternoons, the children’s space is open for self-organized activities for and with Kids & Families. Please leave the space better than you found it.
🌈 A few important reminders:
🗓 Mark your calendars! We will hold an online introduction for families on Wednesday, July 30th from 17:30-19:00 CEST. In this meeting, we will review site & safety, introduce ourselves, and introduce the programme. RSVP and/or join with this link.
We hope we have thought of everything and that everyone is feeling comfortable and safe. The Children Programme coordinators Eva (eva.goldfarb@ecovillage.org +49 157 32472798) and Elisa-Maria (elisabeth.maria@strukt-ur-weise.at +43 6803017513) are available for questions, challenges, and organisation in the area of family and children. Find an invitation link for the Telegram channel below where you will also find a chat for “Kids & Families”. If there are urgent questions or information needed you can use this chat to reach us, too. You can join it via this link
🌈 SAFE & INCLUSIVE SPACE
It is very important for us to create a safe and inclusive space for all, so we ask you to read and respect our various policies.
We acknowledge that there will always be room for improvement and will welcome your feedback in the Gathering evaluation form.
GEN Europe’s Participant Aspirations and Collective Boundaries
Here are the participant aspirations and collective boundaries for the Gathering to help us navigate the social waters. We ask all participants to read this carefully and reflect upon it before arrival – we hope it will make the experience even more enriching for everyone.
The Host’s Rules and Guidelines
These are the rules and guidelines set by our host Mindenegyüttmegy Egyesület during their own event. Please note that dogs and bringing your own alcoholic drinks won’t be allowed at the Gathering.
🚯Please note that there won’t be any trash cans (except for sanitaries in toilets of course) so any trash you bring, you’ll have to take with you 🫶
Manas Garden’s community consider their site and their surroundings to be of utmost importance, and they are working on the regeneration of wildlife, so they ask that you help them and respect the following guidelines:
❌Swimming in the lake is officially prohibited
♿️Accessibility
Accessibility for all is important to us and we are aware we have to improve in making the Gathering venues accessible to all. If you have specific needs, please contact info@megyesulet.hu to enquire about the facilities.
Most areas and workshop spaces at Manas Garden are accessible in a wheelchair, however the terrain is mostly sand/earth/grass and a bit hilly so we recommend having a support person to help.
Sadly, there is no adapted toilet or shower.
🐶 Pets Policy
🚫No pets allowed (except registered service/emotional support dogs—must be on a leash at all times & are not allowed in workshop spaces).
Alcohol & Drug Policy
🚫 Illegal drugs are strictly prohibited—anyone found using them will be asked to leave.
🍷Alcohol is only permitted at the bar in moderation. No outside alcohol allowed.
🚬 Smoking will be allowed in a designated area only. Bring your pocket ashtray with you.
📸 Photos & Videos Policy
✅Always ask for consent before taking someone’s photo or video.
🚫 No photos/videos allowed in workshop spaces or sharing groups.
Our media team will take photos/videos for GEN Europe’s public communication (website, social media, newsletter). If you don’t want to be in photos/videos, inform the media team and they will ensure you are filtered out.
🗣️Translation support
We will do our best to offer translation, at least of the main collective sessions. We hope to have a team of volunteer translators, who will support you to the best of their abilities. In the bigger sessions (the opening and closing ceremony, as well as the morning circles) they will be available to translate in designated areas, please keep an eye out for this. In the workshops, translation will be self-organised.
✨ Find the full programme here (we update it regularly!)
✨ It will also be displayed onsite on big info boards along with a sitemap to find your way around.
🕖 A Typical Day at the Gathering:
🧘 7:00-8:00 – Morning movement (yoga, meditation, etc.)
🍽 7:30-9:00 – Breakfast
🌎 9:30-11:00 – Collective Morning Circle (inspiring talks)
✏️11:30-13:00 – Workshops
🍽 13:00-15:00 – Lunch & networking (dedicated area to meet ecovillages, ecoprojects, networks, EU projects, etc.)
💬 15:00-16:00 – Sharing groups
✏️ 16:30-18:30 – More workshops!
🍽 18:30-19:30 – Dinner
🎶 20:00-22:00 – Evening concerts, dance, singing, or lakeside chilling!
Follow us on Social Media! You can stay informed about the Ecovillage Gathering updates via our Instagram account @ecovillagegathering. For the usual Ecovillage content, be sure to follow us on Instagram @gen_europe, Facebook and join our Newsletter. And don’t forget to tag us on your posts!
We created a Telegram group with various channels, with the idea of self-organisation and collaboration, connection, the possibility of co-creation, and support for all things connected to the European Ecovillage Gathering. You can join it via this link.
💫 Can’t wait to see you at the Gathering! 🌻✨