Did you know there are well over a thousand thermal springs dotted around the landlocked central European country of Hungary? We sure didn’t. Hungary’s capital city Budapest is home to 123 thermal springs alone. And of those, Szechenyi Baths is the most famous and most touristy. We spent an afternoon pool hopping around the huge complex and overall we thought it was well worth visiting, but it definitely had some downsides too.
In this guide we explain everything you need to know about visiting Budapest’s “hottest” thermal spa Szechenyi Baths, based on our experiences.
Our Experience
We decided to spend our fourth and final afternoon in Budapest relaxing in one of its famous thermal spas. After a bit of research we discovered that Szechenyi Baths was by far the most visited spa and it looked great. So we visited the House of Terror Museum half way up Andrassy utca in the morning, and then continued walking up to the baths after grabbing lunch.
The spa complex was bigger than we expected, and there were lots of pools with varying temperatures and medicinal properties. Plus, there were saunas and steam rooms spanning the temperature range from comfortable to how are you alive in there?! But for us the real fun started when we reached the large outdoor pools. Despite being busy, we found it more calming and enjoyable outside. Read more about us.
Our Top Tips
- You must bring flip-flops (or similar footwear)
- Bring your own towel or you have to buy one
- Plan to spend at least 3 hours in the complex
- Swimwear is mandatory in all pools and saunas
- You must wear a swimming cap in the lap pool
- We don’t think it’s worth buying fast track tickets
Services
Here’s a summary of what you can expect from the services on offer at Szechenyi Baths:
- There are 15 indoor pools and 3 outdoor pools
- The baths are supplied by springs at 74C (165F) and 77C (171F)
- There are 3 types of sauna and steam room
- Many pools and saunas have medicinal properties
- There’s a beer spa (drink as much as you can)
- You can also book massages
- Every Saturday there’s a big party called SParty
- You can buy snacks and drinks at the outdoor pools
- There’s also a restaurant on site
We only did the basic things like bathe in pools and relax in steam rooms when we visited. But the SParty nightclub actually looks pretty fun if you’re looking for a lively night on the booze. It’s a weekly EDM music event with lasers and projections lighting up the spa’s Baroque architecture. If you’d rather keep things a bit more civilized, you can book a 45 minute beer spa with unlimited drinks.
We think there are more fun and unique things to do in Szechenyi Baths versus other thermal baths like Gellert, Rudas or Lukacs. The others are more classy or prim and proper, whereas Szechenyi is a bit more gimmicky or touristy, but not necessarily in a bad way.
Location
Szechenyi Baths is located in City Park in the northeast of Budapest (here’s the Google Maps location). You can reach it by walking 45 minutes along Andrassy utca from Deak Ferenc or by taking yellow metro M1 from Deak Ferenc to Szechenyi Furdo. Another alternative is to take a taxi or ride share if you want to make things even easier.
We walked to the spa, passing by high end shopping, the opera house, the House of Terror Museum and finally Heroes Square. Then we took the metro back into town afterwards, and it was cheap, easy and quick. Getting to and from the baths won’t be a problem for you. Here’s a pdf metro map for Budapest.
Entry Fees + Opening Hours
Szechenyi Baths has an unusually complicated price list. It has different entry fees for mornings and afternoons, weekdays and weekends, plus any extras you might need upon arrival. Personally, we think prices are too heavily inflated considering what you’ll spend on other things in Budapest.
Here’s the most simple way to break down what you’ll spend per person:
Daily Ticket With Locker
- Mon-Thur: 10,500 HUF (US $29)
- Fri-Sun: 12,000 HUF (US $33)
This is the most basic ticket with no extras, no cabin (changing room) and no fast track. These prices apply after 9:00am on weekdays and all day on weekends. All you get is entry and a small locker. Your ticket is valid until closing time at 7:40pm, but you can’t leave and re-enter the pools.
Entry Before 9:00am
- Mon-Thur: 8,400 HUF (US $23)
- Fri: 9,700 HUF (US $26)
This ticket gives you exactly the same as a daily ticket but you must buy and enter the pools before 9:00am. Your ticket is still valid all day until closing time at 7:40pm but you can’t leave and re-enter.
Extras
- Cabin: 1,000 HUF (US $3)
- Safe: 1,100 (US $3)
- Towel: 6,600 HUF (US $18)
- Slippers: 4,000 HUF (US $11)
We took our own towels and paid extra for a cabin so we could both change in a private cubicle and leave our valuables inside. The cabin was small, but it was completely closed off and could only be opened with a unique silicon wristband we received upon purchase.
Our top advice is to take your own flip-flops, towel, shower gel and shampoo. You can buy on site but they charge a small fortune for each item and together they cost more than the entry ticket itself. Note that sandals or flip-flops are mandatory in certain areas so don’t forget to pack them or you’ll be paying.
Ticket Information
You can buy entry tickets up to 30 days in advance at the official website. Scroll down the page and select the ticket type you want. There are limited numbers of tickets available online and in person for any given day.
Fast track tickets are available but they’re even more expensive, so we only advise spending the extra money if you visit the baths on a weekend, holiday or festival.
Opening Hours
- Pools: Mon-Fri 7:00am-8:00pm / Sat-Sun 8:00am-8:00pm
- Saunas: Mon-Sun 10:00am-7:30pm
Here’s a full list of opening hours for all services offered at the spa.
Travel tip: We highly recommend taking a look through the FAQ’s if you’re unsure about anything to do with fees, hours, tickets or what to bring.
Indoor Pools
The 15 pools inside Szechenyi Baths range in temperature from 18C (66F) to 38C (104F). We found it tough getting into the cold plunge pools after toasting nicely in the hotter thermal baths, so maybe start with the colder pools before rewarding yourself with a nice warm dip.
The pools are positioned in a long and narrow line as you look at the complex map. But each pool has a different shape, temperature, purpose and mineral content. The water is said to help with ailments such as arthritis and respiratory disease. One thing we know for sure is that the pools were relaxing for both our bodies and minds.
Our favorite indoor pool was surrounded by brown columns and had a Roman feel to it. Don’t forget to look around and admire the architectural style as you bathe. It’s a very attractive building. Depending on when you visit, you could have a pool to yourself or you could be sharing it with lots of other local and international bathers.
Outdoor Baths
The 3 grand outdoor pools are the jewels in the Szechenyi Baths crown. There’s a 50m swimming pool with lanes at 26-28C, a leisure pool at 30-34C and a thermal pool at 36-38C. For us, this outside area is where the spa really excels and beats out the competition.
On warm sunny days you can relax in the pool or on sun loungers near a cafe and bar. And yes, they serve beer! (On a previous boys boozy trip to Budapest, Mark and his mates spent a few hours sipping cold ones next to the leisure pool.) Or if you visit in a cooler month you can float around in the massive thermal pool and be covered entirely by steam.
Our trip to Budapest was in July so it was hot every day, which meant the outdoor thermal pool wasn’t as romantic for us as it might have been on a freezing cold day in January. These outdoor pools are what make Szechenyi Baths so popular, so expect them to be busy when you visit.
Saunas + Steam Rooms
You’ll find three different types of sauna and steam room at Szechenyi Baths:
Saunas
- Aroma sauna: 50-55C
- Vulkanic sauna: 70-80C
- Finnish sauna: 80-100C
Remember earlier when we referred to a sauna as the “how are you alive in there” sauna? That’s the Finnish sauna. We opened the door but couldn’t even step foot inside after being slapped in the face by a wave of heat that felt hotter than the sun. The aroma sauna was hot enough for us.
Steam Rooms
- Thermal cascade steam room: 40-50C
- Salt inhalation steam room: 50-55C
- Wet steam room: 45-55C
Lose the dry heat and give us a dripping wet steam room any day. We tried all three types and actually found the salt steam room to be surprisingly refreshing. Breathing in salt particles as part of self-healing is known as halotherapy and it’s supposed to help with a variety of conditions.
Spa Treatments
If you’ve got a bit of cash to burn, why not complete your visit to Europe’s largest spa by getting a massage. It won’t be as cheap as other places because it’s so touristy, but it saves you having to go somewhere else later.
You can choose between Aroma and Refreshing massages at Szechenyi Baths, which prides itself on being a complete wellness center. Here’s a full list of spa treatments and prices.
Cleanliness
Okay, so far so good. You know what’s available and what to expect. Now, let’s talk about cleanliness because we know it can be a deal maker or breaker for many:
The cabin and changing rooms were perfectly fine. And the pools outside were clean for the most part, nothing really stood out like a sore thumb. But the inside could certainly have been cleaner. There were areas, pools or entire rooms that just didn’t feel clean. And we could tell other visitors were thinking the same thing.
We noticed a few too many strange smells and strange choices made by other bathers. More than once we had to hastily retreat out of an area in a pool when “something” floated towards us. And more than once we left a pool because someone with no understanding of personal hygiene or space entered.
But to be fair to Szechenyi Baths, we think any and all public baths will have the same issues, so we don’t necessarily think the cleanliness here was worse than anywhere else. At the end of the day it’s a public bath with hundreds of locals and tourists who are stripping down to swimwear and sharing small spaces. It’s near impossible to stay on top of cleaning around so many people throughout the day.
There will be hairs floating around, and who knows what else. It won’t bother a lot of visitors, but you need to make sure you’re okay with it. Have a look through recent comments on Tripadvisor to see what others have said.
Best Time To Visit
If you want to avoid the crowds and get cheaper tickets, you should plan to arrive at Szechenyi Baths before 9:00am on a weekday. This is when the baths will be quietest and most relaxing. Expect it to be busy on weekends, school holidays, peak months in the summer and during festivals like Sziget.
We visited in the afternoon on a weekday in July. It was a cloudy day but it was still very warm outside, so it took away from the overall experience of a thermal bath. We’d much prefer to visit on a cold day so we could warm up in the baths and be shrouded in steam. Colder months around winter might be a more idyllic time to visit.
The Morgan Conclusion
What we like: The architecture surprised us and the outdoor pools especially were enjoyable. We thought the saunas and steam rooms were great, the food and beers were actually pretty good, it had a good atmosphere and it was easy enough to reach from town.
What we don’t like: It shouldn’t be so expensive and the indoor pools could be cleaner. It was also very busy, which we didn’t mind too much but it might not suit you if relaxation is your top priority. They’ll charge you for things like sandals if you forget them which is a bit excessive.
Is Szechenyi Baths worth it? Yes, Szechenyi Baths is definitely worth visiting if you want to experience Budapest’s most famous thermal spa. It’s touristy, expensive and it could be cleaner, but overall it’s a fun place to spend a few hours soaking and rejuvenating as long as you don’t mind sharing the small spaces with lots of other bathers.
More From Budapest
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We hope our guide to Szechenyi Baths helps with planning your visit to Budapest!
Please let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
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