From today: Budapest’s thermal baths are half-price, but one of the most popular is closing

From April, the discount will be available monthly for the historic thermal baths in the capital and once a week for the other baths, expanding the list of discounts.

Expanding the list of discounts

Based on a decision by the General Assembly of Budapest, Budapest Gyógyfürdői és Hévizei Ltd. (BGYH) provides discounted bath visits for residents. As the first step in developing the current discount system, new benefits are being offered to students using a public transport pass.

From tomorrow, students holding a valid pass purchased via the BudapestGO app can visit one of the company’s historic thermal baths—Gellért, Lukács, Rudas, or Széchenyi—once a month at a 50% discount and the other baths once a week at 50% off.

If you enter the chosen bath within two hours before closing time, the discount is even larger, at 80%. These reductions apply to the full-price daily ticket at each bath..

How can I use the discount?

Any student studying in public education in Budapest, or any local student, can take advantage of the discounts when buying bath tickets online, provided they have purchased their student pass via the BudapestGO application and it is valid on the day of the bath visit. This includes the monthly Budapest pass for students in public education, the pass for higher education students, the discounted national pass for students, and the discounted Pest County pass for students.

Do not leave your student ID card at home; you will also need to present it at the entrance. The BKK website provides further details about the thermal baths discounts and how to use them, while the BGYH website provides information about the baths’ opening hours.

Promotions in the thermal baths

Looking at BGYH’s 2024 visitor numbers—four million in total—more than 1.7 million people took advantage of discounted thermal baths tickets last year. This accounts for 43.5% of the total visitors. At locations mainly frequented by Budapest residents, almost 70% of guests arrive using a discount. In 2024, BGYH provided a total of HUF 3.7–4 billion in discounts to bath visitors.

Gellért is closing

Széchenyi Thermal Bath remains the undisputed leader among the capital’s bath complexes, welcoming nearly 1.4 million visitors last year. The second most visited, Gellért Thermal Bath, had 420,000 visitors. As previously reported, this iconic establishment is expected to close in the near future—details can be found here.

We also wrote 10 days ago that entrance tickets will moderately increase this year for spa visitors in Hungary, details HERE